Ondřej Hejma (born 3 February 1951) is a Czech singer and songwriter, vocalist of the band
Žlutý pes
Žlutý pes is a Czech rock band active since 1978. Its founder and frontman, Ondřej Hejma, is also the band's primary songwriter. They have sometimes performed under the pseudonyms "Tomahawk" and "Hudebně-zábavná skupina Ondřeje Hejmy" in ...
. After graduating, he worked as an interpreter and translator. From 1987, he worked as a correspondent for the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
in Czechoslovakia and later also contributed to other Czech media. He has written three books, and is known for hosting television competitions such as ''
Chcete být milionářem?'' and ''
Česko hledá SuperStar
Česko hledá SuperStar () was the Czech Republic, Czech version of the Idol series which ran from 2004 to 2006. The show was broadcast on Czech Nova (Czech TV), TV Nova for three seasons. The first series was exceedingly popular, with the final ...
''.
Biography
Writing and journalism
After high school, Hejma studied English and Chinese
philology
Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...
at the
Faculty of Arts
A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...
at
Charles University in Prague
Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...
, and he worked briefly in an advertising agency. In the 1970s, together with Štefan Rybár, he published the travelogue ''Autostopem do Nepálu'' (Hitchhiking to Nepal). In the 1980s, he worked as a freelance interpreter and translator, providing English-language films with Czech subtitles. He later became part of a
samizdat
Samizdat (, , ) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the documents from reader to reader. The practice of manual rep ...
network of film enthusiasts, for whom he provided dubbing of videotapes imported from abroad. In 1987, he became the Prague correspondent for AP. At the time, he covered key moments of the
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...
and the initial period of economic transformation. He left the agency in 2009.
Hejma also wrote the "Psí život" section for ''
Reflex
In biology, a reflex, or reflex action, is an involuntary, unplanned sequence or action and nearly instantaneous response to a stimulus.
Reflexes are found with varying levels of complexity in organisms with a nervous system. A reflex occurs ...
'' magazine.
In 2012, Hejma began writing and gradually publishing the autobiographical trilogy ''Fejsbuk'', ''Americký Blues'', and ''Srdce Zlomený''.
Music
In the 1960s, while still in his teens, Hejma played in the blues band Žízeň; he was also a member of
Yo Yo Band and Combo FH. In 1978, he founded the group Žlutý pes. He has written most of the band's lyrics, as well as writing texts for other Czech musicians. Žlutý pes have recorded more than a dozen albums and scored a number of radio hits. In 1996, they won the Music Academy Award as Band of the Year. Hejma has also performed with the alternative project LL Jetel with Radim Hladík and Ernouš Šedivý. Since 2016, he has been a member of the acoustic group Marush.
Television and radio
Hejma has been active on
TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to:
Television
*Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso
* Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger
* Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala
* Can ...
, hosting the show ''Bez kravaty'', and in radio, hosting the program ''Press klub'' on Frekvence 1. On
TV Nova, he hosted the Czech version of ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (WWTBAM) is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and licensed by Sony Pictures Televis ...
'' called ''
Chcete být milionářem?'' He was also a juror in the first and third series of ''
Česko hledá SuperStar
Česko hledá SuperStar () was the Czech Republic, Czech version of the Idol series which ran from 2004 to 2006. The show was broadcast on Czech Nova (Czech TV), TV Nova for three seasons. The first series was exceedingly popular, with the final ...
'', the Czech version of the
''Idol'' series.
Personal life
Ondřej is married, his wife Vladimíra Hejmová is a doctor. They have two children, son Jan and daughter Tereza. He lives in
Řevnice
Řevnice () is a town in Prague-West District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,800 inhabitants.
Etymology
The name is derived from the personal name Řevna, meaning "the village of Řevna's people". The personal ...
.
Discography
Žlutý pes
* ''Ondřej Hejma – Žlutý pes'' (1988)
* ''Hoši z východního bloku'' (1992)
* ''Yellow Dog'' (1994)
* ''Šala-hů, Blbej den'' (1996)
* ''Trsátko'' (1996)
* ''Poslední lžíce'' (1998)
* ''Himálaje'' (1999)
* ''Fotbalová'' (2000)
* ''Čínská otázka'' (2001)
* ''Psí kusy (ty nejlepší kousky)'' (2002 - compilation album)
* ''Rok psa'' (2006)
* ''Mellow Yellow'' (2008)
* ''Modrá je dobrá'' (2011)
* ''Stroj času'' (2014)
Ondřej Hejma & L.L. Jetel
* ''Ondřej Hejma & L.L. Jetel'' (2004)
Solo
* ''Rockin' the Blues'' (1987)
Bibliography
* ''Autostopem do Nepálu'' (1978) with Štefan Rybár
* ''Fejsbuk'' (2012)
* ''Americký blues'' (2013)
* ''Srdce zlomený'' (2017)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hejma, Ondrej
1951 births
Living people
Czechoslovak male singers
Czech male songwriters
Czech journalists
Czech translators
Czech rock singers
Czech folk singers
Czech guitarists
Musicians from Prague
Charles University alumni
20th-century Czech male singers
21st-century Czech male singers