Waldemar Matuška

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Waldemar Matuška ['valdɛmar' matʊʃka] (born July 2, 1932 in Košice , Czechoslovakia , † May 30, 2009 in Florida ) was a Czechoslovak pop singer and actor . Popular in the 1960s and 1970s, he emigrated to the United States in 1986 and lived in Saint Petersburg , Florida from then on .

Life

Waldemar Matuška was born as one of five sons of a Czech soldier and the Viennese operetta singer Mia Malinova . He spent his childhood in Prague . He soon gave up his job as a glass blower in the Czech town of Karlovy Vary in favor of a musical career and played various instruments in various bands.

In 1960 Matuška, whose black beard, which was unusual for a pop singer at the time, quickly became his trademark, recorded his first record Suvenýr (souvenir). He performed as an actor in the Semafor Theater in Prague . Numerous recordings and appearances with many Czech artists, including Karel Gott, followed . Twice, in 1962 and 1967, he won the Zlatý slavík (Golden Nightingale) music award . With increasing success he also made films. Even after the crackdown on the Prague Spring , Matuška remained popular. Artistically, he shifted increasingly to pieces in the style of country music .

In 1976 he married the singer Olga Blechová , with whom he left Czechoslovakia ten years later. The communist regime banned Matuška from radio, television and cinema, and his records were withdrawn from sale. Matuška was considered a traitor, the party newspaper Rudé právo reported on his emigration under the title “The moral decline of a singer”.

In the United States, Matuška earned his living performing for compatriots who were also emigrated. After the Velvet Revolution in his homeland in autumn 1989, Matuška gave a concert in Prague the following year, which was followed by more. He died in 2009 at the age of 76. Waldemar Matuška was buried in the Vyšehrad Memorial Cemetery in Prague .

Filmography (selection)

  • 1964: Lemonade Joe (Limonádový Joe aneb Koňská opera)
  • 1966: The Phantom of Morrisville (Fantom Morrisvillu)
  • 1966: pipes, beds, lovebirds (Dýmky)
  • 1966: Death behind the stage curtain (Smrt za oponou)
  • 1968: All good compatriots (Všichni dobří rodáci)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Matuška, Waldemar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Czechoslovak pop singer and actor
DATE OF BIRTH July 2, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Košice , Czechoslovakia
DATE OF DEATH May 30, 2009
Place of death Florida , United States