[1] He graduated from the Theatrical Arts and Cinematography Institute in 1960, debuting in the Geo Saizescu comedy Un surâs în plină vară (1963).

[2] In December 2002 he was awarded by then-President Ion Iliescu the National Order of Faithful Service, Knight rank.

[3] In 2014, Poșta Română issued a 1.60 lei stamp in his honor, part of the "Golden Stars of the Stage and Screen" series.

[4] His first wife was actress Eugenia Giurgiu, whom he married in 1961; two years later, the two had a son, Sebastian Jr,[5][6] but they divorced in 1973.

[6] Papaiani died at his home in Bucharest at age 80, after suffering a stroke, and was buried in the city's Bellu Cemetery.