Jan Tříska


Jan Triska or Jan Tříska was a Czech actor. He played Captain Henry Wirz in the American television film Andersonville.

Biography

Early life and career

Tříska was born in Prague. Prior to immigrating, first to Canada then to the U.S., he performed numerous roles in both theater and film. He had two daughters, Karla and Jana, with actress Karla Chadimová, and also had a grandson named Augustin.

Life and career in the United States

After signing the Charter 77 proclamation, he emigrated to the United States via Cyprus. His most notable film role in the U.S. was probably that of Milos, the loyal butler and personal assistant to Mr. Terry Silver, in The Karate Kid Part III. He also played the assassin in Miloš Forman's The People vs. Larry Flynt, and appeared in , ', Blizzard, The Osterman Weekend, Ronin, Apt Pupil, and the sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science fiction epic ', Peter Hyams' , among many others.

Return to the Czech Republic

After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, Tříska visited the Czech Republic to perform in movies such as The Elementary School, Horem pádem, the Academy Award nominated Želary and Máj. In 2002, Tříska received an Alfréd Radok Award for his performance as Lear in King Lear at the Summer Shakespeare Festival at Prague Castle.
Although he occasionally visited the Czech Republic, Tříska remained a resident of the United States.

Death

On 23 September 2017, for reasons yet to be determined, Tříska fell from the Charles Bridge in Prague. Passengers on a nearby boat rescued him from the Vltava river, after which he was resuscitated and hospitalized in serious condition. He died in hospital two days later, on 25 September 2017.

Theatre

American National Theater