Vlasta Burian

Vlasta Burian was born on 9 April 1891 in Liberec. He is well known in the Czech Republic for his comic roles in many movies before and during World War II. His films are still shown regularly on Czech television, being particularly popular around Christmas time. He ran a popular comic theatre until 1944, when the Nazis closed down all Czech-language theatres. After the war Burian was charged and convicted of collaboration with the Nazis. He was briefly imprisoned, and then not permitted to return to the stage until 1950. He was officially exonerated of all charges in 1994.

Vlasta Burian was born on 9 April 1891 in Liberec to a tailor, patriot and volunteer Antonín Burian (*1863) and his five years older wife Maria Burianová, née Škaloudová (*1858), who had a daughter Žofia Picková (*1884) from a previous marriage. He spent the first ten years of his life in Liberec. On 5 May 1901, his family moved to the Prague suburb of Žižkov, because his father did not have a suitable environment for patriotic activities in Liberec, where the majority of the population was German. He got a job as an official collecting food taxes in Prague and regularly took his young son to the National Theatre. Josef Vlastimil later learned business manuals at a business school. As the son of a tailor, from childhood he met people who were interested in the theatre and had the opportunity to hear stories from this environment. He himself sang in the choir as a child and liked opera. Young Vlasta Burian was also very fond of sports. He excelled especially in football, he was a goalkeeper. He played for Slavoj Žižkov in the 1913–14 season, before playing for Sparta Prague (1914–1917) and then Viktoria Žižkov (1917–18). He also actively participated in competitive cycling and tennis, frequently winning races and tournaments (evidenced by a collection of his trophies). However, his theatrical pursuits eventually took precedence over most of his athletic endeavors. Initially, his comedic talents were showcased primarily for friends at private gatherings. Over time, these…