Vladimír Pucholt (born 30 December 1942) is a Czech-Canadian physician and former actor. His specialization are

pediatrics Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many o ...

and

neonatology Neonatology is a subspecialty of pediatrics that consists of the medical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn. It is a hospital-based specialty and is usually practised in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Th ...

Life

Vladimír Pucholt was born in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

in the

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially-annexation, annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German occupation of the Czech lands. The protector ...

(present-day

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

). His father was an attorney, who after the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-backed communist putch in 1948 refused to serve the regime. So his son, Vladimír, was not allowed to study medicine, had to spend a year in a factory and was allowed to the

Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Department of Dramatic Theatre (, abbreviated DAMU) is one of three departments at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (alongside the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, ...

(DAMU) to formally qualify as an actor. After first roles as a child film actor, beginning at the age of nine and acting in supporting roles in a few films he gained fame as ''Čenda'' in

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech Americans, Czech-American film film director, director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the Uni ...

's '' Black Peter''. His next roles as ''Filip'' in Rychman's '' Starci na chmelu'' and as ''Milda'' in Forman's ''

Loves of a Blonde ''Loves of a Blonde'' (), also known as ''A Blonde in Love'', is a 1965 Czechoslovak romantic comedy-drama film directed by Miloš Forman that follows a young woman, Andula, who has a routine job in a shoe factory in provincial Czechoslovakia, an ...

'', with quite a some success abroad, together with Hana Brejchová as ''Andula'', turned him, and her, to one of the most famous young actors in Czechoslovakia. After graduating DAMU in 1965, he joined the newly founded '' The Drama Club / Činoherní klub'' in Prague.

Jan Kačer Jan Kačer (3 October 1936 – 24 May 2024) was a Czech actor and theatrical director. He appeared in more than sixty films from 1960 onwards. Life and career Kačer studied theatrical directing at DAMU. He was an actor and a director in The D ...

, who searched for suitable members for the ensemble, said of the selection of actors: ''"I wanted them to be people who hated totalitarianism, while full with imagination, creativity, and freedom."'' In 1967 at the height of his popularity he decided to emigrate to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to study medicine. He was admitted to study at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

Medical School A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

thanks to a recommendation letter by the film director

Lindsay Anderson Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered fo ...

. The writer

John Le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. A "sophist ...

lent him money for tuition. He graduated with a degree in medicine, and with the gold medal, from Sheffield in 1974. In 1981 he, his wife Rosemary and their young daughter Camilla and son Lindsay (six and four back then), moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada, where, after a stopover year in North Bay, Pucholt worked as a paediatrician in Toronto hospital and in his own practice, together with his wife, until their retirement. He returned to acting only in

Vojtěch Jasný Vojtěch Jasný (30 November 1925 – 15 November 2019) was a Czech director, screenwriter and professor who has written and directed over 50 films. Jasný made feature and documentary films in Czechoslovakia, Germany, Austria, USA & Canada, and ...

's film ''Return of the Paradise Lost / Návrat ztraceného ráje'' (1999). :''"I have no intention of returning to acting. I did this because Vojtěch's story touched my heart. I wanted to explain something with it."'' ::– Vladimír Pucholt, 1999, in an interview with reflex.cz He sharply observes the situation, totalitarian heritage, in his first homeland: :''"We owe a few people a few slaps and those few slaps didn't fall. We owe justice.
... Decent people voluntarily give up governing in favor of crooks.
... the dirty money that Mr.

Klaus Klaus is a German, Dutch and Scandinavian given name and surname. It originated as a short form of Nikolaus, a German form of the Greek given name Nicholas. Notable persons whose family name is Klaus * Billy Klaus (1928–2006), American base ...

said he didn't know about is still here. It's imprinted on the bodies of dirty people. It should have been peeled off, because it didn't belong to them, and given to people who would use it for good things.
... There are a lot of people who had to leave their homelands and look for new homes. If you look at the twentieth century, there is nothing crueler and more deadly in history, because we have much better things to fight about.
... The idea of one of those crooks going to ask for forgiveness still haunts my mind. I can't remember anyone doing that. I don't know anyone like that either. The guilty prefer to say that "mistakes were made" or "those were the times" and many other sayings behind which they hide their personal guilt."'' ::– Vladimír Pucholt, 1999, in an interview with reflex.cz

