Jan Werich
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- February 6, 1905
- Died
- October 31, 1980 (aged 75)
- Birthplace
- Praha - Československo
Biography
Between 1916 and 1924, Werich attended "reálné gymnasium" (equivalent to high school) in Křemencova Street in Prague (where his future business partner, Jiří Voskovec, also studied). He studied law at the Charles University Law School from 1924 to 1927, from which he made an early departure to begin his artistic career and forge one of the most important partnerships of his life. For more than 10 years he worked in theatre Jiří Voskovec and Jaroslav Ježek. Their partnership was a platform for their numerous left-wing political satires, most notably in the Osvobozené divadlo (Liberated Theatre). The trio's work took inspiration from Dada, with its love of the absurd, a reaction against bourgeois values and the horrors of World War I. In 1955 he begun working in cinema, and 1960s were a peak in his actor career. From the creation of the ABC Theatre he moved to the City Theatres of Prague and then to the Musical Theatre of Karlin and Nusle. Werich was originally cast by producer Harry Saltzman to play Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice. Upon his arrival at the Pinewood set, both producer Albert R. Broccoli and director Lewis Gilbert felt that he was a poor choice, resembling a "poor, benevolent Santa Claus".
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Cecílie
Movie · as Voice (archive footage)
Jan Werich: Když už člověk jednou je…
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Voskovec & Werich, paralelní osudy
TV · as self · 3 eps
Fimfarum - To the good of all
Movie · as (voice)
Fimfarum 2
Movie · as Narrator
Tři strážníci
TV · as self · 3 eps
Jan Werich's Fimfarum
Movie · as Vypravěč
When the Oak Leaves Fall
Movie · as Narrator (voice) (archive footage)
Mean Barbara
Movie · as Narrator (voice) (archive footage)
Pan Tau – der Film
Movie · as (archive footage)
Jonáš a Melicharová
Movie · as (archive footage)
Echoes of the Blue Room
Movie
Královna Koloběžka první
Movie · as Narrator (archive footage) (voice)
Herecké Vánoce
Movie · as Jan Werich
Pan Tau
TV · 6 eps
Assignment K
Movie · as Dr. Spiegler
Czechoslovakia: Portrait of a Tragedy
Movie · as Self
Co tomu říkáte, pane Werich?
TV · as Self · 9 eps
Přiložte životopis
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Klapzubova jedenáctka
TV · 1 ep
The 25th Hour
Movie · as Sgt. Constantin
King and Women
Movie · as Jindřich VIII.
Pražská strašidla
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Magnetické vlny léčí
Movie · as léčitel Wohu
The Dear Departed
Movie · as Dědeček
The Cry
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
When the Cat Comes
Movie · as Oliva
Uspořená libra
Movie · as Sam Adams
Kočár nejsvětější svátosti
Movie
Tears the World Can't See
Movie · as Fedor Akimič Rjebrotěsov
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
Movie · as kapitán holandské lodi
Medvěd
Movie · as statkář Grigorij Stěpanovič Smirnov
Italienisches Capriccio
Movie · as Don Marzio
Těžká Barbora
Movie
Balada z hadrů
Movie · as strážný Holofern
The Creation of the World
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Silvestr 1957
Movie
To jsou Bratři v triku
Movie · as Himself
The Good Soldier Svejk
Movie · as Narrator
Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka – Švejkova budějovická anabase
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Jaroslav Hasek's Exemplary Cinematograph
Movie · as Commentary (voice)
Two Little Frosts
Movie · as Brave Frost (voice)
Once Upon a Time, There Was a King...
Movie · as král Já I.
Hudba z Marsu
Movie · as Nadšený divák
Dog's Heads
Movie
Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka – Švejkovy nehody ve vlaku
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka – Z Hatvanu na hranice Haliče
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Pouť noci silvestrovské
Movie
Večer s Jaroslavem Haškem
Movie
The Emperor and the Golem
Movie · as Emperor Rudolf II / Matheus Kotrba, The Baker
The Golden Fish
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Pekařův císař
Movie · as Rudolf II. / Matěj Kotrba
Císařův pekař
Movie · as Rudolf II. / Matěj Kotrba
The Fall of Berlin
Movie · as Goering
Crisis
Movie
The World Belongs to Us
Movie · as kamelot
Heave-Ho!
Movie
Here in Kocourkov
Movie · as Ferdinand Kaplan
Your Money or Your Life
Movie · as Tonda
Powder and Petrol
Movie