Jirí Voskovec
Encyclopedia
Jiří Voskovec (ˈjɪr̝iː ˈvoskovɛts) (June 19, 1905 in Sázava (Benešov District)
, Bohemia
as Jiří Wachsmann – July 1, 1981 in Pearblossom, California
, U.S.
as George Voskovec) was a Czech
-American actor, playwright, dramatist, director, translator, and poet. Throughout most of his career he was associated with Jan Werich
.
He attended school in Prague
and in Dijon
, France
, and became a naturalized
citizen of the United States in 1955.
(Liberated Theater), which had been created two years earlier by members of the avant-garde Devětsil group, Jiří Frejka and Jindřich Honzl. After disagreements led Frejka to leave the group in 1927, Honzl asked Voskovec and Werich, 22-year-old law students who had created a sensation with their Vest Pocket Review that year, to join the theatre. When Honzl, who had directed their productions, left in 1929, Voskovec and Werich took control of the theatre and changed its name to the Liberated Theatre of Voskovec and Werich, assuming all responsibility for direction, writing, librettos, and other artistic decisions. The Liberated became a center for Czech clownery, a reaction to contemporary political and societal problems. Their performances began with the primary goal of evoking laughter through fantasy, but with the changing political situation in Germany their work became increasingly anti-fascist, which led to the closure of the Liberated Theater after the Nazi occupation in 1938.
Both Voskovec and Werich fled to the United States in early 1939. For the rest of his life, Voskovec lived primarily in the United States
, interrupted only by brief stays in Czechoslovakia in 1948 and in France from 1948 to 1950. Until the mid-1940s Voskovec worked and wrote mostly with Jan Werich, but after Werich's return to Communist Czechoslovakia, they met only a few more times. After his return to the United States in 1950, Voskovec was unjustly interned at Ellis Island
for eleven months for his alleged sympathy for Communism.
Although Voskovec lived in three countries and his maternal grandmother was French
, he always maintained that "I am a born and bred Czech." In 1955, he became an American citizen. As a result of his naturalization, he is sometimes referred to as "George Voskovec".
Voskovec acted in 72 movies. Only the first five of these were Czech; the rest were American or British. His most famous American movie was 12 Angry Men with Henry Fonda
- where being a very recognisable European immigrant to the US was central his role. His most famous British film was The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
. His last movie was Barbarosa
, with Willie Nelson
and Gary Busey
. In 1975, he published the Czech spoken LP record
"Relativně vzato", where he reflects on his life and world in general. A sleeve note for this LP was written by another notable Czech émigré, author Josef Škvorecký
. Voskovec also appeared in the 1978 TV-film The Nativity
and the 1980 film Somewhere in Time
, starring Christopher Reeve
and Jane Seymour
.
George Voskovec died in 1981 of a heart attack in Pearblossom, California
at the age of 76. He is survived by two daughters, Victoria and Georgeanne.
Sázava (Benešov District)
Sázava is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 3,800 inhabitants.Villages Bělokozly, Černé Budy, Čeřenice and Dojetřice are administrative parts of Sázava....
, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
as Jiří Wachsmann – July 1, 1981 in Pearblossom, California
Pearblossom, California
Pearblossom is an unincorporated town located in Los Angeles County, California. The town has a population of 2,435. The ZIP Code is 93553 and the community is inside area code 661.-Geography:...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as George Voskovec) was a Czech
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
-American actor, playwright, dramatist, director, translator, and poet. Throughout most of his career he was associated with Jan Werich
Jan Werich
Jan Werich was a Czech actor, playwright and writer.-Life:Between 1916 to 1924 he attended "reálné gymnasium" in Křemencová Street in Prague...
.
He attended school in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and in Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and became a naturalized
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
citizen of the United States in 1955.
Biography
In 1927, together with Werich, he joined the Osvobozené divadloOsvobozené divadlo
Osvobozené divadlo was a Prague avant-garde theatre scene founded as the theatre section of an association of Czech avant-garde artists Devětsil in 1926. The theatre's beginnings were strongly influenced by Dadaism and Futurism, later by Poetism...
