As per our current Database, George Voskovec has been died on July 1, 1981(1981-07-01) (aged 76)\nPearblossom, California, U.S..
When George Voskovec die, George Voskovec was 76 years old.
Popular As | George Voskovec |
Occupation | Actor |
Age | 76 years old |
Zodiac Sign | Cancer |
Born | June 19, 1905 () |
Birthday | June 19 |
Town/City | |
Nationality |
George Voskovec’s zodiac sign is Cancer. According to astrologers, the sign of Cancer belongs to the element of Water, just like Scorpio and Pisces. Guided by emotion and their heart, they could have a hard time blending into the world around them. Being ruled by the Moon, phases of the lunar cycle deepen their internal mysteries and create fleeting emotional patterns that are beyond their control. As children, they don't have enough coping and defensive mechanisms for the outer world, and have to be approached with care and understanding, for that is what they give in return.
George Voskovec was born in the Year of the Snake. Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Snake are seductive, gregarious, introverted, generous, charming, good with money, analytical, insecure, jealous, slightly dangerous, smart, they rely on gut feelings, are hard-working and intelligent. Compatible with Rooster or Ox.
Voskovec was born as Jiří Wachsmann in Sázava, Bohemia, present-day Czech Republic. He was the son of Jiřina (Pinkasová) and Václav Wachsmann. His granduncle was Bedřich Wachsmann and his cousin was Alois Wachsman, both Painters and Architects, while his uncle was Austrian Painter Julius Wachsmann (1866–1936). He immigrated to the US in 1939 and again in 1948 with the onset of the Nazi and Stalinist regimes, respectively, in Czechoslovakia.
He attended school in Prague and Dijon, France. In 1927, together with Werich, he joined the Osvobozené divadlo (Liberated Theater), which had been created two years earlier by members of the avant-garde Devětsil group, Jiří Frejka and Jindřich Honzl. After disagreements led Frejka to leave the group in 1927, Honzl asked Voskovec and Werich, 22-year-old law students who had created a sensation with their Vest Pocket Revue that year, to join the theatre. When Honzl, who had directed their productions, left in 1929, Voskovec and Werich took control of the theatre and changed its name to the Liberated Theatre of Voskovec and Werich, assuming all responsibility for direction, writing, librettos, and other artistic decisions. The Liberated became a center for Czech clownery, a reaction to contemporary political and societal problems. Their performances began with the primary goal of evoking laughter through fantasy, but with the changing political situation in Germany their work became increasingly anti-fascist, which led to the closure of the Liberated Theater after the Munich agreement in 1938. Both Voskovec and Werich fled to the United States in early 1939. For the rest of his life, Voskovec lived primarily in the United States, interrupted only by brief stays in Czechoslovakia in 1948 and in France from 1948 to 1950. Until the mid-1940s, Voskovec worked and wrote mostly with Jan Werich, but after Werich's return to Communist Czechoslovakia, they met only a few more times. After his return to the United States in 1950, Voskovec was unjustly detained at Ellis Island for eleven months for his alleged sympathy for Communism.
Although Voskovec lived in three countries and his maternal grandmother was French, he always maintained that "I am a born and bred Czech." In 1955, he became an American citizen. As a result of his naturalization, he is sometimes referred to as "George Voskovec".
Voskovec acted in 72 movies. Only the first five of these were Czech; the rest were American or British. His most famous American movie role was as the 11th juror in 12 Angry Men (1957), in which being a European immigrant to the U.S. was central to his role. His other famous films included The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) and The Boston Strangler (1968), as renowned psychic Peter Hurkos. His last movie was Barbarosa (1982), with Willie Nelson and Gary Busey. In 1975, he published the Czech spoken LP record "Relativně vzato", where he reflects on his life and world in general. A sleeve note for this LP was written by another notable Czech émigré, author Josef Škvorecký. Voskovec also appeared in the 1978 television film The Nativity and the 1980 film Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. In 1981 Voskovec played Fritz Brenner in the NBC TV series Nero Wolfe with William Conrad as Nero Wolfe.
Voskovec died in 1981 of a heart attack in Pearblossom, California, at the age of 76. He is survived by two daughters, Victoria and Georgeanne. His interment was at Olšany Cemetery in Prague.