About Władysław Komar
Władysław Stefan Komar (11 April 1940 – 17 August 1998) was a Lithuanian-born Polish shot putter, actor and cabaretist. Competing in three Summer Olympics between 1964 and 1972, he won the gold medal at the Munich Games in 1972 with a throw of 21.18 metres. His nickname was "King Kong" Komar as attributed to a Sports Illustrated article. His personal bests in the shot put were 21.19 metres outdoors (Warsaw 1974) and 20.32 metres indoors (Grenoble 1972), both being national records during his career. == Early life == Władysław Komar was born in Kaunas, Lithuania on 11 April 1940 to Władysław Komar-Zabożyński and Wanda Jasińska, and the noble Komarai family owned the Raguvėlė Manor. Both of his parents were athletes – his father competed for Lithuania as Vladislovas Komaras at the 1934 European Athletics Championships in the high jump and 110 metres hurdles; his mother was a shot putter, who set a national record in the early 1930s. During World War II, the family moved to Didieji Gulbinai. His father, member of the Polish Home Army, was murdered in 1944 in Glitiškės by the Ypatingasis būrys. After the Soviet re-occupation of Lithuania, young Wladysław escaped with his mother and older sister to Warsaw in 1945 as the mother feared they might get sent to Siberia by the Soviets like many former land owners. They first travelled through Białystok to Warsaw before his being placed in an orphanage near Poznań, in Western Poland.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.