Jiří Sovák

Jiří Sovák (27 December 1920 – 6 September 2000) was a Czech actor, best-known for his comedy roles.

Life and theatre career

Jiří Sovák was born Jiří Schmitzer to the family of an innkeeper in Prague. Jiří Sovák, Slávka Kopecká: Sovák podruhé, [ISBN 80-900776-4-1] Cs icon] In 1941 he graduated from Prague State Conservatory where he had been studying drama. His father did not want him to be an actor, so he worked as a clerk and played in an amateur theatre group (today "Divadlo Rokoko"). In 1943 he got his first professional engagement with "Horácké divadlo" in Třebíč. During military service he met Miroslav Horníček and made friends for life. In 1947 he went to Prague where he played in the E.F. Burian Theatre (1947–1952), Vinohrady Theatre (1952–1966) and National Theatre (1966–1983). He retired on 31 March 1983. Czech and Slovak Movie Database, [http://www.csfd.cz/herec/944-sovak-jiri/] Cs icon] In 2000 he fell down on his terrace, broke his hip and got an embolism during his operation. Marečku, podejte mi pero – little-known info about the movie [http://www.ahaonline.cz/cz/zajimavosti/21587/comment?module=phorum&action=new] Cs icon] He died in a Prague hospital before he was 80. He is buried in Stříbrná Skalice, in a private grave closed to the public. source: Super tabloid paper [http://www.rozkvetlekonvalinky.estranky.cz/clanky/patri-k-sobe/jiri-sovak---jiri-schmitze] Cs icon]

Film and TV career

Jiří Sovák first appeared in a movie in 1942 and then played a lot of minor roles. He played his first main character in "Dařbuján a Pandrhola" (dir. Martin Frič, 1959) and created a lot of expressive roles in the 1960s, '70s and '80s. Among his best-known roles are Antonín Skopec in "Světáci" (Dandies; dir. Zdeněk Podskalský) and Jiří Kroupa in "Marečku, podejte mi pero!" (Mark, Fetch Me a Pen!; dir. Oldřich Lipský, 1976). He also played in crazy comedies such as "Pane, vy jste vdova" (You Are a Widow, Sir!; dir. Václav Vorlíček, 1970) or "Což takhle dát si špenát" (What About Having Some Spinach; dir. Václav Vorlíček, 1977), sci-fi comedies such as "Zabil jsem Einsteina, pánové" (I Killed Einstein, Sirs; dir. Oldřich Lipský, 1970) or "Zítra vstanu a opařím se čajem" (Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea ; dir. Jindřich Polák, 1977), and movies for children, e.g. "Ať žijí duchové" (Long Live Ghosts; dir. Oldřich Lipský, 1977). In 1990s he played old men such as the cabinet maker Růžička in "Kolja" (dir. Jan Svěrák, 1996) – Růžička had a dream about nurses clinking keys in the square to overthrow the communist regime – and the dream comes true in the Velvet Revolution. The Internet Movie Database, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0816332/filmotype] En icon] [Kolya synopsis at Hollywood.com [http://www.hollywood.com/movie/Kolya/177964] En icon] Jiří Sovák, Slávka Kopecká: Sovák potřetí, [ISBN 80-85910-13-6] , p.139 Cs icon] Sovák´s last movie role was in "Návrat ztraceného ráje" (Lost Paradise Recovered; dir. Vojtěch Jasný, 1999).

Sovák entered Czechoslovak television as soon as it came into existence in 1953. He played in a lot of TV films and serials and made unforgettable roles in microcomedies such as "Uspořená libra" (A Pound on Demand, based on a play by Sean O'Casey; Vladimír Svitáček, 1963), and "Bohouš" (1968); and children's TV serials such as "Pan Tau", "Arabela", and "Létající Čestmír". His best roles were in the serials "Byli jednou dva písaři" (with Horníček; based on "Bouvard et Pécuchet" by Gustave Flaubert; dir. Ján Roháč, 1972) and "Chalupáři" (Cottagers; 1975).

Private life

He married three times. His son from his first marriage Jiří Schmitzer (born in 1949) became a famous actor and folk singer. He had a cold relationship with his son (with whom he had appeared in movies for many times) after he left his wife and even colder when Schmitzer caused a fatal car accident in 1988. He changed his name to Sovák as a protest against Nazi Germany.

References