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Waldemar Matuška | |
|---|---|
 Waldemar Matuška in 1980 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Walda |
| Born | (1932-07-02)2 July 1932 Košice,Czechoslovakia (nowSlovakia) |
| Died | May 30, 2009(2009-05-30) (aged 76) Saint Petersburg,Florida,United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Actor |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar, Banjo, Double bass |
| Years active | 1960–2009 |
Waldemar Matuška (Czech pronunciation:[ˈvaldɛmarˈmatuʃka]; July 2, 1932 – May 30, 2009) was aCzechoslovak singer who became popular in his homeland during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1986, he immigrated to the United States.
Waldemar Matuška was born inKošice,Czechoslovakia (nowSlovakia), and spent his whole childhood inPrague. His mother was a singer in theVienna and Košiceoperetta theatres. He trained at a glassmaking school and worked in glassworksPoděbrady as a glassmaker. He performed on various musical instruments (mostlybanjo, guitar,contrabass or drums with many different bands. In 1960 he recorded his first songSuvenýr (Souvenir). Later he became an actor and singer of the theatreSemafor. On the stage he performed withKarel Štědrý,Jiří Suchý,Hana Hegerová and others, starting in 1961, withEva Pilarová. He won theZlatý slavík ("Golden Nightingale") music poll twice, in 1962 and 1967, and placed second several times.
As his popularity grew he started acting in movies and writing songs for movies. Waldemar and Eva Pilarová left Semafor and joined the ensemble of the theatreRokoko. But Pilarová soon returned to Semafor, while Matuška began singing withHelena Vondráčková,Marta Kubišová,Jitka Zelenková and others. He participated in other projects besides the theatre, mainly duets withHana Hegerová andKarel Gott.
In 1976 he married the choir singerOlga Blechová (from the duet Olga and Irena). His popularity at home was high, and he also gave concerts abroad, limited with his interpretation of songs only in Czech. In 1986 he left Czechoslovakia and settled with his wife inSaint Petersburg, Florida, United States, with the help from his wife’s brother. Meanwhile, in Czechoslovakia, theCommunist party banned all his songs, destroyed recordings of his LP gramophone recordJsem svým pánem ('I'm My Own Master'), deleted his opening song in the popular television seriesChalupáři (just the melody remained) and changed the title of the TV seriesRozpaky kuchaře Svatopluka ('Doubts of cook Svatopluk'). Matuška continued to perform in the United States, mostly for emigrants from Czechoslovakia.
After the 1989Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, his songs were returned to their proper place in the television series. He lived in Florida, at times performing in the Czech Republic.
He died in Florida on May 30, 2009, ofpneumonia and heart failure, aged 76.Asthma may have contributed to his death.[1]
He had two sons from two wives. Miroslav is a librarian at theUniversity of Hamburg. Waldemar was born in Florida, but has married and settled in Prague[1].
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