Petr Urban
Petr Urban is a Czech illustrator, cartoonist, painter and former luger. He draws jokes for newspapers and magazines and is known in his country for the character of the pub loafer Ruda Pivrnec. He participated in the Olympic Games as a luger in 1988 and 1992.
Life and family
Petr Urban was born in a hospital in Jablonec [nad Nisou], but he is native of the nearby town of Smržovka. He lives in Smržovka his entire life. His father is the luger Horst Urban and his uncle is the luger Roland Urban. He is married and has a son, Petr Jr.Artistic career
The main part of Urban's artistic career is drawing jokes for magazines and newspapers. He is best known for the character of the pub loafer Ruda Pivrnec, who appears repeatedly in his jokes throughout his career. He is the author of dozens of books with cartoon jokes, but he also illustrated books by various authors. Since 1993, he has been annually publishing his own calendar.In 2014, he painted fifteen serious images for the Stations of the Cross in Smržovka.
Urban is the author of the longest cartoon joke in the world. It contains no words, is long and was published as a book in 2019.
Sports career
Urban competed in luge at the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 1992 Winter Olympics. In 1988, he finished 16th in the Luge at the [1988 Winter Olympics – Men's singles|men's singles event] and 13th in the Luge at the 1988 [Winter Olympics – Doubles|doubles event]. In 1992, he finished 19th in the Luge at the [1992 Winter Olympics – Men's singles|men's singles event] and 15th in the doubles event.Urban became the champion of the Czech Republic or Czechoslovakia 17 times.