Description
Ljiljana Krstić (31 October 1919, Kragujevac – 12 April 2001, Belgrade). As a law student, she realized that acting was her destiny, so she enrolled and graduated at the Musical Academy in Belgrade, Theatre Department. She has spent her acting life at National Theatre, Yugoslav Drama Theatre, Belgrade Drama Theatre and Atelje 212 Theatre, as well as on Radio Belgrade and Television where her roles are inscribed in gold: Ulita in the Forest, Olga in Three Sisters, Mother in Glass Menagerie, Brecht’s Mother Courage, Beatrice in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, Pamela Pusey-Picq in Chin-Chin, Marta in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Vassa Zheleznova, Nehama in Twilight, Mrs. Nola, Woman aviator in the Wings, General’s wife in Platonov... Privately, she was not an actress. In the forms, in the column "occupation", she always wrote "clerk", not because acting is an unworthy profession, but because, as she said, she was unnecessarily too exposed. She was also involved in pedagogy. A strong and simple being, wise and stable, she was and remained the moral pillar of the Serbian theatre stage. She received all the most important awards and recognitions and the Dobrica Ring for Lifetime Achievement.
Tatjana Lukjanova (6 November 1923 – 18 August 2003, Belgrade). Daughter of a Russian emigrant, an extra at the Bolshoi Theater, she dreamed of ballet and medicine, and attended the Drama Studio at the National Theater, where she made her first acting steps. She studied acting with Vera Grech, an actress of the Moscow Art Theater, and then went to the newly founded Belgrade Drama Theater, to which she remained loyal all her life. Cheerful, always thirsty for acting, a reliable collaborator of colleagues and directors of all generations, she played a wide range of dramatic, lyrical and comic roles: Laura in Glass Menagerie, Perella in Man, Beast and Virtue, Ranyevskaya in Cherry Orchard, Bela Rada in The Ruddy Shelduck (Bird with golden wings), Abby Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace ... The children recognized her for her special voice she borrowed to dolls in children's shows, and she liked that very much. Her magnificent Maud in the play Harold and Maud was named the best annual acting achievement. She received the October Award of the City of Belgrade for Berta in Berta's Treasure by A. Hieng and the award Zoranov brk (Zoran's mustache) for the role of Maka Lela in the House with the Window by Lj. Lašić. After the death of Tatjana Lukjanova, the Belgrade Drama Theater established the "Grand Prix" award that bears her name.
Radmila Andrić (17 July 1934 - 20 November 2018, Belgrade). When preparing her admission exam for the Academy of Dramatic Arts, she was tutored by her grammar-school teacher Bora Stojković, the writer of the first history of the Serbian theatre. During her career, she played on the stages of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre as her home theatre and on the stages of the National Theatre, Belgrade Drama Theatre, Atelier 212. Her roles of Jessica in Dirty Hands, Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire, Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion, in Mrs Dally has a Lover, Lady Margaret, Zoya in Zoyka’s Flat, Lavinia in Mourning Becomes Electra, Doris in the Same Time Next Year... Selective as she was when choosing the roles, she was gifted with a special sensitivity, the smile which was tender and melancholic, melodious voice, whereas her hands were telling their story in all the roles she played. Her role of Mrs Campbell in My Dear Liar was registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest continual performing of a single theatre play (for 39 years) with the same casting, until the death of her co-actor Mihajlo Viktorović. She was the laureate of the Belgrade City October Prize, Golden Arena in Pula, 7th July Award... the laureate of the Award of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for Highest Contribution to National Culture.
Milena Dravić (5 October 1940 - 14 October 2018, Belgrade). One of the most distinguished and most loved actresses of Yugoslav and Serbian cinematography. Milena Nazionale. The Door Remains Open was the film that made the door to motion pictures wide open, and the rest is history. A top-class artist, a star with a special glitter, a kind and respectable person, and, above all, ours. Her irresistible smile, charm, playful acting and highest professional ethic were the trademark in many roles she played, while her prolific opus and sparkling personality were reflected in a plethora of performances, series and shows: Overnumbered, Battle of Neretva, Morning, The Girl, Cross Country, W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism, Boka D Minor, Larry Thompson: Tragedy of a Youth, The Powder Keg, Cheek-to-Cheek, It’s Not Easy with the Men… Her role in the film The Special Treatment brought her the prize for supporting performance at the Cannes 1980 Festival. She was the laureate of nearly all the most prestigious awards, the Dobrica’s Ring for life achievement and the Award of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for Highest Contribution to National Culture. Someone said that the door remains open to our collective remembrance of triumphal roles and exquisite personality of Milena Dravić.
