Olga Scheinpflugová (3 December 1902 – 13 April 1968) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

actress and writer. She was a daughter of the writer, journalist and playwright Karel Scheinpflug. In 1935, she married the writer

Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright, critic and journalist. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel '' War with the Newts'' (1936) and play '' R.U.R.'' (''Rossum' ...

Biography

Scheinpflugová started her acting career at a young age, as a student of the gymnasium in Slaný. From 1917 she studied at the business school in Prague and concurrently she privately studied dramatic art with Marie Hübnerová. Fikejz (2008), p. 73-74 In 1920 she was engaged in the ''Švanda Theatre'' and two years later she became a member of the City Theatre in Prague-

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. In 1920 she met and befriended Karel Čapek. From 1929 she began to act in the National Theatre in Prague. With two short interruptions, she remained in the National Theatre until her death. Fikejz (2008), p. 74 During her career she collaborated with many respected directors, most notably with J. Kvapil, J. Bor, K. H. Hilar, J. Frejka,

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and

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. In 1935 she married Karel Čapek, but their marriage was short, since Čapek died of pneumonia in 1938. Following the German occupation, she was interrogated by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

as Čapek's work was clearly

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Alongside her activities as an actress, she devoted herself to writing. Initially she published mainly in journals, but from the second half of the 1920s some of her books were published. She is the author of sixteen novels, ten children books, seven poetry collections and ten plays. Fikejz (2008), p. 75 Some of her works were also made into movies. The main topic of her books is the role of woman in the modern world. Menclová (2005), p. 590 Her marriage to Karel Čapek deeply influenced her acting career, as well as her literary works. Olga Scheinpflugová suffered a heart attack in April 1968, directly on the stage, during her performance in the play ''Mother'' by her husband Karel Čapek.

Selected works

*''Madla z cihelny'' (Madla from the Brickyard) (1933) *''Okénko'' (Small Window) (1933) *'' Andula vyhrála'' (Andula Won) (1938) *'' Švadlenka'' (Needlewoman) (1936) *''Dobře situovaný pán'' (A Comfortably Situated Man) (1939) *''Sobota'' (Saturday) (1944) *''Český román'' (Czech Novel) (1946) – autobiographical novel *''Byla jsem na světě'' – unfinished memoirs, published posthumously (1988)

Notes

References

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External links

*
Olga Scheinpflugová at the Czech Radio website

Olga Scheinpflugová – Welcome to the Czech Republic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheinpflugova, Olga 1902 births 1968 deaths People from Slaný People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czech stage actresses Czech women poets Czech women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Czech dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Czech actresses 20th-century Czech poets 20th-century women writers Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery Karel Čapek