Zdeněk Ornest

Biography

Zdeněk Ornest was a Czech actor born Zdeněk Ohrenstein on January 10, 1929, in Kutná Hora. A survivor of the Holocaust, he was imprisoned in Terezín and Dachau concentration camps as a child before being liberated. He studied acting at Prague's DAMU Conservatory, graduating in 1950, and went on to establish himself at the Libeňském Divadle in Prague, where he performed notable roles from 1962 until his death in 1990.