How was ban Jelačić returned to the Square?

The well-known actor became popular playing dotura Vicu, the character of the mayor in the series "Velo misto". His "leadership" did not remain only on the small screen. After the independence of the country, Tuđman asked him to run for mayor of Zagreb. He did so, knowing that he would garner many votes based on his popularity.

One of the more memorable things that Boris did was the re-installation of the monument to Ban Josip Jelačić on the square of the same name in 1990. The fulfillment of the rest of his plans was prevented by the war. He was the mayor until 1993, and he was also a member of the Croatian Parliament until 1995.

During the last two decades of his life, he returned to acting. Even towards the end of his life, he worked tirelessly. He played with Ana Karić in the popular play "Love Letters". The performance was well received by the audience. Boris joked that the audience applauds them even before they go on stage. When asked why this is so, he replied that the audience must think that the main actors have already passed away, so they are very happy when, seeing them go on stage, they are convinced that they are still alive.

Boris Buzančić, an extraordinary actor and popular politician, is responsible for the Croatian art scene. And for that he will be forever remembered.

Zagreb's first mayor

Boris

Dino

Boris Buzančić. a famous Croatian actor and the first mayor of Zagreb after the age of eight, he remembered his interesting childhood all his life, which was abruptly interrupted by the arrival of the Second World War.

Due to his father's service as a gunman in the gendarmerie, the family moved often. He was very attached to his father. He always said that his father was very self-sacrificing. One of the simple but beautiful memories of his father that he preserved forever was the memory of when, in times of poverty, he would bring him the salami he got at work for lunch. He separated it from his own mouth and gave it to his children, who would find it a real gastronomic treat.

Boris's most vivid memories come from the time when he lived in Zagreb. The father got a job at the military school and the family moved into a three-room apartment. They rented one room to some Bulgarian students, which was common at that time. Once, due to frequent nighttime alarms, wailing sirens and noise, a Bulgarian woman went into labor prematurely. They had to call a doctor in the middle of the Zagreb alarm. Sirens were wailing, she was screaming and because of that the family had many complications.

But everyday life in Zagreb was pleasant. At that time, his father gave him a bicycle that he called the "wheel for the armed forces", and he often went to the cinema with it. It's cute that the future actor went to the cinema "for nothing" because his father had a connection to the Central cinema. He liked to go to the market with his mother, after which she took him for lunch at Kod Iva, which he adored. At that time, he also saw the first play. It was the play Matijaš Grabancijaš Dijak, which was performed at the Croatian National Theatre.

Later, the family moved to Travnik. While attending school there, Boris acted for the first time. He played in plays of religious content. He often played with Ćiro Blažević, and one of their favorite games was stealing unconsecrated hosts, which they would then eat.

But the initially happy childhood was interrupted by the murder of his father in 1942. Mother, left without income, moves to Bjelovar with her parents. Boris said that, despite the Jewish persecution, he was comfortable living in Bjelovar. He grabbed girls by the waist, and at that time he also watched the first cowboy movies.

The year 1945 was extremely difficult for him. His mother was taken away and she died in captivity not long after. Boris was put on the train to Bleiburg together with his aunts. His escape from the train happened quite by accident. He needed to relieve himself, and there were no guards in sight. He jumped on the wagons of the neighboring trains to do what he needed to do, and after returning, he realized that the guard was still not there. He told the aunts to get off the train so they could escape. The aunts were terrified, but they listened to Boris. Then they calmly walked to the street and went to their relatives who lived in Zagreb.

Escape from the death train

As a famous actor and mayor, he was kicked out of school several times and in the end, nevertheless, made it to the Academy.

The famous actor and the first mayor of Zagreb after independence had many problems in his childhood and early youth because of his origin. His father was a gunman during the NDH era, which is why he was killed, and his mother was Jewish, which is why she also died. After escaping the death train, he had to fend for himself.

He was kicked out of school twice, but it wasn't his fault. He was expelled for the first time in the seventh grade. The partisan "boss" of the class, Peter, offered him to light Drina, then the most expensive cigar, during his vacation. Boris, not doubting his intentions, took the offered cigar and took a couple of smokes. This allowed Peter to sue him, and eventually Boris was taken to the then partisan "disciplinary reading of the indictment". They brought many children from the partisan home who were left without parents into the large hall. There they accused him of spitting on the floor, cursing God and being related by blood to an Ustashi butcher. The children shouted: – Out with him! Through the window with him! - and, after such humiliation, they kicked him out of school.

