Although it was mostly discussed in the foreign media death of Queen Elizabeth II, however, she was not the only politician to leave this world this year. In addition to her, for example, an American politician of Czech origin also left Madeleine Albright or former president of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev.

We also had to say goodbye to many important Czech personalities who left an indelible mark on our history. In addition to those mentioned here, also with a film publicist Eva Zaoralováwhich has participated in the Karlovy Vary Film Festival for years, or with a patron Meda Mládkováwho died at the age of 102.

With a smile until the end

Just a few days before Christmas, the oldest member of the Trojan acting clan left us, Ladislav Trojan (†90), known for example from the series Rodina Bláhova or Tři chlapi v chalupa. His two sons Ivan and Ondřej announced the sad news on social networks. “Early this morning, our dear dad, actor Ladislav Trojan, died. He passed away in his sleep, in peace and quiet. He had a smile on his face until the last moment,” they wrote on December 18.

Queen of family comedies

Ever since she suffered a stroke in the summer of 2016, things have plagued the popular director of family comedies Maria Poledňáková (†81) various health problems. She complained of pain in her left arm and leg, and she had not gone out much in recent years.

“She passed away peacefully, in the middle of the family circle,” director Jan Bradáč said shortly after her death for the company Falcon, which distributed her films in the past. She made her mark in the hearts of viewers mainly with comedies with children’s heroes such as The world is fun with you, How to pull out a chair from a whale or How to get dad into a correctional institution. The last film she co-wrote, a comedy story with a detective plot, The One Who Loved You, premiered in 2018.

Covid broke her neck

News of the singer’s death Hana Zagorová (†75) affected the whole of the Czech Republic. Although it was no secret that she had been struggling with health problems in recent months and suffered from a blood disease throughout her life, no one expected the sad news. The condition of the nine-time Golden Nightingale began to deteriorate in the summer of 2021 due to post-covid syndrome. For a while it seemed that everything could be better, but in the end the singer unfortunately lost her battle at the beginning of October. During her lifetime, she sang almost nine hundred songs and won numerous awards.

Unexpected departure

He fought for his life in the Ústí hospital for a whole month before he breathed his last. A wonderful entertainer Josef Alois Nahlovsky (†72) died at the beginning of April in an artificial sleep due to a general failure of the organism. His original occupation was a teacher of the Czech language, together with Petr Novotný he worked as a moderator for the music group Fešáci, where he also collaborated with Josef Mladý. Later he also performed with Karel Šíp. His smarts were very affected by this, and he responded to her by saying: “The world will be a little sadder again…”

He fought bravely

For many years he was mainly associated with Lieutenant Columbo, whom he dubbed after Petar Haničinec. Dalimil Klapka (†89) was also an excellent actor. He appeared in many films and series. For all of them, let’s mention, for example, the Panopticon of the City of Prague or Křeček in a nightgown. In recent years, he has struggled with many health problems, including cancer. Because of her, he also had to give up his beloved dubbing because his voice changed. He died in the middle of April in the long-term sick hospital in Motola.

Kind father of poets

Czech film was dealt another blow by the death of an acclaimed screenwriter and director Dušan Klein (†82), who died at the beginning of January. He still enjoyed Christmas with his family and on January 1st he was taken to the hospital, from which he unfortunately did not return. Most of his colleagues remember him as a kind director who knew how to solve everything with perspective. He was not only the spiritual father of poets, but also of many series, such as Sins for Father Knox or Sins for detective viewers. He also previously directed the endless series Ulice.

He spent his last years at home

He was one of our most popular actors and the list of films, series and theater productions in which he played would take up a whole book. Josef Somr he retired from the National Theater in 2002, and shortly afterwards he suffered from acute inflammation of the pancreas, which led to a demanding operation. In the following years, he reduced his work activities, dealt with breathing problems and often visited hospitals. The fear of covid caused him to practically stay at home in recent years. He died in October at the age of eighty-eight.

Her death was an accident

The departure of the Czech-American businesswoman, former wife of Donald Trump, was very surprising Ivan Trump (†73), who was found dead in her New York apartment on the stairs in July, and no one knew exactly what had happened. According to the medical examiner, the cause of death was injuries to the torso caused by the impact and he stated that it was an accident.

He left to see Libuška

In mid-May, the Czech Republic was paralyzed by the news that another of the giants of Czechoslovak cinema had died Joseph Abraham (†82). He spent the autumn of his life together with his wife Libuša Šafránková in seclusion, her death in June 2021 hit him hard, they had been together for forty-five years, and he had been wasting away since then. Many agree that they were one body and one soul, and the actor wished to leave for her. In his last moments, his son Josef Abrhám Jr. took care of him. with wife.

He took death in stride

About the fact that his end is approaching, the most famous Czech sexologist Radim Uzel (†82) knew and was not afraid to talk about him. In 2020, he experienced severe covid and then had to hear the even more difficult diagnosis that he had stomach cancer. All his life he tried to take things in perspective and spoke with exaggeration even about his illness. “I’ve lost twenty kilograms, I’m seriously ill and almost dead, please,” he declared in March of this year, after receiving a state award at Prague Castle. On March 24, he also announced on television that he would die within a year and a day, but death came faster for him. As his grandson revealed, he died at the beginning of May on the night from Sunday to Monday in the Motol hospital.