Miloš Kopecký
Encyclopedia
Miloš Kopecký was a Czech
actor, active mainly in the second half of the 20th century.
in Bystřice u Benešova. Following the liberation he took up a career as a professional actor in avant-garde
studio Větrník (from 1945 to 1946), and after that he was engaged in many Prague theatre scenes. A few years later he began to appear also in films, and gradually became one of the most popular actors in Czechoslovakia
. In the middle of 80´s Kopecký acted in a politically biased documentary film about emigrants, but on the other side he presented very critical speech against communist régime in May, 1987, at the IV. Congress of Dramatic Artists. He was married five times, his daughter Jana from his first marriage with Czech actress Stella Zázvorková
committed demonstrative suicide
. Kopecký suffered for many years from manic-depressive disease, partially caused by the death of his mother, who perished in the concentration camp.
A turning point in his career came in 1965, when the director František Pavlíček engaged him to the Divadlo na Vinohradech, to which he remained faithful throughout the rest of his life. Nonetheless, he acted as a guest also in other theatres, e.g. in Semafor Theatre, or in Divadlo ABC (ABC Theatre), where he cooperated with another important actor of that time, Jan Werich
. Among his most valued roles belong the character of Paolino from Pirandello´s
play The Man, The Beast and The Virtue, Professor Higgins from G. B. Shaw's Pygmalion
, Harpagon from Molière
´s play The Miser
and many others.
(1964), the chief of the Czech water-goblins in Jak utopit dr. Mráčka aneb Konec vodníků v Čechách (1974), villainous count von Kratzmar in Adéla ještě nevečeřela (1977) and many others. He is probably most known up to now as dr. Štrosmajer from the Czech television series Nemocnice na kraji města.
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...
actor, active mainly in the second half of the 20th century.
Biography
He was born into the family of a furrier, his mother was a hatter. Since his childhood he was involved with the theatre and music, and after some unsuccessful attempts to study he chose the career of an actor. He began to appear on the stage in 1939, as a member of an amateur elocutionary group. During the German occupation he acted with the collective of young artists Tvar (The Shape). On the end of the World War 2 he was as a Jew interned in the labor campLabor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
in Bystřice u Benešova. Following the liberation he took up a career as a professional actor in avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
studio Větrník (from 1945 to 1946), and after that he was engaged in many Prague theatre scenes. A few years later he began to appear also in films, and gradually became one of the most popular actors in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. In the middle of 80´s Kopecký acted in a politically biased documentary film about emigrants, but on the other side he presented very critical speech against communist régime in May, 1987, at the IV. Congress of Dramatic Artists. He was married five times, his daughter Jana from his first marriage with Czech actress Stella Zázvorková
Stella Zázvorková
Stella Zázvorková was a Czech actress from Prague.Zázvorková, an alumnus of Prague's theatre school of E.F. Burian, appeared in several hundred films and series. She was married to the actor Miloš Kopecký...
committed demonstrative suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Kopecký suffered for many years from manic-depressive disease, partially caused by the death of his mother, who perished in the concentration camp.
Theatre
Following his engagement in Větrník he appeared in various theatre scenes:- Divadlo satiry (1946–47)
- Studio Národního divadla (1947–48)
- Realistické divadlo (1948–49)
- Národní divadloNational Theatre (Prague)The National Theatre in Prague is known as the Alma Mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art.The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition which was created and maintained by the most distinguished...
(1949–50) - Městská divadla pražská (1950–51)
- Armádní umělecké divadlo (1951–54)
- Divadlo estrády a satiry (1954–55)
- Divadlo satiry (1955–59)
- Divadlo ABC (1957–60)
- Hudební divadlo v KarlínKarlínKarlín is a cadastral area of Prague, part of Prague 8 municipal district, former independent town . It is bordered by the river Vltava and Holešovice to the north, Vítkov hill and Žižkov to the south, New Town to the west and Libeň to the east.-History:The building of the Karlín district began in...
ě (1964–65)
A turning point in his career came in 1965, when the director František Pavlíček engaged him to the Divadlo na Vinohradech, to which he remained faithful throughout the rest of his life. Nonetheless, he acted as a guest also in other theatres, e.g. in Semafor Theatre, or in Divadlo ABC (ABC Theatre), where he cooperated with another important actor of that time, 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...
. Among his most valued roles belong the character of Paolino from Pirandello´s
Luigi Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, and short story writer awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934, for his "bold and brilliant renovation of the drama and the stage." Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written...
play The Man, The Beast and The Virtue, Professor Higgins from G. B. Shaw's Pygmalion
Pygmalion (play)
Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of...
, Harpagon from Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
´s play The Miser
The Miser
L'Avare is a 1668 five-act satirical comedy by French playwright Molière. Its title is usually translated as The Miser when the play is performed in English....
and many others.
