CineScope
Bekim Fehmiu picture

Bekim Fehmiu

Acting
Known For

74 Years Old

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.

Born

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on 2nd June 1936

Died

15th June 2010

All Credits

The Odyssey Image
The Odyssey
Ulisse
Salon Kitty Image
Salon Kitty
Hans Reiter
Black Sunday Image
Black Sunday
Fasil
The Adventurers Image
The Adventurers
Dax Xenos
The Deserter Image
The Deserter
Captain Victor Kaleb
Julia Forever Image
Julia Forever
Armando Zani #2
I Even Met Happy Gypsies Image
I Even Met Happy Gypsies
Bora
Libera, My Love Image
Libera, My Love
Sandro Poggi
Odissea Image
Odissea
Ulisse
A Child Called Jesus Image
A Child Called Jesus
Joseph
Ready for Anything Image
Ready for Anything
Marco
The Battle of the Eagles Image
The Battle of the Eagles
Major Dragan
The Girl Image
The Girl
Heart and Sword Image
Heart and Sword
Gormond
The Last Snows of Spring Image
The Last Snows of Spring
Roberto
Silence the Witness Image
Silence the Witness
Il dottor Giorgio Sironi
Arrive Before Daybreak Image
Arrive Before Daybreak
Esad Ljumi
Permission to Kill Image
Permission to Kill
Alexander Diakim
The Enemy Image
The Enemy
The Balad of Mamelouk Image
The Balad of Mamelouk
Ruler
Broad Are the Leaves Image
Broad Are the Leaves
Baja
Sasha Image
Sasha
Marić, poručnik Kraljevske vojske
Cagliostro Image
Cagliostro
Count Alexander Cagliostro / Giuseppe Balsamo
The Wind Image
The Wind
Adam Milovanović
No Image
Pavilón šeliem
Kálmán Furtek
No Image
The Last Story
The Red and the Black Image
The Red and the Black
Ivan Pipan
The Swarm Image
The Swarm
Halil Beg
Shoot and It Shall Open Image
Shoot and It Shall Open
A Trap for the General Image
A Trap for the General
Doktor, obaveštajac OZNE
Pavle Pavlovic Image
Pavle Pavlovic
Pavle Pavlović
The Feverish Years Image
The Feverish Years
Mirko
Special Education Image
Special Education
Žarko Munižaba
Klaxon Image
Klaxon
Marko
Deps Image
Deps
Deps
Do Not Mention the Cause of Death Image
Do Not Mention the Cause of Death
Mihajlo
Il gioco della verità Image
Il gioco della verità
Alberto Santoro
The Voice Image
The Voice
Nicolay
The Time of Love Image
The Time of Love
Milija, trubač (segment "Put")
Under the Same Sky Image
Under the Same Sky
Kerim
Bekim Fehmiu Image
Bekim Fehmiu
Himself (archive footage)
Bekim Fehmiu Visits Albania Image
Bekim Fehmiu Visits Albania
Himself
The Reichstag Fire Image
The Reichstag Fire
Georgi Dimitrov
Protest Image
Protest
Ivo Bajšić