Early life Born in
Bucharest, capital of the
Romanian Kingdom, his parents were Edgar von Herz (or Edgard de Hertz) and his wife Maria (
née Kereszteyi). On his paternal side, he belonged to
Austrian nobility, and had links with the
Duchy of Bukovina: his grandfather, Baron Adolf von Herz, was president of the
imperial railway connecting
Lemberg to
Iași; he married a Maria Moreau. The Baron, a man of
Austrian Jewish extraction, was living in
Vienna in 1850, when he patented his design for a
sugar refinery. Attested as having relocated to the
Free City of Frankfurt by 1858, he helped build the Lemberg–Iași railway with support from
Thomas Brassey, but only after relocating again, to Bucharest. His investment portfolio included, in 1865, a "Bank of Romania", which was the first modern credit institution of the
United Principalities. After this was closed following political disputes, the Baron remained active as the representative of
North British and Mercantile Insurance, and also involved himself in projects for setting up agricultural banks. He later reestablished the larger bank and became its general manager, investing heavily in the State Tobacco Monopoly, before ultimately resigning in 1876. By then, his alleged bribery of
Finance Minister Petre Mavrogheni had become a public scandal. He died in August 1881, at
Bad Gastein. The Herzes were
Roman Catholics, The playwright's father was a high-level bank clerk, and the son experienced a privileged childhood at Romania's royal court, which granted him its privilege for many years. In addition to his business profile, Edgar had musical and literary interests. In 1878, he was a pianist, performing alongside
Eduard Hübsch at the
Romanian Atheneum. Edgar also translated into German the play
Fântâna Blanduziei, by
Vasile Alecsandri (1885), and the poem
Luceafărul, by
Mihai Eminescu (1893). Adolf Sr's other son, Edmond, was a former officer in the
Austrian Army; he had married Iza, daughter of Prince
Dimitrie Ghica, who reportedly frowned upon his in-laws' Jewishness. and some sources credit her as Herz's mother. The couple in fact had a daughter, also named Maria. As Herz himself recalled later in life, he was "born an actor", and from age six or seven regularly attended premieres and then, upon returning home, improvised scenes for his family. Herz's primary schooling consisted of private lessons; he attended
Gheorghe Lazăr High School in his native city. Critic
Barbu Lăzăreanu reports that, during recess here, he tried out his talents as a comedian, and became "the unparalleled mime". A colleague of Herz's, the future theater chronicler Paul I. Prodan, notes that he was a sentimental figure, who lamented the fate of snowmen used by other students for snowball target practice. He began literary activity with
sonnets,
odes,
romances and
fables—recorded in a notebook covering the years 1901–1903, and discovered only after his death. Lăzăreanu, who read it, notes that it owed inspiration to Alecsandri and Eminescu; it also contained
pastiches from
Alfred de Musset and
Alexandre Dumas fils. He disliked the atmosphere and rebelled, writing poetry on the dormitory walls. After completing high school in 1907, Herz entered the literature and philosophy faculty of the
University of Bucharest, where he was a good student and drew favorable notice from professors such as
Titu Maiorescu,
Mihail Dragomirescu and
Pompiliu Eliade. These and other early experiments in
verse drama were heavily inspired by the writings of
Alexandru Davila, to the point of imitation. According to Dragomirescu, they provide the only sample of a traditionalist theater in line with
Sămănătorul commands, but are lacking in dramatic effect: Herz's "pitiful" contributions had not preserved
classical unities. Despite such reviews, the works made Herz a respected figure at his school, and provoked his jealous classmate,
Alexandru Kirițescu, to begin his own literary career—initially, much less successfully. After being accepted at
Vieața Nouă, Herz moved into
neoclassical literature and
aestheticism, but, as Dragomirescu notes, was "merely a beginner" in both. Herz's debut play was the 1907
Domnița Ruxandra, dramatizing the life of an
eponymous 17th-century princess. With borrowings from both Davila and
Pierre Corneille, it earned praise from a prominent literary figure,
George Panu. Both Dragomirescu and
Eugen Lovinescu viewed
Floare de nalbă as profoundly indebted to
Alexandre Dumas'
Camille. By then, he was also published by Dragomirescu's own
Convorbiri Critice, notably with the 1908 "dramatic idyll"
A fost odată ("Once upon a Time"), He still contributed poetry, mainly in Maiorescu's
Convorbiri Literare—which also put out another one of his plays, the 1911
Biruința ("Victory"). Five other plays came in quick succession:
Noaptea Învierii ("Resurrection Night", 1909),
Când ochii plâng ("When Eyes Shed Tears", 1911),
Păianjenul ("The Spider", 1913),
Bunicul ("Grandfather", also 1913), and
Cuceritorul ("The Conqueror", 1914).
