Felix Kawalski

Infobox EastEnders character 2


character_name=Felix Kawalski
actor_name=Harry Landis
years=1995–1997
dob=1929
first=9 November 1995
last=29 May 1997
status=Widowed
occupation=Barber
sisters=Julia Kawalski

Felix Kawalski was a fictional character in the popular BBC soap opera "EastEnders". He was played by Harry Landis.

Felix was an inoffensive Polish Jew immigrant who set up a barbershop in Walford and somehow got the reputation of being a wife-murdering . A survivor of the holocaust in Poland, Felix had spent his life searching for his family to no avail. He assumed they had all perished in the Nazi concentration camps during World War II, so he was thrilled when he finally made contact with his surviving sister.

Storylines

Felix was first seen in November 1995, when he moved to Walford to open a barbershop. He had an interest in brass band music, and when he noticed Sonia Jackson attempting to play the trumpet he tried to offer her the benefit of his wisdom. However, Sonia took his kind gesture the wrong way. She panicked, fled home and immediately told her stepfather Alan about his strange behaviour. Thinking that he was a perveted child abuser, Alan immediately went to Felix and warned him to stay away from Sonia. Intimidated by Alan's threatening behaviour, Felix agreed.

Insane rumours about Felix began to spread around Walford, leading Sonia and her friend Clare Tyler to think that he had murdered his wife, cut her to pieces and buried her in his barbershop basement. They were both petrified of him, even more so when Clare was dared to enter the shop and notcied that Felix had a cut throat razor. Clare ran out in fear when Felix refused to tell her what was in his basement, and she immediately assumed his dead wife must have been down there. Clare's suspicions continued to increase, and she became desperate to see what was in the basement. She, Sonia and Janine Butcher managed to steal Felix's keys and sneak into the dark basement where Clare tripped and managed to knock herself out. Panicking, Sonia and Janine ran to The Queen Vic and told Clare's stepfather Nigel Bates that she had been kidnapped. Nigel and the Mitchell brothers, Grant and Phil, tore round to find Felix unbuttoning Clare's clothing and they immediately suspected the worst. Grant attacked Felix and only stopped when Clare told that him Felix was merely taking care of her following her fall. As she looked around the cellar she discovered that all Felix was hiding there was a vast collection of butterflies.

The residents all apologised to Felix the next day, and they learnt the story behind Felix's collection of butterflies. They learnt that Felix was a Polish Jew who had been living in Kraków, Poland during World War II when Germany invaded and most Jewish residents were placed in Nazi concentration camps. Felix's father refused to flee Poland as he wouldn't leave his precious collection of butterflies behind. When the Nazis came to arrest his family, he and his sister hid, but he sneezed revealing their hiding place. His sister was discovered, but Felix managed to avoid being detected and escaped with a small box of butterflies. He travelled from Poland to England where he was taken in by his uncle. He believed that the rest of his family had perished and he blamed himself for his sister's death. He had continued to collect butterflies in his father's honour ever since.

Felix made friends with the other senior residents of Walford, Jules Tavernier, Ethel Skinner, Blossom Jackson and Nellie Ellis. He and Jules could often be seen playing chess together in The Queen Vic. Felix was left furious during a chess tournament when Jules keeled over asleep, scattering the chess pieces in the process.

Even though Felix didn't know where his family were or even if they were still alive, he had spent his whole life trying to find them. To his joy he discovered that one member of his family, his sister, had managed to survive and she was living in Israel. After making contact with her, he decided to leave Walford to live there with her. He later returned for a brief visit in May 1997 to tie up some loose ends. On his return he asked Blossom Jackson to come on holiday to Israel with him, and they both departed the same month. This was Felix's last appearance.

The hint of romance between Felix and Blossom remained just that, and Blossom has since returned to England. [EastEnders books, "EastEnders Who's Who" by Kate Lock, ISBN 0-563-55178-X]

References