Štefan "Stevo" Žigon (; 8 December 1926 – 28 December 2005) was a Yugoslav actor, theatre director, and writer.
Biography
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."Jaz sem boljševik, toda ne politični. Sem proti kapitalizmu, ker je v nasprotju z umetniško resnico. Zahodno krščanstvo je najhujša ideologija. Vatikan je prvi priznal Hrvaško, Vatikan je prek Slovenije in Janše pošiljal orožje v Bosno." – Stevo Žigon . Mladina.Si. Retrieved on 2014-07-24.
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 Year Title Role Notes1950 Čudotvorni mač 1950 Crveni cvet 1957 Vratiću se Branko Medan ... pukovnik 1958 Kala Filozof 1959 Pet minuta raja Stevan 1960 X-25 javlja Hans Binder 1961 L'enclos Dragulavic 1964 Službeni položaj Urednik novina 1966 Amandus Joannes 1966 Rondo Mladen 1966 Tople godine 1967 Memento Vili Miler 1968 Opatica i komesar Doktor Simić 1968–1969 Cavalcanti TV series1970 Oxygen Marko 1971 Putovanje na mjesto nesreće Nino, muz 1972 Devojka sa Kosmaja Major Beker 1972 Walter Defends Sarajevo Dr. Mišković 1974 Otpisani Kriger 1974 Parlog 1974 Strah Blagot Balasica 1976 Idealist Priest from Zapolje 1976 Povratak otpisanih Kriger 1978 Ward Six Komandant grada 1978 Occupation in 26 Pictures Hubička 1979 Journalist Tomac 1980 Došlo doba da se ljubav proba Direktor skole 1981 Šesta brzina Načelnik 1982 Nastojanje Profesor Herak 1982 Deseti brat Mr. Piskav 1983 Kako sam sistematski uništen od idiota Stevo Žigon 1984 The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud Professor Eberhardt 1985 The Red and the Black Upravitelj iz Trsta 1986 Miss Jork Morlok 1987 The Harms Case Profesor 1988 P.S. - Post Scriptum 1988 Haloa - praznik kurvi Profesor Manfred / Husband 1991 Bračna putovanja Grof Johan 1993 Bolje od bekstva Pozorišni reditelj 1993 Kaži zašto me ostavi Starac
References