Jiří Grossmann (20 July 1941 – 5 December 1971) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

theatre actor, poet and composer.

Life

Grossmann was born in

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 ...

. After his graduation, he started at the

Czech Technical University in Prague Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) () is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in Central Europe. It is also the oldest non-military technical universi ...

, but left in 1962 when he met

Miloslav Šimek Miloslav Šimek (7 March 1940 – 16 February 2004) was a Czech comedian and satirist. He was most famous for his double act with Jiří Grossmann on their show ''Návštěvní den'' at the Semafor, presented in 1968–1971. Later he cooperated ...

in the Olympik bar. Grossmann performed with Dixie Party Band in the Olympik Theatre Club, playing on contrabass also. They immediately established a theatre double and started writing poems, short stories and stage plays. Their first theatre group was called Mlok.Czech Radio Broadcast Article
/ref> Grossmann and Šimek's most famous project was ''Navštěvní den'', a theatre-styled show performed in theatre Semafor.Skálová, Johana. ''Nevyjasněná úmrtí V''. 1st Ed. Praha : The World Circle Foundation, 2000. . The duo was persecuted after the Soviet occupation of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in 1968 following the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

. When Grossmann realized he was dying of

Hodgkin lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the lymph nodes. The condition was named a ...

, he wrote one of his most sad lyrics called ''Závidím'' (I am envious) expressing fears of death. On 5 December 1971, Grossmann died in the hospital. The Jiří Grossmann TheatreJiří Grossmann Theatre
/ref> and Prague's Jiří Grossmann's Archway commemorate him today.

Books

Jiří Grossmann and Miroslav Šimek wrote together many short stories, which they read out as part of their performances. Their collections were also published as books, some only after Grossmann's death. The collections include: *''Besídka zvláštní školy'' (1969) *''Besídka bývalých žáků zvláštní školy'' (1990) *''Povídky aneb nechci slevu zadarmo'' (1993) *''Povídky'' (2008)

Filmography

Discography

Related quotes

References

External links

*
Supraphon EntryCzechoslovak Film Database EntryJiří Grossmann On Broadcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossmann, Jiri 1941 births 1971 deaths Czech male poets Czech songwriters Male actors from Prague Czech Technical University in Prague alumni Czech male stage actors Czech male film actors Czech male television actors 20th-century Czech poets Czechoslovak male actors Deaths from cancer in Czechoslovakia Deaths from Hodgkin lymphoma 20th-century Czech male writers