Bekim Fehmiu (; ; 1 June 1936 – 15 June 2010) was a Yugoslav Albanian theater and film actor. He was the first Eastern European actor to star in Hollywood during the Cold War, and one of the internationally best-known ethnic Albanian actors.

Biography

Early life Fehmiu was born in Sarajevo, into an ethnic Albanian family originating from Gjakova, Kosovo. His father Ibrahim adopted his high-school nickname Fehmiu as a surname replacing the original Imer Halili. The family moved to Shkodër, Albania, where they spent three years, and in 1941 returned to Prizren where Bekim spent his childhood. He was part of the acting club at his high school in Prizren, and after graduation he became a member of County Popular Theatre in Pristina, the only professional Albanian language theatre in Yugoslavia. He graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDU) in Belgrade in 1960.

Acting career 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 well-known in parts of Europe.

Fehmiu seemed poised for stardom in Hollywood as well, but his first American film, The Adventurers, was a critical failure. 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) that was ultimately never completed.

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. His last on-screen role was in the 1998 Italian movie Il cuore e la spada.

Personal life Fehmiu was married to Serbian actress Branka Petrić. The couple had two sons, Hedon and Uliks, and resided in the Zvezdara area of Belgrade. is also an actor.

Death

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.

Legacy The New York Times dubbed Fehmiu the "Yugoslav heart-throb" for his youthful conquests and acquaintances with the likes of Brigitte Bardot and Ava Gardner. Decades after his last appearance on the screen, readers of a leading Italian women's magazine voted him one of the ten most attractive men of the 20th century.

Fehmiu appeared in 41 films between 1953 and 1998. He was one of the first Albanian theater and film actors to act in theaters and movies all over Yugoslavia, with Abdurrahman Shala, Faruk Begolli and Enver Petrovci, appearing in a series of roles that changed the history of the Cinema of Yugoslavia and left a mark in the artistic developments elsewhere. By the end of his career he had acted in film productions in nine languages, including Balkan languages, French, Spanish, English and Italian.

In 2001, Samizdat B92 published a book of Bekim Fehmiu's memoirs, entitled Blistavo i strašno (Brilliant and Terrifying), which describes his life until 1955, the year he became an actor.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1957Subotom uvece1960 Dan cetrnaesti1961Tu ne tueras pointČuvar u čekaoniciUncredited1962SašaMarić, poručnik Kraljevske vojske1964Pod isto neboKerim1965Devojka1965KlaksonMarko1965Neprijatelj1965Ko puca otvoriće mu se1966Morgan: A Suitable Case for TreatmentUncredited1966RojHalil Beg1966Vreme ljubaviMilija, trubač(segment "Put")1966Tople godineMirko1967I Even Met Happy GypsiesBora1967ProtestIvo Bajsić1968Uzrok smrti ne pominjatiMihajlo1970The AdventurersDax Xenos1970The DeserterCapt. Victor Kaleb1971Klopka za generalaDoktor – obaveštajac OZNE1973The Last Snows of SpringRoberto1974Il gioco della verità1974DepsDeps1974Il testimone deve tacereIl dottor Giorgio Sironi1974KošavaAdam Milovanović1975CagliostroCount Alexander Cagliostro / Giuseppe Balsamo]1975Libera, amore mio...Sandro Poggi1975Pavle PavlovićPavle Pavlović1975Permission to KillAlexander Diakim1976Salon KittyHans Reiter1977Disposta a tuttoMarco1977Black SundayMohammed Fasil1977Special EducationVaspitač Žarko Munižaba1978Stići pre svitanjaEsad Ljumi1979Partizanska eskadrilaMajor Dragan1981Široko je lišćeBaja1982SarâbVlsdar1982La VoceNicolay1982Pavilón seliemKalmán Furtek1985Crveni i crniIvan Pipan1992Genghis Khanunfinished film

Television Year Title Role Notes1968L'OdisseaUlisseInternational TV mini-series1968Prljave rukeTV film1972Paljenje Rajhstaga[Georgi Dimitrov]TV short1979I vecchi e i giovaniAurelio CostaTV mini-series1987Un bambino di nome GesùJosephTV mini-series1987Poslednja pričaTV film1989Disperatamente GiuliaArmando Zani #2TV mini-series1998Il cuore e la spadaGormondTV film

References

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