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Jan Triska, Czech-American Actor Seen in ‘Ragtime,’ Dies at 80

Jan Triska in 2012.Credit...Josef Horazny/Czech News Agency, via Associated Press

Jan Triska, an actor known for his roles in movies like “Ragtime” who moved to the United States after he was banned by Czechoslovakia’s Communist government, died on Monday in Prague’s military hospital. He was 80.

The actor and director Jan Hrusinsky confirmed the death. Mr. Triska suffered injuries after falling from the Charles Bridge in Prague on Saturday.

Mr. Triska emigrated in 1977 after signing a human rights manifesto inspired by his close friend Vaclav Havel, the dissident playwright who later became president of the Czech Republic.

He settled in Los Angeles and appeared in dozens of movies, including “Ragtime” and “The People vs. Larry Flynt.” Both those films were directed by Milos Forman, who was also from Czechoslovakia.

After Mr. Havel led the anti-Communist Velvet Revolution in 1989, Mr. Triska regularly returned home to act in movies and theaters. He played a leading role in the 1991 movie “The Elementary School,” which was nominated for the Academy Award for best foreign-language film.

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