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SoundCzechClothes make a man
You're listening to SoundCzech - Radio Prague's own Czech language series
in which you'll learn useful phrases through song lyrics. Today we'll hear
a song from the 1930s by the comedians and playwrights Jan Werich and
Jiri Voskovec, with music by Jaroslav Jezek. It is called "Saty
delaj cloveka" which incidentally, is the phrase we are
going to learn today.
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Current AffairsVoskovec and Werich: a fruitful cooperation that continued across the Atlantic
In the 1920s and 30s the actors Jiri Voskovec and Jan Werich became
legendary for their bitingly satirical songs that parodied the politics of
the time in the tense years leading up to the war. Their "Osvobozene
divadlo" - or "Liberated Theatre" - is remembered and loved
to this day. During the wartime occupation the two men escaped to America,
but then their careers took very different directions. Werich returned
home, and took roles in several well-known films of the 50s and 60s, while
Voskovec decided to stay in the States. Against the odds and despite never
shaking off his Czech accent he had a successful Hollywood career.
Smuggling their letters past the censors, the two men continued to write
to one another across the Iron Curtain, and in a way this correspondence
was a continuation of their fruitful earlier literary cooperation. Now,
for the first time, some of the letters have just been published.
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Current AffairsActor, comedian and writer Jan Werich was born 100 years ago
Jan Werich, one of the most famous and best-loved Czech actors and
comedians would have turned 100 this Sunday. Werich is probably best-known
for his theatre performances but he also appeared in many films and wrote a
number of books, including children's fairy tales. Looking back, Werich's
life and work seem to have faithfully mirrored the twists and turns of
history that the whole Czech nation went through in the 20th century.
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Czechs in HistoryJan Werich - Czechoslovakia's "wise clown"
Welcome to Czechs in History. Today we look at the famous Czech actor Jan
Werich, who never lost his ability to laugh or his sharp social awareness,
even through two world wars. Known throughout his career as the "Wise
Clown" his body of work is said to symbolize Czech intellectual
humour. He has been crowned as a phenomenon of the first Republic amongst
such revered names as Masaryk, Capek and Bata and has also been called the
backbone of Czech modern theatre. Today we'll take you briefly through the
phases of Werich's complex life and career. You'll hear how his fusion of
music and intelligent text earned him the name of "liberator of
theatre" in Czechoslovakia.
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ArtsArts news, New memorial of Voskovec and Werich
Welcome to this week's Arts. In today's edition: Prague pays its debt to
the unforgettable duo of Czech comedians Jan Werich and Jiri Voskovec, as
a proper gravestone has been raised at last at the Olsanske cemetery in
Prague above their graves. More on that a little later on, but first we
start with the arts news.
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