Czechs in History Jan 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.
From left to right: Jaroslav Jezek, Jan Werich and Jiri Voskovec
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