Jan Werich za oponou – Janoušek Jiří (2018)

This Czech-language book presents nearly three hundred unique photographs from Jan Werich’s family archive, tracing his life from birth to death and revealing his lesser-known faces: worldly dandy, brilliant comedian, advocate of the proletariat, companion to famous artists and unknown fishermen, pampered patient and lonely Master. It also discusses Werich’s faults: at times he could be unjust, domineering and self-centred. Frustration and anger overcame him when the popular acting star became an inconvenient figure whom the former regime pushed into isolation. He was troubled by health problems, some of which he caused himself and aggravated through his fondness for good food, drink and smoking. The photographs and twelve substantial interviews by Jiří Janoušek, in which Jan Werich looked back on his life shortly before his death, are complemented by contemporary testimonies and comments from people close to him, especially Jiří Voskovec, Miroslav Horníček and Miloš Kopecký, as well as the doctors who treated him and his fellow card players. Together, they create a vivid portrait of Jan Werich and a private life that was far from happy and remained hidden behind the legend of the wise clown.