Biography
Štefan "Stevo" Žigon (Serbian Cyrillic: Стево Жигон; 8 December 1926 – 28 December 2005) was a Yugoslav actor, theatre director, and writer. His origins were primarily Italian. He was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. His family were Slovene immigrants from the Slovenian Littoral, which was under Italian administration. His father was from the village of Volčji Grad near Komen in the Karst region, while his mother came from the Slovene community in Trieste (now in Italy). The family lived in Trieste until the Fascist takeover in 1922, when they fled to the neighboring Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.He studied acting in Ljubljana and Leningrad. He graduated in 1952, from the Academy for Theatre Arts in Belgrade. On faculty for acting in Belgrade he was one of the first assistants. Because of his knowledge of the German language and manners, he often played cynical and cold German officers. He was best known for playing "Krieger", chief of Belgrade Gestapo, in the popular 1970s TV series Otpisani and Povratak otpisanih.
During his youth, Žigon was an assiduous reader; he was fascinated by poetry, with his favorite poets being Alojz Gradnik, Igo Gruden, and Oton Župančič.In 1941, aged 15, as a member of Communist Youth League, he participated in many sabotage actions organized by the Liberation Front of the Slovenian People. In 1942, Žigon was captured by the Italian Army. As a minor, he was spared from execution and spent a year in an Italian military prison in the Province of Ljubljana. After the Italian armistice in September 1943, he was captured by the Wehrmacht and sent to the Dachau (his prisoner number was 61185), where he learned German.
In 1968, at the time of the student demonstrations in Belgrade, Žigon emerged and performed Danton's Death; he played Robespierre for the students. The speech he made while his character was on trial caused the assembled students to explode into enthusiastic applause.He was married to Serbian actress Jelena Jovanović - Žigon. The couple's daughter Ivana is also an actress.
Filmography
all 49
Movies 43
TV Shows 6
self 2
British Gambit (1998)
Say Why Have You Left Me? (1993)
Marital Travels (1991)
P.S. - Post Scriptum (1988)
Haloa - The Feast of the Whores (1988)
The Harms Case (1987)
Heretic (1986)
Miss (1986)
The Red and the Black (1985)
How I Was Systematically Destroyed by Idiots (1983)
In Agony (1982)
Endeavor (1982)
Stories from the Workshop (1982)
The Tenth Brother (1982)
Sixth Gear (1981)
Summer in the South (1980)
The Time Has Come for Love to Try (1980)
Journalist (1979)
Occupation in 26 Pictures (1978)
Ward Six (1978)
Return of the Written Off (1978)
The Written Off Return (1976)
Maria (1976)
The Idealist (1976)
The Written Off (1974)
Walter Defends Sarajevo (1974)
The Written Off (1974)
Fear (1974)
The Neglected Land (1974)
Ward Six (1973)
Walter Defends Sarajevo (1972)
Girl from the Mountains (1972)
Decameron (1971)
The Scene of the Crash (1971)
Oxygen (1970)
June Turmoil (1969)
La kermesse des brigands (1968)
A Nun and a Commissar (1968)
Memento (1967)
The Feverish Years (1966)
Rondo (1966)
Amandus (1966)
Official Position (1964)
The Saint-Fiacre Affair (1963)
Enclosure (1961)
X-25 Reports (1960)
Five Minutes of Paradise (1959)
Kala (1958)
I'll Be Back (1957)
Ratings
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1926-12-08
Deathday2005-12-28 (79 years old)
Birth PlaceLjubljana, Slovenia
Religionatheism
ChildrenNikola Žigon, Ivana Žigon
CitizenshipsKingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro
AwardsStatuette of Joakim Vujić, Order "For Merit to the People", Order of Labour
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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