Others expelled him from high school, then the Physical Education School in Zagreb. The whole class went skiing in Kranjska Gora. One of his colleagues came to his room to, ostensibly, mend his pants. Although they were not alone in the room, an influential colleague was jealous, so he sent spies through the window. He "arranged" for the school to be sent his "characteristics" from Bjelovar, and they stated that, because of his father's profession, he was being followed by the UDBA and that he was an enemy of the state. They took him again to read the indictment and he was expelled from school again.

As he realized that he would not be able to finish high school, he decided to get a job. He first went to Rijeka where he started working in a shipping company. But realizing that his "characteristics" had been requested again and that papers were arriving from Bjelovar, he ran away. Since there was a shortage of teachers in early post-war Yugoslavia, he managed to get a job in a village near Vrbovac. He briefly worked as a teacher. The papers were on the way again, and he escaped in time, knowing what was coming next.

At that time, Branko Gavella founded the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. Since it was the only college that did not require a high school diploma, a friend advised Branko to try to enroll in it. He went to the amateur theater in Bjelovar to see a play. The repertoire included Kralj Betajnova. He didn't like the play, but he took a monologue from that text and went to Zagreb. He also knew that he should not play his favorite play - Hamlet, because he correctly assumed that all the young men who would come to the reception would prepare that very text.
 
With a few dinars borrowed, he rented a small and cheap room at the top of Hotel Dubrovnik. He shared a room with a traveling salesman who snored heavily, and because of him he had to practice his lyrics in the bathroom. While preparing for the audition, he knew that he should not play the way the actor from the amateur troupe played. He managed to pass the audition and entered the ADU in Zagreb in its first class. But soon it was time to apply and review the papers. Branko, taught by experience about the state machinery's relationship to his father's past, knew what was coming next. He was lucky that, at that time, the Academy employed a party leader originally from Sinj, the same place his girlfriend at the time was from. The two of them were good friends, so his secretary "fixed" his papers. Branko got an index, and thus hope for a better tomorrow.

From marginal to actor and mayor

How the famous actor and Zagreb mayor studied.

After a difficult childhood marked by the death of both parents, escaping from the death train and being kicked out of elementary school, and then from high school, which he never finished, Boris Buzančić, future famous actor and mayor, seemed to be lucky at last. Despite all the obstacles, he entered the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb and became one of the first class students to ever attend it.

Enrollment in the academy did not solve his existential problems. During his studies, he was more hungry than full. Five students lived in a small apartment in Gundulićeva - Mato Ergović, Zorko Rajčić, Ante Vican and some Ovničević. When they had money, they ate in the student canteen located next to the Balkan cinema, and when they didn't, they lived on bread and beans. They didn't even have heating in the apartment, and in winter they were poorly dressed, which, according to Branko, gave their skin a "blue, healthy-frozen color". He said that he found a worn raincoat in the Jewish seminary. It was his only coat for the next few years, and he looked like a real gentleman in it.

He often recalled working with Mata Grković, who was a famous actor at the time. However, Boris was not impressed by him because Mato always played the roles in the same way. He did not approve of his way of teaching either, because Mato always asked his students to imitate him. He did not allow students to work on the roles themselves. While working on the play Robbers by Friedrich Schiller, Buzančić and Grković had a nasty fight. Buzančić rushed to Professor Gavella and asked him for his documents. He wanted to leave the Academy. Gavella tried to calm him down, but failed. Buzančić said: - Either I leave the Academy or he does! – Later he admitted that it was ugly of him, but at that moment his colleagues supported him. Grković, seeing the determination of his students, withdrew like a true gentleman.

Already in the second year of his studies, Boris shot the successful film "Ciguli, Miguli". Because of him, he became famous and he was no longer asked about his origin. After graduating from the Academy, he became a member of the Gavella theater, and later became part of the ensemble of the Zagreb HNK. He became popular playing dotura Vicu, the mayor in the series "Velo misto".

- Either I leave the Academy or he does! –

Ban's statue was unveiled only 7 years after general's death, on December 16, 1866. Because of politics, it was dismantled and removed in 1947. 

The well-known actor became popular playing doctor Vice, the character of the mayor in the series "Velo misto". His "leadership" did not remain only on the TV screen. After country became independent, president Tuđman asked him to run for the  mayor of Zagreb. He did so, knowing that he would garner many votes based on his popularity.

Zagreb's first mayor

How was ban Jelačić returned to the Square?

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Escape from the death train

From marginal to actor and mayor

- Either I leave the Academy or he does! –

How did Ban Jelačić return to the main Zagreb's square?

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