Spejbl a Hurvínek
Encyclopedia
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
comedy duo. The characters were conceived by Czech puppeteer
Puppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or...
prof. Josef Skupa
Josef Skupa
Josef Skupa was a Czech puppeteer.Studied Faculty of Applied Arts in Prague. Worked as stage designer in the Plzeň City Theatre, also as designer in Skoda Engineering Works....
. Throughout the years these two characters have gained international success. They have released many comedy albums, and had their own television show. Each album usually contains one story, about dim-witted father Josef Spejbl, and his son Hurvínek, who live with another family in the same apartment. Later on, they were accompanied by other family, Ms. Kateřina and her daughter Mánička. All four live with the dog Žeryk who has the ability to bark words. Though the comedy is aimed at children, there are several inside jokes that are meant for adults. The duo has their own theatre 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...
, in the district of Dejvice
Dejvice
Dejvice is a historical community, a municipal quarter of the Prague 6 district of Prague, Czech Republic. Its history can be traced back to the late Roman era. Dejvice is known for its appeal to the upper middle class, and as a university district...
. Besides puppet performances, several stories of Spejbl and Hurvínek were recorded, and one series of so called večerníček
Vecernícek
Večerníček is a television programme for the children in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia . It has been regularly broadcast for over 40 years...
(good-night stories).
History
First of the puppets, invented by Josef Skupa in 1920, was Spejbl – a retrograde teacher, barely bearing pace with things around him. Skupa then performed with him in cabaretCabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
s in Western Bohemia. In 1926, he brought to life his son, Hurvínek – sometimes lazy, sometimes hyper-reactive child. In that time Skupa had handled to perform with both of them, even voice over for them, using his typical high-pitch voice for Hurvínek.
The success Skupa had had with both of the puppets was enough for him to establish a theatre dedicated to them, in 1930. Skupa lend over the puppeteering to other people in the theatre, and concentrated himself for providing voices and writing new plots for the two of them. The two characters has entertained both children and adults for decades. Later on, Ms. Kateřina and Mánička, along with Žeryk were introduced, making it more plausible for the most bizarre and entertaining adventures of all of them to experience in their stories.
After the Skupa's death, the next voice actor to voice the two puppets was Miloš Kirschner. Voices for Mánička and Ms. Kateřina were provided by his wife, Helena Štáchová. The third voice for Velma who took under after Mr Kirschner's death is Martin Klásek.