Czech actor Petr Čepek captivated the audience with his charming look and emotional, but at the same time, moderate acting. Viewers most often remember him from the films Kerosene Lamps, Postřižiny, Slavnosti sněženek, Vesničko má středisková or from the fairy-tale comedy Three Veterans. Since 1993 he suffered from a serious illness, to which he succumbed shortly after his 54th birthday on September 20, 1994. writes a diary.
“He first had pancreatic cancer, which he was operated on, actually one of the first here. But then he was still sick and the doctors couldn’t tell what was wrong with him,” recalls his daughter Petra. He told his daughter shortly before his death that his illness had returned and it was very serious. He kept it a secret for her sake.
Český denník explains that Petra was pregnant at the time and he was worried about her and her unborn child, so he did not tell her about her health problems. “He already had metastases everywhere and was suffering. He knew he was dying. He told me: ‘When the doctors let me smoke, it’s clear,'” are the sad words of the daughter.
He spent the last days of his life at the cottage, but when it was worst, he was already in the hospital, where his last wife stayed with him. She supported him and had a couch brought to his hospital room so that she could always be by his side.
“It was extremely exhausting for both of them. They were very upset about it,” recalled his attending physician in the past. At that time he weighed only 30 kilograms, he suffered a lot, but he didn’t want to leave in front of his wife for anything. As if he had timed his death. “Ms. Čepková then left one day because she was already completely mentally exhausted. She went to town for about half an hour and that’s when he died.” added the doctor.
A gifted and original actor
Petr Čepek was born on September 16, 1940 in Prague. When he was three years old, his father died and the family moved to Hrabůvek in northern Moravia, later settling in Ostava-Porub. Petr Čepek studied at the Ostrava grammar school and, besides school, he was increasingly involved in amateur theater. Finally, he decided to study at the Theater Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts (DAMU) in Prague. However, he never received the diploma, as he was the only one who stood up for his classmate and actor Ladislav Mrkvička, who was persecuted for political reasons.
Even in his early days, Čepek confirmed that he is a gifted and original actor. Together with Jan Kačer and other colleagues, he worked in the Petra Bezruč Theater in Ostrava, where he immediately caught the eye in the first role in the production Lovers from the kiosk. When the Drama Club was founded in Prague, he found employment there with the Ostrava acting group and connected his entire professional life with this scene.
Čepek debuted as a film actor in the film Hotel pro cizince, which was shot in 1966 by Antonín Máša. A year later, he appeared in the historical film Valley of the Bees. He was cast in the episodic role of an Ecuadorian swimming competitor by Václav Vorlíček in the black comedy The End of the W4C Agent through Mr. Foustka’s dog. In another comedy I killed Einstein, gentlemen… from 1969, directed by Oldřich Lipský, he played the brilliant scientist himself in his young years.
The first main role was waiting for Petr Čepek in the same year in the historical film Adelheid. František Vláčil filmed the dramatic story taking place after the Second World War. The acting concert was performed by Petr Čepek together with Iva Janžurová in the tragic film Petrol Lamps (Juraj Herz, 1971). Here he convincingly portrayed the main character affected by both physical and mental illness.
A year later, Herz cast him in the films Morgiana and Touch of the Butterfly. The main character was played by Čepek in the gangster story Nikola šuhaj the robber, which was filmed in 1977 by Evžen Sokolovský according to Ivan Olbracht’s model. He also appeared in the Slovak film Morning under the Moon (Miroslav Luther, 1979) based on Alfonz Bednár’s design.
Choleric with a sense of humor
Petr Čepek was known among his colleagues for his choleric nature, but also for his sense of humor. He also gained popularity among the audience with his comic roles – whether he was an angry production manager in the comedy Trhák by director Zdeňko Podskalský, or a fireman and member of the board of directors in the film Postřižiny by the recently deceased director Jiří Menzel. In 1983, he played the soldier Bimbác in Oldřich Lipský’s comedy Three Veterans – his acting partners were Rudolf Hrušínský and Josef Somr.
In 1984, he was the police director in the “Cimrman” comedy Rozupustený, vupustený (Ladislav Smoljak). He played an episodic but prominent role of a jealous husband in the comedy Vesničko má středisková again directed by Jiří Menzel. He portrayed an illusionist who is given strange aids by clumsy pupils in Jan Svěrák’s film The Common School.
The last films he managed to shoot in 1994 were the comedy Thanks for Every New Morning directed by Milan Šteindler and the film by artist Jan Švankmajer Lekce Faust. The actor did not see the premiere of these films.
Viewers also remember Petr Čepek from TV series, for example from the sci-fi Bambinot (1984) or from the series Sons and Daughters of Jakub Sklář (1985). In 1989, Petr Čepek signed the Several Sentences petition, later he was one of the leaders of November ’89 and stood at the birth of the Civic Forum movement. He also taught at DAMU. He was awarded the In memoriam Czech Lion for the title role in the film Lekce Faust.
