Father Skolastykus died 50 years ago. The “Apostle of Humanity” František Smolík built barricades in Prague during the war
Joseph II, Karel Havlíček Borovsky, but also king Hostivít or the father of a princess with a golden star on her forehead, magical old man who gave the wandering musician a bag with a magic baton, the major of the town Rukapánwhose weakness for good wine dragged him to the grave, or of course a pious but hypocritical hermit School center, to which Princess Dišperanda used to go for advice, and whom the devil tempted. All of this, and much more, was an acting Mohican František Smolík. His life was intertwined with Prague from beginning to end.
The son of a grocer
He was born on January 23, 1891 in Královské Vinohrady – then an independent city outside Prague. His father Ladislav operated in today’s Záhřebská Street in Vinohrady grocery store. “It was a bad existence, but it’s not bad either, so Smolík’s childhood was not accompanied by material worries,” says František Černý, a well-known theater historian, in the book Starring František Smolík.
His father wished he could grow out of his branch dealer, who will have the means and ambitions to one day live his own family. However, little Smolík allegedly did not teach much. “I learned very badly“He confided to Černý. This could have been influenced by the death of his mother Maria, who succumbed to a short illness when František was 8 years old.
For the first time in the Vinohrady Theater
His childhood did not deviate from normal. “He told how he and the Vinohrady boys led the traupas, or war against the Nuselák family, how to went swimming in the Vltava to the Humánka swimming pool in Podskal, where he didn’t drown once, even on Vinohrady’s final horse tracks, at the Na Zvonařce tram station, he helped other boys to fold and turn the backs of the car so that he could ride a bit for free, “writes Černý.
And it was not limited to the right bank of the Vltava. When Francis Joseph I visited Prague, the young Smolík and his friend went to Bílá Hora, where a military parade took place. “That was something for us! My friend and I stood in captivating splendor, which culminated when the sweating horses, pulling cannons, trotted last, ”Smolík recalled of his old age. The show seemed to impress him more than the old monarch’s presence. At the time, Smolík had no idea that you were in the first feature film Grandmother from 1921 edits the role of Joseph II, who was the great-uncle of Francis Joseph I.
As a child, he was fascinated by the charm of puppet theater. He was not indifferent to the fiction either – his parents took him to the auditorium. However, a long time passed before the dreams came true, despite their dreams. First František Smolík stepped into the Vinohrady Theater, where he worked more than 10 years later, for completely different reasons than to apply for an acting etude. As an electrician in 1907, he helped assemble the main chandelier in the auditorium. The young man with a kind-looking look has learned electrical engineer.
Escape for a dream
In adulthood Smolík attended the theater with friends. And there was more and more a desire in him to try to play as well. “I improvised my monologues and recited them somewhere alone. I bought theatrical books and books about theater. I didn’t think about anything other than theater and he had no other desires than to play and play, “Smolík recalled over the years. Paradoxically, he had the opportunity to become musical – his father allowed him lessons on piano, violin or cornet.
František Smolík was a charismatic actor who usually portrayed kind-hearted characters, intellectuals, politicians, officials and various old men. He used his comedic talent, for example, in the film Hašek’s short stories from the old monarchy, where he played a prince.
Author: ČTK
Even so, he allegedly prepared a disappointment for František’s father when he firmly decided to become an actor. First as an amateur, later “full time”. He said for a key date that determined his entire life July 6, 1908. “This is the beginning of one’s own life, tady speaks emotion and heart, not reason. And so it happened that I was he ran to the theater. He ran away from his dream, He recalled.
To the National? Just with my wife
And that it was a really great dream! Despite the rough beginnings and World War I found engagement in the Smíchov theater, in today’s Švandov, later in the Uranie folk theater in Holešovice. The imaginary peak occurred in 1921, when the 30-year-old actor was found in Vinohrady Theater, which to this day is considered one of the most prestigious not only in Prague but also in the Czech Republic. “Smolík performed on the Vinohrady stage for the first time as the royal prince Paris in the production of Shakespeare’s drama Troilus and Kressid,“Important Black.
