Biography

Began singing in high school. After the conservatory, he graduated from the Faculty of Theatre, where his teachers briefly included Oldrich Nový.

Zíma began his singing career in swing, later becoming a pop music star and one of the first in Czechoslovakia to devote himself to rock and roll. However, from the 1970s onwards, he focused more on brass bands and folk songs, for which he won three gold and one platinum record.

In 2008, Josef Zíma received the Frantisek Filipovský Award for lifetime mastery in dubbing, and seven years later he received the Thalia in the operetta and musical category. He received the Medal for Merit to the State in the Field of Arts from President Milos Zeman.

In 1959, he caused a traffic accident. The singer and chansonnier Judita Cerovská, Alena Pánková, himself and the director Jirí Jungwirth. Director Jungwith later died in hospital.

In 2018, he performed at the Semily festival, where he sang outdoors for over two hours.