Velimir Bata Živojinović | Origin of Street Names

Velimir Bata Živojinović (1933 - 2016) was one of the greatest Serbian and Yugoslavian dramatic artists in history, a legendary actor best known for his roles in "partisan" films of the 60s and 70s, but who also successfully portrayed a plethora of different characters throughout his nearly 60-year-long career.

He was born in Jagodina, but spent his childhood in the Šumadija village of Koraćica, at the foot of Mount Kosmaj, where he completed the first grade of elementary school. After his parents moved to Belgrade, he continued his education in the capital city, where, as a boy, he occasionally worked at the Academic Theater (later renamed AKUD "Branko Krsmanović") as a stagehand. After finishing elementary school, he was noticed by the renowned director Sofija Soja Jovanović, who initiated his involvement in the theater, and he soon became completely fascinated by acting.

Bata Živojinović's path in high school was quite unusual for that time. Knowing that he wanted to become an actor, instead of attending a classical gymnasium, he attended an art high school, alternating between Novi Sad and Niš.

He finally entered the Academy of Dramatic Arts on his third attempt and, upon completing his studies, became a member of the ensemble at the Contemporary Theater in Crveni Krst, later renamed Belgrade Drama Theater.

He spent several years on the stages of the Belgrade Drama Theater, but in competition with talented and slightly older actors such as Rade Marković, Ljuba Tadić, Vlastimir Đuza Stojiljković, and others, he admitted that he didn't have great chances.

Therefore, he turned completely to film and television, which proved to be the right move for his career. From his first film in 1955 ("Pesma sa Kumbare") to his last in 2013 ("Drug Crni u Narodno-oslobodilačkoj borbi"), he appeared in over three hundred films and TV productions. This established Bata Živojinović as the most prolific domestic actor in terms of the number of roles throughout his career.

Although he portrayed hundreds of main and supporting characters in multiple languages throughout his acting career, mostly portraying "ordinary" people but also villains, and even venturing into "Black Wave" films, the popular Bata "Životinja" undoubtedly achieved his greatest fame through roles in war films about World War II, which saw a surge in popularity during the 1960s and the first half of the 1970s ("Kozara," "War," "Battle on the Neretva," "Operation Belgrade," "Walter Defends Sarajevo", and others).

By embodying extraordinary partisan "superheroes," among whom Walter stands out as a legend, Bata Živojinović's fame and popularity spread throughout the Eastern Bloc of that time, reaching as far as distant China, where he is likely still regarded as one of the most beloved foreigners.

The legendary roles of war heroes probably wouldn't have been as successful if Bata hadn't embraced the ideology he represented in the partisan films in his personal life as well. In fact, alongside his acting career, Bata Živojinović also pursued a political career. Being a close friend of Josip Broz Tito, he was a member of the League of Communists for the majority of his life, and from the early 1990s, he served as a member of parliament representing the Socialist Party of Serbia. After an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2002, he withdrew from politics.

Battling various serious illnesses during the last decade of his life, Bata Živojinović lived a secluded life in the village of Koraćica, where he grew up, occasionally taking on mostly supporting roles in domestic TV series and films. He passed away at the age of 83 in Belgrade and was buried in the Alley of Distinguished Citizens at the New Cemetery.

In honor of the most famous Yugoslavian actor, a memorial plaque was placed in Mileševska Street in Crveni Krst (where he lived), and recently, a street in the neighborhood was named after him.