Jiří Sovák

Jiří Sovák (né Schmitzer; 27 December 1920 – 6 September 2000) was a Czech actor, best known for his comedy roles.

Early life Jiří Sovák was born Jiří Schmitzer to the family of an innkeeper in Prague. He later changed his name to Sovák as a protest against Nazi Germany and its occupation of Czechoslovakia. In 1941 – during WW2 – he graduated from Prague State Conservatory where he studied drama. His father did not want him to be an actor, so he worked as a clerk and played in an amateur theatre group; today known as Rokoko Theatre.

Sovák entered Czechoslovak television as soon as it came into existence in 1953. He played in TV film and serial microcomedies such as Uspořená libra (A Pound on Demand, based on a play by Seán O'Casey; Vladimír Svitáček, 1963), and Bohouš (1968); and children's TV serials such as Pan Tau, Arabela, and Létající Čestmír. His most successful roles were in the serials Byli jednou dva písaři (with Horníček; based on Bouvard et Pécuchet by Gustave Flaubert; dir. Ján Roháč, 1972) and Chalupáři (Cottagers; 1975).

He retired on 31 March 1983. In 2000 he fell on his terrace, broke his hip and had an embolism during his operation. He died in a Prague hospital before reaching 80. He is buried in small town Stříbrná Skalice, in a private grave closed to the public.