Jan Triska, a Czech actor who starred in such Hollywood movies as “Ronin” and “Ragtime,” has died after a fall on Saturday from Prague’s iconic Charles Bridge. He was 80 years old.
According to the Associated Press, Prague theater director Jan Hrusinsky confirmed the death on Monday. The actor died in Prague’s military hospital overnight from his injuries after Saturday’s fall. The circumstances of the fall are still unclear.
Triska moved to the United States in 1977 after he signed a human rights manifesto against Czechoslovakia’s then-Communist government, according to The Guardian. He had been inspired by his close friend, playwright (and future Czech leader) Vaclav Havel, was banned by the country’s regime and settled in Los Angeles.
He appeared in dozens of movies, including “Ronin” alongside Robert De Niro, Stellan Skarsgard and Sean Bean, “Ragtime” starring James Cagney, Samuel L. Jackson and Jeff Daniels, “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” and “The Karate Kid Part III.”
He also made his appearance on television in series such as “Quantum Leap” and “Highlander: The Series.”
The Guardian reported that Triska’s films were banned from Czechoslovakian cinemas and TV screens until the fall of the Communist regime in 1989.
After the anti-Communist 1989 Velvet Revolution led by Havel, Triska regularly returned to Czechoslovakia to play in movies and theaters.
He had a leading role in “The Elementary School,” which was nominated for an Academy Award.