Filmography

;Czechoslovakia * 1952 ''Konec strašidel'' * 1955 ''Hastrman'' (student short film) * 1955 ''Návštěva z oblak'' * 1955 ''Punťa a čtyřlístek'' * 1955 ''Vzorný kinematograf Haška Jaroslava'' * 1956 ''Dobrodružství Toma Sawyera'' (TV) * 1956 ''Nezlob, Kristino'' * 1957 ''Brankář bydlí v naší ulici'' * 1958 ''Kasaři'' * 1958 ''O věcech nadpřirozených'' * 1960 ''Žalobníci'' * 1961 ''Malý Bobeš'' * 1962 ''Měšťáci'' (TV) * 1962 ''Oranžový měsíc'' * 1962 ''Pozdní láska'' (TV) * 1962 ''Šestý do party'' (TV) * 1963 ''Černý Petr / Black Peter'', director

, as ''Čenda'' * 1963 ''Kdyby ty muziky nebyly'' (part of ''Konkurs''), director Miloš Forman * 1964 ''Démanty noci / Diamonds of the Night'', director

Jan Němec Jan Němec (12 July 1936 – 18 March 2016) was a Czech filmmaker whose most important work dates from the 1960s. Film historian Peter Hames has described him as the "enfant terrible of the Czech New Wave." Biography Němec's career as a fi ...

, voice ''Druhý'' (actor Antonín Kumbera) * 1964 ''První den mého syna'', director

Ladislav Helge Ladislav Helge (21 August 1927 – 31 January 2016) was a Czech film director and screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known ...

, as ''Žluťásek / Jiří Kouba'' * 1964 ''Starci na chmelu / The Hop Pickers'', director Ladislav Rychman, as ''Filip'' * 1964 ''Konkurs / Audition'', director Miloš Forman, as ''Vláďa'' (segment ''Kdyby ty muziky nebyly'') * 1965 ''Souhvězdí Panny / Constellation of the Virgo'', director

Zbyněk Brynych Zbyněk Brynych (13 June 1927 – 24 August 1995) was a Czech film director and screenwriter. He directed 30 films between 1951 and 1985. Selected filmography Czechoslovakia * '' Suburban Romance'' (1958) * ''Five in a Million'' (1959) * '' ...

, as ''Veleba'' * 1965 ''Lásky jedné plavovlásky /

'', director Miloš Forman, as ''Milda'' * 1967 ''Svatba jako řemen'', director

Jiří Krejčík Jiří Krejčík (; 26 June 1918 – 8 August 2013) was a Czech film director, screenwriter and actor. Born in 1918 in Prague, he began his film career as an extra for Barrandov Studios, during World War II. He then began creating short films an ...

, as ''junior policeman'' ; West Germany * 1970 '' Malatesta'', director

Peter Lilienthal Peter Lilienthal (27 November 1927 – 28 April 2023) was a German film director, writer, actor and producer. He is most associated with being a liberal director of New German Cinema in the 1970s. Early life As a child, in 1939, Lilienthal emig ...

, as ''Gardstein'',

German Film Award The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. Besides being ...

/ Best Supporting Actor 1970 ; Czech Republic * 1999 ''Návrat ztraceného ráje'', director

* 2014 ''V klidu a naplno'', director Josef Abrhám (jun)

Theater

Činoherní klub – actor in the productionson the Činoherní klub web cinoherniklub.cz: * (cs)
Nikolaj Vasiljevič Gogol REVIZOR
', premiere 23 May 1967 * (cs)
Ladislav Smoček PODIVNÉ ODPOLEDNE DR. ZVONKA BURKEHO
', premiere 9 March 1966 * (cs)
Albert Camus SPRAVEDLIVÍ
', premiere 20 November 1965 * (cs)
Sean O’Casey PENSION PRO SVOBODNÉ PÁNY
', premiere 19 June 1965 * 1967 Nikolaj Vasiljevič Gogol: ''Revizor /

The Government Inspector ''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' (, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the play was revised for an 1842 edition. Base ...

'', direction

, as ''Chlestakov, official from Petersburg'' * 1966 Ladislav Smoček: '' Podivné odpoledne dr. Zvonka Burkeho / Dr. Burke's Strange Afternoon'' (in one evening with ''Bludiště / The Maze''), direction Ladislav Smoček, as ''Burke'' * 1965

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

: ''Spravedliví / The Just'', direction Jan Kačer, as ''Alexej Vojnov'' * 1965

Sean O'Casey Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

: ''Pension pro svobodné pány / Pension for Single Gentlemen'', direction

, as ''Halibud''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pucholt, Vladimír 1942 births Living people Male actors from Prague Czech male film actors Czechoslovak film actors 20th-century Czech actors Czech emigrants to the United Kingdom Czech emigrants to Canada British paediatricians Canadian pediatricians 20th-century Canadian physicians 21st-century Canadian physicians Alumni of the University of Sheffield