Bekim Fehmiu (Sarajevo, June 1, 1936 - Belgrade, June 15, 2010)
Bekim Fehmiu was one of the few Albanian stars and one of the greatest actors in Yugoslavian cinema history. He was born in Sarajevo, spent his childhood in Prizren and studied acting in Belgrade, where he graduated from Mate Milošević’s class. Afterwards he acted in theatres in Priština and Belgrade. His film debut was Saša (1962) directed by Radenko Ostojić. After that, he played in The Enemy (Neprijatelj, 1965) by Živojin Pavlović, Klakson (1965) by Vojislav \'Kokan\' Rakonjac, Roj (1966) by Miodrag Popović, Vreme ljubavi (1966) by Vlado Petrić and Nikola Rajić, Hot Years (Tople godine, 1966) by Dragoslav Lazić and Protest (1967) by Fadil Hadžić. However, he is most famous for his role as Beli Bore, the hero in I Even Met Happy Gypsies (Skupljačima perja, 1967) by Aleksandar Petrović, which won the Golden Palm in Cannes. On that occasion, famous producer Dino De Laurentis offered Fehmiu the opportunity to play Odysseus on TV along with, for that time, an enormous salary. After playing the lead roles in Do Not Mention the Cause of Death (Uzrok smrti ne pominjati, 1968) by Jovan Živanović and the TV film Prljave ruke (1968) by Aleksandar Đorđević, he played Odysseus in the international co-production L\'odissea (1968). However, bad review of the film adaptation of Harold Robbins’ The Adventurer (1969), directed by Lewis Gilbert ended his prospective international career. He was still in demand in Italy and made many films and TV series there as well as in Yugoslavia. From that period, his most important films are The Devil\'s Backbone (1971) by Nikša Fulgosi and Burt Kennedy, Deps (1974) by Antun Vrdoljak, The Wind (Košava, 1974) by Dragoslav Lazić, The Executioner (1975) in which he starred opposite Gardner, Dirk Bogarde and Timothy Dalton; Black Sunday (1977) by John Frankenheimer, Special Education (Specijalno vaspitanje, 1977) by Goran Marković, Partizanska eskadrila (1979) by Hajrudin Krvavac, Široko je lišće (1981) by Petar Latinović, Crveni i crni (1985) by Miroslav Mikuljan. In 1987, because of anti-Albanian propaganda and the overall hatred shown by many towards the Albanian people he stopped acting. In 1985, he wrote an autobiography Brilliant and Terrifying but it was published only in 2001 by the media publishing house B92. He starred in films several more times, such as in Gengis Khan (1992). On June 15, 2010 he killed himself in his apartment in Belgrade and his ashes were scattered on a river in Prizren.
Filmography:
Il cuore e la spada (1998)
Balkan Island: The Last Story of the Century (1997)
Gengis Khan (1992)
Disperatamente Giulia (1989) (TV mini series)
Poslednja priča (1987)
Un bambino di nome Gesù (1987) (TV mini series)
Crveni i crni (1985)
La voce (1982)
Pavilón seliem (1982)
Sarâb (1982)
Široko je lišće (1981)
I vecchi e i giovani (1979) (TV mini series)
Partizanska eskadrila (1979)
Stići pre svitanja (1978)
Specijalno vaspitanje (1977)
Black Sunday (1977)
Disposta a tutto (1977)
Salon Kitty (1976)
Permission to Kill (1975)
Libera, amore mio... (1975)
Pavle Pavlović (1975)
Košava (1974)
Il testimone deve tacere (1974)
Deps (1974)
Il gioco della verità (1974)
Cagliostro (1974)
L'ultima neve di primavera (1973)
Paljenje rajhstaga (1972)
The Desertere (1971)
Klopka za generala (1971)
The Adventurers (1969)
L'odissea (1968) (TV mini series)
Prljave ruke (1968)
Uzrok smrti ne pominjati (1968)
Skupljači perja (1967)
Protest (1967/I)
Tople godine (1966)
Vreme ljubavi (1966)
Morgan! (1966) (unaccredited)
Roj (1966)
Devojka (1965)
Klakson (1965)
Ko puca otvoriće mu se (1965)
Neprijatelj (1965)
Pod isto nebo (1964)
Saša (1962)