Eduard Bass (born Eduard Schmidt; 1 January 1888 – 2 October 1946) was a Czech prose writer, journalist and singer. He began his career as a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

artist, but from 1920 he worked as a journalist and was one of the most respected journalists of his time. During his journalistic career, he also wrote several novels. His most famous works include ''Klapzubova jedenáctka'' and ''Cirkus Humberto''.

Life

Eduard Bass was born Eduard Schmidt on 1 January 1888 in the Újezd district of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. In 1905, he graduated from the real school in Prague-

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

and at the same time he apprenticed with his father, who owned a small brush factory. From 1905, he studied chemistry at the Czech Technical University in Prague, but also worked as a sales representative for his father's company. While working, he travelled around Europe, attending

performances, and he aspired to perform in cabaret himself. In 1910, he began performing in the Prague cabaret ''U Bílé labutě'' ('At White Swan'). Because the singer František Leopold Šmíd with a similar surname was the main star there, he took the pseudonym Bass after his sonorous bass voice. In 1913, he moved to the ''Červená sedma'' ('Red Seven') cabaret, and later became its director. In 1915 he married actress (and later sculptor) Táňa Kryková and moved into a house on Jiráskovo Square. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, due to heart disease, he worked as a typist. In that time, he had the time and freedom to publish in magazines as a journalist. He founded the satirical journals ''Leták'' and ''Šibeničky'', where he criticized the situation in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. From 1920, he became an editor of the newspaper '' Lidové noviny'', but soon he also became a columnist and reporter. His skills made him a reader's favorite and he helped the newspaper's popularity. In 1933–1938, he was the editor-in-chief of ''Lidové noviny''. He then had to leave for political reasons, but continued to contribute to the newspaper as an independent journalist until 1941. In 1945, Bass returned to his job as editor in ''Lidové noviny'' (that time called ''Svobodné noviny''), and served as editor-in-chief from May 1945 to August 1946. Due to the death of his wife in 1945 and other circumstances, he was unable to concentrate on his work and left the newspaper for good. Eduard Bass died of heart disease in Prague on 2 October 1946, at the age of 58. He is buried at the Vyšehrad Cemetery.

Work

Bass's best-known work includes the humorous novel ''Klapzubova jedenáctka'' (The Chattertooth Eleven; 1922). It was published in English in 1943 and republished in 2008. It is about an invincible

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team of eleven brothers. It was adapted as the film '' Klapzubova jedenáctka'' (1938) and TV series ''Klapzubova jedenáctka'' (1968). Other successful novels by Bass are ''Cirkus Humberto'' (1941) and ''Lidé z maringotek'' (1942). Both are about people working in

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

es, the first written as epic saga and the second in the form of short stories. The first was filmed as a TV series ('' Cirkus Humberto''; 1988) and the second as a movie ('' People on Wheels''; 1966).

Selected works

His literary work include: *''Případ čísla 128 a jiné historky'' (1921) – short stories *''Klapzubova jedenáctka'' (The Chattertooth Eleven; 1922) *''Potulky pražského reportéra'' (1929) *''To Arbes nenapsal, Vrchlický nebásnil'' (1939) *''Čtení o roce osmačtyřicátém'' (1940) – non-fiction *''Cirkus Humberto'' (1941) *''Lidé z maringotek'' (1942) – short stories

Honours

On the house on Jiráskovo Square in Prague 2, where Bass lived and where the writer Jan Drda also later lived, there is a memorial plaque dedicated to both writers.

References

External links