Renowned actor Žarko Laušević passes away

(Patria) - Renowned actor Žarko Laušević has passed away after a short and severe illness.

"We inform the public that today, November 15, 2023, at the age of 63, after a short and severe illness, our husband and father Žarko Laušević passed away. The public will be informed in a timely manner about the date and place of the funeral. On behalf of the family, Anita Laušević," reads the statement from the grieving family.

He was born on January 19, 1960, in Cetinje. He graduated in acting from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade and was a member of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre.

He made his film debut with a role in the film 'Progon' in 1982. The same year, he played significant roles in the films 'Savamala' and 'Direktan prenos'. He achieved great fame with one of the lead roles in the TV series 'Sivi dom' (1984).

He played roles in more than twenty films and television series, including: 'Šmeker' (1985), 'Svečana obaveza' (TV) (1986), 'Dogodilo se na današnji dan' (1987), 'Oficir s ružom' (1987), 'Braća po materi' (1988), 'Boj na Kosovu' (1989), 'Original falsifikata' (1991), 'Bolje od bekstva' (1993), 'Kaži zašto me ostavi' (1993), 'Nož' (1999).

After a hiatus of more than a decade, he returned to the big screen with the role of icon painter Sava in the film 'Tajna nečiste krv' (2012). Subsequently, he played roles in the films 'Smrdljiva bajka' (2015) and 'Senke nad Balkanom' (2017), where he portrayed Prince Đorđe Karađorđević.

He presented himself to the TV audience in 2018 with the role of Aćim Katić in the series 'Koren'i. He also acted in 'Državni službenik' (2019-2020), 'Ime naroda' (2020), 'Aleksandar od Jugoslavije' (2021), 'Kalkanski krugovi' (2021), 'Vreme zla' (2021), 'Ljeto kad sam naučila da letim' and 'Heroji' (2022), and 'Heroji Halijarda' where he plays Kosta Jović (2023).

A turning point in his life was July 31, 1993.

Žarko and his five-year-older brother Branimir, nicknamed Mili, were attacked by a group of people near a bar in Podgorica. On that occasion, Žarko used his pistol to kill two people and seriously wound one.

He was sentenced to 13 years in prison for double murder. The verdict was upheld after appeals in 1994. He served his sentence in Spuž and Požarevac. After the Federal Court overturned the verdict, a retrial in February 1998 resulted in a sentence of four years in prison for double murder in excess of self-defense. Since he had already served 4.5 years at that point, he was released. After leaving prison, he left the country and went to New York.

However, the Supreme Court of Montenegro, upon the prosecutor's appeal on March 30, 2001, overturned that sentencing decision and imposed a 13-year prison sentence. On July 3, 2009, it was announced that Laušević had been arrested in the United States for staying in the US without a visa and that his extradition to Serbia was being considered based on an international warrant issued in 2002 at the request of the Third Municipal Court in Belgrade. The court in New York, however, decided to lift Laušević's detention.