Pavel Landovský

Pavel Landovský (11 September 1936 – 10 October 2014), nicknamed Lanďák, was a Czech actor, playwright, and director. He was a prominent dissident under the communist regime of former Czechoslovakia.

Pavel Landovský
Pavel Landovský, 2011
Born	11 September 1936 Havlíčkův Brod, Czechoslovakia
Died	10 October 2014 (aged 78) Kytín, Czech Republic
Alma mater	Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
Occupation	Actor playwright director
Spouse(s)	Helena Albertová (1962–1973)[1]
Children	Jakub Landovský[2]
Awards	Medal of Merit

Biography

Landovský was born in Havlíčkův Brod in 1936, and after finishing his studies at the secondary technical school of mechanical engineering, he tried four times to enter the Faculty of Theatre in Prague, without success. He started his acting career as a supernumerary actor in the regional theatre in Teplice and continued to perform in regional theatres in Šumperk, Klatovy, and Pardubice. The first play that he wrote, Hodinový hoteliér, premiered at the Činoherní klub theatre in Prague on 11 May 1969.

In 1971, the communist regime banned him from film and television. He continued acting at Činoherní klub and other theatres. Landovský was one of the initiators of the human rights petition Charter 77 and along with Václav Havel and Ludvík Vaculík, was one of the three official spokesmen for the resulting civil rights movement.[3] He was subsequently banned from working at the theatre. Constantly harassed by the secret police (Státní bezpečnost), during the winter of 1978–79, Landovský was accosted at night by an agent, severely beaten, and had his leg broken.[4] Feeling compelled to leave for his safety, when he was offered a position in the ensemble of the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria, he accepted. While there, he participated in productions by Peter Zadek, among others.

After the Velvet Revolution, Landovský was able to return to Prague in January 1990. There he began to act again, performing regularly at the Theatre on the Balustrade, the National Theatre, Divadlo v Dlouhé, and Divadlo Hybernia between 1990 and 2008. He played one of the lead characters in Audience—written by his friend Václav Havel, who had recently been elected president of Czechoslovakia— at Činoherní klub. The play was directed by Jiří Menzel.[5]

Landovský acted in a number of famous Czech films, including Closely Watched Trains, Marketa Lazarová, Adelheid, and Černí baroni.

Towards the end of his life, the actor suffered from diabetes and, after having had a stroke, was confined to a wheelchair. He died at home in Kytín on 10 October 2014 from a heart attack, aged 78.[6][7][8]

Selected filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1957	Dědeček automobil	Wedding guest with trumpet
1969	Každý mladý muž	Lance corporal
	Slečny přijdou později	Butler Pavka
	Closely Watched Trains	Thief	Uncredited
1967	Znamení raka	Hyneček Hása
	Svatba jako řemen	Driver
	Marketa Lazarová	Smil
	Soukromá vichřice	Standa Kocian
	Zázračný hlavolam	Constable
	Piknik	Burda
1968	Klec pro dva	Youth
	Pension pro svobodné pány	Nájemník
	Muž, který stoupl v ceně	Tajný
	Rakev ve snu viděti	Zdeněk Stýbr
1969	End of a Priest	Watcher
	Utrpení mladého Boháčka	Tonda Boháček
	Flirt se slečnou Stříbrnou	Vašek
	Já, truchlivý bůh	Apostol Certikidis
1970	Adelheid	Guardsman Jindra
	Case for a Rookie Hangman	Cop
1971	Svatby pana Voka	Emperor Rudolph II
	The Tricky Game of Love	Servant	(segment "Náusnice")
	Touha Sherlocka Holmese	Zabiják
1972	Slaměný klobouk	Officer Emil
1981	Ragtime	Solomon Peretz
	Kopfstand	Stunk
	Den Tüchtigen gehört die Welt	Jakob Králíček
1983	Hunderennen	Ladislav Lapák
1984	Lieber Vater	Concierge
1985	Der Bulle und das Mädchen	Scrapyard guard
1988	The Unbearable Lightness of Being	Pavel
1989	Die goldenen Jungrau	Fetival director
	Follow Me	Professor Pavel Navrátil
1991	V žáru královské lásky	Father
1992	Černí baroni	Major Haluška
1993	Válka barev	Airport administrator
1994	Amerika	Robinson
1995	Hazard	Demo
1997	An Ambiguous Report About the End of the World	Reeve
	Cesta pustým lesem	Kokesch
1998	Stůj, nebo se netrefím!	Petřina
2000	Andel Exit	Machata
2001	Mach, Šebestová a kouzelné sluchátko	Mr. Prucha
	Bez tváře	Bus driver
2005	Kousek nebe	Starej
2007	Empties	Řezáč
	Chyťte doktora	Cyril Záruba
2008	Shameless	Bedřich, Oskar's father
2009	Stínu neutečeš	Granddad Rehor
2011	Westernstory	Trubec
2012	Bastardi 3	Grandfather
2016	Smrtelné historky	Grandfather	(final film role)

References

1. "Helena Albertová". slovnikceskeliteratury.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 15 November 2020.
2. "ČSSD zkusí známé jméno, do boje o primátora Prahy nasadí mladého "Lanďáka"" [The CSSD will try a well-known name, deploy a young "Lanďák" to fight for the mayor of Prague]. idnes.cz (in Czech). 2 May 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
3. "Pavel Landovský" (in Czech). Retrieved 26 December 2011.
4. Eda Kriseová (1993). Václav Havel: The Authorized Biography. St. Martins Press. pp. 165–166. ISBN 0-88687-739-3.
5. Whitney, Craig R. (13 January 1990). "When the Playwright's the President, Now That's Really a Premiere". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
6. Spáčilová, Mirka (11 October 2014). "Neurvalý, osamělý, ale ke všem rovný. Zemřel herec Pavel Landovský". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 11 October 2014.
7. "Czech Actor Pavel Landovsky Dies at 78". ABC News.com. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
8. Pavel Landovsky, Actor and Vocal Czech Dissident, Dies at 78

External links

• Pavel Landovský at IMDb