Writer and columnist Rudolf Křesťan has died at the age of 83. His death was reported on 15 October 2026 by ČT24, citing the Czech News Agency.[1] According to ČT24, the funeral is to take place on 23 October 2026 at Olšany Cemetery in Prague.[1]
Work
Křesťan wrote short humorous texts based on exaggeration, parody and wordplay. According to ČT24, he wrote more than three thousand columns, which he published in magazines, released in book form and read on the radio.[1] He debuted as an author in 1969 with the collection Kos a kosínus, on which he collaborated with illustrator Vladimír Renčín. His first collection of columns, Myš v 11. patře, was published in 1980. For the collection Proč nemám pistoli he received the Miloslav Švandrlík Award.[1][2] According to Seznam Zprávy, he published more than twenty books with a total print run of a quarter of a million copies.[2]
Journalistic and media career
He studied journalism and worked at the magazine Mladý svět, where he served as a reporter and editor until 1992. He then became an editor at Týdeník Televize and subsequently worked as a freelancer.[1][2] At Czech Television he hosted the programmes Nedělní ráno and Seniorklub, and at Czech Radio he contributed to the programme Psáno kurzívou and was among the presenters of Dobré jitro and Dobré ráno s Dvojkou.[1][2]
Funeral at Olšany Cemetery on 23 October 2026
According to Blesk.cz, Rudolf Křesťan died on Thursday, 15 October 2026, at the age of 83. The funeral took place on Friday, 23 October, in the New Ceremonial Hall at Olšany Cemetery in Prague. Relatives, friends, colleagues and readers came to pay their last respects.[3]
Among the mourners was presenter Aleš Cibulka, who posted a photograph and videos from the ceremony on social media with the message, "Rudo, my role model, my friend, thank you for everything!" In the video he said that Křesťan had done a great deal for Czech Radio. Among the funeral wreaths was one from Czech Radio.[3]
Life and work of Rudolf Křesťan
According to Pražský deník, Rudolf Křesťan was born in 1943 in Prague and studied at the Faculty of Journalism of Charles University. He spent his youth in Karlovy Vary, specifically in what is now the municipal district of Stará Role, and often recalled this period in his work. Between 1964 and 1993 he worked at the magazine Mladý svět, after which he worked at Týdeník Televize, collaborated with Czech Radio and Literární noviny, and took part in the television programme Nedělní ráno.[4]
He debuted as an author in 1958 in Mladá fronta, and in book form in 1969 with the collection of humorous poems and prose Kos a kosínus, on which he collaborated with illustrator Vladimír Renčín. His first collection of columns, Myš v 11. patře, was published in 1980 with an afterword by Miroslav Horníček. It was followed by the collections Slepičí krok and Kočky v patách, which Pražský deník describes as the first book published after the fall of the communist regime. The three collections together contained 333 columns. Křesťan was the author of about twenty books, and for the collection of columns Proč nemám pistoli he received the Miloslav Švandrlík Award for best humorous book in 2015. In the course of his work and private life he visited more than 50 countries on four continents.[4]
Chronology
- — A farewell ceremony for the columnist Rudolf Křesťan, who died at the age of 83, was held at the Olšany Cemetery in Prague on 23 October 2026. Pražský deník Blesk.cz
- — The writer and journalist Rudolf Křesťan, author of more than three thousand newspaper columns, has died at the age of 83. ČT24 Seznam Zprávy
Sources
- ČT24 — 15 October 2026
- Seznam Zprávy — 15 October 2026
- Blesk.cz — 23 October 2026
- Pražský deník — 23 October 2026