Alfréd Radok | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1914-12-17)17 December 1914 |
| Died | 22 April 1976(1976-04-22) (aged 61) |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, stage director actor, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1938–1976 |
Alfréd Radok (17 December 1914 in – 22 April 1976) was a distinguishedCzechstage director andfilm director.[1] Radok's work belongs with the top Czech stage direction of the 20th century. He is often cited as aformalist in his work.
Radok was born in Koloděje nad Lužnicí. His father Viktor Radok was Jewish, and his mother Olga, née Toushková, was catholic.[2] He got baptized just before the World War II started in 1939. Radok planned to study journalism and theatre in Prague, but afterGerman occupation all universities were closed down by the Nazis.[2] He then started his own amateur theatre company called Mladá scéna with his brotherEmil inValašské Meziříčí.[2] In 1940 Radok was hired by the theatre ofE. F. Burian, D34, in Prague and worked there until Burian's arrest in 1941, when the theatre was closed.[2] Alfréd then continued in other theatres as an assistant director but was forced to leave because of his Jewish heritage. In 1944 he was sent toKlettendorf labour camp.[2] After an allied air raid in January 1945 he managed to escape and returned to Czechoslovakia.[2] His father and every relative on his father's side of the family were murdered in theHolocaust.[2]
In 1948 he directed a filmDistant Journey about theHolocaust. In CzechoslovakiaOtakar Vávra and other communist executives in the state controlled film industry were critical of the movie. As a result, it only received a limited release in provincial cinemas, however internationally the film achieved critical success.The New York Times selected it to be among top 10 movies of 1950. Radok worked as a guest director atNational Theatre in Prague in the years 1948 to 1949.[3] He directed a musical comedy filmDivotvorný klobouk in 1953 and a historical comedy about automobilismVintage Car in 1956. In the same year he was hired by the National Theatre.
For the Czechoslovak pavilion atExpo 58 inBrussels Radok co-created the multimedia theatre showLaterna Magika, which combined live actors with projections on multiple irregularly shaped projection screens. His collaborators were scenographerJosef Svoboda, screenwriterMiloš Forman and directorsEmil Radok,Vladimír Svitáček andJán Roháč. Laterna Magika was a huge success at the Expo and the permanent scene was created at The New Stage of the National Theatre in Prague in 1959. However next year Radok was fired from the theatre for political reasons. After that he worked atMěstská divadla pražská until 1966, when he was allowed to direct at the National Theatre again. When Czechoslovkiawas invaded in 1968 byWarsaw Pact armies he decided to leave toSweden with his family. He directed plays atFolkteatern inGothenburg until 1972.[2] In 1976 he was invited to directVáclav Havel's play inBurgtheater,Vienna, but after arriving to Vienna he fell ill and died on 22 April 1976.[2]
He was married to Marie Radoková (1922–2003). They had two children – a son David (born 1954), who is a stage director, and a daughter Barbara (born 1948). His younger brotherEmil Radok (1918–1994) was also a director and Alfréd's collaborator.
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Parohy | |
| 1948 | Distant Journey | also a screenwriter |
| 1953 | Divotvorný klobouk | also a screenwriter |
| 1956 | Vintage Car |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