Apart from the theater, Smolík also began to perform on the silver screen, of which he became a star only with the arrival of the sound film. In the 1920s, the young actor had a “decent” footprint and was also successful in his personal life. In 1920 he married Milada Ortová Smolíková, while a happy marriage lasted the couple for the rest of their lives. Literally. “If the world didn’t know how beautiful, I wouldn’t have existed for me without you“Smolík confessed to his wife in one of the letters.
The National Theater, in which František Smolík spent several decades.
Author: Blesk: David Malík
He gets to Smolík repeatedly applications from the National Theaterto enter the local file. The actor repeatedly refused – he remained faithful to his native Vinohrady. In the end, however, in 1934 he was “persuaded” – on one condition. That his beloved wife will also leave the Vinohrady engagement with the Golden Chapel. Smolík worked at the National Theater for an incredible more than 30 years. She ended up on her “old knees” in 1965.
Barricades against the Nazis
He also experienced the occupation at the National Theater, which he could not bear. “After the arrival of Hitler’s troops in Prague on March 15, 1939, Ladislav Pešek saw František Smolík cry for the first time. Smolík also took a hard time when the Germans took over the Estates Theater, “says Černý. “When the people of Prague revolted against the occupiers on May 5, Smolík built barricades in Modřany and kept patrols., ”Adds Černý.
Movie glory
After the war, Smolík’s star did not fade – on the contrary. He paid for a renowned actor who won the sympathy of the crowd with his modesty and acting and human expression. “People who remember František Smolík have always emphasized him beautiful human features, ie the same values that are appreciated by a generation of viewers and listeners, “Writes Černý. According to him, Smolík won in “moral authority recognized by the masses of spectators and listeners. His attitudes, expressed with rare naturalness, authenticity and seriousness, were generally accepted. “Karel Čapek’s wife – Olga Scheinpflugová, even said of Smolík that he is”apostle to humanity. ”
Today’s generations are best known for their film work from the second half of the years, when even with age they matured into the roles of “old men”, who, thanks to their appearance and skillful make-up, also played when they were young. Except for theatrical stages, he excelled in films, for example Baton out of the bag, Jan Hus, The Higher Principle, The Princess with the Golden Star, Romeo, Juliet and Darkness, Devil’s games or Ikaria XB-1.
Recent years
As long as his health served, Smolík continued to try to play in front of the camera. “In 1970 František Smolík stopped feeling well. At the end of the year, he was hospitalized for some time, “describes Černý. She captured the great actor cancer. A year later, when he was celebrating his 80th birthday, the National Theater prepared a lavish celebration for him, and his return to the boards that signify the world was even considered. Precisely because of his health, but also his wife, who “in the sixties she became seriously ill with heart disease and her life was constantly hanging in the balanceHe refused.
“He sent him to his eighties thank you letter from the president of the Czechoslovak Republic, Army General Ludvík Svoboda, “Writes Černý. At the same time, it was an unusual thing that did not lie in mere courtesy “officiality”, but in personal affection and Svoboda’s fondness for Smolík. He did it in 1970 period “After the suicide of Stanislav Neumann, the son of his colleague, the actor Stanislav Neumann and the grandson of Stanislav Kostka Neumann, returned the identity of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, “Writes Černý a little-known fact.
But Smolík’s health deteriorated more and more, until he was finally forced to give up working in front of the camera. He last stood in the spotlight on June 11, 1971. “The last day has come January 26, 1972. Milada Smolíková survived her husband in just a few months. She died the same year – November 1, “says Černý.
Vinohrady, Modřany, Smíchov, Bubenec
Thus closed the life path of the actor, who played in theatrical, and dozens of film roles. For most of his life, his home was Prague – first Vinohrady, then ModřanyHowever, from where commuting to the theater was too long, he and his wife finally settled on Laughing. As they have spent their entire lives together, side by side, they spend it in Prague posthumously. They rest in eternity in Drummers in the local cemetery.
The last resting place of the acting giant František Smolík and his wife Milady is located among the tombstones in the Bubeneč cemetery in Prague.
Author: David Winter
The last resting place of the acting giant František Smolík and his wife Milady is located among the tombstones in the Bubeneč cemetery in Prague.
Author: David Winter