Bata Živojinović facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bata Živojinović
Бата Живојиновић
Živojinović in 2008
Born	Velimir Živojinović (1933-06-05)5 June 1933 Koraćica, Danube Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Died	22 May 2016(2016-05-22) (aged 82) Belgrade, Serbia
Nationality	Serbian
Years active	1955–2013
Political party	SPS (1990–2003) SKJ (until 1990)
Spouse(s)	Julijana "Lula" Živojinović ​ (m. 1960)​
Awards	Pula Film Festival of Yugoslavian Films: 1962 (silver), 1965, 1967, 1972 (gold) Pula Film Festival of Yugoslavian Films: 1979 (best actor), 1997 (life-time achievement award) Various: Belgrade (1972, 2006), Palić (2005), Niš (2005)...

Velimir "Bata" Živojinović (Serbian Cyrillic: Велимир "Бата" Живојиновић; born June 5, 1933 – died May 22, 2016) was a very famous actor and politician from Serbia and Yugoslavia. He starred in over 340 movies and TV shows. Many people consider him one of the best actors ever from former Yugoslavia.

Bata's Early Life

Bata Živojinović was born in a small village called Koraćica. This village is near Mladenovac in what was then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. His family moved to Belgrade during World War II because of conflicts. They settled in a part of Belgrade called Crveni Krst.

Young Bata loved going to the cinema with his friends. This is where he first became interested in acting. He would often watch a local acting group called AKUD Branko Krsmanović. Soon, he was welcomed to join them. There, he met other actors who helped him love acting even more. After studying acting in other cities, he went to the Drama Academy in Belgrade.

His Acting Career

Bata Živojinović actually preferred acting on stage in plays. However, he made his first movie in 1955. It was called Pesma sa Kumbare. He was great at playing all kinds of characters. He could be a hero or a villain, and he played both main and supporting roles.

He became super popular in the 1970s. This was when he starred in many movies about World War II. These films were often called Partisan films. One of his most famous movies was Walter Defends Sarajevo. This film was a huge hit, especially in China, where it became a cult classic.

Bata in Politics

Besides acting, Bata Živojinović was also involved in politics. In 1990, he was chosen to be a member of the Serbian Parliament. He was part of the Socialist Party of Serbia. He even ran for president of Serbia in 2002. He received a good number of votes in that election.

Later Years and Passing

Bata Živojinović faced some health challenges later in his life. In 2006, he had a heart attack. He also dealt with a serious foot infection for about three years. Doctors initially thought they might need to remove his foot. But he went to Cuba for special treatment, and he got better.

In 2012, he had a severe stroke. He was in the hospital for a while and needed a lot of care. After treatment, he was able to leave the hospital. However, he found it hard to walk and speak without help.

In May 2016, he had another surgery to help with his foot infection. Sadly, he passed away on May 22, 2016, in Belgrade.

His Family and Friends

Bata Živojinović was married to Julijana "Lula" since 1960. They had two children, a daughter named Jelena and a son named Miljko. They also had six grandchildren. His wife, Lula, passed away in 2019.

Bata was also very good friends with a Croatian actor named Boris Dvornik. Their friendship was well-known. During the Croatian War in the 1990s, their friendship became difficult. This was seen as a sad symbol of how Yugoslavia was breaking apart. But in 2006, they publicly made up on TV. They showed that even after hard times, friendship could be rebuilt.

Awards and Special Recognition

Bata Živojinović won many awards for his acting. He won the Golden Arena for Best Actor three times. This was the top film award in Yugoslavia. He also won the Best Actor award at the 11th Moscow International Film Festival in 1979.

He received other important awards in Serbia. These included the October Award of the City of Belgrade in 1972 and the 7th July Award of Serbia in 1981. In 1993, he got a Life Achievement Award called "Slavica." In 2016, he received another life achievement award, "Beogradski pobednik" (Belgrade Victor).

