Jiří Wachsmann
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George Voskovec, born Jiří Wachsmann in 1905, was a Czech-American actor, writer, and producer. He co-founded the avant-garde Liberated Theatre of Prague with Jan Werich and later appeared in the 1957 film 12 Angry Men. He won an Obie Award for his role in Uncle Vanya and received the Czech Medal of Merit. Voskovec died of a heart attack in 1981 at age 76.
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George Voskovec — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Voskovec’s collaboration with Jan Werich started in 1927 with the Vest Pocket Revue. Born Jiří Wachsmann on June 19, 1905 in Sázava, Bohemia, he attended Lycée Carnot in Dijon and Charles University in Prague, where he studied law and arts. His father Václav changed the family name from Wachsmann in 1920.
Voskovec began his career in 1927 by forming a partnership with Jan Werich. Together they wrote and performed 26 productions for the Liberated Theatre of Prague over 11 years. He emigrated to the US after the German invasion, making his Broadway debut in 1945 in The Tempest.
He returned to Prague after the war but later settled in America. His film career included roles in 12 Angry Men 1957, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold 1965, and The Boston Strangler 1968. He also appeared in television series such as The Fugitive and Hawaii Five-O.
Voskovec won an Obie Award for his performance in Uncle Vanya and continued acting into the 1970s, including a role in Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days.
Voskovec married three times: to Marie Madeleine Andree Main, to Broadway actress Anne Gerlette, who predeceased him, and to poet Christianne McKeown. He and Gerlette adopted two daughters, Vicki and Gigi.
After returning from Paris in 1950, he was detained on Ellis Island for 11 months on suspicion of communist sympathies. He never returned to Prague.
Playing a juror in the 1957 film 12 Angry Men, Voskovec earned recognition in American cinema. His partnership with Jan Werich revolutionized Czech avant-garde theatre. He received the Czech Medal of Merit, 2nd class, posthumously.
His recorded LP Relativně vzato 1975 features reflections on his life, with sleeve notes by Josef Škvorecký. Voskovec’s work as a songwriter includes lyrics for some 300 popular songs.
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In 1975, he published the Czech spoken LP record Relativně vzato, reflecting on his life; the sleeve note was written by Josef Škvorecký.
He starred on Broadway in 1961 with Hal Holbrook in Do You Know the Milky Way by German playwright Karl Wittlinger.
He immigrated to the US in 1939 and again in 1948 with the onset of the National Socialist and Stalinist regimes in Czechoslovakia.
George Voskovec was a Czech-American actor.
He was associated with actor and playwright Jan Werich throughout his career.
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