Jan Werich
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".
Photos
Movies (62)
Cecílie
2026 · Voice (archive footage)
Jan Werich: Když už člověk jednou je…
2021 · Self (archive footage)
Fimfarum - To the good of all
2011 · (voice), Original Story
Fimfarum 2
2006 · Narrator, Original Story
Jan Werich's Fimfarum
2002 · Vypravěč, Original Story
RumplCimprCampr
1997 · Book
When the Oak Leaves Fall
1991 · Narrator (voice) (archive footage), Book
Mean Barbara
1989 · Narrator (voice) (archive footage), Book
Pan Tau – der Film
1988 · (archive footage)
Jonáš a Melicharová
1986 · (archive footage)
Ruffiano and Sweeteeth
1984 · Book
The Three Veterans
1984 · Book
Echoes of the Blue Room
1983
Přišel na večeři
1981 · Adaptation
Královna Koloběžka první
1981 · Narrator (archive footage) (voice), Book
Herecké Vánoce
1970 · Jan Werich
Assignment K
1968 · Dr. Spiegler
Czechoslovakia: Portrait of a Tragedy
1968 · Self
King and Women
1967 · Jindřich VIII., Adaptation
The 25th Hour
1967 · Sgt. Constantin
Golem
1967 · Theatre Play
Pražská strašidla
1966 · Narrator (voice)
Magnetické vlny léčí
1965 · léčitel Wohu
The Dear Departed
1964 · Dědeček
Three veterans
1964 · Original Story
The Cry
1964 · Narrator (voice)
Uspořená libra
1963 · Sam Adams, Adaptation, Screenplay
Kočár nejsvětější svátosti
1963 · Screenplay
Tears the World Can't See
1963 · Fedor Akimič Rjebrotěsov
When the Cat Comes
1963 · Oliva
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
1962 · kapitán holandské lodi
Italienisches Capriccio
1961 · Don Marzio
Medvěd
1961 · statkář Grigorij Stěpanovič Smirnov
Těžká Barbora
1960 · Theatre Play
Balada z hadrů
1960 · strážný Holofern, Theatre Play
The Creation of the World
1958 · Narrator (voice)
Silvestr 1957
1957
To jsou Bratři v triku
1957 · Himself
The Good Soldier Svejk
1956 · Narrator, Adaptation
Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka – Švejkova budějovická anabase
1956 · Narrator (voice)
Jaroslav Hasek's Exemplary Cinematograph
1956 · Commentary (voice)
Hudba z Marsu
1955 · Nadšený divák
Two Little Frosts
1955 · Brave Frost (voice)
Dog's Heads
1955
Once Upon a Time, There Was a King...
1955 · král Já I., Story, Dialogue, Screenplay
Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka – Švejkovy nehody ve vlaku
1955 · Narrator (voice)
Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka – Z Hatvanu na hranice Haliče
1954 · Narrator (voice)
Pouť noci silvestrovské
1953
The Secret of Blood
1953 · Screenstory
Večer s Jaroslavem Haškem
1953
The Emperor and the Golem
1951 · Emperor Rudolf II / Matheus Kotrba, The Baker, Creative Producer, Story, Screenplay
Pekařův císař
1951 · Rudolf II. / Matěj Kotrba, Screenplay
Císařův pekař
1951 · Rudolf II. / Matěj Kotrba, Screenplay
The Golden Fish
1951 · Narrator (voice), Story, Screenplay
The Fall of Berlin
1950 · Goering
Crisis
1939
The World Belongs to Us
1937 · kamelot, Theatre Play, Screenplay, Lyricist
The Golem
1936 · Theatre Play
Here in Kocourkov
1934 · Ferdinand Kaplan, Lyricist
Heave-Ho!
1934 · Story, Screenplay
Your Money or Your Life
1932 · Tonda, Screenplay, Story
Powder and Petrol
1932 · Story, Screenplay, Producer