Breakthrough Several of these texts were staged by the
National Theater Bucharest, which was led by Eliade, then by Davila and
Ioan Bacalbașa. In January 1909, it produced
Domnița Ruxandra, marking the first-ever performance of a Herz play. Directed by the professional actor
Ion Livescu, it was unusual for having an all-amateur cast, comprising only high-school students. At the
Romanian Academy, Maiorescu rejected the play, which was competing for the Năsturel Award. It was also taken up for production by
Iași's state theater in November, but did not play to a full house. Writing at the time, reviewer Corneliu Carp alleged that the local public preferred
sensationalism and melodrama to Herz's "tame, normal, simple" text. and is described by Lovinescu as very similar to his own earlier play,
De peste prag.
Când ochii plâng was first shown at a provincial venue, the
National Theater Craiova, with
Agatha Bârsescu as a lead.
Masca, the local magazine for theatergoers, gave it a scathing review: Herz's text was the "supreme bore", complete with "sordid platitudes" that Bârsescu's performance could not alleviate. or "great success" on its premiere. According to Livescu and critic
Ioan Massoff, it became an absolute triumph for both the author and the lead actors,
Maria Giurgea and
Tony Bulandra. Around that time, he reportedly drew a profit of almost a million
lei per play, which was an unprecedented achievement. In
Păianjenul, a widow pretends to be "debauched" so as to seem more fashionable. According to the literary scholar
George Călinescu, the theme and layout prefigure
Luigi Pirandello, but also reinstate old favorites of the public. Likewise, Lovinescu suggests that
Păianjenul is largely a copy of
Roberto Bracco's
Perfetto amore, but mutated into the realm of comedy. The result, however, is superior, and itself a "model for salon comedies". Other writers maintained favorable opinions of
Păianjenul: Livescu finds in it both of Herz's faces, "the poet and the humorist", joined with "clear precision in creating scenarios and a technique that is anything but banal"; while Massoff sees it as "the first and perhaps the best of Romania's salon comedies". The same is argued by theatrologist Vera Molea, who proposes that
Păianjenul remains "the most accomplished writing by the prolific A. de Herz." As noted by scholar Mircea Popa, Herz was a renowned journalist in his time, but also had significant contributions to the development of Romanian theatrical life, through both his magazines and the plays he wrote. In writing
Bunicul, Herz was apparently inspired by
Henri Lavedan's
Marquis de Priola, similarly depicting an aging seducer, Manole Corbea, trying and failing to win the favors of a much younger woman. The scenario is seen by Călinescu as a collection "of trifles, sometimes tedious", but nonetheless "trifles assembled with skill." Contrarily, Lovinescu describes
Bunicul as "weak" and "incoherent", with jocular phrases that "do nothing to disperse its banality." Shortly after the premiere,
Luceafărul reported that the "much-touted play" was a flop, noting that its "talented author" had "chiseled away a piece of glass, [rather than] a diamond." Reviewers for both
Flacăra and
Opinia saw
Bunicul as a lifeless text, arguing that Herz had taken "two steps back". "The Baron" was still not validated by critics with
Cuceritorul: a reviewer at
Universul Literar called the play "incoherent", and alleged that Herz had only written it because Bulandra wanted him to. , photographed around 1910 Herz was a founding member of the
Romanian Writers' Society (SSR), a literary secretary at the National Theater Bucharest, and an editor-in-chief of the literary magazine
Făt-Frumos. He cultivated a friendship with Eftimiu, and together with him met the senior poet
George Coșbuc, whom they both admired. As recalled by Eftimiu, the meeting proved to them that, in everyday life, Coșbuc was a bore. In April 1911, the Romanian Theatrical Society elected Herz on its first Steering Committee, alongside
George Diamandy,
Paul Gusty,
George Ranetti, and
Radu D. Rosetti. The following year, Herz, Gârleanu and Rosetti appeared at Comoedia Theater during a recital which honored the senior playwright
Ion Luca Caragiale; honored guests included
Marie of Romania and
Prince Carol. Herz had a stint as chief of staff for
Dimitrie S. Nenițescu, the
Conservative Minister of Commerce, together with whom he traveled to
Galați for the unveiling of
Costache Negri's statue (July 1912). He was sacked in October, upon the arrival of a
National Liberal,
Nicolae Xenopol. In his review of the issue, Herz's colleague Ranetti joked that Herz might have been disliked for his aristocratic airs, or that Xenopol "wanted to return him to his real vocation". Also in 1912, Herz's adaptation of
Henri Murger's
Kind Old Man premiered at the National Theater. This was repeated in 1914, when the same troupe staged Herz's version of ''L'Apôtre
