Ondà Âej Havelka (born 10 October 1954) is a Czech jazz and swing singer, actor, and director. He began his musical career singing with the jazz band Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra in 1976 and went on to form his own group, Ondà Âej Havelka a jeho Melody Makers, in 1995. He has worked as an actor since the 1970s, and he is the director of several documentary films as well as the 2018 feature Hastrman.
Ondà Âej Havelka was born on 10 October 1954 in Prague, Czechoslovakia (present-day Czech Republic). He is the son of actress Libuà ¡e Havelková and composer Svatopluk Havelka. After graduating in acting from Prague's DAMU in 1980, he pursued postgraduate studies in opera directing at the JanáÃÂek Academy of Performing Arts in Brno, graduating in 1988. Between 1973 and 1983, he also worked at Prague's Studio Ypsilon theatre, and he did a sting at Prague's KarlÃÂn Music Theatre.
Havelka joined the Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra (OPSO) in 1976 as its lead vocalist, releasing five studio albums with the group. He left in 1995 to form his own band in Berlin, the Golden Prague Syncopated Orchestra, taking several members of OPSO with him. The ensemble was later renamed Ondà Âej Havelka a jeho Melody Makers, and it remains active to this day.
In 1989, Havelka began working as a screenwriter and director in television. In 1990, he wrote the script and directed the music documentary Originálnàpraà ¾ský synkopický orchestr, about his former band, which won the "Silver Rose" award at the 1991 Rose d'Or festival. In 1995, he wrote the script for and directed the television documentary Mezzosoprano Magdalena Koà ¾ená. In 1999, he wrote, directed, and appeared in the documentary film Zdravý nemocný Vlastimilený Brodský. In 2008, he directed the documentary film Magdalena, once more about Koà ¾ená. In 2012, he made the documentary film Perla baroka, about the theatre at ÃÂeský Krumlov Castle. In 2018, Havelka wrote and directed his first feature film, Hastrman, which starred Karel Dobrý and Simona Zmrzlá.
In 1995, Havelka won the Gramy award for directing the best music video, for the song "DÃÂkuji, bylo to krásné". A year later, he won once more, this time for best jazz performer.
In 2018, he received an honorary citizenship from the Prague 5 city hall for "lifelong contributions to society", namely, in the field of culture.
Havelka has two sons, including actor and musician VojtÃÂch Havelka (who has played in his father's band) and singer, actress, dancer, and former model Rozálie Havelková.