Jiří Weiss

Born 29 Mar 1913 · Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]

Jiří Weiss (29 March 1913 – 9 April 2004) was a Czech film director, screenwriter, writer, playwright and pedagogue.

Jiří Weiss was born to a wealthy Jewish family in Prague. His father was a Czech patriot and named his son after Czech king Jiří of Poděbrady.His parents were Emil Weiss (1880–1942) and Martha Weissová (née Fuchsová; 1882–1944). Emil Weiss owned a liqueur factory in Libeň district. Since his youth, Jiří was an staunch communist, which was at the heart of disputes with his capitalist parents. As a young boy he was friends with Franz Kafka's niece Marianne Pollaková and thanks to her he was able to read the books of then-unknown writer Kafka in the 1920s.

Weiss was interested in studying at film school, but his parents wished he studied law. While still a minor, he left his home and lived with his friend K. M. Walló [cs]. Weiss started to work as a copywriter in advertising. His father, who disagreed with his life choices and could still make decisions about his underage son, had him institutionalized in a mental hospital. Weiss never spoke to his father ever again. In his early twenties, he started working as a copywriter for the Prague branch of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. At this time, he wrote his first book – a story for children O věrné Hadimršce. He befriended leading intellectuals of the Left Front in Prague, including Vladislav Vančura and Ivan Olbracht. In 193…