Vaclav Havel Biography (1936-)

Born October 5, 1936, in Prague, Czechoslovakia; son of Vaclav M. (a propertyowner) and Bozena (maiden name, Vavreckova) Havel; married Olga Splichalova,1964 (deceased, 1996); married Dagmar Veskrnova, January 4, 1997; children:(second marriage) one stepdaughter. Addresses: Office: Kancelar prezidenta republiky, 119 08 Praha-Hrad, Czech Republic.; Contact: Office of the President, 11908 Praha-Hrad, Czech Republic.

Nationality: Czech
Gender: Male
Occupation: Actor, writer
Birth Details: October 5, 1936; Prague, Czechoslovakia

Famous Works

CREDITS
Film Appearances
Young soldier, Kazdy mlady muz (also known as Every Young Man), 1966
Liberte, 1989
Why Havel?, 1991
(Uncredited) Children of the Revolution (archive footage), 1996
Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart, Fox Lorber, 1998
(Uncredited) Disparus (archive footage), 1998
Nocni hovory s matkou (archive footage; also known as Late Night Talks with Mother), 2000
Behemia Docta, 2000
Milan Hlavsa a Plastic People of the Universe (also known as Plastic People of the Universe), Falcon, 2001
Television Appearances
Specials
American Tribute to Vaclav Havel and a Celebration of Democracy in Czechoslovakia, 1990
Moyers/Beyond Hate, 1991
The Concert for Peace from Oslo, 1991
Faith under Fire, PBS, 1992
The Dvorak Concert from Prague--A Celebration (also known as Dvorak Gala from Prague), PBS, 1994
(Uncredited) The Holocaust: In Memory of Millions (archive footage), 1994
Voice, Drawn from Memory (animated), PBS, 1995
Miniseries
Cold War (archive footage), CNN, 1998
WRITINGS
Plays
(With Ivan Vyskocil) Autostop (title means "Hitchhike"), producedin Prague, 1961
Zahradni slavnost, produced at Theatre on the Balustrade, Prague,Czechoslovakia, 1963 published with Vyrozumeni, two essays and poems in Protokoly (title means "Protocols"), Mlanda Fronta, 1966 translationby Vera Blackwell published as The Garden Party, J. Cape, 1969
Vyrozumeni, produced at Theatre on the Balustrade, 1965 then Anspacher Theatre, New York City, 1968 published by Dilia, 1965 published in Protokoly, Mlanda Fronta, 1966 translation by Blackwell published as TheMemorandum, J. Cape, 1967
Ztizena moznost soustredeni, produced at Theatre on the Balustrade, 1968 published by Dilia, 1968 translation by Blackwell produced as The Increased Difficulty of Concentration, produced at Forum Theatre, LincolnCenter, New York City, 1969 published by J. Cape, 1972
The Conspirators, 1971