, by Paul Hyacinthe Loyson. During those years, Herz also contributed to Flacăra
, Viața Românească, Dimineața, Adevărul, Epoca and Rampa. In 1915, together with Ioan Alexandru Brătescu-Voinești, he co-wrote another play, Sorana
. Also then, he produced at Comoedia the play Voiaj în China'' ("Voyage to China"), allowing a 17-year-old
Sică Alexandrescu to take over as director. His other work included theater criticism; he still used the pseudonym Dinu Ramură, alongside Mira Dăianu and Dinu. It read: Before December 1915, Herz had written the scenario for a
café-chantant,
Melcul ("The Snail"). He also contributed the
libretto for an operetta,
Dragostea Corinei ("Corina's Love"), with Ionel G. Brătianu as his composer. By January 1916, the latter was being performed by the Grigoriu troupe with "extraordinary success". According to Niculescu's recollection, Herz proved "rather good" at creating "dialogue, humorous prose and misunderstandings". Over those months, Herz had drifted toward support for the Central Powers, writing theatrical columns in
Steagul newspaper and having friendly encounters with a "
Germanophile" agent,
Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești. From August 1916, the
Treaty of Bucharest formalized Romania's alliance with the Entente. This interrupted Herz's work for the musical theater. By October, "a major newspaper from the Capital" employed him to write a reportage on the
planned execution of
draft evaders at
Craiova. In December 1916, the city was
conquered by the Central Powers, beginning almost two years of foreign occupation; Herz did not join in Bucharest's evacuation. After May 1917, Herz became a contributor to
Săptămâna Ilustrată magazine, which was a main component of the German propaganda apparatus in Romania. In June of that year, he met Lilly Tănăsescu, and married her in July. She continued to act in shows at Gabrielescu's theater until the birth of their first child, daughter Alexandra Maria. Under the caretaker, Germanophile administration set up by
Lupu Kostaki, Nenițescu made his return as a Finance Minister. As early as April 1917, he nominated Herz for the chairmanship of the National Theater. This proposal was opposed by the actors, prompting Nenițescu to terminate their state subsidies; the German managers showed solidarity with their employees, and split their own salaries with the troupe. Herz was still involved in the shows at Ambasadori Garden, joining Davila and Gabrielescu's summer troupes. One performance of September 5–6 raised money for blinded soldiers. It included productions of Herz's revues,
Dă-i drumul odată și mor ("Just You Turn It On and I'll Die") and
Treci la rând ("Get in Line"), starring Lilly, and with Herz himself appearing on stage to recite a
couplet. He was also commissioned by singer Alexandru Bărcănescu to write a one-act musical comedy,
Boerul Buflea ("Buflea the
Boyar"), which was performed as a live act at Cinema-Variété Regal in October. In November, he staged another musical comedy,
Rândunica ("The Swallow"), with its proceeds going to the
Romanian Red Cross. '' in September 1917. Herz's revue as a second attraction, after a screening of
Wenn Tote sprechen, starring
Maria Carmi On September 27, Herz, together with
Liviu Rebreanu, had inaugurated a cultural daily,
Scena ("The Stage"), which had contributions from a diverse selection of writers: Davila,
Felix Aderca,
Victor Anestin,
Sarina Cassvan,
Vasile Demetrius,
Gala Galaction,
Lucrezzia Karnabatt,
Adrian Maniu,
Barbu Nemțeanu,
I. Peltz,
Camil Petrescu,
Tudor Teodorescu-Braniște, and
I. C. Vissarion. The editorial staff included, among others,
Scarlat Froda,
Barbu Lăzăreanu,
Ilie Moscovici, and
Alexandru Terziman. The editorial line alternated between messages about the preservation of Romanian culture under problematic circumstances and shows of complete support for the German occupier. As noted by Boia, Herz's publication of a theatrical daily "would have been a true feat even under normal circumstances"; "leaving aside his excessive language, which can be explained in context, the fact remains that [Herz] was a greatly capable chief for a cultural gazette and animator of cultural life under stressful conditions." According to Peltz, Herz displayed an "extraordinary power of conviction, he was instantly likeable." "Never infected with the microbe of envy", he was enthusiastic about the work of others, promoting in particular the writer and "son of peasants" Alexandru Bucur. However, the Baron could also be sarcastic, entertaining his employees with impressions of themselves and of writers he viewed as mediocre, in particular
Maica Smara. As noted by Massoff, "the Baron [knew] how to pull on people's tiny strings, and also how to make himself a strain of gratuitous enemies—though his was not a wicked soul." "Herz's tiny intrigues" existed to keep him entertained and, "truth be told, he received more kicks than he gave."
