Božidar “Bole” Stošić, a Yugoslav actor, was born on July 21, 1937, in Skopje. He dedicated more than five decades to acting, starting his career with a role as a shoeshine boy in the film “Cveće i baloni” (Flowers and Balloons) in 1960.
Together with his family, Stošić moved to Niška Banja on April 6, 1941, and then to Belgrade in 1945. After completing elementary school, he attended the Third Belgrade Gymnasium, where he joined the Drama section led by Slobodan Aligrudić in 1953. After finishing high school, he enrolled in the Medical Faculty in Belgrade but only studied there for a year. During that time, he became a member of the Youth Theater “Lola Ribar” and performed in several roles. After leaving the Medical Faculty, Stošić enrolled in the Academy of Theater Arts and later received an engagement at the “Boško Buha” Theater in Belgrade. He then joined the Belgrade Drama Theater (BDP) and remained a member until his retirement.
He was also a member and one of the founders of the Theater on Terazije, where he performed in plays such as “Beograd nekad i sad” (Belgrade Then and Now, 1970), “Dundo Maroje” (1973), “Bal lopova” (The Ball of Thieves, 1973), “Neki to vole vruće” (Some Like It Hot, 2007), and his final role in “Fantom iz Opere” (The Phantom of the Opera, 2017).
Children who grew up in Yugoslavia particularly remember him as “Bole iz bureta” (Bole from the Barrel) from the children’s show “Hiljadu zašto” (A Thousand Whys). He also had notable roles in TV series such as “Pozorište u kući” (Theater at Home), “Vruć vetar” (Hot Wind), “Kraj dinastije Obrenović” (The End of the Obrenović Dynasty), “Srećni ljudi” (Happy People), “Porodično blago” (Family Treasure), and others. He made his final stage appearance in the musical “Fantom iz opere” at the Theater on Terazije.
He passed away on December 13, 2018, in Belgrade at the age of 81 and was buried in the Alley of Distinguished Citizens at the New Cemetery in Belgrade.
