Josef Abrhám (14 December 1939 – 16 May 2022) was a Czech film and theatre actor.

Biography

He originally began studying acting at

Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava The Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava ( sk, Vysoká škola múzických umení v Bratislave, abbr. VŠMU) is a university founded on June 9, 1949. The university consists of three faculties: *''Theatre Faculty'' (Acting, Directing, Dramat ...

and later moved to

Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Department of Dramatic Theatre (DAMU) is one of three departments at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (alongside the Film and TV school and the Department of Music). The academy was opened in 1945 immediately after the Second World ...

, where he graduated in 1962. While still a student, he played at the National Theatre, after graduation he performed for three seasons at the Vinohrady Theater. In 1965–1982 he was one of the leading actors in The Drama Club in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

and has been noted as one of the Czech Republic's best performers. Then he briefly performed at the National Theater, but he ended his long-term commitment in August 1994 and (with two exceptions) quit theatre acting completely. He was also a popular film and television actor. In 1962 he was given his first major film role in the film '' Transport from Paradise'' directed by 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) * ...

. This was followed by the major roles in '' The Cry'' (1963) and the role of writer

Jaroslav Hašek Jaroslav Hašek (; 1883–1923) was a Czech writer, humorist, satirist, journalist, bohemian and anarchist. He is best known for his novel '' The Fate of the Good Soldier Švejk during the World War'', an unfinished collection of farcical inc ...

in Velká cesta (1963). In the Czech Republic his most famous roles were seductive physician Blažej in the television series ''

Hospital at the End of the City ''Hospital at the End of the City'' ( cs, Nemocnice na kraji města) is a Czechoslovak television series first released in 1978 by Czechoslovak Television. It featured an ensemble cast and received much viewer praise in Central Europe. The seri ...

'' (1978 - 1981) and fake waiter Vrána in ''

Waiter, Scarper! ''Waiter, Scarper!'' ( cs, Vrchní, prchni!) is a 1981 Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Ladislav Smoljak. It is also known in English as 'Run, Waiter, Run!'. Plot At his high school reunion, the mild-mannered Dalibor Vrána learns, to his ...

'' (1981). In 1994 he won the Czech Lion Award for Best Actor in Leading Role for his role of Prokop in the film

Big Beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as th ...

. He was also nominated in 2006 for the

Czech Lion Award for Best Supporting Actor Czech Lion Award The Czech Lion Awards ( cs, Český lev) are annual awards that recognize accomplishments in filmmaking and television. It is the highest award of achievement in film awarded in the Czech Republic. The jury is composed of memb ...

for '' Beauty in Trouble'' and in 2011 for the Czech Lion Award for Best Actor in Leading Role for Leaving. In 2020, he received the Thalia Award for Lifetime Achievement. Between 1968 and 1976 his partner was the actress , he was married to actress

Libuše Šafránková Libuše Šafránková (7 June 1953 – 9 June 2021, married as ''Abrhámová'') was a Czech actress. Her husband was actor Josef Abrhám. Her breakthrough was the title role in the 1973 film '' Three Nuts for Cinderella'', which is considered ...

from 1976 until her death in 2021.

Filmography

* ' (1960) * '' Transport from Paradise'' (1962) * ' (1962) * '' Strop'' (1962) * '' The Cry'' (1963; cs, Křik) * ''

Courage for Every Day ''Courage for Every Day'' ( cs, Každý den odvahu) is a 1964 Czechoslovak drama film directed by Evald Schorm. Plot Director Evald Schorm reflects on the changing political tides of his generation in this clear-eyed study of idealism and disill ...

'' (1964) * '' Happy End'' (1966) * ' (1967) * '' Pensión pro svobodné pány'' (1967) * ' (1970) * '' Valerie and Her Week of Wonders'' (1970) * '' Ezop (''1970) * ''

Chance Chance may refer to: Mathematics and Science * In mathematics, likelihood of something (by way of the Likelihood function and/or Probability density function). * ''Chance'' (statistics magazine) Places * Chance, Kentucky, US * Chance, Mary ...

'' (1971) * '' Morgiana'' (1972) * ' (1973) * ' (1974) * '' Byl jednou jeden dům'' (1974) TV Series * '' A Girl Fit to Be Killed'' (1975) * ''

Marecek, Pass Me the Pen! ''Marecek, Pass Me the Pen!'' ( cs, Marečku, podejte mi pero!) is a 1976 Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Oldřich Lipský. The film gained de facto cult status, many of its phrases and sentences becoming idiomatic in Czech language, e.g. ...

'' (1976) * ''

'' (1977; cs, Nemocnice na kraji města) TV Series * ''

Ball Lightning Ball lightning is a rare and unexplained phenomenon described as luminescent, spherical objects that vary from pea-sized to several meters in diameter. Though usually associated with thunderstorms, the observed phenomenon is reported to last ...

'' (1978; cs, Kulový blesk) * '' Upír ve věžáku'' (1979) * '' 30 Cases of Major Zeman'' (1979) TV Series * '' Run Waiter Run!'' (1980) * '' The Hit (1980; cs, Trhák) * '' Malý pitaval z velkého města'' (1982) TV Series * ''

Jára Cimrman Lying, Sleeping ''Jára Cimrman Lying, Sleeping'' ( cs, Jára Cimrman ležící, spící) is a 1983 Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Ladislav Smoljak. It is a biopic of the fictional Czech national hero Jára Cimrman, who is portrayed by one of his inventor ...

'' (1983) * '' Svatební cesta do Jiljí'' (1983) * '' Záchvěv strachu'' (1983) * ''

Dissolved and Effused ''Dissolved and Effused'' ( cs, Rozpuštěný a vypuštěný) is a 1985 Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Ladislav Smoljak Ladislav Smoljak (9 December 1931 – 6 June 2010) was a Czech film and theater director, actor and screenwriter. H ...

'' (1984) * '' The C.K.Deserters'' (1985) * '' Druhý dech'' (1988) TV Series * '' Člověk proti zkáze'' (1989) * '' The End of Old Times'' (1989) * '' In the Light of the King's Love'' (1990) * ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

'' (1991) * ''

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typi ...

'' (1991) * '' St. Nicholas Is in Town'' (1992) * '' Very Credible Stories 2'' (1992) * ''

'' (1993; cs, Šakalí léta) * '' Angelic Eyes'' (1994; cs, Andělské oči) * '' Halt, or I'll Miss!'' (1998; cs, Stůj, nebo se netrefím!) * '' Return to Paradise Lost'' (1999; cs, Návrat ztraceného ráje) * '' All My Loved Ones'' (1999; cs, Všichni moji blízcí) * '' Elixír a Halíbela'' (2001) * '' ELFilm'' (2001) * '' O Víle Arnoštce'' (2002) * '' Nemocnice na kraji města po dvaceti letech'' (2003) * '' Pánská jízda'' (2004) * '' Konečná stanica'' (2004) * '' Beauty in Trouble'' (2006; cs, Kráska v nesnázích) * '' I Served the King of England'' (2006; cs, Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále) * '' Leaving'' (2011) * '' Přijde Letos Ježíšek (2013 film)'' (2013) * ' (2015) * '' Angel of the Lord 2'' (2016) * '' How Poets Wait for a Miracle'' (2016)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abrham, Josef 1939 births 2022 deaths People from Zlín Czech people of Slovak descent Czech male film actors Czech male stage actors Czech male television actors Czech male voice actors Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni Czech Lion Awards winners 20th-century Czech male actors 21st-century Czech male actors Recipients of the Thalia Award