Miodrag Radovanović Mrgud (20 August 1929, Čačak-14 January 2019, Belgrade). An untried Slavic studies scholar and agronomist, he chose acting for his life's vocation and graduated from the Theatre Academy, in the class of Mata Milošević. Since 1952, on the stage of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre and other theatres, on film, radio and television, he has played numerous roles: Tram called Desire, Merry Days or Tarelkin's Death, Battle of Kolubara, Nijinsky, Merchant of Venice, Great Drama, Balkan Express, Bitter Fruit .. He said that life at the theatre is much better, more beautiful, more accurate and fairer than the real one, and that everything in it is for the glory of man, both the worst and the best. He had an impeccable diction and acting lordship. With a wide smile that he shared with his colleagues and the audience, he erased the nickname Mrgud (Frowned man), acquired in childhood. He will be remembered for his masterful interpretation of the role of the Gestapo member šicer in the television series The Farm in the Small Marsh. He was the president of the Association of Drama Artists of Serbia from 1976 to 1980. He is the winner of the Vuk Award, Raša Plaović, Silver Arena, Ardalion, Golden Laurel Wreath, the Order of Merit for the Nation and the Recognition of the RS Government for outstanding contribution to national culture.
Mihailo Miša Janketić (24 May 1938, Novi Sad - 15.5.2019, Belgrade). A Montenegrin born in Vojvodina, he studied literature, and was won over by the magic of acting. With Hamlet's monologue, he enrolled in the Theatre Academy in the class of Josip Kulundžić, after which he became a member of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre. In his career, everything happened in due time. When he was young he played young men, then lovers, young heroes, when the time came for character roles, he looked exactly like them at his age. Whatever costume he wore - he actually could wear it, everything was natural to him. After his role in the play When Pumpkins Bloomed, he was invited to box for the Yugoslav national box team. He was the unforgettable Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment, Hugo in Dirty Hands, Horvat in Vučjak (German Sheperd), Stanley Kowalski in The Tram Called Desire, Živojin Mišić in the Battle of Kolubara, Gazda Jevrem in the People's Deputy, Marko Miljanov ... He taught acting at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. He is the winner of all the most important awards, both the Dobrica Ring for Lifetime Achievement and the Recognition of the Government of the RS for top contribution to national culture.
Marko Nikolić (20 October 1946, Kraljevo – 2 January 2019, Belgrade). He inherited the acting gene from his mother Leposava, an actress from the Kraljevo Theatre; his first toys were theatrical props. After graduating from the Theatre Academy, he connected his acting career with the National Theatre in Belgrade, where he interpreted roles in the plays War and Peace, Mountain Wreath, Suspicious Face, Apis ... For the role of Abel Znork in Mysterious Variations, the author of the play E. Emanuel Schmidt said that he liked Mark's performance more than the interpretation of world-famous actors Alain Delon and Donald Sutherland. He was also convincing on the movie screen, in the films Boško Buha, Devojački most, Užice Republic ... The television part of his career was marked by the roles of leader Karadjordje Petrović, as well as Giga Moravac in the cult series Better Life (Bolji život). He possessed great vitality and energy, he loved basketball, the river, fishing, he had a boat, he loved and could sing ... In real life, he showed that an actor must not only be an actor, but also be a man who understands life and give it a chance. He is the winner of the Raša Plaović, Pavle Vuisić awards and Gold Medal for merits in cultural activities.
Predrag Ejdus (24 July 1947 - 28 September 2018, Belgrade). He became “infected” with acting as an amateur in Dadov theatre, and when he entered that world, there was no going back. He said that the actors act because of the curse and the magic and wander the corridors of hell, deeply believing that there is a way to heaven somewhere. His anthological roles are Osip in Fear and Hope of Nadežda Mandelstam, Miškin in Nastasja Filipovna, Kir Janja, Faust, Oblomov, Joakim Vujić in How to Make Your Lord Laugh, Laza Dunđerski in Was there a Prince's Dinner, Bernard Drah in Chauvinist Farce, Ignjat Glembay in Messrs. Glembay, Napoleon in Madame Saint-Jean, Zlatikum in Skup, Shylock in the Merchant of Venice... He was the president of the Association of Dramatic Artists of Serbia from 1986 to 1990 and a professor at the Academy of Arts in Belgrade. He is the winner of the most important theatre awards: Sterija, Golden Laurel Wreath, Golden Medal for monodrama, Milivoje Živanović, Raša Plaović, statuette of Joakim Vujić, October Award, Dobrica Ring for Lifetime Achievement and Recognition of the RS Government for top contribution to national culture. He played to the last atom of physical and mental strength.
Expert collaboration: Association of Drama Artists of Serbia.
Artistic realization of the issue: MA Marina Kalezić, academic painter.
