Jiří Schmitzer

Czech actor and musician (born 1949)

Jiří Schmitzer
Schmitzer in 2008
Born	(1949-10-25) 25 October 1949 (age 74) Prague, Czechoslovakia
Alma mater	Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
Occupation(s)	Actor, musician
Years active	1966–present
Parent	Jiří Sovák
Awards	Czech Lion

Jiří Schmitzer (born 25 October 1949) is a Czech actor and musician, the son of actor Jiří Sovák. He is a four-time holder of the Czech Lion Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.^[1]

Biography

Career

Schmitzer graduated from the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 1974, after which he performed at the Činoherní studio in Ústí nad Labem. From 1985, he was a member of the Studio Ypsilon ensemble in Liberec.

Schmitzer made his television debut in 1966 with the series Eliška a její rod. He first appeared onscreen in the 1967 production Kinoautomat, considered the world's first interactive movie.^[2] He played prominent roles in such films as Marecek, Pass Me the Pen! (1976), Cutting It Short (1980), The Snowdrop Festival (1984), Černí baroni (1992), and the television series Chalupáři (1975) and Sanitka (1984). In 1997, Schmitzer won his first Czech Lion Award as Best Actor in a Leading Role for the television film Bumerang (1997). He has since won the award three more times, for the films Beauty in Trouble (2006), Jako nikdy (2013), and Staříci (2019).

Schmitzer is also a composer, having written music for a number of theatrical productions and films. He is additionally a singer and guitarist, performing humorous folk songs. He has released four studio albums. In 2008, Schmitzer published a collection of his texts in a book titled Kanimůra ze Šardonu.^[3]

Personal life

In 1976, under the influence of alcohol, Schmitzer caused a car accident in which a pedestrian died. He was sentenced to three years in prison and released after a year and a half for good behaviour.^[4] His father, Jiří Sovák, never forgave him for this, cutting off all contact with his son and eventually disowning him.^[5] Prior to the accident, Schmitzer had acted in several productions with his father, including the film Marecek, Pass Me the Pen! and the series Chalupáři. In the film they played son and father and in the series, the two played grandson and grandfather, respectively. In the 1977 sci-fi comedy Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea, Schmitzer voiced a younger version of his father's character.

Selected filmography

Film

List of film appearances, with year, title, and role shown
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	Kinoautomat
1976	Marecek, Pass Me the Pen!	Jiří Kroupa Jr.
1977	Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea	Young Klaus Abard	Voice, uncredited
1980	Cutting It Short	Francin
1984	The Snowdrop Festival	Láďa Novák
1985	My Sweet Little Village	Police officer
1988	Dům pro dva	Bóza
1992	Černí baroni	Lieutenant Hamáček
1993	The Trial	Thin defendant
1997	Báječná léta pod psa	Dr. Liehr
2000	Wild Flowers	Umrlec	Segment "Svatební košile"
2006	Beauty in Trouble	Richard
2007	Gympl	Czech teacher Karel
2007	Empties
2008	I'm All Good	Tonda
2010	Kooky	Creeper	Voice
2012	Seven Days of Sin	Ditrich
2013	Jako nikdy	Vladimír
2019	Staříci	Vlastimil Reiner

Television

List of television appearances, with year, title, and role shown
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1966	Eliška a její rod		2 episodes
1975	Chalupáři	Slávek Krbec	7 episodes
1984	Sanitka	Ambulance man	5 episodes
1997	Bumerang	Jaroslav Svoboda	TV film

Discography

Recitál (1997)
Šílenec (2000)
Bouda (2003)
Sbírka kiksů (2008)

References

^ "České lvy ovládlo Nabarvené ptáče, z herců uspěli Schmitzer a Ramba" [The Czech Lions Were Dominated by The Painted Bird, and Schmitzer and Ramba Succeeded Among Actors]. novinky.cz (in Czech). 7 March 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
^ "Groundbreaking Czechoslovak Interactive Film System Revived 40 Years Later". english.radio.cz. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
^ "Jiří Schmitzer". hulman.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 19 June 2021.
^ "Jiří Schmitzer: rok a půl v base! Zabil chodce!" [Jiří Schmitzer: A Year and a Half in Prison! He Killed a Pedestrian!]. blesk.cz (in Czech). 16 March 2006. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
^ "Herec Jiří Schmitzer: Tři roky natvrdo za zabití z nedbalosti. Boxoval, aby se neupil. Pomsta šílené matky" [Actor Jiří Schmitzer: Three Years in Prison for Negligent Killing. He Boxed to Keep from drinking. Revenge of a Crazy Mother]. securitymagazin.cz (in Czech). 13 August 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2021.