Ondřej Havelka

Ondřej Havelka (born 10 October 1954) is a Czech jazz and swing singer, actor, and director. He began his musical career singing with the jazz band Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra in 1976 and went on to form his own group, Ondřej Havelka a jeho Melody Makers, in 1995. He has worked as an actor since the 1970s, and he is the director of several documentary films as well as the 2018 feature Hastrman.

Early life Ondřej Havelka was born on 10 October 1954 in Prague, Czechoslovakia (present-day Czech Republic). He is the son of actress Libuše Havelková and composer Svatopluk Havelka. After graduating in acting from Prague's DAMU in 1980, he pursued postgraduate studies in opera directing at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno, graduating in 1988. Between 1973 and 1983, he also worked at Prague's Studio Ypsilon theatre, and he did a sting at Prague's Karlín Music Theatre. He left in 1995 to form his own band in Berlin, the Golden Prague Syncopated Orchestra, taking several members of OPSO with him. The ensemble was later renamed Ondřej Havelka a jeho Melody Makers,

Film and television

In 1989, Havelka began working as a screenwriter and director in television. In 1990, he wrote the script and directed the music documentary Originální pražský synkopický orchestr, about his former band, which won the "Silver Rose" award at the 1991 Rose d'Or festival. In 1995, he wrote the script for and directed the television documentary Mezzosoprano Magdalena Kožená. In 1999, he wrote, directed, and appeared in the documentary film Zdravý nemocný Vlastimilený Brodský. In 2008, he directed the documentary film Magdalena, once more about Kožená. In 2012, he made the documentary film Perla baroka, about the theatre at Český Krumlov Castle. In 2018, Havelka wrote and directed his first feature film, Hastrman, which starred Karel Dobrý and Simona Zmrzlá.

Awards In 1995, Havelka won the Gramy award for directing the best music video, for the song "Děkuji, bylo to krásné".

Personal life Havelka has two sons, including actor and musician Vojtěch Havelka (who has played in his father's band) and singer, actress, dancer, and former model Rozálie Havelková. Magdalena (2008) Perla baroka (2012) Hastrman (2018)

Actor