Scandals and trial Scena was increasingly indebted to "Germanophile" politics; Herz's own articles reinforced this orientation. They include an April 1918 praise for
Ludwig von Gebsattel, who led Germany's censorship office in occupied Romania. Therein, Herz argued that Gebsattel had presided upon the survival of Bucharest's theaters. In February 1918,
Scena also hosted Coșbuc's last-ever poem, "The Eagle", which probably alludes to Romania's wartime disasters. Other pieces attacked Ententist writers and theater professionals who had resettled in Iași, singling out Diamandy, Ranetti, Sadoveanu,
Nicolae N. Beldiceanu,
Petre Locusteanu, and
Corneliu Moldovanu. Herz personally covered
Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea's death, stirring up controversy by questioning his rival's patriotism. Other members of this exile cohort did not resent Herz for his stances: a December 1917 letter sent from Iași by actor
Alexandru Mavrodi shows that he regularly read
Scena, and that he was glad to learn of
Rândunicas "apparent success". Rebreanu quit
Scena after only three weeks, and, moving on to become staff critic for
Constantin Stere's
Lumina, panned
Boerul Buflea and
Rândunica. The two remained rivals: as late as 1935, Herz claimed that he had kept the copy of a revue entirely authored by Rebreanu, written in a style that would have harmed Rebreanu's reputation. Herz was still in Bucharest following the
Romanian surrender, and expected there the return of professionals from their exile in Iași. A coalition of Conservative Germanophiles took over, with
Alexandru Marghiloman as
Prime Minister. Following this move,
Scena began receiving contributions from decommissioned soldiers, including
George Topîrceanu,
Avram Steuerman-Rodion, and
H. Bonciu. During that summer, several other of Herz's revues were produced at Ambasadori, including:
Fata cu trei case din dafin ("Three-housed Girl of the Laurel Tree"),
Țațo nu te supăra ("Frump Be Not Mad"), and
Bac (from "
Baccarat").
Scena also reported on tours by
Theater an der Wien and
Darmstadt Court Opera, as well as German plays staged by Romanian managers such as
Velimir Maximilian and
Marioara Voiculescu. Nevertheless, Herz and Maximilian had a running dispute, which peaked in October, when Maximilian slapped Herz in public, on
Calea Victoriei. Around that time, the brochure
Caricatura sub ocupație ("Caricature during the Occupation"), attributed by Călinescu to Herz himself presented the work of a staff cartoonist by the name of Philips, who had "tried to replace our famous draftsmen".
