Vlasta Burian


Josef Vlastimil Burian, better known as Vlasta Burian, was a Czech stage and film actor, singer, comedian, footballer and film director. In the Czech Republic, he is known as Král komiků.

Biography

He is well known in the Czech Republic for his comic roles in many movies before and during World War II. His films are still shown regularly on Czech television, being particularly popular around Christmas time. He ran a popular comic theater until 1944, when the Nazis closed down all Czech-language theaters.
After the war Burian was charged and convicted of collaboration with the Nazis. He was briefly imprisoned, and then not permitted to return to the stage until 1950. He was officially exonerated of all charges in 1994.
His famous movie partner was Jaroslav Marvan, with whom he made the following films:
Before getting established in his acting and film career, Burian played as a professional football goalkeeper firstly for Viktoria Žižkov and then for AC Sparta Prague from 1916 to 1926.