Danilo Stojković ( sr-cyr, Данило Стојковић; 11 August 1934 – 16 March 2002), commonly nicknamed Bata (Бата), was a Yugoslav and Serbian theatre, television and film actor.
Stojković's numerous comedic portrayals of state officials and working-class characters made him popular with Serbian and ex-Yugoslav audiences. Most of his roles came in collaborations with either director
Slobodan Šijan
Slobodan Šijan ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Шијан, ; born 16 November 1946) is a Serbian film director.
Biography
Šijan was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921 ...
Stojković was born in Belgrade in 1934. By the mid-1960s, he became a well-known
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
actor. He started his
film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
career with the 1964 feature ''Izdajnik'' (lit. "The Traitor").
A string of TV and minor film roles ensued, with the most important ones coming in guise of being a father figure to the main protagonist – ''Čuvar plaže u zimskom periodu'' (''Beach Guard in Winter'', 1976), ''Pas koji je voleo vozove'' (''The Dog Who Loved Trains'', 1977) being the most recognizable ones – as well as the part in critically well-received ''Majstor i Margarita'' (''Il Maestro e Margherita''), 1972.
He also fulfilled the fatherly role in an immensely popular TV show '' Grlom u jagode''. The show originally aired in 1975 and kept finding its audience through numerous reruns in the 1980s and the 1990s. He also played the minor
antagonist
An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Goran Marković's urban classic ''Nacionalna klasa do 750 cm3'' (''National Class Category Up to 750 ccm''), 1979.
Breakthrough
Stojković worked with the director Slobodan Šijan, who was in turn most successful when working with Dušan Kovačević scripts. Kovačević, a talented
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just
Readin ...
with a special gift for biting
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
, had a knack for writing characters which Stojković could perfectly translate to screen. The combination of those three creative talents yielded some of Yugoslavia's most memorable cinematic efforts to date.
Šijan, who previously worked with Stojković on several TV productions, made his big screen debut with '' Ko to tamo peva'' (''Who's Singing Over There?'', 1980), a farcical
comedy
Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium.
Origins
Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
set at the beginning of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in then
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
. In a strong cast ensemble, Stojković distinguished himself with role of a Germanophile bus passenger on the way to Beograd in the eve of 5 April 1941 – the day Belgrade was bombed by the
Axis Powers
The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...
marking Yugoslavia's entry into the war.
''Ko to tamo peva'' was released to great critical and commercial success, earning the special jury award at the
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. The success of ''Ko to tamo peva'' opened new doors for Stojković, who then established his film star status with a number of critically acclaimed roles. He appeared in
Goran Paskaljević
Goran Paskaljević ( sr-cyr, Горан Паскаљевић; ; 22 April 1947 – 25 September 2020) was a Serbian and former Yugoslav film director.
Biography
Born in Belgrade, he was raised by his grandparents in Niš in southern Serbia, foll ...
's
dark comedy
Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
about rehab from
alcoholism
Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
, ''Poseban tretman'' ('' Special Treatment''), 1980.
He reunited with Šijan for another high-water mark of Serbian film, the
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
'' Maratonci trče počasni krug'' (''Marathon Family''). The film, a humorous piece about a family whose undertaking business is being threatened by the local
mobster
A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level ...
was another smash success for Šijan and Stojković, and achieved cult status. He also voiced Stromboli in the Serbian-language version of ''
Pinocchio
Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
''.
Marxists, spies and revolutionaries
After a couple minor roles, from which his turn as the school principal in comedy ''Idemo dalje'' (lit. ''Moving On'', 1982) deserved some mention, Stojković delivered a trio of performances which would ultimately cement his place in the Yugoslavian acting hall of fame. Oddly enough, all three of those roles would involve him portraying a character closely related to the
communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
ideals – or better said, satirizing a stereotype of "party men" or "
marxist
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
revolutionaries".
First was his portrait of a
homeless
Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
wannabe revolutionary Babi Pupuška, in Šijan's ''Kako sam sistematski uništen od idiota'' (''How I Got Systematically Destroyed by an Idiot'', (1983), a story about a man who embarks on a soul-searching journey after hearing the, for him at least, shattering news of
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
's demise. Stojković portrayed another dysfunctional Marxist father figure in Goran Paskaljević's elegiac '' Varljivo leto '68'' (''The Elusive Summer of '68'', 1984).
Again uniting his talents with those of Dušan Kovačević, Stojković delivered his ultimate film performance – that of the staunch Stalinist and a full-time paranoid in '' Balkanski špijun'' (''Balkan Spy'', 1984), which was jointly directed by Božidar Nikolić and Kovačević himself. With Kovačević at his sharpest, Stojković made the role of ex-political prisoner Ilija Čvorović completely his own. Critics often single out this role as Stojković's most notable.
Late years and death
His role in ''Balkanski špijun'' was one of the last major theatrical roles for Stojković. After his major successes of the early 1980s, Stojković concentrated mainly on television and theatre, with an odd supporting role here and there. He was effective in both ''Vreme čuda'' (lit. ''Time of the Miracles'', 1989) and '' Sabirni centar'' (''The Collective Center''), and had a memorable cameo in '' Balkan Express 2'' (1989). His most famous theatrical role was that of Luka Laban, in another Kovačević play, '' Profesionalac'' (lit. "The Professional"). He played the role until a few days before his death. In an interview in 2007 his wife told that she drove him from the hospital to his last plays and returned him to the hospital bed after the play.
In the 1990s, Stojković cameoed in '' Crni bombarder'' (''The Black Bomber'', 1992), and had minor roles in movies such as
Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица, ; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, film producer and musician. Kusturica has been an active filmmaker since the 1980s.
He has competed at the Cannes ...
's '' Underground'' (1995) and Darko Bajić's ''Balkanska pravila'' (''Balkan Rules'', 1997).
Ironically enough, one of his final theatrical roles was one of an orthodox priest – a character who Babi Pupuška and Ilija Čvorović would probably despise – in
Lazar Ristovski
Lazar "Laza" Ristovski ( sr-Cyrl, Лазар Ристовски, born 26 October 1952) is a Serbian former actor, director, producer and writer. He has appeared on stage about 4,000 times, and starred in over 90 films and 30 TV series, mostly i ...
's 1999 effort ''Belo odelo'' ("The White Suit"). After that, he appeared in an omnibus feature called ''Proputovanje'' (''Traveling'', 1999) and starred in a TV adaptation of the
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...
's play '' The Father'' for Radio-televizija Srbije – RTS (''Otac'', 2001).
Stojković died in Belgrade on 16 March 2002, after a bout with
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...
.
Awards and legacy
Throughout his lifetime, Stojković was the recipient of the Serbian Lifetime Achievement Award for both theatrical ('' Dobričin prsten'', 1990) and cinematic ('' Pavle Vujisić'', 1998) efforts. He remains as popular in death as he was in life, as his characters have entertained numerous generations of
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...
speakers. His numerous comedic portrayals of state officials and working-class characters made him popular with Yugoslav audiences.