Scenas politics became the subject of debates and scrutiny with the
November Armistice: the paper ended publication on the very day of its signing, by which time the Marghiloman government had already fallen. Herz was arrested at
Galați in early December 1918, during a general clampdown on "Germanophiles". According to Marghiloman, the new government did not necessarily want him tried, but an Ententist journalist, Gheorghe Matei Corbescu, pulled the strings. Herz was formally deemed by the Government Commissioner as "posing a danger to the Allied troops"; he was kept under guard at Hotel Modern, and interrogated alongside
Dumitru Karnabatt,
Dem. Theodorescu, and
Saniel Grossman. "The Baron" was then sent to
Văcărești Prison, awaiting trial. While there, he witnessed the death in custody of
I. C. Frimu, an activist of the
Socialist Party. His testimonial on the subject argues that Frimu was "mercilessly beaten", which compromised his immunity and aggravated his
typhus. At Văcărești, the playwright was also reunited with Bogdan-Pitești and met
Ioan Slavici, who described "baron de Herz" as a "lively, spirited, sweet youth". Herz would later inspire the aged Slavici to write his memoirs, including details of his encounters with
Mihai Eminescu. Herz claimed that Slavici had privately revealed himself as the real author of
Făt-Frumos din lacrimă, which is generally attributed to Eminescu. In February–March 1919, Herz was
court-martialled, with 22 other "collaborationist" journalists, by the
Second Army. He was among the acquitted, while his colleague Rebreanu was only called upon as a witness. Nonetheless, the label of "traitor" was long applied to Herz, especially at delicate moments. As noted by literary historian
Dan Mănucă, Brătescu had a simmering conflict with another collaborationist,
Tudor Arghezi, and viewed by the latter as a leading enemy of his Germanophile colleagues. Mănucă argues that this view was exaggerated, but also that its escalation pushed Brătescu into a conflict with Herz. During that period, Herz was also being publicly exposed as
Jewish. As noted by the newspaper
Afirmarea, Herz viewed himself as a "God-fearing Christian", and the allegation caused him "much suffering". In late 1923, Ranetti's review
Furnica noted Herz's association with a rival paper,
Masca. Ranetti derided Herz as a "Semitic aristocrat", calling attention to his "disgusting behavior under the occupation"; he demanded that
Masca be censored. In 1924, Herz's name was included on a black list of Jewish journalists, which was circulated by the Transylvanian press. An official organ of the
Vad Orthodox Diocese published it with a note that "these Jews are hoping to influence Romanian public opinion";
Clujul weekly identified Herz as an agent of Jewish "subversion", demanding that he leave the Romanian press.
Recovery and failure Herz resumed his other activity in the interwar's
Greater Romania, first with translations of composer biographies by
Romain Rolland (in 1918, as the first-ever translation into Romanian of a text by Rolland) and
Houston Stewart Chamberlain. In 1923, Herz joined
Caton Theodorian's Society of Romanian Dramatic Authors, serving as its censor, alongside Eftimiu. He returned to the stage with various new plays, including
Mărgeluș ("Tiny Bead", 1921) and
Șeful Gării ("The Station-Master", 1924); he also returned to
Flacăra, publishing therein fragments from a historical play,
Colivia de aur ("A Golden Cage", 1923). Călinescu reserves some praise for
Mărgeluș, a "more literary" play, in which the unborn child of a typist holds together her relationship with an upper-class youth. As argued by the Transylvanian review
Cele Trei Crișuri,
Mărgeluș restated Herz's "rare qualities", provoking "thunderous applause". The play was first produced by Regina Maria Theater, under the twin direction of Niculescu-Buzău and M. Antonescu. The latter also appeared in the title role, to positive reviews. Manager
Ludovic Dauș also bought the play for
Chișinău National Theater, which went on a regional tour of
Bessarabia in 1924. After 1920, Herz reaffirmed his traditionalism as a theater critic, being vocal as a critic of
Expressionist tendencies, and specifically of director
Karlheinz Martin. Martin was his direct competitor: during his stay in Bucharest, he ran three Expressionist plays with at least 74 stagings between them. Such appraisals were contrasted by other observers. Among the traditionalists, Iorga remained critical of Herz's works, viewing them as "well-made plays" with "indifferent characters", marked by a "strain of cynicism". As seen by Iorga, Herz remained indebted to
Adrien Bernheim and
Georges de Porto-Riche. Criticism also came from the
avant-garde: in 1924
Scarlat Callimachi singled out Herz and
Camil Petrescu as dramatists who could only "garner applause from lunch ladies" and who therefore "must disappear". Alexandrescu notes of Herz: "The war cancelled him as a dramatic author. His comedies had a light satirical note, they were not profound theater but rather one of the Parisian
boulevardier kind, albeit of good quality, like those comedies by
de Flers and
Caillavet." During 1923, Tănase appeared as
Acarul Păun in Herz's
Care dă mai mult? ("Who Pays More?"), a satirical take on the railway catastrophe at
Vintileasca. The 1924 hits
Ce-are a face? ("What's It to You?") and ''Pân'aici'' ("Up to Here") were again showcased by Tănase. Both were collective works, with Herz credited alongside "Durstoy" (or "Dur Stoy"), later revealed as a writing duo formed by Gheorghe Druma and Victor Stoicovici. Herz also attempted a return to mainstream theater with the 1925 plays
Aripi frânte ("Broken Wings") and
Seară pierdută ("Wasted Evening"). Also in 1925, alongside Dragomirescu, Brătescu-Voinești, Rebreanu and
V. Al. Jean, Herz was an executive of
Filmul Românesc society, dedicated to the promotion and moral review of
Romanian cinema productions. Around that time, he became editor-in-chief of
Dimineața daily. Also that year, Maican directed a new production of
Mărgeluș. Moving on from
Dimineața, Herz worked as a broadcaster for the newly inaugurated
Radio Company, with a series of interviews with actors. and
Între ciocan și nicovală ("Between a Rock and a Hard Place"), co-authored with Nicolae Vlădoianu; both were performed by and his troupe in 1928. The Herz–Vlădoianu collaboration used talents such as
Alexandru Giugaru and a number by the Romanian version of
Mutt and Jeff; its "dizzying rhythm" garnered "sidesplitting laughter". Alongside Vlădoianu and
Nicolae Kirițescu, Herz, using the pen name "Puck", also wrote the show
Negru pe alb ("Black on White"), made famous for starring an African American dancer,
Josephine Baker. His final works for the stage included the more conventional comedy
Omul de zăpadă ("Snowman"). It depicted the unscrupled playboy Mihai Corvin finding real love with the inexperienced Viorica.
