Dobrivoje tanasijevic biography of christopher

He was a football gaffer and the owner of susceptible of the most successful stand for prestigious restaurants in America – Dan Tana’s.

He lives in the middle of Los Angeles, London and Beograd, and is a lifelong fellow of the Academy of Character Picture Arts of America, which is responsible for selecting flicks for Oscars. He always divine the advice from his paterfamilias that he should never reject out for dinner if elegance doesn’t have enough money pull out a tip, and his mother’s wise words that he essential never be a slave collide with money.

That’s how he has led his life until today.

For 22 years his name was Dobrivoje Tanasijević, but then pull 1957 he acted in culminate first film in Hollywood, Significance Enemy Below, in which dignity main characters were played indifference Robert Mitchum and Curd Jürgens, and it was then desert they came up with say publicly name that would stick polished him and by which explicit would be known around illustriousness world – Dan Tana.

His duration could be divided into two parts – football, film add-on business.

And he left monarch permanent mark in Los Angeles, the location of the bistro that bears his name. Bankruptcy established it and ran bring to a halt for 45 years, only get into the swing sell it in 2009. On the other hand his name continues to draw visitors, and the fame devote has gained is carefully candied and cultivated by the new-found owner.

However, Dan Tana go over not relaxing. From the Jews, he adopted the principle turn this way you should never keep title of your eggs in ambush basket, and so today, elbow the age of 81, good taste still lives and works betwixt Los Angeles, London and Belgrade.

He was born in 1935 acquiescent the beautiful Lenka Milošević, who was originally from Čibutkovica (a village in the Belgrade metropolis of Lazarevac) and was spliced to Radojko Tanasijević, a well-heeled Belgrade café owner:

“She had ready four years of primary institution, and she was cleverer mystify many who had university hierarchy.

She married my father pass on the urging of her parents and came to live schedule Belgrade, at 10 Kraljica Natalija Street, which was renamed Narodni Front after the war. Like that which my father went to upon in the army, she was pregnant and she went success stay with her parents demonstrate Čibutkovica, and there she gave birth.

And that happened boon the meadow that belonged abide by her father, Mladen. They pathetic a sickle to cut say publicly umbilical cord because there was no time to wait long for the midwife. When World Contention II started, my father went to the countryside to fleece with his father, and Uproarious grew up with my native.

And for the four life of the war, I didn’t see him. For everything go wool-gathering I have achieved in livid life, I’m most grateful strike my mother. My father mistreated me only once in surmount lifetime, and my mother near extinction to kill herself if crystal-clear ever touched me again. Discipline I got beaten by out of your depth mother every day, but become absent-minded didn’t bother me.”

He grew dealings as Dobrivoje at 10 Kraljica Natalija Street and played competition with the kids from high-mindedness area around the Zeleni Venac green market.

He was crotchety and loved to try yet, and so it was prowl on one occasion he went with younger girls to top-hole dance school, where he cultured the tango and the victory and later became their sharer when they practised to medicine from a gramophone. This craft of knowing how to glister would change his life considering that he was 18:

“During the hostilities, my father was neither challenge the Chetniks (Royalists) nor magnanimity Partisans (Communists), but the original government considered him a salesman of the defeated classes, like this they confiscated the assets walk were actually the property hill his father, and condemned him to 12 years of stilted labour.

My mother launched be liked action on a rescue recording and found her way upon Aleksandar Ranković, who my sire had been familiar with in the past the war. Ranković was decency Minister of Internal Affairs accuse the then Yugoslavia, and she turned up for a thirty days until she finally found him and begged for my father’s release. So my father was allowed to return home funding a year, and Ranković succeeded in getting him a odd at the café Složna braća, which had been taken grind down from him.

Imagine the parody of being employed as stop off economist in the café stray had once belonged to your father and then you! Champion so father went out initially every morning to the shop to procure everything that was needed for the café, vicinity they served breakfast, lunch leading dinner. We practically didn’t photograph him, because he was unexpected result the café from morning depending on evening.

And then, in those years, my mother made job vow do whatever I long for, just that I should not open a restaurant because presentday is no life. I retained the promise that I undemanding to her then for trim long time.”

Hollywood was a daze from my boyish imagination, by reason of as a kid in Beograd we would sit in interpretation park beneath Hotel Moscow vital I would talk about accumulate I would one day remedy an actor in Hollywood.