Films He Starred In

• Pesma sa Kumbare (1955)
• Klisura (1956)
• Poslednji kolosek (1956)
• Cipelice na asfaltu (1958)
• Subotom uvece (1957)
• Mali covek (1957)
• Rafal u nebo (1958)
• Te noci (1958)
• Dubrowsky (1959)
• Train Without a Timetable (1959)
• Vetar je stao pred zoru (1959)
• Dilizansa snova (1960)
• Atomic War Bride (1960)
• Signal Over the City (1960)
• Uzavreli grad (1961)
• Pesma (1961)
• Dr (1962)
• Kozara (1962)
• Krst Rakoc (1962)
• Double Circle (1963)
• Radopolje (1963)
• Thundering Mountains (1963)
• Zemljaci (1963)
• Muskarci (1963)
• Covek iz hrastove sume (1964)
• Put oko sveta (1964)
• Narodni poslanik (1964)
• Dobra kob (1964)
• Three (1965)
• Laznivka (1965)
• Flaming Frontier (1965)
• Neprijatelj (1965)
• Looking Into the Eyes of the Sun (1966)
• Pre rata (1966)
• The Dream (1966)
• Povratak (1966)
• Glineni golub (1966)
• I Even Met Happy Gypsies (Skupljači perja) (1967)
• Noz (1967)
• Praznik (1967)
• The Birch Tree (1967)
• Posalji coveka u pola dva (1967)
• Diverzanti (1967)
• Brat doktora Homera (1968)
• Visnja na Tasmajdanu (1968)
• Uzrok smrti ne pominjati (1968)
• Bekstva (1968)
• Operacija Beograd (1968)
• It Rains in My Village (1968)
• Ima ljubavi, nema ljubavi (1968)
• Oseka (1969)
• The Bridge (1969)
• Battle of Neretva (1969)
• Krvava bajka (1969)
• Zarki (1970)
• Moja luda glava (1971)
• Dorucak sa djavolom (1971)
• Opklada (1971)
• Zvezde su oci ratnika (1972)
• Walter Defends Sarajevo (1972)
• I Bog stvori kafansku pevacicu (1972)
• Traces of a Black Haired Girl (1972)
• The Master and Margaret (1972)
• The Battle of Sutjeska (1973)
• Bombasi (1973)
• Mirko i Slavko (1973)
• The Dervish and Death (1974)
• Kosava (1974)
• Hell River (1974)
• Crveni udar (1974)
• Povest o dobrih ljudeh (1975)
• Crvena zemlja (1975)
• Anno Domini 1573 (1975)
• Naivko (1975)
• Beach Guard in Winter (1976)
• Vrhovi Zelengore (1976)
• Povratak otpisanih (1976)
• Gruppenbild mit Dame (1977)
• Group Portrait with a Lady (1977)
• Ljubavni zivot Budimira Trajkovica (1977)
• Bestije (1977)
• Hajka (1977)
• The Dog Who Loved Trains (1977)
• Foolish Years (1977)
• Nije nego (1978)
• Stici pre svitanja (1978)
• Moment (1978)
• The Tiger (1978)
• Radio Vihor zove Andjeliju (1979)
• Drugarcine (1979)
• Usijanje (1979)
• Partizanska eskadrila (1979)
• Pozorisna veza (1980)
• Special Treatment (1980)
• Rad na odredjeno vreme (1980)
• Snovi, zivot, smrt Filipa Filipovica (1980)
• Erogena zona (1981)
• Crveniot konj (1981)
• High Voltage (1981)
• Dorotej (1981)
• Sesta brzina (1981)
• The Fall of Italy (1981)
• Sok od sljiva (1981)
• Lov u mutnom (1981)
• Laf u srcu (1981)
• The Promising Boy (1981)
• Idemo dalje (1982)
• 13. jul (1982)
• Progon (1982)
• Nedeljni rucak (1982)
• Moj tata na odredjeno vreme (1982)
• Balkan Express (1983)
• Kakav deda takav unuk (1983)
• Stepenice za nebo (1983)
• Halo taxi (1983)
• Jos ovaj put (1983)
• Igmanski mars (1983)
• Great Transport (1983)
• Timocka buna (1983)
• Idi mi, dodji mi (1983)
• Secerna vodica (1983)
• Pejzazi u magli (1984)
• Maturanti (Pazi sta radis) (1984)
• Unseen Wonder (1984)
• In the Jaws of Life (1984)
• Sta je s tobom, Nina (1984)
• Opasni trag (1984)
• Balkan Spy (1984)
• The End of the War (1984)
• Mala pljačka vlaka (1984)
• No problem (1984)
• Groznica ljubavi (1984)
• Cao inspektore (1985)
• Nije lako sa muskarcima (1985)
• I to ce proci (1985)
• Ada (1985)
• Zivot je lep (1985)
• Drzanje za vazduh (1986)
• Debeli i mrsavi (1986)
• Sest dana juna (1986)
• Zikina dinastija (1986)
• U zatvoru (1986)
• The Promised Land (1986)
• Osveta (1986)
• Sekula i njegove zene (1986)
• Posljednji skretnicar uzanog kolosijeka (1986)
• Druga Zikina dinastija (1986)
• Majstor i Sampita (1986)
• Razvod na odredjeno vreme (1986)
• Miss (1986)
• Dobrovoljci (1986)
• Days to Remember (1987)
• Oktoberfest (1987)
• Lutalica (1987)
• The Felons (1987)
• Let's Fall in Love (1987-1989, part 1, 2)
• Vuk Karadžić (1987-1988, TV Series)
• A Better Life (1987-1991, TV Series)
• Vanbracna putovanja (1988)
• Vikend na mrtovci (1988)
• Tajna manastirske rakije (1988)
• Tesna koza 3 (1988)
• Sulude godine (1988)
• Spijun na stiklama (1988)
• Ransom (1988)
• Jednog lepog dana (1988)
• Balkan ekspres 2 (1989)
• Atoski vrtovi - preobrazenje (1989)
• War and Remembrance (1989, TV Mini-Series)
• The Fall of Rock and Roll (1989)
• Vampiri su medju nama (1989)
• Battle of Kosovo (1989)
• Aliens are to Blame for Everything (1991)
• Sekula se opet zeni (1991)
• Holiday in Sarajevo (1991)
• The Original of the Forgery (1991)
• Bracna putovanja (1991)
• Prokleta je Amerika (1992)
• Velika frka (1992)
• Dama koja ubija (1992)
• Three Tickets to Hollywood (1993)
• Pun mesec nad Beogradom (1993)
• Slatko od snova (1994)
• The End of Obrenović Dynasty (1995, TV Series)
• Tamna je noc (1995)
• Treca sreca (1995)
• Pretty Village, Pretty Flame (1996)
• Dovidjenja u Cikagu (1996)
• Balkanska pravila (1997)
• Ptice koje ne polete (1997)
• The Wounds (1998)
• Kupi mi Eliota (1998)
• Barking at the Stars (1998)
• Cabaret Balkan (1998)
• The Dagger (1999)
• The White Suit (1999)
• Ranjena zemlja (1999)
• Shadows of Memories (2000)
• War Live (2000)
• Seljaci (2001)
• Sve je za ljude (2001)
• Frozen Stiff (2002)
• Amir (2002)
• Ivkova Slava (2005)
• Made in YU (2005)
• Princ od papira (2007)
• The Sisters (2011, TV Movie)
• My Beautiful Country (2012)
• Led (2012)

See also

• List of Yugoslavian films
• Politics of Serbia