Early life Pascu was a native of
Agnita (at the time part of
Brașov Region, now in
Sibiu County), where he graduated from primary school. He was born to an
ethnic Romanian father and a half-
Hungarian mother; on his mother's side, he was also the descendant of
Poles and
Slovaks. During fifth grade, he started playing
handball with an amateur team, discarding piano lessons and contemplating a career in acting. He also taught himself
guitar. Twenty years later, Pascu told reporters: "Between 1980 and 1985, I was mad about
Bob Marley." Pascu continued his interest in sports, particularly soccer, and was a noted fan of the college soccer team
FC Universitatea Cluj. In 1986, while
Ars Amatoria was touring
Bucharest with an adaptation of
Ion Luca Caragiale's plays, Pascu met and befriended members of the comedic ensemble and student group
Divertis, Pascu had been a
Divertis fan since 1982 From December 1990 to 1992, Pascu was employed as a program editor by the same station. Pascu was invited by director
Lucian Pintilie to star in his film
An Unforgettable Summer, alongside
Kristin Scott Thomas,
Claudiu Bleonț and
Marcel Iureș. Pascu, who referred to filming on location as his mock-
honeymoon, Over the following years, Pascu and The Blue Workers released two EPs, the
rhythm and blues record
Mașina cu jazzolină ("The Jazzolin Engine") and
Caseta pentru minte, inimă și gură ("The Cassette for the Mind, Heart and Mouth"). Pascu also appeared on a number of comedy recordings released by
Divertis, One of the
parody songs included on
Mașina cu jazzolină, titled "Africa, Africa", drew special interest in cultural circles with its satirical undertones. The lyrics suggested that modern Romania was no better than the average African nation. According to historian
Sorin Mitu, "Africa, Africa" showed "the Romanians' tendency to relate to extra-European realities", a trend he observed during Ceaușescu's final decade, and then throughout the early
post-revolutionary period. In 1995, after a series of festivals where he sang together with The Blue Workers, Pascu had a solo recital at
Brașov's
Golden Stag Festival, He was also the opening act for Western rock groups touring Romania: the
British bands
Jethro Tull,
Beats International and
Asia, and
Germany's
Scorpions. In February 1997, Pascu released the album
Gânduri nevinovate ("Innocent Thoughts"). According to his website, it can be considered as Pascu's "first less commercial record." and cultural journalist Eugenia Vodă suggested that the "authentic by definition" Pascu added "diaphanous touches" to Mungiu's
black comedy. Two years after
Occidents premiere, Pascu released the album
Stângul de a visa ("The Left to Dream"), which was less of a commercial success and as Pascu noted, was inconsistent with the editorial policies of commercial radio. According to his website, it was not promoted by the mainstream radio stations, and sold most of its copies during live performances. Pascu toured the country to mark the celebration of his 20th year in music, mostly performing in provincial clubs. He continued to give occasional concerts (including as an opening act for
Italian singer
Albano Carrisi in
Arad), and starting in 2003, hosted the musical
talk show Taverna on the national television channel,
TVR 1. He was a voice actor on
Animat Planet, a cartoon show produced by
Divertis for Antena 1. He released the solo albums
O stea ("A Star") The same year, he released a
greatest hits record, titled
12 ani, 12 balade ("12 Years, 12 Ballads"). They appeared at
ProEtnica festival in
Sighișoara, which celebrated
ethnic minorities and the practice of
toleration. Pascu parted with
Divertis in 2007. At the time, he indicated that he could no longer handle their tight schedule. He resumed his stage career during this time as well. In spring 2007, he starred as
Rică Venturiano in an adaptation of Caragiale's
O noapte furtunoasă, commemorating the 130th anniversary of the play's first public performance. Pascu appeared in
Marius Barna's documentary film
Utopia impusă ("Forced Utopia"), which investigated ordinary life in Communist Romania, with singer
Dan Bittman, literary critic
Ion Bogdan Lefter, actor-politician
Mircea Diaconu, and historian
Marius Oprea.
Writing debut and Pro TV projects (
right) and
Mircea Vintilă as
Pasărea Colibri frontmen, April 2012 At the age of forty, Pascu began publishing
Christian literature, specializing in essays about
mysticism. He had cameos in television commercials Television critic
Cezar Paul-Bădescu called it a "catastrophic" failure. Three months later, he was the opening act for American folk artist
Suzanne Vega at her Bucharest show. Pascu noted that he had honored the invitation only after consulting with his daughter, a Vega fan, and that he adapted his electric guitar songs to the "unplugged" setting, playing the
mandolin. He appeared in a Metropolis Theater production of
The Lower Depths by
Maxim Gorky, with veteran
Ștefan Radof in the lead role. The play opened to good reviews, and Pascu's presence, along with that of other comedic actors (
Alexandru Bindea,
Tudorel Filimon), was considered an unusual directorial touch to Gorky's tragedy. Pascu and his Blue Workers performed at the
Sibiu Jazz Festival. Late in 2009, Pascu and his wife agreed to a divorce. In April 2010, Pascu sparked criticism in the media when he agreed to perform at a
Timișoara rally of
Gregorian Bivolaru's
Yoga movement (MISA). Bivolaru's legal troubles and allegations regarding MISA's sexual policies were the center of public debates; when contacted by reporters, Pascu stressed that it was a regular gig and stated, "Those people have never harmed me and I have no reason to be avoiding their company." Pascu's activities for that year included other live concerts, including one held during the
Bookfest event of June. In November, he was a guest at the
Mircea Baniciu tribute concert, entertaining the public with musical impressions of folk singers
Nicu Alifantis and
Victor Socaciu, and performing
Pasărea Colibri classics. Pascu also purchased his own drinking establishment and live music venue, a Bucharest tavern he named ''Gyuri's Pub'', which hosted performances by the
Moldovan folk singer
Radu Captari. A collaborator of Pascu on solo music projects during spring 2010, Captari sang and played the guitar while riding a horse.
2010 stroke and Divertis split In late 2010, it was reported that Pascu had suffered a
stroke and was recovering at the
University Hospital of Bucharest. Romania's media speculated that the stroke was caused by the stress of his divorce, although Pascu had stated that the separation was amiable. Pascu returned to
Land of Jokes, the comedic series produced by one half of
Divertis for Pro TV, where he played the lead character
Nemuriciul (a spoof on
Highlander: The Series). His return highlighted the conflict between Toni Grecu, who was producing a political comedy show for the same station, and the less politicized
Land of Jokes. Pascu later acknowledged that he strongly disliked Pro TV features such as ''
Romania's Got Talent'', The new comedy troupe took the name
Distractis, since "the
Land of Jokes brand was left with Pro TV", Media analyst Iulian Comanescu stated about the move, "The [
Distractis] program managed a fifth place in ratings. It is the beginning of the end for one of the most upright and best loved brands in Romanian television." In October 2011, Pascu returned to
Cluj-Napoca as a celebrity host for the inauguration of
Cluj Arena, home ground of the soccer club
Universitatea. He traveled to
Seattle and performed at a fund-raiser for a new Romanian Orthodox cultural center in America. Pascu appeared with his
Occident colleague Mircea Diaconu on the short film
Loto, playing the role of a car salesman. ==Discography==