Vladimír Šmeral (16 October 1903, in Drásov – 15 March 1982, in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

) was a Czech actor.

Life

Šmeral started acting in Zemské divadlo in Brno. He moved to Prague and acted in

Liberated Theatre Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

, 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 Wroclaw. 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 Vinohrady Theatre ( cs, Divadlo na Vinohradech) is a theatre in Vinohrady, Prague. Construction began on February 27, 1905. It served as the Theatre of the Czechoslovak Army from autumn 1950 to January 1966. It contains a curtain painted by Vla ...

and taught at DAMU. He is buried at the

Vyšehrad Cemetery Vyšehrad (Czech for "upper castle") is a historic fort in Prague, Czech Republic, just over 3 km southeast of Prague Castle, on the east bank of the Vltava River. It was probably built in the 10th century. Inside the fort are the Basilica ...

Selected filmography

* ''

Skeleton on Horseback ''Skeleton on Horseback'' aka ''The White Disease'' ( cs, Bílá nemoc) is a 1937 Czechoslovak drama film directed by and starring Hugo Haas. It revolves around an infectious disease which breaks out during a war. It is based on the play ''The Wh ...

'' (1937) * '' The World Is Ours'' (1937) * ''

Jan Cimbura ''Jan Cimbura'' is a 1941 Czech drama film directed by František Čáp and starring Gustav Nezval, Jiřina Štěpničková and Jaroslav Průcha.Kubátová & Láníček p.26 Main cast * Gustav Nezval as Jan Cimbura * Jiřina Štěpničková as Ma ...

'' (1941) * ''

Mist on the Moors ''Mist on the Moors'' ( cs, Mlhy na Blatech) is a 1943 Czech drama film directed by František Čáp based on a novel by Karel Klostermann. Cast *Zdeněk Štěpánek as Farmer Josef Potužák *Marie Blažková as Potužák's wife *Vladimír Sala� ...

'' (1943) * ''

Rozina, the Love Child ''Rozina, the Love Child'' ( cs, Rozina sebranec) is a 1945 Czechoslovak drama film directed by Otakar Vávra. The film starred Marie Glázrová. Cast * Marie Glázrová as Rozina * Zdeněk Štěpánek as Prior Antonín * Ladislav Boháč as Cra ...

'' (1945) * '' Čapek's Tales'' (1947) * ''

Silent Barricade ''Silent Barricade'' ( cs, Němá barikáda) is a 1949 Czechoslovak war film about the Prague uprising at the end of World War II directed by Otakar Vávra. Cast * Jaroslav Průcha as Hošek * Barbara Drapińska as Halina * Jaroslav Marvan a ...

'' (1949) * ''

Hotel for Strangers ''Hotel for Strangers'' ( cs, Hotel pro cizince) is a 1967 Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Antonín Máša. It was entered into the 1967 Cannes Film Festival. The film reconstructs the last days of murdered young poet Petr Hudec (Petr Čepe ...

'' (1966) * ''

The End of Agent W4C ''Konec agenta W4C prostřednictvím psa pana Foustky'' ( en, The End of Agent W4C) is a 1967 Czechoslovak film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre. Directed by Václav Vorlíček based on the story by Oldřich Daněk. Runtime 87 min. Mon ...

'' (1967) * '' The Most Beautiful Age'' (1968) * ''

Larks on a String ''Larks on a String'' ( cs, Skřivánci na niti) is a 1969 Czech film directed by Jiří Menzel. The film was banned by the Czechoslovak government, but was later released in 1990 after the fall of the Communist regime. It tells the stories of vari ...

'' (1970) * ''

Witchhammer ''Witchhammer'' ( cs, Kladivo na čarodějnice) is a 1970 Czechoslovak drama film directed by Otakar Vávra and starring Elo Romančík. Based on the novel ''Kladivo na čarodějnice'' by Václav Kaplický, ''Witchhammer'' relates the story of the ...

'' (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