Jan Werich
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".
Filmography (57 Appearances)
Cecílie
Jan Werich: Když už člověk jednou je…
Voskovec & Werich, paralelní osudy
Fimfarum - To the good of all
Fimfarum 2
Tři strážníci
Jan Werich's Fimfarum
When the Oak Leaves Fall
Mean Barbara
Pan Tau – der Film
Jonáš a Melicharová
Královna Koloběžka první
Herecké Vánoce
Pan Tau
Přiložte životopis
Co tomu říkáte, pane Werich?
Assignment K
Klapzubova jedenáctka
Czechoslovakia: Portrait of a Tragedy
King and Women
The 25th Hour
Pražská strašidla
Magnetické vlny léčí
The Dear Departed
The Cry
Uspořená libra
Kočár nejsvětější svátosti
Tears the World Can't See
When the Cat Comes
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
Italienisches Capriccio
Medvěd
Těžká Barbora
Balada z hadrů
The Creation of the World
Silvestr 1957
To jsou Bratři v triku
The Good Soldier Svejk
Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka – Švejkova budějovická anabase
Jaroslav Hasek's Exemplary Cinematograph
Hudba z Marsu
Two Little Frosts
Dog's Heads
Once Upon a Time, There Was a King...
Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka – Švejkovy nehody ve vlaku
Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka – Z Hatvanu na hranice Haliče
Pouť noci silvestrovské
Večer s Jaroslavem Haškem
The Emperor and the Golem
The Golden Fish
The Fall of Berlin
Crisis
The World Belongs to Us
Here in Kocourkov
Heave-Ho!
Your Money or Your Life
Powder and Petrol