Bata Zivojinovic

Early life

Velimir Živojinović (nicknamed Bata) was born in the village of Koraćica under the Kosmaj mountain near Mladenovac, at the time Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now Serbia). His father Dragoljub was an official and his mother Tiosava was a housewife. He had two sisters, Stanka and Nada, and grew up in a patriarchal household. A conflict between Dragoljub and the Chetniks during World War II forced the family to move to Belgrade. The family lived in the urban neighbourhood of Crveni Krst. Young Bata often went with his friends to the cinema, which sparked his interest in acting. Loitering around the "20th October" cinema, he watched AKUD Branko Krsmanović, a Belgrade troupe, through the window for several days until he was welcomed inside. There he befriended Soja Jovanović, instrumental in the developing of Bata's love for acting, Radoš Novaković, through whom he received his first film gig, Rade Marković, Olivera Marković, Đuza Stojiljković, Mića Tomić, and Bata Paskaljević. After graduating from acting schools in Niš and Novi Sad, he enrolled at the Drama Academy in Belgrade.

Career

Živojinović preferred acting in theatre to acting on screen, and made his screen debut in the 1955 film Pesma sa Kumbare. He played both heroes and villains and switched between leading and supporting roles. The zenith of his popularity came with World War II-themed Partisan films in the 1970s. One of his best known films from that period was Walter Defends Sarajevo (Valter brani Sarajevo), which gained major success and cult following in China.

Politics

In 1990 he was elected for the Serbian Parliament, as a member of the Socialist Party of Serbia. He was a candidate in the September-October 2002 presidential election, receiving 3.27% of the popular vote.

Illness and death

Živojinović had a heart attack in October 2006 and suffered from gangrene in his right foot for about three years afterwards. Doctors initially wanted to amputate the limb, but he traveled to Cuba, where his daughter lives, and within the 25 days that he spent being treated there, was cured of the gangrene by Doctor Montekin, who has also treated Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

On 4 July 2012 he suffered a severe stroke and was transported to a hospital specializing in cerebrovascular diseases called Sveti Sava in Belgrade. He was treated in the intensive care unit and was reported to be in critical condition. Reports also stated that after the stroke he was in a coma for two days. He remained in critical condition in the hospital for about three weeks. After treatment for the stroke, he was discharged from the hospital, but reported to not be able to walk without assistance and that it was difficult for him to speak.

On 6 May 2016, after being transferred from Sveti Sava hospital to "KBC Dedinje", he was subject of an emergency surgery which, in order to stop his gangrene, resulted in a leg amputation. He died on 22 May 2016 in Belgrade.

Personal life

Živojinović was married to Julijana "Lula" since 1960. They had a daughter, Jelena, and son, Miljko, and six grandchildren.

Živojinović was a close friend with Croatian actor Boris Dvornik until the Croatian War. In 1991 the two renounced each other in a series of open letters, which was a gesture often seen as symbolic of the breakup of Yugoslavia. In 2004 it was reported that the two men tried to reconcile. In 2006, the two men publicly reconciled on TV via a video link between Split and Belgrade. The actor said that "In the last few years there hasn't been hatred between us", and Dvornik completed the sentence "only a misunderstanding".

Awards and honours

Živojinović was awarded Golden Arena for Best Actor at the Pula Film Festival, the most prestigious film award in the SFR Yugoslavia, three times: in 1965, 1967 and 1972. He won the award for Best Actor at the 11th Moscow International Film Festival in 1979 for his role in Moment. In 1981 he was a member of the jury at the 12th Moscow International Film Festival.

He was the recipient of the October Award of the City of Belgrade in 1972, and the 7th July Award of Serbia in 1981. In August 1993, he was awarded Life Achievement Award "Slavica". In 2016 he received the life achievement award Beogradski pobednik (Belgrade Victor).