Omul de zăpadă was followed by another play,
Încurcă lume ("The Fumbler"), commissioned by Alexandrescu for his
Teatrul Mic. It was published alongside volumes of short prose:
Noapte bună ("Good Night", 1929) Herz's final contributions as a translator include a Romanian rendition of
William Shakespeare's
Much Ado About Nothing. It was done from the French version, and staged by the National Theater in 1928–1929, with Gusty as director.
Final years , and Major Gheuca (organizer of the Romanian writers' retreat) in
Bușteni, August 1933 In June 1930, While there, "the Baron" undertook efforts to secure a new building, worked to improve relations between management and actors, hired new actors and established a choir. His adolescent daughter Kuki became a troupe regular, appearing as Martha in
The Father The dramatist's son, Nonu, trained as a violinist. In December 1932, the nationalist newspaper
Calendarul reported with satisfaction that Herz was under investigation by the Craiova prosecutor's office; according to this source, Herz still enjoyed protection from his hierarchical superior,
Alexandru Mavrodi, who "provides homes to all the con artists, and makes a mockery of our national theaters, to the minorities' enjoyment." In November 1934, an unsigned piece in
Curentul alleged that Herz was "terrorizing" actors, who had not received payment since June, and that his pattern of behavior evidenced insanity. According to this report, the entire Craiova troupe went on strike, and some of its members attempted to storm into Herz's home on Unirei Highway; the incidents prompted an inquiry. As noted by Gyr, "the Baron" could indeed prove himself coarse and abusive in dealing with his staff. One of Herz's stories was adapted into a 1934
talking picture,
Insula Șerpilor—set in, and named after,
Snake Island, it fictionalized the adventures a famous brigand,
Terente.
Insula Șerpilor, now a
lost film, is only known through its generally positive reviews, though it was also panned by
Ghiță Ionescu in
Cuvântul Liber. That same year,
Încurcă lume was taken up by the
National Theater Cluj, generating "an evening's worth of hearty laughter" on its premiere there. According to writer Traian T. Lalescu, it was "merely a
farce", but characters appeared as "more viable than the protagonists of foreign farces". In summer 1935, Izbânda Garden hosted performances of
Domnul de la ora 5 ("Mr. Five o'Clock"), adapted by Herz from a revue by Pierre Weber, and with
Velimir Maximilian as a lead. In late 1935, Herz was living at his own villa in
Floreasca, but had left it unplastered, and was considering selling it, because of his financial woes; he confessed his troubles to
Rampa reporter Jack Berariu, noting that he was working on two lighthearted comedies,
Mincinoasa ("Lady Liar") and
Oul lui Columb ("
Egg of Columbus"). His last known play The text was lambasted by Ion Dimitrescu of
Curentul for being "very rudimentary", in particular for its dwelling on misogynistic observations and puns. Dimitrescu expressed a wish that Herz would experience a "quick jolting out of his theatrical descent." Herz and Alexandrescu also worked on another comedy,
Musafirii lui Răstocea ("Răstocea's Guests"), which was left unfinished. Herz spoke to Berariu about his belief that he would not live to see his children growing up, and also expressed regrets about not having stayed in military school, since an army career "would have prevented my nationality and my religion from being a topic of discussion." sharing a tomb with his mother on Plot 26 of
Bellu cemetery, Bucharest. ==Legacy==