Sylvia Daneel

06/20/1927 - 09/13/2025

Daneel, Sylvia actor and broadcaster passed away peacefully at the age of 98 following a marvelously varied life on September 13, 2025 in Arlington, VA.
After escaping from post-World War II Russian-occupied Poland, she made her way to London where she learned English and achieved admission to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Always dreaming of being on the stage, she emigrated to the United States with her then husband Tad Danielewski and after earning BA and MA degrees in Acting and Fine Arts from Ohio University and University of Iowa finally made it to Broadway. There she appeared in plays such as Tunnel of Love, for which she received the Theater World Award, Girl on the Via Flaminia, Romanoff and Juliet and A Desert Incident alongside such stars as Darren McGavin, Tom Ewell and Peter Ustinov. She also toured nationally with Claudette Colbert in A Community of Two. In Hollywood she appeared in tv shows such as Dr. Kildaire and Target: The Corruptors and films such as Seven Women From Hell.
Following her acting career, she lived in Italy and led small groups on exclusive tours around the world to see theater and opera. She then joined the Voice of America Polish Service proudly serving for almost twenty years. Those were the days of the Solidarity movement and in her lovely voice she broadcast fact-based and truthful news from the outside world that was so vital for Poles struggling to be free of their Soviet oppressors. She also founded the New Polish Theatre in Arlington where she mounted plays by Polish playwrights.
She is survived by her son Chris Danielewski and grandchildren Mary and Thomas. Service private. As a long-standing member of the AAUW, donations in lieu of flowers can be made exclusively for student scholarships to President Thompson's Initiatives, Westfield State University Foundation, PO Box 1630, Westfield, MA 01086 and on line at https://www.westfieldalumni.org/make-a-gift/online-giving-form