Josef Somr
{{short description|Czech actor (1934–2022)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Josef Somr.jpg
| caption = Somr in 2008
| name = Josef Somr
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1934|4|14}}
| birth_place = Vracov, Czechoslovakia
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2022|10|16|1934|4|14}}
| death_place = Nová Ves pod Pleší, Czech Republic
| othername =
| occupation = Actor
| yearsactive = 1966–2022
}}
Josef Somr (14 April 1934 – 16 October 2022) was a Czech actor. He was noted for starring in the Oscar-winning 1966 film Closely Watched Trains, as well as in The Joke.
Early life
Somr was born in Vracov, Czechoslovakia,{{cite news|title=Czech Oscar-winning film protagonist Somr dies aged 88|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2724935556|date=16 October 2022|access-date=17 October 2022|agency=Czech News Agency|id={{ProQuest|2724935556}}}} on 14 April 1934.{{cite news|title="He was simply loved": Actor Josef Somr dies at 88|url=https://english.radio.cz/he-was-simply-loved-actor-josef-somr-dies-88-8764440|first=Anna|last=Fodor|date=17 October 2022|access-date=17 October 2022|publisher=Radio Prague}} He studied at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, graduating in 1956.
Career
Somr started his acting career at various regional theatres, before becoming a part of The Drama Club in Prague. There, he received roles in productions directed by Ladislav Smocek, Jan Kačer, and Jiří Menzel. He began acting in films starting in the mid-1960s, making his film debut in Accused (1964). His following role saw him play the libidinous train dispatcher Hubička in Closely Watched Trains by Menzel.{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/71104/closely-watched-trains#synopsis|title=Closely Watched Trains (1967) – Synopsis|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=18 October 2022}} Film critic John Simon described Somr's performance as "so spontaneous, unconcerned, and complete ... that it affects our entire sensorium – finger tips, nostrils, and palate no less than eyes and ears".{{cite book|title=Avant-garde to New Wave: Czechoslovak Cinema, Surrealism and the Sixties|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MnSrkuus3AEC&pg=PA82|publisher=Berghahn Books|year= 2011|last=Owen|first=Jonathan L.|page=82|isbn=9780857451279}} The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in April 1968.{{cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1968|title=The 40th Academy Awards – 1968|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|access-date=18 October 2022}} Somr subsequently played scientist Ludvík Jahn in the lead role of The Joke (1969) by Jaromil Jireš.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/joke|title=The Joke|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=18 October 2022}} He went on to feature in Poslední propadne peklu under director Ludvík Ráža in 1982.{{sfn|Czech Film Archive|2010|p=348}}{{cite web|url=http://www.csfd.cz/film/8032-posledni-propadne-peklu/|title=Poslední propadne peklu|publisher=Czech Film Database|accessdate=25 July 2010}}
According to Michal Bregant – who headed the Czech Film Archive – Somr preferred acting in theatre, despite having roles in over 170 films. This was because he disliked revealing his face in profile, which was captured more easily on camera. He joined the National Theatre drama ensemble in 1978, on the invitation of Miroslav Macháček. He played the marshal in The White Disease by Karel Čapek, as well as the town councillor Jakub Busek in Naši furianti. Somr's portrayal of Mister Frantisek in Romance pro křídlovku garnered him a Thalia Award in 1998. He also did voice acting for radio, audiobooks, and poetry readings, and featured in film adaptations of Czech fairy tales.
Personal life
Somr was married to Alena Somrová until his death. He died on 16 October 2022 at Na Pleši hospital in Nová Ves pod Pleší.{{cite news|title=Popular theatre and film actor Josef Somr dies at 88|url=https://english.radio.cz/popular-theatre-and-film-actor-josef-somr-dies-88-8764356|first=Anna|last=Fodor|date=16 October 2022|access-date=18 October 2022|publisher=Radio Prague}} He was 88 years old.
Awards and honours
Somr was conferred the Medal of Merit by Václav Havel in 2005. Seven years later, he received the Czech Lion Award for Unique Contribution to Czech Film. He was subsequently bestowed a lifetime achievement award at the 2014 Thalia Awards for his theatre work.{{cite news|title=Josef Somr awarded lifetime achievement Thalia|url=https://english.radio.cz/josef-somr-awarded-lifetime-achievement-thalia-8300072|first=Jan|last=Velinger|date=30 March 2014|access-date=18 October 2022|publisher=Radio Prague}}
Selected filmography
- Closely Watched Trains (or Closely Observed Trains) (1966){{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/josef_somr|title=Josef Somr|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=17 October 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/1435284%7C89142/Josef-Somr#filmography|title=Josef Somr – Filmography|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=17 October 2022}}
- Valley of the Bees (1967){{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba2db38d1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529054356/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba2db38d1|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 May 2017|title=Josef Somr|publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=17 October 2022}}
- The Joke (1969)
- Funeral Ceremonies (1969)
- Fruit of Paradise (1970){{cite web|url=https://www.csfd.cz/film/1533-ovoce-stromu-rajskych-jime/prehled/|title=Ovoce stromů rajských jíme (1969)|publisher=Czech Film Database|accessdate=18 October 2022|language=cs}}
- Což takhle dát si špenát (1977){{cite web|title=Josef Somr List of Movies and TV Shows|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/josef-somr/credits/3030044318/|website=TV Guide|access-date=17 October 2022}}
- Those Wonderful Movie Cranks (1978)
- Poslední propadne peklu (1982){{sfn|Czech Film Archive|2010|p=348}}
- How the World Is Losing Poets (1982){{cite book|title=Kdo je kdo v českém filmu: poprvé|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gkkBEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT218|volume=1|publisher=Petrklíč|date=1 January 2008|isbn=9788072291311|language=cs}}
- Fešák Hubert (1984){{sfn|Czech Film Archive|2010|p=120}}
- Jak básníci neztrácejí naději (2004){{sfn|Czech Film Archive|2010|p=148}}
- I am all good (2008)
References
=Specific=
{{reflist}}
=Bibliography=
{{Refbegin}}
- {{cite book|title=Czech feature film|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TABGAQAAIAAJ|publisher=Czech Film Archive|year=2010|isbn=9788070041413|ref={{harvid|Czech Film Archive|2010}}}}
{{Refend}}
External links
- {{imdbname|0814162}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somr, Josef}}
Category:Czech male film actors
Category:Czech male television actors
Category:Czech male stage actors
Category:20th-century Czech male actors
Category:21st-century Czech male actors
Category:Actors of Městské divadlo Brno
Category:Merited Artists of Czechoslovakia