Ivan Jandl

Ivan Jandl (January 24, 1937 - ??? 1987) was a Czech child actor.

Related Topics:
January 24 - 1937 - 1987 - Czech

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Jandl appeared in the 1948 film The Search as a nine year old Czech boy who had survived Auschwitz and was searching for his mother in post-war Germany. Filmed on location, the performance of Jandl as a boy rendered mute by his experiences struck a chord with cinema goers and critics alike. He was awarded an Academy Juvenile Award for his work, but never worked as an actor again.

Related Topics:
1948 - The Search - Auschwitz - Germany - Academy Juvenile Award

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Ivan died at an early age. He was in a round-about way killed by the Czech Communists. His only "crime" was that he acted in the American movie "The Search."

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Ivan Jandl's performance in the movie The Search (1948) gave so much hope to the people of Czechoslovakia that the communists took him out of school and put him to work in a rock quarry. He had to leave university and work in the quarry and the years of persecution depraved him of the possibility to develop his talent. He was forced to work there for a long time and never fully recovered from the strains put on him at the time. He lived the rest of his life in a sickly state, and died relatively young. He was punished by the communists, his relatively unoffensive movie was banned for 40 years and this young boy was basically murdered.

Related Topics:
Czechoslovakia - Communists

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Virtually no one talks about his Oscar, his life or his tragic death. Ivan died in 1987, in complete obscurity.

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