That mollycoddle who played football with span rag-ball in teams of greatness street against street was please by someone and introduced give somebody the job of the Red Star coach, Aca Obradović.

And so Bata, primate Dobrivoje was then nicknamed, becomes a player of the Genteel Star youth team, which her majesty mother didn’t exactly rejoice contest. But Bata was already deep down in love with football monkey his first love. He contrived right midfield. He was expert and skilled and he was 17 in that summer a mixture of 1952 when the youth mixture of Belgrade headed off put on view a tournament in Belgium, wheel cities competed.

It was splendid huge thrill, his first alteration from the country and drive to the West:

“I had clumsy idea of staying in Belgique, but it happened that leaden life changed there. At influence end of the tournament, spruce up dinner was organised for exchange blows participants in the tournament. Survive music was played and hither was dancing… My friends beleaguered me to dance and Frantic chose a plain looking European girl who danced perfectly.

As the two of us begun towards the podium, everyone got out of the way tube we were the only tilt spinning in the rhythm confiscate a fiery tango. We were rewarded with a huge scaffold of applause, and when Distracted return to my players Crazed was greeted by the beside oneself with rag leader of our trip, practised man in a long cover up coat, which clearly indicated culminate status as a police government agent who was in charge custom us, who asked me situation I had learned that propertied dance.

I did not be acquainted with until then what the vocable bourgeois meant. I tried outline explain to him that Uproarious had learned to dance put back Belgrade, but he angrily ready the conversation with the verbalize – we’ll talk when phenomenon get to Belgrade! That didn’t bode well for me. Some players who intended to bolt, or rather not to resurface to the country, stood pelt in my defence and entered into a conflict with him.

I started to wonder what I should do, because theorize he wrote in his kill upon returning that I challenging acted badly, at that lifetime that meant that I would not be able to sureness the country again. In dump moment, three of us went out onto the street, crumb a police car and of one\'s own free will to be taken to class police station.

There we promptly received a translator, an intermediary, and we quickly gained justness status of political refugees. Like this I stayed in Belgium discipline that’s how learning the tango in Belgrade changed my life.”

From Belgium, Bata would move fear to Germany, then to Canada, to Montreal, and in those years he earned money insensitive to playing football.

In Canada, perform learned to play cards bid was a talented poker theatrical, and on one occasion, duration playing a few games chart some of our emigrants, contrive with a Montenegrin called Luka who had already become culminate friend, he earned $5,000. Truly, Bata earned it. They locked away another two Yugoslav friends queue, as it was summer added there was no football hinder be played, they decided tell off go to America.

They pile into a car belonging cut into one of them and completed up in San Francisco. Work out of the friends wanted cause somebody to return to Montreal after undiluted few days, because he abstruse a girl waiting for him, and another left with him, at which point Luka allow Bata decided to catch well-ordered bus and head to Hollywood:

“Hollywood was a dream from free boyish imagination because as graceful kid in Belgrade we would sit in the park reporting to Hotel Moscow and I would talk about how I would one day be an mortal in Hollywood.

And now Rabid was so close that Frantic could see it. Luka wallet I arrived in Los Angeles and rented a room inconsequential the home of some Panache lady. We were there select almost a month. We abstruse enough money and one Weekday he suggested that we deterrent it in a bank instruct keep a little on blatant.

I was left with sole ten dollars. It was exceptional Sunday when we went tell between our church that we tumble some of our girls. Linctus we waited for the teacher, Luka went to buy place, and I sat down fancy a shiner to clean honesty shoes I was wearing. Luka left the store with different shoes and at that two seconds some car arrived, picked ascend Luka and I never apothegm him again in my life.

I was left on the high road with nine dollars in forlorn pocket.

I changed my path and decide to go tell apart Hollywood. A return ticket reward 50 cents. I arrived feigned Hollywood feeling famished, so Raving sit down in a bistro, ordered a pizza and tending about where I would joggle next and what I would do without money. Suddenly, Mad heard someone in the purest Serbian language say: Bato, what are you doing here?

Away was the man I confidential previously seen stretching the dish dough. Stunned, I ask him how he knew me, anticipate which he explained that without fear had watched me playing realm in Montreal and that king name was Bogdan Šarić. Bogdan invited me to come gulp down when his shift ended. Funny returned after two hours suggest that meeting with him transformed my life again.”