Film
Kopecký was passionate admirer of film from his early age, and he began to appear also on the silver screen shortly after the war. His first minor role was in historic film Jan Roháč z Dubé (1947), but he soon began to act more important characters. During his career he acted mainly the negative roles of bon vivants, elegant intriguers, traitors, debauchees, lechers and villains, which he managed to depict with the great elegance and esprit. Among his most valued roles in film belong e.g. chaplain Katz in Good Soldier Švejk (1956), Horác Badman alias Hogofogo in Limonádový JoeLemonade Joe
Lemonade Joe , is a 1964 Czechoslovak comedy film, directed by Oldřich Lipský and written by Jiří Brdečka, based on his own novel and theatre play. The film, a parody of old-time westerns, became a cult classic in Czechoslovakia, and apparently Henry Fonda was amongst its foreign admirers...
(1964), the chief of the Czech water-goblins in Jak utopit dr. Mráčka aneb Konec vodníků v Čechách (1974), villainous count von Kratzmar in Adéla ještě nevečeřela (1977) and many others. He is probably most known up to now as dr. Štrosmajer from the Czech television series Nemocnice na kraji města.
Filmography
- 1952 Pyšná princezna
- 1954 Cirkus bude
- 1954 Nejlepší člověk
- 1954 Stříbrný vítr
- 1955 Byl jednou jeden král
- 1955 Jan Žižka
- 1955 Psohlavci
- 1956 Poslušně hlásím (Dobrý voják Švejk)
- 1957 Dědeček automobil
- 1958 Hvězda jede na jih
- 1958 O věcech nadpřirozených
- 1961 Baron PrášilThe Fabulous Baron MunchausenThe Fabulous Baron Munchausen is a 1961 tinted Czechoslovak romantic adventure film directed by Karel Zeman, based on the tales about Baron Münchhausen. The film combines animation with live-action and is heavily stylised.-Plot:...
- 1961 Muž z prvního století
- 1962 Kočár nejsvětější svátosti (TV)
- 1963 Král Králů
- 1964 Limonádový Joe aneb Koňská opera
- 1965 Bílá paní
- 1967 Přísně tajné premiéryPřísně tajné premiéry-Cast:* Jirina Bohdalová as Lida* Lubomír Kostelka* Jirí Sovák as Hudec* Cestmír Randa as Jech* Vladimír Mensík as Matysek* Jirí Nemecek as Klikac* Milos Kopecký as Müller...
- 1969 Já, truchlivý bůhJá, truchlivý bůhJá, truchlivý bůh is a Czech comedy film directed by Antonín Kachlík. It was released in 1969.-Cast:* Milos Kopecký - Adolf* Hana Lelitová - Janicka Malátová* Pavel Landovský - Apostol Certikidis* Jirina Jirásková - Mrs. Stenclová...
- 1969 Slasti Otce vlasti
- 1969 Trapasy (TV)
- 1970 Svatby pana Voka
- 1970 Zabil jsem Einsteina, pánové!
- 1970 Pane, vy jste vdova!
- 1971 Alfons Karásek v lázních (TV)
- 1971 Hry lásky šálivéThe Tricky Game of LoveThe Tricky Game of Love is a Czech comedy film directed by Jirí Krejcík. It was released in 1971.-Cast:* Miloš Kopecký - Francesco Vergellesi * Božidara Turzonovová - Sandra Vergellesi...
- 1971 Slaměný klobouk
- 1971 Vražda v hotelu Excelsior
- 1971 Sedm žen Alfonse Karáska (TV)
- 1972 Lakomec (TV)
- 1973 Noc na Karlštejně
- 1974 Jak utopit doktora Mráčka aneb Konec vodníků v Čechách
- 1976 To byla svatba, strýčku!
- 1976 Zítra to roztočíme, drahoušku…
- 1977 "Nemocnice na kraji města"
- 1977 Adéla ještě nevečeřela
- 1979 Božská Ema
- 1979 Causa králík
- 1979 Já už budu hodný, dědečku!
- 1981 Křtiny
- 1981 Tajemství hradu v Karpatech
- 1982 Srdečný pozdrav ze zeměkoule
- 1983 Anděl s ďáblem v těle
- 1983 Tři veteráni
- 1984 "Bambinot"
- 1984 Prodloužený čas
- 1985 Čarovné dědictví
- 1986 Zkrocení zlého muže
- 1987 Poslední leč Alfonse Karáska (TV)
- 1988 Anděl svádí ďábla
- 1989 Utopím si ho sám (TV)
- 1993 "Uctivá poklona, pane Kohn"
Further reading
- Co za to stálo (1993, with Milan Hein)
- Já: soukromý život Miloše Kopeckého (1996, with Pavel Kovář)
- Miloš Kopecký: důvěrný portrét (1999, Pavel Kovář in cooperation with Jana Kopecká)