Marie Tomášová (18 April 1929 – 25 May 2025) was a Czech film and stage actress. She acted at the National Theatre in Prague between 1955 and 1965. In 2008, she was awarded the Thalia Award for lifetime achievement in drama. She was married to theatre director

Otomar Krejča Otomar Krejča (23 November 1921 – 6 November 2009) was a Czech theatre director, actor and dissident. He directed 84 productions, of which more than 40 abroad, and became one of the most significant theatre directors in the history of Czech the ...

until his death in 2009.

Life and career

Marie Tomášová was born in

Dobrovice Dobrovice is a town in Mladá Boleslav District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,700 inhabitants. It is known for one of the oldest sugar factories in the world. Administrative division Dobrovice consists of eig ...

on 18 April 1929. Although her family was poor, her parents had a love for culture and introduced her to literature and music. She attended high school only after World War II and then studied acting at

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, ...

(DAMU), from which she graduated in 1952. From 1952, she began appearing in films. From 1955 to 1965, she acted at the National Theatre in Prague. She played over 40 roles there. Her frequent acting partner was

Jan Tříska Jan Tříska (; 4 November 1936 – 25 September 2017) was a Czech actor who played over 160 roles across stage, film, and television. He worked in the United States after emigrating there in the 1970s, but later returned to his native country f ...

. During her time at the National Theatre, she met her lifetime partner, theatre director

. In 1965, Krejča founded the Za branou Theatre. Tomášová and Tříska transferred there and became the main protagonists of the ensemble. In 1968, Tomášová and her husband signed the ''2,000 words petition'' against the authoritative

communist regime in Czechoslovakia Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, distrib ...

. The Za branou Theatre was closed for political reasons in 1972 and Tomášová was banned from performing (or rather, the theatres were forbidden to give her work). In the following years, she was employed in the

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. Th ...

record label. Tomášová and Krejča married in 1986. In 1990, she returned to the stage at the newly opened Za branou Theatre II. However, the long acting break affected the quality of her performances. Her theatre acting career definitely ended with the theatre's closure in 1994. She appeared in films only in a few small roles, the last time in 2000. Tomášová died in

Mělník Mělník (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zon ...

on 25 May 2025, at the age of 96.

Selected filmography

*''

Anna Proletářka ''Anna Proletářka'' is a 1953 Czechoslovak film based on the novel by Ivan Olbracht. The movie was filmed on location in Osek, and Prague. It was released on 20 February 1953. It describes proletarian The proletariat (; ) is the social cla ...

'' (1952) *''

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czechs, Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and t ...

'' (1954) *'' The Strakonice Bagpiper'' (1955) *''

Jan Žižka Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha (; 1360 – 11 October 1424) was a Czechs, Czech military leader and Knight who was a contemporary and follower of Jan Hus, and a prominent Radical Hussite who led the Taborites, Taborite faction during the Hu ...

'' (1956) *''

September Nights ''September Nights'' () is a 1957 Czechoslovak film directed by Vojtěch Jasný. Cast * Václav Lohniský * Ladislav Pešek * Stanislav Remunda * Zdeněk Řehoř * Jiří Vala * Vladimír Menšík * Josef Bláha * Jiří Sovák * Vlastimi ...

'' (1957) *'' That Kind of Love'' (1959) *'' První parta'' (1959) *'' Čarodějky z předměstí'' (1990)

Honours

Tomášová received many individual awards for her acting performances. In 1999, Tomášová was awarded Honorary Citizenship of the City of

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It lies on the left bank of the Jizera (river), Jizera River. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region. I ...

, a city near her birthplace. In 2008, she was awarded the Thalia Award for lifetime achievement in drama.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomasova, Marie 1929 births 2025 deaths Czech film actresses Czechoslovak film actresses Czech stage actresses Czechoslovak stage actresses People from Dobrovice 20th-century Czech actresses 21st-century Czech actresses Recipients of the Thalia Award Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni