As a city child, she was afraid of a cow, so as a regica in the Men’s Series received a doubleric
She received her first engagement in 1953 in Varaždin, then spent four years at the Bjelovar Theater, as much in Karlovac. He plays in Split in « American Tragedy » and « Henry VIII and his six women », and when the Varaždin Theater was renovated in 1964, he returns there … It’s about Smiljki Bencet-Jagaricwho played 131 theater role in her career and more than three thousand plays. But will forever be remembered by the role Regice Katalenic from “Mejas” and « Gruntovčani ». As well as hers Dudek. Martin Sagner.
Smiljka Bencet was born on June 11, 1934 in Novi Sad, and passed away on March 31, 2023. Her parents got married in Varaždin and then moved to Novi Sad because his father got a job there as a radio -temple at the airport. She was one of the students from the last generation of the Zagreb School of Earth. The opening of the Zagreb Academy of Theater Arts was interrupted. Part of the students with a completed school continued their studies, some received theater engagement, and the students of the first and second grades moved to the Sarajevo and Novi Sad Acting School. Smiljka Bencet continued his acting education in Sarajevo. After several « acting » years in Varaždin, Karlovac and Bjelovar, from September 1, 1965, she was a member of the Comedy Acting Ensemble, where she was until retirement, December 31, 1991.
In the show « Portrait of the Artist » in the drama of the Third Program of Croatian Radio (later and HRT annual publication of the same name), the author Zeljko Slunjski says:
« There are few actresses in us who, like Smiljka Bencet-Jagaric, acted with equal succeeding in several media. After the theatrical stage, mostly on radio and television and sporadically on film. At one point, she was threatened with a great character of a village woman, the regis, in the TV series ‘Mejas’ and ‘Gruntovci’ Tonko, Marinkovic’s Gloria, Krlezina Eva, Budak’s Roz, Strozzi Eva Golubica and a number of others, whom she played over the four and a half decades of long acting career on the stage of theater in Varazdin, Bjelovar, Karlovac, Split and most on the scene of the Comedy City Theater in Zagreb. «
At the start, she was praised by the critics: « She is always honestly experiencing a role on stage. Her cry is unobtrusive, laughter is a harmless, frivolity sympathetic and strictness flawless. And always delights viewers. » The role that will be unjustly or not, the most remembered is that of Regice Katalenic, especially in the « Gruntovci », who started broadcasting in 1975. Rural is the middle of Podravina, and Krešo Golik has filmed the series according to the script Mladen Kerstner. He allegedly called her at 11 pm and offered the role of Smiljki Bencet after Nel Eržišnik, whose role was originally intended for.
A few years ago, in an interview with HAK show when asked how it was « in the anthology scenes where you walk on the mud in rubber boots and dragging behind a cow, » she replied:
– Golik confessed to me that no actress was straight to me in this, and I was afraid as a city child, which she felt. I was afraid so much that they had to hire a dublerica for the man – said Smiljka Bencet -Jagaric then.
She described the scenes from these filming, said she would say « Aj Cveta, aj figure » and move forward, but the cows did not follow her, ducks, they went back. Over time, however, they « befriended », they would start to paint when they heard her voice.
Even the team from Set began to say that she went to greet friends in the barn.
Zagreb: The celebration after the premiere of the Gruntovci play at the Kerempuh Theater |
The scene that was her hardest was the one where she had to do the Blessed One, which he played Mladen Shermentshoot a pus. « Gruntovcane » was filmed in Podravski Selo Sigetecit all took six months, and sometimes after hard shooting, they were driven in comedy, where they had plays in the evening.
In the theater, the roles of Dudek and the regis are bothered by the Smilji or Martin Sagnera. But perhaps influenced television roles, these offers were not too much at the time of the greatest glory of « Gruntovci ». He watched Sagner in a special way, for him it was just proof that a « little » man, poor, could become a hero. They were very popular at the time, she said. They stopped her on the street, shared sausages, when she came to a plot, the sellers would leave her stands to see her. They wanted to give her things, fruits and vegetables, « orphans », they would say, and she would reciprocate that she was not a poor woman and that she had money, and that she was just acting. Enough often, her hard work was in vain.
Zagreb: Smiljka Bencet-Jagari?, Excessive photos from private archives |
She was cheerful and cheerful, we remember her in the last years, but her colleagues have said a lot about her. In a big text on the Croatian Actress page about Smiljki Bencet-Jagaric spoke Mirela Brekalo.
« I came in the comedy, » my mother played in ‘My Daddy, Socialist Kulak’, with ease, drinking, simply, brilliant. Then she donated me, as a handover, all her theatrical jewelry she wore in many roles of princess, queen, ruler, goddess, saying – now it’s your turn to play big roles. What honor, what faith, what responsibility for the young actress. Joyful is a lot of love and support for helping me in preparation, quietly, modestly pointed to things and raised me in a correct, forgotten theatrical direction with loved ones around us. She was witty, she was a cheerful, loved a joke, fine and decent (hahaha). She loved laughing above all, honestly that everything was bursting. She knew how to endure her adversity and did not teach, ”Mirela Brekalo said, and continued: » Smiljka was like a smile in Karst and stone on the crumbs of the earth. Modestly persistently bloom where only the rare herbs find her home. The sun was like a yellow flower of Smilja, which smells long and never vene. «
A few years ago on the « Gruntovcane » boards he set up Boris Svrtan. They worked together on the series « Our cottage, our freedom ». Svrtan will never forget that, Regica surprised him with a big, human move.
– I said I really loved cheese and cream. On the second day, she appeared on the recording with cheese, cream, onions and bacon. I will never forget that break in my life. I can only think that it was only then on the shooting of ‘Gruntovci’. She was really a man to wish, cheerful and smiling. She came to the premiere and after the show on stage she bowed with us – said Svrtan, adding:
– Maybe this is an opportunity to return the HRT drama program. The last pillars of the former famous drama program leave us. He was expelled from HRT, and Dvornik, Sagner, Lepetic, and now the regis, no longer deserved it. Why, here, Mirela Videk Hranjec Wouldn’t you have the opportunity to shoot some new ‘Gruntovcans’?
Zagreb: Smiljka Bencet-Jagari?, Excessive photos from private archives |
And Mirela Videk Hranjec played in the mentioned play. Smiljka Bencet-Jagaric came to look at her, she was pleased to see, she also praised the heir, who had a great porch. She told us the series, as a kid, she watched with her grandparents, and she had no problem with the excuse because she was from Bedekovčina.
« I enjoyed myself so much in the role that my son started calling me a regica, » she said then, and it was she who called on the « real » regica at the premiere.
We talked with Smiljko Bencet-Jagaric four years ago. « I’m a young old woman, » she told us then, cheerful and happy. The reason was that she donated 220 books to Krasic. They planned to open a library there, sought a donation, and the first an actress appeared, who was tied to the end and because of her late husband Vladimir Jagaric. She was in a wheelchair at the time, but she hosted Josip Petkovic FajnikMayor of Krašić.
– I have more, and I will also donate for children’s libraries, people come to me. I used to buy a lot of books when they were cheaper. The husband was a mountaineer so he had them, his son was a world traveler, so we gathered really a lot of books. Unfortunately, I have no one to leave it to worry, I had such an accident, ”she told us at the time.
And she was greeted in the wheelchair because she fell and broke the hip.
– Yes, the cathedral fell on Sunday, I later. Only the pumpkin fell. But it doesn’t matter, but it is better, we need to hope, it is our salvation. And hear, in about a month I go to Krapinske Toplice for recovery. The dark boom came up, but from a dark boom came out on her feet, the boom slightly flushed …
Yes, such was our regica.
