Václav Cafourek (4 April 1911, 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 ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

– 6 November 1976, in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

), commonly known under his

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of Václav Čtvrtek was a Czech poet and author. His most famous works include Křemílek and Vochomůrka,

Rumcajs Gallant robber Rumcajs ( cs, Loupežník Rumcajs, ), his wife Manka, and their son, little robber Cipísek are fictional characters popularized by two children's animated television series broadcast as part of the Večerníček TV program in Cz ...

, Manka and Cipísek, and

Víla Amálka Víla Amálka (''Amalka the Fairy'') is a Czechoslovak animated television series created in 1975. It was, and still regularly is, aired as part of Večerníček, a long-running evening programme aimed at children. The artwork was created by Václa ...

. He primarily wrote

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

for children, and some of his works have been adapted on the Czech children's television program

Večerníček Večerníček (meaning "little bedtime story" Czech and Slovak) is a television program for children in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It has been broadcast regularly for over 50 years. Before the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, two ...

. On 4 April 2011,

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celebrated his 100th birthday by replacing the original Google logo with a doodle celebrating his works for a day on Google Czech Republic.

Biography

Čtvrtek was born in Prague, however, he spent a part of his childhood in Jičín, the town which later became the setting for his stories and fairy tales. He studied at gymnasium (graduated in 1931) and continued his studies at the Faculty of Law of the

Charles University in Prague Charles University ( cs, Univerzita Karlova, UK; la, Universitas Carolina; german: Karls-Universität), also known as Charles University in Prague or historically as the University of Prague ( la, Universitas Pragensis, links=no), is the oldest an ...

. Menclová (2005), p. 129 Initially, he worked as a clerk, and only after the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he began contributing to the children's magazines, such as '' Mateřídouška'' and '' Ohníček''. In 1949, he was engaged as a dramaturgist in the

Czechoslovak Radio Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) ** Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

, where he participated in broadcasting for children and youth. From the late 1950s, he created scripts for cartoons produced by the Czechoslovak Television. In collaboration with illustrator

Radek Pilař Radek Pilař ( 23 April 1931 Písek - 7 February 1993) was a Czech artist active in illustrations, animation, graphics, painting, filmmaking, and film directing . He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague with Professor . He is best known ...

and voice actors Karel Höger, Vlastimil Brodský,

Jiřina Bohdalová Jiřina Bohdalová (born 3 May 1931 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic) is a Czech actress. Career She began acting in theatre and film at an early age. She was accepted to The Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts ...

and

Jiří Hrzán Jiří (; ''YI-RZHEE''), the Czech is a masculine given name, equivalent to English George, may refer to: Given name B *Jiří Antonín Benda *Jiří Baborovský * Jiří Barta * Jiří Bartoška *Jiří Bicek *Jiří Bobok *Jiří Bubla * Jiř ...

he created some of the most popular cycles of the television programme

. In his later years, Čtvrtek focused on writing. He wrote more than 70 books, mainly for children.

Works

* ''Whitehors a dítě s pihou'' (1940), * ''Veselé pohádky o pejskovi a kočičce, strýci, hrochovi, loupežnících a jiných lidech a zvířátkách'' (1947), * ''Jak pejsek a kočička pěstovali kaktus'' (1947), * ''Lev utekl'' (1948), * ''Kolotoč v Africe'' (1948), * ''Král Lávra'' (1952), * ''Honza, Čert a kašpárek'' (1956), * ''Doktor Ludva Faust a povídky'' (1956), * ''Budulínek'' (1957), * ''My tři a pes z Pětipes'' (1958), * ''Směr vesmír - start'' (1959), sci-fi literature * ''Pohádkové příběhy kominíka Valenty'' (1960), * ''Modrý kosatec'' (1961), * ''Chlapec s prakem'' (1961), sci-fi novel for youth * ''O Kubovi'' (1961), * ''Čáry máry na zdi'' (1961), * ''Patero pohádek pro závěsné loutky'' (1962), * ''Zlaté pero'' (1962), * ''Kosí strom'' (1963), * ''Zlatá lilie'' (1964), * ''Hodinky s lokomotivou'' (1965), * ''Malá letní romance'' (1966), * ''Duha a jelen Stovka'' (1966), * ''Veselí mrtví'' (1967), * ''Dobrodruzi z Devátého náměstí'' (1968), * ''Pohádková muzika'' (1968), * '' Pohádky z mechu a kapradí'' (1968), * ''Pohádkový kalendář'' (1969), * ''Pohádky ze čtyř studánek'' (1969), * ''Rumcajs'' (1970), * ''O Česílkovi, Šejtročkovi a jednom známém loupežníkovi'' (1970), * ''O makové panence a motýlu Emanuelovi'' (1970), * ''Vodník Česílko'' (1970), * ''Z nejkrásnějších pohádek V.Čtvrtka'' (1970), * ''Zpívající psíci při měsíci'' (1970), * ''Kočičiny kocourka Damiána'' (1971), * ''Jak si Rumcajs poradil s rakem'' (1971), * ''Rumcajsova loupežnická knížka'' (1971), * ''Rumcajsova vánoční pohádka'' (1972), * ''Jak čert hlídal díru do pekla'' (1973), * ''O víle Amálce a žabce Márince'' (1973), * ''Císařská vojna se sultánem a jiné pohádky na motivy lidových písní'' (1973), * ''O Rumcajsovi a loupežnickém synku Cipískovi'' (1973), * ''Malá zlá kouzelnice a drak'' (1974), * ''Pohádky z pařezové chaloupky Křemílka a Vochomůrky'' (1974), * ''Cipísek'' (1975), * ''Manka'' (1975), * ''Malá zlá kouzelnice'' (1975), * ''Neuvěřitelná příhoda práčete Leška'' (1975), originally published under the title ''Chlapec s prakem'' * ''Jak si Slávek načaroval dubového mužíčka'' (1976), Published posthumously: * ''Nezbedné pověsti pro dospělé'' (1977), * ''Cesty formana Šejtročka'' (1977), * ''Čtyři Berberkos'' (1978), * ''Franta a já'' (1978), * ''Lenka a dva kluci'' (1978), * ''Jak si Rumcajs poslal Cipíska pro pomoc'' (1978), * ''Pohádka o myslivci a víle'' (1978), * ''Jak ševci zvedli vojnu pro červenou sukni'' (1979), * ''O hajném Robátkovi a jelenu Větrníkovi'' (1979), * ''Podivuhodné vyprávění bývalého piráta Kolíska'' (1981), * ''Rumcajsova loupežnická knížka'' (2007), * ''Cipískova loupežnická knížka'' (2007), * ''Rumcajs - leporelo pro nejměnší děti'' (2007), * ''Jak Cipísek chránil jelení studánku - leporelo pro nejmenší děti'' (2008), * ''Kočičiny kocourka Damiána'' (2008), * ''Čtení o vepříkovi a kůzleti'' (2008), * ''Jak ševci zvedli vojnu pro červenou sukni - Stázina'' (2008), * ''Jak ševci zvedli vojnu pro červenou sukni - Kuba'' (2008).

Notes

References

External links

Biography of Vaclav Ctvrtek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ctvrtek, Vaclav Czech poets Czech male poets Charles University alumni 1911 births 1976 deaths Writers from Prague 20th-century Czech poets