Ondřej Havelka

Ondřej Havelka
Havelka in 2018
Born (1954-10-10) 10 October 1954
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Occupations
  • Actor
  • musician
Children4
Parents
Musical career
Genres
Instrumentvocals
Member ofOndřej Havelka a jeho Melody Makers
Formerly ofOriginal Prague Syncopated Orchestra

Ondřej Havelka (born 10 October 1954) is a Czech jazz and swing singer, actor, and director. He began his musical career singing with the jazz band Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra in 1976 and went on to form his own group, Ondřej Havelka a jeho Melody Makers, in 1995. He has worked as an actor since the 1970s, and he is the director of several documentary films as well as the 2018 feature Hastrman.

Early life

Ondřej Havelka was born on 10 October 1954 in Prague, Czechoslovakia (present-day Czech Republic). He is the son of actress Libuše Havelková and composer Svatopluk Havelka.[1][2] After graduating in acting from Prague's DAMU in 1980, he pursued postgraduate studies in opera directing at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno, graduating in 1988. Between 1973 and 1983, he also worked at Prague's Studio Ypsilon theatre, and he did a sting at Prague's Karlín Music Theatre.[2]

Career

Music

Havelka joined the Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra (OPSO) in 1976 as its lead vocalist,[1] releasing five studio albums with the group.[3] He left in 1995 to form his own band in Berlin, the Golden Prague Syncopated Orchestra, taking several members of OPSO with him. The ensemble was later renamed Ondřej Havelka a jeho Melody Makers,[1] and it remains active to this day.[4]

Film and television

In 1989, Havelka began working as a screenwriter and director in television. In 1990, he wrote the script and directed the music documentary Originální pražský synkopický orchestr, about his former band, which won the "Silver Rose" award at the 1991 Rose d'Or festival.[3][5] In 1995, he wrote the script for and directed the television documentary Mezzosoprano Magdalena Kožená. In 1999, he wrote, directed, and appeared in the documentary film Zdravý nemocný Vlastimilený Brodský. In 2008, he directed the documentary film Magdalena, once more about Kožená. In 2012, he made the documentary film Perla baroka, about the theatre at Český Krumlov Castle. In 2018, Havelka wrote and directed his first feature film, Hastrman, which starred Karel Dobrý and Simona Zmrzlá.[6]

Awards

In 1995, Havelka won the Gramy award for directing the best music video, for the song "Děkuji, bylo to krásné".[7][3] A year later, he won once more, this time for best jazz performer.[7][3]

In 2018, he received an honorary citizenship from the Prague 5 city hall for "lifelong contributions to society", namely, in the field of culture.[8]

Personal life

Havelka has two sons, including actor and musician Vojtěch Havelka (who has played in his father's band)[9][10] and singer, actress, dancer, and former model Rozálie Havelková.[11][10]

Discography

with Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra

  • Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra at Breda Jazz Festival (live, 1979)
  • Originální Pražský Synkopický Orchestr (1979)
  • Stará, Natoč Gramofon (1982)
  • Jazz & Hot Dance Music 1923–31 (1984)
  • Sám s Děvčetem v Dešti (1989)
  • Hello Baby (1994)

Solo

  • Ondřej Havelka uvádí The Swings (1995)

with Ondřej Havelka a jeho Melody Makers

  • Mě to tady nebaví (1998)
  • Šťastný nový rok '98 (1998)
  • Jen pro ten dnešní den (1999)
  • Rhapsody in Blue: Pocta George Gershwinovi (1999)
  • Swing It (2000)
  • Sing, Sing, Sing featuring Sestry Havelkovy (2001)
  • Vzpomínky na hvězdný prach (2002)
  • Nejlepší kusy z repertoiru Ondřeje Havelky a jeho Melody Makers (compilation, 2003)
  • Tentokrát zcela rozvrkočení (2005)
  • Ondřej Havelka a jeho Melody Makers vám přejí veselé vánoce. Bílé a oranžové (2005)
  • Rhapsody in Blue Room (2007)
  • Saturnin (2010)
  • Dávají perly swingu (2012)
  • Kríze sem, kríze tam... (2014)
  • Nás to tady furt baví (2015)
  • Cole Porter with Magdalena Kožená (2017)
  • Swing nylonového věku (2021)
  • Nebe Na Zemi with Adam Plachetka (2023)

Selected filmography

Writer and director

  • Originální pražský synkopický orchestr (1990)
  • Mezzosoprano Magdalena Kožená (1995)
  • Zdravý nemocný Vlastimilený Brodský (1999)
  • Poslední mohykán (The Last of the Mohicans, 2009) – documentary mapping the life of jazz musician Jiří Traxler[12]
  • Magdalena (2008)
  • Perla baroka (2012)
  • Hastrman (2018)

Actor

List of appearances, with year, title, and role shown
Year Title Role Notes
1977 Řeknem si to příští léto Karel
1980 Koncert na konci léta Fenix
Krakonoš a lyžníci Teacher
1980–1985 Bakaláři Various roles Television series; 4 episodes
1982 Incomplete Eclipse Eye doctor
1983 Pod nohama nebe Petr
Oblouk světla Vencl Television series; 2 episodes
1984 Cesta kolem mé hlavy Professor Robert Kilián
1985 Rumburak Mr. Tumlír
1986 Není sirotek jako sirotek Jirka Spěváček
Chobotnice z druhého patra Bóda Television series; 1 episode
1986–1990 Malý televizní kabaret Television series; 13 episodes
1988 Nefňukej, veverko! Father's friend
Panoptikum města pražského Dr. Souček Television series; 10 episodes
1989 Dobrodružství kriminalistiky Alphonse Bertillon Television series; 1 episode
1991 Kafka Friend of Kafka
1994 Saturnin Jiří Oulický
1995 Zdravý nemocný Vlastimilený Brodský Himself

References

  1. ^ a b c "Ondrej Havelka – keeping 1920s jazz popular in the Czech Republic". Czech Radio. 19 December 2003. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Všestranný Ondřej Havelka: Režie je z poloviny umění diplomacie" [Versatile Ondřej Havelka: Directing is half the art of diplomacy] (in Czech). Czech Radio. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d "Havelka a Melody Makers: něco starého i zcela nového" [Havelka and Melody Makers: something old and completely new]. brnensky.denik.cz (in Czech). 1 December 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  4. ^ "Prague Post, May 17, 2000". Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  5. ^ "The Rose d'Or Festival". medien.srf.ch. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  6. ^ "Video: Člověk ve zvířeti. Ukázka z Hastrmana slibuje thriller" [Video: Man in the Beast. A preview of Hastrman promises a thriller]. idnes.cz (in Czech). 25 January 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Výsledky ročníků cen Anděl" [Yearly results of the Anděl Awards]. andelceny (in Czech). Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  8. ^ "Šest osobností převzalo čestná občanství Prahy 5" [Six people received honorary citizenship of Prague 5]. praha5.cz (in Czech). 12 February 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  9. ^ Turek, Petr (2 September 2020). "Syn Ondřeje Havelky se oženil. Svatebčané si připili horňáckou slivovicí" [Ondřej Havelka's son got married. The wedding guests toasted with Horňák plum brandy]. denik.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Ondřej Havelka: Dravost pod slupkou jemného gentlemana" [Ondřej Havelka: Predatory Under the Skin of a Gentle Gentleman]. novinky.cz (in Czech). 12 April 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  11. ^ "Klidně budu zašívat klaunům spodky, říká dcera Ondřeje Havelky" [I'll happily sew clowns' underwear, says Ondřej Havelka's daughter]. idnes.cz (in Czech). 18 April 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  12. ^ "Jiří Traxler v dokumentu Ondřeje Havelky" [Jiří Traxler in a documentary by Ondřej Havelka] (in Czech). Czech Television. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
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