Zebracka Opera, adaptation of The Beggar's Opera, 1972
Audience, produced at Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, PA, 1975 translation by Blackwell published with Vernisaz as Sorry: Two Plays, Methuen, 1978 translation by Jan Novak produced as Free Advice from Prague (double bill, with Unveiling), Northlight Theatre, Evanston, IL, 1986-1987
Vernisaz, translation by Blackwell published as A Private View (contains the one-act plays Interview, A Private View, andThe Protest), 1975 produced at New York Shakespeare Festival (NYSF), Public/Martinson Theatre, New York City, 1983-1984 produced as The Vanek Plays, London, 1990
Horsky Hotel, translated as The Mountain Hotel (also knownas The Mountain Resort), 1976
Spiklenci, Zebracka opera, and Horsky Hotel, published with Audience and Vernisaz in Hry, 1970-76, Sixty-Eight Publishing House, 1977
Protest (one-act play), 1979
Chyba, translated as The Mistake, 1983
Largo Desolato, 1984 produced in Bristol, England, translation byMarie Winn produced by NYSF, Public/Susan Stein Shiva Theatre, New York City,1986 translation by Tom Stoppard published by Grove, 1987
Pokouseni, translated as Temptation, produced in Vienna, Austria, 1985 then by Royal Shakespeare Company, England, translation by Winn produced at Public/Wilma Theatre, New York City, 1989 translation by George Thiener published by Faber, 1988 Grove, 1989
Asanace, translated as Redevelopment and Slum Clearance, 1987
Zitra to spustime, translated as Tomorrow!, 1988
Hry (thirteen plays), [Czechoslovakia], 1992
The Memorandum, produced by Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, Los Angeles,1999
Temptation, produced by Peabody House Theatre Cooperative, Somerville, MA, 2000
Also author of the play The Guardian Angel.
Collections
Plays (in Czech), 1991
Selected Plays by Vaclav Havel, 1991
The Garden Party and Other Plays, Grove, 1993
Selected Plays, 1984-1987, Faber, 1994
Television Specials
Adaptor of his stage play Audience for the television special Havel's Audience with History, 1990.
Other
Antikody, published in 1964 reprinted, Odeon (Prague), 1993
Dopisy Olze, 1983 translated by Paul Wilson as Letters to Olga:June 1979 to September 1982, Knopf (New York City), 1988
(With others) The Power of the Powerless: Citizens against the State in Central Eastern Europe, edited by John Keane, M. E. Sharpe (Armonk, NY), 1985
Dalkovy vyslech, 1986 translation by Wilson published as Disturbing the Peace, Knopf, 1990
Vaclav Havel; or, Living in Truth (twenty-two essays), edited by Jan Vladislav, Faber, 1987
Do ruznych stran (essays), [Czechoslovakia], 1989
Projevy (speeches), [Czechoslovakia], 1990
Long Distance Interrogation, Knopf, 1990
Open Letters: Selected Writings, 1965-1990, edited by Wilson, Knopf, 1991
Letni premitani, 1991 translation by Wilson published as SummerMeditations, Knopf, 1992
Vazeni obcane: Projevy cervenec 1990-cervenec 1992 (speeches; title means "Dear Citizens"), Lidove noviny (Prague), 1992
Toward a Civil Society, translated by Wilson, 1994
Vaclav Havel, 1992 and 1993 (speeches and articles), Paseka (Prague), 1994
Vaclav Havel '94 (speeches and articles), Paseka, 1995
Vaclav Havel '95 (speeches and articles), Paseka, 1996
Vaclav Havel '96 (speeches and articles), Paseka, 1997
Author of a monograph on writer and painter Joseph Capek, 1963. Work included in anthologies, including Three Eastern European Plays, Penguin,1970.
Articles
Also author of articles, including "A Letter to Dr. Husak," 1977; "The Power of the Powerless," 1978; "Politics and Conscience," 1984; "Six Asides about Culture," 1984; "Thriller," 1984; "Anatomy of a Reticence," 1985; "A Wordabout Words," 1989; "Speech to the U.S. Congress," 1990; "A Call for Sacrifice--The Co-responsibility of the West," 1994; "Czechs and Germans on the Way to a Good Neighborship," 1995, among others. Articles published in periodicals, including New York Review of Books, Esquire, Granta, Index on Censorship, Survey, Encounter, The Idler, The Independent, Svedectvi, Listy, and Foreign Affairs.

Further Reference

ADAPTATIONS

The television special Vaclav Havel and Largo Desolato, broadcastin 1990, was adapted from Havel's stage play Largo Desolato. The screenplay Opera Zebracka, released in 1991, was based on Havel's play of the same title.

OTHER SOURCES

Books

Kriseova, Eda, Vaclav Havel: The Authorized Biography, translationby Caleb Crain, St. Martin's (New York City), 1993
Matustik, Martin J., Postnational Identity: Critical Theory and Existential Philosophy in Habermas, Kierkegaard, and Havel, Guilford (New YorkCity), 1993
Symynkywicz, Jeffrey, Vaclav Havel and the Velvet Revolution, Dillon Press (NJ), 1995

Periodicals

Esquire, February, 1993, p. 85

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