Blesk Podcast: Jiří Suchý’s big confession. They became friends with Šliter until a year before his death

When in October two years ago, the legendary Jiří Suchý received crowds of well-wishers, because he was celebrating his beautiful nineties. Still a very active actor, singer, creator, collector and much more, he gave himself and them a performance in Semaphore called “I know even older people.” It featured songs he had written for other singers. In the sixties, his words came from the lips of Karel Gott, Hana Hegerová, Eva Pilarová, Waldemar Maruška, but also Jiří Šlitra.

From the plays with Jiří Šlitra, it looks as if the two were inseparable friends, similar to Jan Werich and Jiří Voskovec, but the truth was more complicated. “There was such a special relationship between us, because each of us was completely different mentally. We were united by the theater, there we understood each other quite well. That was the only point where it worked for us,” he revealed in 1990 for Karel Hvížďala in the book Povídání.

In Blesk Podcast, Jiří Suchý revealed how they finally became friends: “We didn’t even have much time for friendship. We were terribly diligent and enthralled with our work. I used to write plays like crazy,” recalled Suchý on the boards of Semafor. A moment of camaraderie arose when they were in Stuttgart, Germany, a year before Šlitr’s death, and performed in a nightclub for a fortnight. “We walked around the city and also often sat in the hotel and had nothing to do. So we met and talked about everything. About things that friends talk about, like girls. Suddenly the camaraderie blew over me. He wanted it more than I did. I blame myself for working so much and not meeting him more. Then it changed and it was pretty cool, I must say. But unfortunately it didn’t last long,” he regretted the loss of a friend and colleague.

Where are you? We play tomorrow!

It was Jiří Šlitr for whom Suchý and his family returned from short-term exile in England after the invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops in August 1968. “The idea of ​​staying there terrified me. I suffered a lot from it,” confided the theater actor. At that time it was not possible to establish a telephone connection to Czechoslovakia, but in the end Suché succeeded. “Šlitr called me and said ‘I’m begging you, I’m starting a play here from tomorrow and where are you?“I answered him that I was in London, and he told me to come quickly,” he described the phone call.

The next day, according to Suché, a list of personalities was published with information on the place of their foreign refuge. Jiří Suchý was among them. In the end, he was able to buy a ticket and arrived at the theater for the end of Šlitr’s performance. “I went on stage and we did a few songs together as an encore. I have to say that I have never experienced before or since and it was extremely powerful and moving for me what those people did. It wasn’t even because of me, but because I came back. That there are people who go into uncertainty and are happy to be here. Applause echoed through the hall for about eight minutes,” Jiří Suchý shared one of the strongest and most touching memories.

Jiří Suchý revealed exclusively to the Blesk Podcast how the communist regime began to make life and work difficult for him shortly after signing 2,000 words, or what Jiří Voskovec and Jan Werich thought of him: