Ota Jirák

Ota Jirák (born Otakar Jirák) was a Czech actor, voice actor, mime, entertainer, presenter and visual artist whose deep, warm bass voice was known to several generations of Czech viewers. For more than four decades he was the voice of Hele, the good-natured beige plush character from the Czech Television children's programme Studio Kamarád, alongside Jiří Lábus as Jů. He was also the Czech voice of the furry alien in the American sitcom ALF, of Manny the mammoth in all five Ice Age films, and of Obelix in the animated film Asterix and the Vikings.

He was born on 12 April 1949 in Debř, near Mladá Boleslav, but his family soon moved to Prague, where he spent his childhood. He studied puppetry at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU). His first professional engagement, from 1969 to 1971, was with Karel Makonj's Vedené divadlo.

Much of his early career was in physical theatre and mime. From 1973 to 1980 he performed with Ctibor Turba's ensemble Cirkus Alfréd, and from 1980 to 1985 with Boris Hybner's pantomime company GAG. He then worked with František Ringo Čech's Prozatímní divadlo from 1985 to 1990, guested at the Semafor theatre in Prague from 1991 to 1995, and returned to Prozatímní divadlo from 1998 to 2000. In September 2003 he joined the permanent company of the Municipal Theatre in Mladá Boleslav, returning to his native region, and stayed until 2009. In 2014 he came back to that stage as a guest to play Richard Načeradec again in the musical comedy Muži v offsidu, a production named comedy of the year at the Grand Festival of Comedy in Pardubice in 2008.

His first notable screen appearance came in 1976 in Ján Roháč's television slapstick Traja chrobáci, in which he played one of three curious beetles exploring a human household, alongside Bolek Polívka and Josef Dvořák. Directors went on to cast him in fairy tales and series, usually as friendly, easygoing men with a sense of humour, and often as doctors because of his trustworthy look. His screen work included Arabela se vrací, Život na zámku, Nováci, Modrý kód, Ať žijí rytíři!, Byl jednou jeden polda III, O perlové panně, Taneček přes dvě pekla, Anynka a čert and Velká kočičí pohádka. He played the eccentric uncle František in the 1994 film adaptation of Saturnin, the paediatrician Pantoflíček in the TV Nova series Ordinace v růžové zahradě 2, and, in one of his last major roles, the late farmer Martin Popelka, father of Eva Burešová's character Týna, in the series Slunečná. He also tried his hand as a presenter on the Prima entertainment show To je fór.

Dubbing made his voice part of everyday Czech life. Besides ALF, Manny and Obelix, he voiced Tigger in the Winnie the Pooh cartoons, Grunkle Stan in Gravity Falls (Městečko záhad), a role in Garfield 2, the Polish animated series about the famous hunter Pampalini, the bedtime-story series Hajadla, and the feature films Fimfárum Jana Wericha and Fimfárum 2. In children's television he also played the bird Čau in Studio Rosa and, from 1999, the goblin František in Kouzelná školka, a role later taken over by Tomáš Juřička. He voiced the trio Bobík, Pinďa and Myšpulín in the Čtyřlístek CD-Romek computer games. In January 2026 the role of Hele passed to Kryštof Mende.

Away from the stage he painted and made prints and enamel works. He lived with his wife Drahomíra in a house near Mladá Boleslav, and the couple spent their later years at a log cabin they renovated, with their dachshund Ferda, the third dog of that breed they had owned. They were together for 47 years and had a daughter, Tereza. Blesk described his life as quiet and free of scandal.

His health was fragile for many years. He had his first heart attack at around 40, and in 2019, about a month after his 70th birthday, he suffered a stroke and a heart attack at the same time and was treated at IKEM in Prague. He credited his wife with his recovery, including his ability to speak without stumbling. In his last years he withdrew from public life.

Ota Jirák died on Saturday 17 October 2026 at the age of 77 after a short, sudden illness. His wife announced his death on social media with a death notice describing him as small in height but huge thanks to his heart, kindness and empathy. At the family's request, the funeral is being held privately.