The Writings of Czech Poet Jiří Kolář

Jiří Kolář was a Czech painter (September 1914, – August 2002). He worked as carpenter and had a few other a manual jobs in his younger years but by the 1940’s, he was already a leading figure in a Surrealist group. These days he is perhaps most remembered for his beautiful collages (check out the...

Bohemians, PEOPLE

November 1, 2017

The Shooting of Chicago Mayor Anton Cermák

One of the most mysterious political assassinations ever taken place occurred on February 15, 1933, when the Czech-born mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermák, was mortally wounded. Anton, or Tony Cermak as he was known in the United States, was the 34th Mayor of Chicago, in office from April 7, 1931 to March 6, 1933. The traditional...

Bohemians, PEOPLE

October 29, 2017

Ladislav Bittman Professor of Disinformation

Lawrence Martin-Bittman (born 1931 in Prague), formerly known as Ladislav Bittman, is an American artist, author, and retired professor of disinformation at Boston University. Prior to his defection to the United States in 1968, he served as an intelligence officer specializing in disinformation for the Czech Intelligence Service. Czech Intelligence Service While in Czechoslovakia, Ladislav...

Bohemians, PEOPLE

October 13, 2017

Father of American Homeopathy was of Czech Origin

A Prussian immigrant Constantine Hering is usually considered the father of American homeopathy. What is not known about him, that his ancestors actually came from Moravia and their original surname was written as ‘Hrinka,’ as his daughter had written in his biography. They were likely post-White Mountain religious refugees, because Hering’s uncle grew up in...

Men, PEOPLE

September 6, 2017

The Simple Line Drawings of Czech Painter Rudolf Kremlička

Rudolf Kremlička (June 19, 1886 – June 3, 1932) was a Czech painter who belongs to the great personalities of Czech modern painting of the 20th century. He is most known for his full color paintings of women and the countryside but today we’re looking at a few of the simple line drawings which are...

Art and Design, CULTURE

August 27, 2017

Prague Streets Named After Czech World Travelers

Do you ever wonder how a street gets its name? Unless you have an understanding of notable people throughout Czech history, you will most likely not know that several Prague streets are named after Czech world travelers. Explores, cartographers and ethnographers who made substantial contributions on the world stage. Today we are looking at six...

History, NOSTALGIA

August 21, 2017

Czech Opera Singer Štěpánka Štěpánová

With title roles such as Carmen, Aria, Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Rusalka, Šárka, etc. her voice dominated the Národní divadlo (National Theatre) in Prague for decades. But had she not discovered her voice, Czech opera singer Štěpánka Štěpánová may have had an entirely different life. Born in Bielsko (Poland) on December 13, 1906, she attended grammar school...

ENTERTAINMENT, Music

August 7, 2017

Czech Opera Bass Singer Vilém Zitek

Vilém Zitek was a Czech opera bass singer, known the world over and the first ever national artist. Zitek was perhaps the greatest opera singer in 20th Century Czechoslovakia. He was born in Prague on September 9, 1890 and died in Prague on August 11, 1956. He was originally apprenticed to work as a mechanic; but...

ENTERTAINMENT, Music

July 28, 2017

Uber Man – A Czech American Bumped Up Billionaire

Czech-Americans are known for their numerous contributions in just about all fields of human endeavor, especially in the cultural sphere. However, they are also considered very good businessmen and entrepreneurs, as the incredible story of Travis Cordell Kalanick shows. In 1998, Travis Kalanick dropped out of UCLA with some of his classmates to found Scour...

Men, PEOPLE

July 23, 2017

R. A. Dvorský and the Melody Makers (Melody Boys)

You may want to begin today’s post by listening to this lovely song performed by an aging Rudolf Antonín Dvorský (3+ minutes). This is the last recording of R.A. Dvorský. In fact, the lovely film clip was created on June 21, 1966, and shortly thereafter, on August 2, 1966, Dvorský died. Today we honor his lovely...

ENTERTAINMENT, Music

June 9, 2017

Waldemar Matuška at His First U.S. Recording Session

I was recently asked to provide some photographs which I took back in the 1980’s for an exhibit at the Waldemar Matuška museum in the Czech Republic. And while searching for them, I came across the photographs I took of the album cover photo shoot for Teče, voda, Teče, as well as of the recording session for...

ENTERTAINMENT, Music

June 7, 2017

Czech Film Director Karel Zeman and The Karel Zeman Museum

Karel Zeman was a much loved film director who was born in the Czech village of Ostroměř. Besides his work directing films, Zeman was also a production designer, artist, and animator. Because of his amazing skills at animating, many of the films he made combined real footage with his own animation, ending up in what the viewers...

Bohemians, PEOPLE

May 31, 2017

Best Dancer Ever Fred Astaire and His Prague Roots

Fred Astaire (orig. Austerlitz) (1899- 1987), was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He was an American dancer, choreographer, singer, musician and actor, and is regarded by many as the greatest popular-music dancer of all time. His stage and subsequent film and television careers spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films,...

ENTERTAINMENT, Movies

May 26, 2017

Marvin Hamlisch and His Czech Roots

The famed composer / conductor Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (1944 -2012), a native of NYC, was one of only twelve people to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (also known as an EGOT). He is one of ten people to win three or more Oscars in one night and the only one other than a director...

ENTERTAINMENT, Music

May 25, 2017

The Best Guide in Bohemian Switzerland

If you read our blog you already know how beautiful the Czech Republic is. The photos of all of the wonderful places we share surely entice you to want to see it for yourself, and if so, you’re not the only one feeling that way. After posting about Bohemian Switzerland, we had a lot of people...

PLACES, Wanderlust

Otto-Wichterle-Contact-Lens-Tres-Bohemes-1

May 20, 2017

Otto Wichterle and The Contact Lens

Otto Wichterle, though his name might not ring a bell for any ordinary person, may mean the world to those who who have ever replaced their glasses, for Otto Wichterle is the inventor of the contact lens. Born in Prostějov, Czech Republic, he was raised in a home where his father, the co-owner of a farm-machine and car factory, wished...

Bohemians, PEOPLE