Grossmann came from a theatrical family, his mother’s family (Faltys) ran a nomadic company, and his father was an amateur. From an early age, Jiří learned to play several instruments and performed in a school orchestra. He applied to the Faculty of Arts, but they did not take him. He then joined the Czech Technical University and, as a university student, met Miloslav Šimek. They started writing absurd short stories and scenes. He also played double bass and sang in the band Dixie Party.
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During compulsory military service, they founded a musical ensemble with Šimek and Karel Černoch, but Jiří was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, which they could not treat at the time. He was therefore soon released into civilian life. But he could still work. After the war, he and Šimek always wrote in a café at the same table, which they called traditional.
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Jiří Grossmann and Miloslav Šimek at the Semafor Theater
Photo: Pavel Vácha, ČTK
Some short stories were quite bold (eg the message: “Once they came to me to pay CZK 5,000 for the funeral of a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. I said that for 5,000 CZK I would bury the entire Central Committee myself”.), But the Communists never completely banned them. The end of the 1960s was still partially free until true normalization took place.
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Together with Jiří Brabec, Grossmann founded the Jiří Brabec Country Beat group. Pavel Bobek and Naďa Urbánková also sang his songs. In 1967, they began working with the Semafor Theater, where they performed many scenes, short stories and songs.
Grossmann also once starred in a film, a musical by Jiří Šlitr and Jiří Suchý Zločin v šantánu (1968).
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Jiří Grossmann, Miloslav Šimek and Miluška Voborníková
Photo: Karel Štoll, ČTK
At that time, he had to go to the hospital more and more, and he felt that the end was near. But he was still joking and performing. His real feelings were probably reflected in the lyrics of the song Závidím, which he wrote for Naďa Urbánková. Colleagues admired how he played, even though he was weak and suffering. He appeared in Semaphore a month before his death. He was taken to the hospital immediately afterwards, where he died on 5 December. He was buried in the Vinohrady Cemetery in Prague.
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