JW
Photo of Jan Werich

Jan Werich

Actor, Writer, Producer, Additional Credits
Born February 6, 1905Died October 31, 1980 (75 years)
Between 1916 and 1924, Werich attended "reálné gymnasium" (equivalent to high school) in Křemencova Street in Prague (where his future business partner, Jiří Voskovec, also studied). He studied law at the Charles University Law School from 1924 to 1927, from which he made an early departure to begin his artistic career and forge one of the most important partnerships of his life.

For more than 10 years he worked in theatre Jiří Voskovec and Jaroslav Ježek. Their partnership was a platform for their numerous left-wing political satires, most notably in the Osvobozené divadlo (Liberated Theatre). The trio's work took inspiration from Dada, with its love of the absurd, a reaction against bourgeois values and the horrors of World War I.

In 1955 he begun working in cinema, and 1960s were a peak in his actor career. From the creation of the ABC Theatre he moved to the City Theatres of Prague and then to the Musical Theatre of Karlin and Nusle. Werich was originally cast by producer Harry Saltzman to play Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice. Upon his arrival at the Pinewood set, both producer Albert R. Broccoli and director Lewis Gilbert felt that he was a poor choice, resembling a "poor, benevolent Santa Claus".
Known For
  • When the Cat Comes
  • The Emperor and the Golem
  • There Was Once a King...
  • The Three Veterans
  • The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
  • The Creation of the World
  • Fimfárum 2
  • Fimfarum: The Third Time Lucky 3D
  • Powder and Petrol
  • The Golem: The Legend of Prague
  • Pan Tau
  • The Secret of Blood

Filmography

2011
2006
Fimfárum 2 · as Narrator
2002
Fimfárum Jana Wericha · as Vypravěč
2002
Best Ever Bond · as Blofeld (unused Stills From You Only Live Twice)
1988
Pan Tau - Der Film · as (archive Footage)
1970
Pan Tau (TV Series)
1968
Assignment K · as Dr. Spiegler
1967
You Only Live Twice · as Blofeld In The Chair In The Undeleted Scenes
1967
The 25th Hour · as Sgt. Constantin
1964
Krik · as Narrator (voice)
1963
A Pound on Demand · as Sam Adams
1963
When the Cat Comes · as Oliva
1962
1962
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen · as Kapitán Holandské Lodi
1961
Italienisches Capriccio · as Don Marzio
1958
The Creation of the World · as Narrator (voice)
1956
1955
Music from Mars · as Nadšený Divák
1955
There Was Once a King... · as Král Já I.
1954
1953
1952
The Emperor and the Golem · as Emperor Rudolf Ii / Matheus Kotrba, The Baker
1950
The Fall of Berlin · as Hermann Goering
1939
1937
The World Is Ours · as Kamelot
1934
U nás v Kocourkove · as Ferdinand Kaplan
1934
1932
1932

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