Michal Dočolomanský was a renowned Slovak actor, singer, moderator, and imitator, born on March 25, 1942, in Nedeca, Slovak state, which is now part of Poland. He was the tenth child of Rudolf Dočolomanský, a teacher who worked in Transylvania, Romania, among Slovaks, and his Romanian wife, Florian, who was sixteen years his junior. The family moved to Nedeca in 1942, where Michal was born, and later relocated to Slovakia after the end of World War II.
After completing elementary school, Michal trained as a car mechanic, but his true passion lay in the arts. He began his amateur theater career in Svätý Jur, where he also excelled in gymnastics and gliding. He later graduated in acting from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava in 1964 and became a member of the Slovak National Theater.
Throughout his illustrious career, Michal acted in numerous Slovak and Czech films, including "Sváko Ragan," "The Eleventh Commandment," "The Engineering Odyssey," "Insurgent History," "Elizabeth's Court," "Mountain Service," and many others. He also appeared in several television series and productions, such as "Three Chestnut Horses," "Generation," "Copper Button," "Zypa Cupák," and "Studio."
One of his most notable roles was in the successful play "Na skle maľované," where he played the title role of Jánošík from 1974 to 2002, earning 642 reruns. He also provided voiceovers for the Slovak version of the Polish evening film "Macko Uško."
Michal's contributions to the arts were recognized with several awards, including the Deserved Artist Award in 1982 and the Ľudovít Štúr 1st Class Council in 2007 for his extraordinary services to the development of Slovakia and the spread of goodwill abroad.
Sadly, Michal passed away on August 26, 2008, at the age of 66, due to lung cancer. A memorial plaque was unveiled at his birth house in Nedec on July 10, 2010, in his honor.
