Remembering Jozef Adamovic

Jozef Adamovic was born on April 23, 1939 in Trnava, Czechoslovakia. His mother passed away at the end of World War II and thus he became in early childhood a motherless child. His father was an invalid and the whole family moved in 1948 to Hlohovec Trnava, where he remarried. After graduating in 1956 Jozef went to Bratislava and enrolled at the Music Academy and in 1960 he graduated from acting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. In the same year he became a member of the Slovak National Theatre, where he worked until 1991. Initially he was promoted as a romantic figure, later had his roles became more realistic to his tragic nature. He appeared in many films and TV series during the 1960s and 1970s among which was his only Euro-western “The Sons of Great Bear” (1965) as Tschapa.

 

In early 1970's, he suffered serious injuries from a car crash and since then the unmistakable scars were visible on his face and legs making one leg shorter than the other. In 1971 he got the main role of Count Maurice Beňovského in the 13-part co-production Slovakia-Hungarian TV series "Vivat Beňovský". It was one of the most costly television achievements of that time.
 
In the years 1981-1985 he studied theater and film directing at the Moscow GITIS drama school and film school at Goskino Tarkovsky. Beginning in 1985 he worked as a director in the theaters Prerov and Ostrava. As a true action hero he recovered from an accident on the way from Moscow to Bratislava , when the aircraft engine caught fire.
 
In 1991, he left the theater, returning only rarely. He became famous for his performances of the times while suffering from cancer. He cured himself from it, as he went on a hunger strike, during which he drank only demineralized water. Followed by a special macrobiotic diet. He drank goat's milk, which was drank warm, immediately after milking. He kept a goat on his balcony. He imported from Bulgaria a thousand goats and founded the company Ratková Gemersan. However, the company soon went bankrupt.

In the parliamentary elections in 1998 Jozef was a candidature of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia ( HZDS ) and finished in 114th place. In the same year he was also a viable candidate for the post of Programme Officer for the private television channel VTV, which performed in the Slovak media market from 1995-1998. He co-founded of the Academy of Performing Arts in Banska Bystrica, which had initially accreditation problems.

He taught at the Academy of Arts in Banska Bystrica and was on the faculty of Dramatic Arts. He was married to actress Božidara Turzonovová [1942- ] (1962-2013).

He died on August 2, 2013 after a long life of health problems ultimately from heart failure at a hospital in Kosice Louis Pasteur.
 
Today we remember Jozef Adamovic on what would have been his 75^th birthday.