Antonín Jedlička (1923-1993)

The well-known actor, entertainer and sound imitator Antonín Jedlička was born on 18 February 1923 in Březové Hory as the eldest of six children of an unemployed hatter. During the Depression, the family moved to Prague, first to Karlín, later to Žižkov. Here, little Toník made his first public appearances, when he, his father and uncle went to play and sing in houses to earn some money. His clear voice attracted such attention that he soon became a singer in Kühn's children's radio choir and Disman's ensemble.

Toník passed the voice test like clockwork and immediately started singing solos. However, as he supposedly did not even have his own shoes at that time (he shared them with his brother), his teacher bought him new sneakers so that he could always wear them to the radio. From radio he eventually made his way to the stage of the Vinohrady and National Theatre. He was given child roles in The Divotvorny hat, Granny and St. Wenceslas. Through O. Korbelář, he also tried his hand at filmmaking as a boy. He quickly succeeded there as well and was often cast in the films Rogue Macoun, That Was a Czech Musician, Madla Sings to Europe and others. In 1936-41 he was a member of the Municipal Theatre in Vinohrady, 1941-45 of Uránie and the National Theatre, 1945-46 of the 5 May Theatre, 1946-49 of the Czechoslovak Radio.

He performed in public under the pseudonym Uncle Jedlička and his favourite prop was a cheerful pig (puppet), which he held in his arms and talked to - inimitably grunting and squealing for it. In his Uncle Jedlicka's Studio (established in 1987 at the Julius Fucik Park of Culture and Recreation in Prague, today's Výstaviště) he tried to teach children various dramatic genres and fearless public speaking. Sometimes he even pinched or pushed them to perform something. He wanted to teach them not to be afraid on stage. He demanded unconditional discipline, so the children were sometimes even afraid of him (some of them even wet themselves on stage), but at the same time they loved him.

For forty-five seasons he was Uncle Jedlička to the children, and his wife, the ballerina Miroslava Janoušková, even called him uncle. He traveled all over the country with his show, but he did not have his own television program for children. The main focus of his work, however, was the excellent art of imitating all kinds of sounds and sounds - he could coo, cackle, bark... just everything one could think of. He made thousands of sounds for films, but the one that gave him the most thought was the munching of a carnivorous plant for Oldřich Lipsky's film Adéla has not yet had her supper.

In spite of his slight stature, A. Jedlička was characterised by his enormous vitality - he played over 300 performances a year and recorded more than 50 gramophone records. And he earned good money from his youth, so he had enough envious people who claimed that he "made" millions. When he drove off in his yellow Mercedes 300 D, he drew both smiles and envy.

Although he was happily married, he was followed by many female fans - one of whom even knitted him waistcoats with a stylised fir tree motif, which he liked to wear to shows. He did not neglect the world of the film screen or television screen, where he mainly enjoyed smaller roles in which he was able to use all his improvisational and comic talents. Together with director Milan Pešek, he prepared the sixteen-part television series Kulišáci Uncle Jedlička, in which he entertained adult viewers. No entertainment programme was without him, no New Year's Eve - whether TV or radio, he tried his hand at dubbing (the dwarf Barkarola in Angelica). He is the author of several books for children, but also for adults - "Uncle Jedlicka's Fairy Tales" (1963), "The House of the Merry Little Tear" (1967), "Uncle Jedlicka's Book" (1974, 1981), "Return Ticket to Childhood" (1983), "When Actors Don't Play..." (1988), and "The Stage of Actors' Fates" (1990).

He lived with his family in the house of the singer Ada Nordenová in Staré Spořilov. But even Antonín Jedlička was only human, and as such he longed for admiration and honours. Several times he himself asked for the title of Meritorious Artist for his long work with children. Finally, in 1984, he did receive it, and when he was asked to return the title in protest in his ninety-first year, he did not. He cherished his trophy, not associating it with politics. He was proud to receive many other awards: he was a proud recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, he was awarded the Order of the Children's Smile, and he was a laureate of the Hašek Lipnice. He was also a recipient of the Second Degree Award for the Development of Sport among Youth.

He enjoyed playing football, hockey or tennis with his colleagues in the industry - and it was on the tennis court that he died. He was always in his element on the court, clucking, cooing and doing all sorts of funny things while playing. This was also the case on 28 August 1993 at the tunaj of famous personalities in Houšt'ka near Stará Boleslav. And Jedlička hit the ball, grunted and fell down. Everyone laughed, thinking it was a joke. But he was lying down and didn't get up. He was dead... Five years later, Karel Štědrý and Karel Bláha Jr. The Uncle Jedlicka Memorial.

Text: https://www.fdb.cz/lidi-zivotopis-biografie/19680-antonin-jedlicka.html