Vladimír Šmeral (16 October 1903 – 15 March 1982) was a Czech actor.
Life
Šmeral was born on 16 October 1903 in
Drásov,
Moravia
Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The medieval and early ...
,
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
. He started acting in Zemské divadlo in
Brno
Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
. He moved to
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 ...
and acted in
Liberated Theatre,
E. F. Burian's theatre and Divadlo na Poříčí. His wife was Jewish, but he refused to divorce her in order to protect her during the World War II. He had an affair with his theatre co-star
Adina Mandlová
Adina Mandlová (28 January 1910 – 16 June 1991) was a Czech stage and film actress. She was one of the leading stars of 1930s and 1940s Czech cinema. She was involved in a number of scandals and love affairs.
Life and career
Early days
Sh ...
, who became pregnant.
In 1944 he was sent to a concentration camp in
Wrocław
Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...
. Mandlová was sending him packages with food. In December 1944 she suffered a miscarriage. Šméral managed to escape from the camp and Mandlová help to hide him in a hospital. After the war he was active in many National Front organizations, as a member of the
Czechoslovak Communist Party. He became an actor in
Vinohrady Theatre and taught at 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, ...
.
He died on 15 March 1982 in Prague. He is buried at the
Vyšehrad Cemetery.
Selected filmography
* ''
Skeleton on Horseback'' (1937)
* ''
The World Is Ours'' (1937)
* ''
Jan Cimbura'' (1941)
* ''
Mist on the Moors'' (1943)
* ''
Rozina, the Love Child'' (1945)
* ''
The Heroes Are Silent'' (1946)
* ''
Čapek's Tales'' (1947)
* ''
Silent Barricade'' (1949)
*''
The Great Opportunity'' (1950)
* ''
Hotel for Strangers'' (1966)
* ''
The End of Agent W4C'' (1967)
* ''
Larks on a String'' (1970)
* ''
Witchhammer'' (1970)
* ''
Všichni proti všem'' (1977)
References
External links
*
Vladimír Šmeral in Czech National Theatre Archive
(in Czech)
1903 births
1982 deaths
People from Brno-Country District
People from the Margraviate of Moravia
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia politicians
Czech male film actors
Czech male stage actors
20th-century Czech male actors
Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery
{{CzechRepublic-actor-stub