Uldis Pūcītis (15 April 1937 – 14 December 2000) was a

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

n television, theater and film actor, scriptwriter and film director.

Early life and stage career

Uldis Pūcītis was born in Ranka parish, Gulbene district to Jānis Pūcītis and his wife Anna Pūcīte. After graduating from school in Ranka he continued his studies in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

and studied at the Latvian State Conservatory, graduating in 1959. Following his graduation, he worked as schoolteacher in the town of Aizpute for four years while engaged at the

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

Theater from 1960 to 1972, the Dailes Theater from 1964 to 1973 and the Youth Theatre from 1962 to 1964 and again from 1973 until 1992.

Film career

Pūcītis made his film debut in a small role as a fisherman in the 1959 Ada Neretniece-directed

Latvian language Latvian (, ), also known as Lettish, is an East Baltic languages, East Baltic language belonging to the Indo-European language family. It is spoken in the Baltic region, and is the language of the Latvians. It is the official language of Latvia ...

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

film ''Svešiniece ciemā'' (English release title: ''Stranger in the Village'') before his first starring role opposite Latvian actress Vija Artmane in the Leonīds Leimanis-directed period-drama ''Purva bridējs'', a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Latvian writer

Rūdolfs Blaumanis Kārlis Rūdolfs Leonīds Blaumanis (1 January 1863 – 4 September 1908) was a Latvian writer, journalist and playwright. He is a renowned writer in Latvian history and a master of Literary realism, realism. The building of a flat in Riga that ...

. He would go on to appear in a number of film and television roles throughout the 1960s and into the 1990s, as well as continuing his stage career. In 1998, Pūcītis would write the script and co-direct the television mini-series ''Izpostītā ligzda'' for Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) with Armands Zvirbulis. The film and both Zvirbulis and Pūcītis would be awarded the

Lielais Kristaps ''Lielais Kristaps'' is the highest award given in Latvian cinema. Established in 1977, it is given out at the ''Latvian National Film Festival''. Due to different reasons, the festival has not been held in 1992, 1994 to 1995, 1997 and 1999 ...

; the highest prize awarded for Latvian cinema.

Personal life and death

Pūcītis was married to Olīvija Pūcīte (''née'' Poselanova). Their daughter is actress Milēna Gulbe-Kavace, and grandson is professional tennis player

Ernests Gulbis Ernests Gulbis (, born 30 August 1988) is a Latvian former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 10, making him the only male Latvian tennis player ever to be ranked inside the top 10, a feat achieved in June 20 ...

. In late 2000, Pūcītis fell ill at his summer home in

Jūrmala Jūrmala (; "seaside") is a state city in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, about west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and is sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River. It has a stretch of white-sand beach and is the ...

. After being taken to the hospital in Riga, he was initially diagnosed with a stomach ulcer. However, he died in hospital of a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...

and was buried at the Riga Forest Cemetery.kasjaunas.lv: ''Purva bridēja mīlestība. Atklāti stāsta Ulda Pūcīša sieva Olīvija''
in ( Latvian)

Selected filmography

*'' Es visu atceros, Ričard!'' (English: ''I Remember Everything, Richard'') (1966) - Edgars *'' Dead Mountaineer's Hotel'' (1979) - Inspector Peter Glebsky

Awards

* Latvian SSR State Prize (1989) *

(1998)

References

External links

*
Letonika.lv
1937 births 2000 deaths Latvian male stage actors Latvian male television actors Latvian male film actors Latvian film directors People from Gulbene Municipality Soviet male film actors Lielais Kristaps Award winners 20th-century Latvian male actors Burials at Forest Cemetery, Riga {{Latvia-film-director-stub