(Liberated Theater), which had been created two years earlier by members of the avant-garde Devětsil group, Jiří Frejka and Jindřich Honzl. After disagreements led Frejka to leave the group in 1927, Honzl asked Voskovec and Werich, 22-year-old law students who had created a sensation with their Vest Pocket Review that year, to join the theatre. When Honzl, who had directed their productions, left in 1929, Voskovec and Werich took control of the theatre and changed its name to the Liberated Theatre of Voskovec and Werich, assuming all responsibility for direction, writing, librettos, and other artistic decisions. The Liberated became a center for Czech clownery, a reaction to contemporary political and societal problems. Their performances began with the primary goal of evoking laughter through fantasy, but with the changing political situation in Germany their work became increasingly anti-fascist, which led to the closure of the Liberated Theater after the Nazi occupation in 1938.
Both Voskovec and Werich fled to the United States in early 1939. For the rest of his life, Voskovec lived primarily in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, interrupted only by brief stays in Czechoslovakia in 1948 and in France from 1948 to 1950. Until the mid-1940s Voskovec worked and wrote mostly with Jan Werich, but after Werich's return to Communist Czechoslovakia, they met only a few more times. After his return to the United States in 1950, Voskovec was unjustly interned at Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
for eleven months for his alleged sympathy for Communism.
Although Voskovec lived in three countries and his maternal grandmother was French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, he always maintained that "I am a born and bred Czech." In 1955, he became an American citizen. As a result of his naturalization, he is sometimes referred to as "George Voskovec".
Voskovec acted in 72 movies. Only the first five of these were Czech; the rest were American or British. His most famous American movie was 12 Angry Men with Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
- where being a very recognisable European immigrant to the US was central his role. His most famous British film was The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold , by John le Carré, is a British Cold War spy novel that became famous for its portrayal of Western espionage methods as being morally inconsistent with Western democracy and values. The novel received critical acclaim at the time of its publication and became an...
. His last movie was Barbarosa
Barbarosa
Barbarosa is a 1982 motion picture starring Willie Nelson and Gary Busey, about a young cowboy on the run from the law who hooks up with a famous bandito and learns about life from him...
, with Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
and Gary Busey
Gary Busey
William Gary Busey , best known as Gary Busey, is an American film and stage actor and artist. He has appeared in a large variety of films, as well as making regular appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage...
. In 1975, he published the Czech spoken LP record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
"Relativně vzato", where he reflects on his life and world in general. A sleeve note for this LP was written by another notable Czech émigré, author Josef Škvorecký
Josef Škvorecký
Josef Škvorecký, CM is a leading contemporary Czech writer and publisher who has spent much of his life in Canada. He and his wife were long-time supporters of Czech dissident writers before the fall of communism in that country...
. Voskovec also appeared in the 1978 TV-film The Nativity
The Nativity (television film)
The Nativity is a 98-minute long 1978 television film set around the Nativity of Jesus and based on the accounts in the canonical Gospels of Matthew and Luke, in the apocryphal gospels of Pseudo-Matthew and James, and in the Golden Legend. It was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski, written by Morton S...
and the 1980 film Somewhere in Time
Somewhere in Time (film)
Somewhere in Time is a 1980 romantic science fiction film directed by Jeannot Szwarc. It is a film adaptation of the 1975 novel Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson, who also wrote the screenplay...
, starring Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
and Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (actress)
Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
.
George Voskovec died in 1981 of a heart attack in Pearblossom, California
Pearblossom, California
Pearblossom is an unincorporated town located in Los Angeles County, California. The town has a population of 2,435. The ZIP Code is 93553 and the community is inside area code 661.-Geography:...
at the age of 76. He is survived by two daughters, Victoria and Georgeanne.
External links
- Voskovec and Werich on Radio Praha
- Between Art and Life: Voskovec and Werich and The Affair of 1934 – by Holly Raynard, University of California, Los Angeles
- Czech music in exile: Jaroslav Jezek – History of collaborative work of with Jaroslav JezekJaroslav JežekJaroslav Ježek was a Czech composer, pianist and conductor, author of jazz, classical, incidental and film music.- Life :...
- Commemorative coins in honor of Jan Werich and Jiri Voskovec