Karolina Slunéčková, (born Karolína Olga Slunéčková) (8 April 1934 – 11 June 1983), working under the name ''Olga Sluníčková'', was a Czech actress, and wife of actor Rudolf Vodrážka.

Life

Karolina Slunéčková was born on 8 April 1934 in Kladno. She moved with her parents to

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction. ...

. During the

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

of the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...

, they were not able to emigrate, so throughout the war they went to the German school. The essence of the acting was handed over by Professor Věra Petáková. When her love and passion for playing did not calm down during the years and her dream was not able to talk to her, she went to study in

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...

, where she studied at

Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts The Department of Dramatic Theatre (, abbreviated 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 th ...

(DAMU). In 1956, immediately after the end of DAMU, she got an engagement at the

Vinohrady Theatre Vinohrady Theatre () 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 Vladimír Županský depicting ...

(at that time the Theatre of the Czechoslovak Army). From the very beginning, she played great roles, such as Natasha in ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...

'', starting with her long monologue to the audience. Each of her roles was always different but completely authentic and distinctive. She played dramatic and comedy. For her role in life we can consider the role of Margaret in ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a 1955 American three-act play by Tennessee Williams. The play, an adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", was written between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his ...

''(1966), where half the performance took place in a black jumpsuit. Only two performances were filmed, namely ''

A Flea in Her Ear ''A Flea in Her Ear'' () is a play by Georges Feydeau written in 1907, at the height of the Belle Époque. The author called it a vaudeville, but in Anglophone countries, where it is the most popular of Feydeau's plays, it is usually described ...

'' (1969) and ''

The Man Who Came to Dinner ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' is a comedy play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939, at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, where it ran until 1941, closing after 739 performances. It then enjoyed a number of ...

'' (1977). Karolina got the biggest chance in the movie The Orange Boy (1975), where she played the mother of Otakar Brousek Junior's mother.Czech film pages 153–156. Karolina met future husband Rudolf Vodrážka while still at school. After a few years they married and in 1960 their son Rudolf was born. Just a week before her death, she came to the theatre, pleased to work again. Unfortunately she never looked at the stage. She died on 11 June 1983 at age 49.

Selected theatre roles

* 1977 George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart: ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'', Lorraine Sheldonová,

, directed by Stanislav Remunda

Radio roles

* 1964

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

: ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'', Czechoslovakian radio, directed by Ludvík Pompe

Gallery

Karolina Slunéčková.jpg, In the play ''

'' (1966) Karolina v Broukovi.jpg, In ''

'' (1969) Karolina .jpg, In the television series ''

Žena za pultem ''Žena za pultem'' (the woman behind the counter) was a Czechoslovak television programme which was first broadcast in 1977. The programme was directed by Jaroslav Dietl. The programme was noted for an erotic scene, which received attention from ...

'' (1977)

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sluneckova, Karolina 1934 births 1983 deaths Czechoslovak actresses Czech film actresses People from Kladno 20th-century Czech actresses Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni