Josef Zíma

Born

1932-05-11

Died

2025-03-06

Birthplace

Praha, Czech Republic

Biography

Josef Zíma is a Czech actor , singer and moderator. Apart from pop music, he is known as the singer of a brass band . He is often referred to as the unruly king of Czech brass band music . He is married to the actress Eva Klepáčová . After studying in Prague , he studied acting , he also privately taught singing . From 1948 to 1951 he was a member of the Conservatoire 's Folk Ensemble, and since 1950 he sang in solo with the Jaroslav Ježek Orchestra . After completing his studies he gained his first actor engagement in Benesov near Prague , where he worked in the years 1953-1955 . From 1955 to 1957 he served in the Army. After military service he entered the Theater of Satire (today's ABC Theater at the U Nováků palace). In 1958 he sang 'Blues for you', it was the first record on which the first song was released by Jiří Suchý as the author. In 1959 he caused an accident . The singer and chanterist Judita Čeřovská , Alena Pánková, himself and director Jiří Jungwirth, who was later died in the hospital, were seriously injured. From 1962 to 1992 , so for 30 years, he was engaged in the Prague Chamber Theater (which was a theater that belonged to a group of theaters belonging to the Prague Municipal Theaters). He played at the Na Fidlovačce Theater in Prague Nusle , the Music Theater in Karlín and the Chamber Theater in Pilsen . Along with the theater, his career as a pop music singer unfolded . At the beginning he began to play with his songs on the television, and that is why he became famous in the rest of the country as a musician. His most famous songs include Gina, Lovers in Texas, Green Plains, or White Crow. Later he sang a number of other well-known songs, including also with singer Pavlína Filipovská , Jana Petrů and others. In his life he recorded about 200 songs and won three Gold and one Platinum album. Josef Zíma is a singer with a not too vocal voice in the tenor range, but the voice is very pleasant, cultivated, well-groomed and capable of expressing many different moods and emotions. In Czech Radio he has been conducting a series of musicals for musicals for many years.