Bekim Fehmiu
Bekim Fehmiu
Born 02/06/1936 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bekim Fehmiu (Albanian: [bɛˈkim fɛhˈmiu]; Cyrillic: Беким Фехмију; 1 June 1936 – 15 June 2010) was a Yugoslavian theater and film actor of Albanian ethnicity. He was the first Eastern European actor to star in Hollywood during the Cold War.

Bekim Fehmiu (Albanian: [bɛˈkim fɛhˈmiu]; Cyrillic: Беким Фехмију; 1 June 1936 – 15 June 2010) was a Yugoslavian theater and film actor of Albanian ethnicity. He was the first Eastern European actor to star in Hollywood during the Cold War.

In 1960, Fehmiu became a member of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre in Belgrade, which he left in 1967, citing bad treatment, to become a free artist.

Fehmiu's big break was the 1967 film I Even Met Happy Gypsies, a subtle portrayal of Roma life which won two awards in Cannes and was nominated for an Oscar. Known for his macho appearance and mild manner, Fehmiu was then wooed by Western filmmakers and signed a contract with the Academy Award-winning producer Dino De Laurentiis. It was De Laurentiis who, in 1968, cast him as Odysseus in the acclaimed mini-series of The Odyssey. It was the first blockbuster of Italian television and made Fehmiu an icon in parts of Europe.

Fehmiu seemed poised for stardom in Hollywood as well, but his first American film, The Adventurers, was a critical and financial disaster which "ruined any chances for Fehmiu to achieve similar stardom in Hollywood". In 1971, Fehmiu starred in the western action drama The Deserter, directed by Burt Kennedy. In 1973 he played the role of the busy father in Raimondo Del Balzo's heartbreaking film The Last Snows of Spring, and then in 1975 played the role of ex-politician Alexander Diakim in the movie Permission to Kill, with Ava Gardner and Dirk Bogarde. In 1976, Fehmiu starred as fictional murdered Luftwaffe pilot, Hans Reiter in Tinto Brass's film, Salon Kitty alongside Helmut Berger, Ingrid Thulin and Teresa Ann Savoy. He portrayed a Palestinian terrorist in John Frankenheimer's 1977 political thriller, Black Sunday. Despite his Hollywood films achieving little success, he did well in European art house cinema as well as in the theatre, the latter being his preferred medium. He portrayed the father of Mother Teresa, Nikola Boyaxhiu, in the 1982 film La Voce (The Voice). He acted as Joseph in the Italian production A Child Called Jesus (1987). He was to have acted in the movie Genghis Khan (1992), but it was ultimately never made.

In 1987, in protest at the Yugoslavian government's treatment of Kosovar Albanians, he walked off the stage at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre in Belgrade during the play Madame Kollontai by Agneta Pleijel. He left the stage, and soon after, film.

Fehmiu was found dead on 15 June 2010 in his apartment in Belgrade. Initial reports stated he committed suicide. Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said Fehmiu was found shot in his apartment and the gun was registered in Fehmiu's name. He was 74 years old. His body was cremated and the ashes were scattered in Prizren Bistrica in Prizren, his childhood home.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Bekim Fehmiu, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

External links

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0270443

Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q471580

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Filmography (Movies)

Bekim Fehmiu

Bekim Fehmiu

Character:Himself (archive footage)

Release Date:21/09/2023

Heart and Sword

Heart and Sword

Character:Gormond

Release Date:22/11/1998

A Child Called Jesus

A Child Called Jesus

Character:Joseph

Release Date:08/01/1987

The Last Story

The Last Story

Character:

Release Date:01/01/1987

The Red and the Black

The Red and the Black

Character:Ivan Pipan

Release Date:25/05/1985

Predators Pavilion

Predators Pavilion

Character:Kálmán Furtek

Release Date:01/04/1983

The Balad of Mamelouk

The Balad of Mamelouk

Character:Ruler

Release Date:26/11/1982

The Voice

The Voice

Character:Nicolay

Release Date:13/02/1982

Broad Are the Leaves

Broad Are the Leaves

Character:Baja

Release Date:02/04/1981

The Battle of the Eagles

The Battle of the Eagles

Character:Major Dragan

Release Date:01/07/1979

Arrive Before Daybreak

Arrive Before Daybreak

Character:Esad Ljumi

Release Date:01/01/1978

Special Education

Special Education

Character:Žarko Munižaba

Release Date:28/04/1977

Black Sunday

Black Sunday

Character:Fasil

Release Date:01/04/1977

Ready for Anything

Ready for Anything

Character:Marco

Release Date:24/02/1977

Salon Kitty

Salon Kitty

Character:Hans Reiter

Release Date:02/03/1976

Permission to Kill

Permission to Kill

Character:Alexander Diakim

Release Date:20/11/1975

Pavle Pavlovic

Pavle Pavlovic

Character:Pavle Pavlović

Release Date:14/07/1975

Libera, My Love

Libera, My Love

Character:Sandro Poggi

Release Date:21/03/1975

Cagliostro

Cagliostro

Character:Count Alexander Cagliostro / Giuseppe Balsamo

Release Date:21/02/1975

The Wind

The Wind

Character:Adam Milovanović

Release Date:12/07/1974

Silence the Witness

Silence the Witness

Character:Il dottor Giorgio Sironi

Release Date:16/05/1974

Deps

Deps

Character:Deps

Release Date:26/03/1974

Il gioco della verità

Il gioco della verità

Character:Alberto Santoro

Release Date:17/03/1974

The Last Snows of Spring

The Last Snows of Spring

Character:Roberto

Release Date:20/12/1973

The Reichstag Fire

The Reichstag Fire

Character:Georgi Dimitrov

Release Date:02/03/1972

Bekim Fehmiu Visits Albania

Bekim Fehmiu Visits Albania

Character:Himself

Release Date:01/01/1972

A Trap for the General

A Trap for the General

Character:Doktor, obaveštajac OZNE

Release Date:26/11/1971

The Deserter

The Deserter

Character:Captain Victor Kaleb

Release Date:04/12/1970

The Adventurers

The Adventurers

Character:Dax Xenos

Release Date:25/03/1970

Do Not Mention the Cause of Death

Do Not Mention the Cause of Death

Character:Mihajlo

Release Date:16/04/1968

Odissea

Odissea

Character:Ulisse

Release Date:24/03/1968

Protest

Protest

Character:Ivo Bajšić

Release Date:08/07/1967

I Even Met Happy Gypsies

I Even Met Happy Gypsies

Character:Bora

Release Date:27/03/1967

The Feverish Years

The Feverish Years

Character:Mirko

Release Date:14/07/1966

The Time of Love

The Time of Love

Character:Milija, trubač (segment "Put")

Release Date:10/07/1966

The Swarm

The Swarm

Character:Halil Beg

Release Date:16/05/1966

Klaxon

Klaxon

Character:Marko

Release Date:15/07/1965

The Enemy

The Enemy

Character:

Release Date:11/06/1965

The Girl

The Girl

Character:

Release Date:07/05/1965

Shoot and It Shall Open

Shoot and It Shall Open

Character:

Release Date:16/04/1965

Under the Same Sky

Under the Same Sky

Character:Kerim

Release Date:01/01/1964

Sasha

Sasha

Character:Marić, poručnik Kraljevske vojske

Release Date:01/01/1962

Amazons of Rome

Amazons of Rome

Character:Etruscan Soldier (uncredited)

Release Date:24/03/1961

Television Appearances

Images

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