Karel Capek

Karel Capek

writer

Karel Capek was born on Jan 09, 1890 in Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. Karel Capek's big-screen debut came with Loss of Feeling directed by Aleksandr Andriyevsky in 1935. Karel Capek is known for Krakatit directed by Otakar Vávra, Karel Höger stars as Prokop and Florence Marly as Princess Wilhelmina Hagen. The upcoming new movie Karel Capek plays is Halo which will be released on Jan 01, 2019.

Karel Capek, born January 9, 1890, in Male Svatonovice, Austria-Hungary (today Czech Republic) was a writer, playwright, novelist, journalist, children's author, biographer, essayist, illustrator, photographer and translator. For most people he is best known for the science fiction play "R.U.R. (Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti (Rossum's Universal Robots)", published in 1920. The word "robot," was coined by his brother Josef. "R.U.R." quickly became famous and was influential early in the history of its publication. By 1923, it had been translated into thirty languages. In this drama about man abusing technology, the Rossum factory R.U.R. makes robots on an island. The robots revolt and murder all humans except for one man whom they order to find the secret formula of their existence, without which they can longer live. "R.U.R." premiered in Prague on 25 January, 1921. It was translated into English by Paul Selver and staged in London, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles during 1922-1923. Spencer Tracy played robot in the New York version (1922) at the Garrick Theater on Broadway. Karel Capek was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times, but he was never awarded one. He died of pneumonia, on December 25, 1938. The Gestapo, not aware of his death, arrived at the Capek family house in Prague in order to arrest him.

  • Birthday

    Jan 09, 1890
  • Place of Birth

    Malé Svatonovice, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]