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- The preeminent Russian actor, at least in Western eyes, of the first half of the twentieth century. He became interested in the theatre as a teenager and joined the Teatr Mariinskij as a stagehand in 1918. He apprenticed with various traveling companies and therein learned ballet, pantomime, and acrobatics. He studied at the St. Petersburg (Leningrad) Theater Institute and made his stage debut in 1926. The following year, he entered films and his commanding presence soon brought him leading roles and enormous acclaim, as well as the approbation of the Soviet leadership, which elected him a deputy of the Supreme Soviet. His greatest fame world-wide came with his work in the films of Sergei Eisenstein. Following the masterpieces _Aleksandr Nevsky (1938)_ and _Ivan Groznyj I (1945)_ he was named to the Order of Lenin and made People's Artist of the USSR, respectively. He died in 1966. He should not be confused with the actor Nikolay P. Cherkasov who starred in many Russian films.
- Nikita Mikhaylovsky was born on 8 April 1964. He was an actor, known for Love and Lies (1981), Vyyti zamuzh za kapitana (1986) and Zontik dlya novobrachnykh (1986). He died on 24 April 1991 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Vasili Vasilyevich Merkuryev was born on April 6, 1904, in Ostrov, Pskov province, Russia. He was the youngest of seven children in the family. His father, named Vasili Ilyich Merkuryev, was a grocer in the city of Ostrov, near Pskov. His mother, named Anna Ilyinichna, was a German immigrant. Young Merkuryev began his acting career in 1920, as an apprentice at the theatre of the city of Ostrov. In 1926 he graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Theatrical Art. Merkuryev made his film debut in 1935, he played a supporting role of Stas in 'Inzhener Goff' (aka.. Zemlya vperedi or Land Ahead, 1935). His professional acting career spanned over 50 years. Merkuryev played more than 40 roles in film and made over 100 stage works.
From 1937-1978 Vasili Merkuryev worked with the Pushkin Drama Theatre (Aleksandrinski Theatre) in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). He was invited to the troupe of the oldest Russian Drama Theatre by his acting teacher Leonid Vivyen. Merkuryev was among the leading actors of the Pushkin Drama Theatre. There his stage partners were such remarkable actors as Nikolay Cherkasov, Nikolai Simonov, Konstantin Skorobogatov, Yuriy Tolubeev, Aleksandr Borisov, Bruno Frejndlikh, Vladimir Chestnokov, Vladimir Erenberg, Leonid Vivyen, Igor Gorbachyov, Olga Lebzak, Nina Mameyeva', Lidiya Shtykan, Nina Urgant, Valentina Panina, and other notable Russian actors.
Vasili Merkuryev was awarded the State prize of the USSR three times: for supporting role in 'Glinka' (1947), for supporting role in 'Povest o nastoyaschem cheloveke' (1949) and for the leading role in 'Donetskie shakhtery' (1952). He also received the Stanislavsky State Prize (posthumously in 1979) for his stage works and other awards and decorations for his works in theatre and film. Merkuryev was honored with the title of the People's Artist of the USSR (1964). From 1932-1978 Merkuryev was a professor at the Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography. There he led acting class together with his wife, Irina Vsevolodovna Meyerhold, daughter of Vsevolod Meyerhold.
Vasili Merkuryev was known for his compassion and legendary generosity. He shared his money and food with his students during the times when they were struggling to survive. He adopted three children of his brother, Pyotr Merkuryev, who was executed in 1939, under dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. He also named his son, Pyotr Merkurev, in the memory of his brother. Vasili Merkuryev died on May 12, 1978, in Moscow, Russia, and was laid to rest in Necropolis of The Masters of Art "Literatorskie mostki" at Volkovskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia. - Actor
- Director
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Aleksandr Fedorovich Borisov was born on May 1, 1905, in St. Petersburg, Russia. His father was an industrial worker. Young Borisov was fond of theatre and participated in school drama club. In 1927 he graduated from the class of Yuri Yuryev at the Leningrad Theatre-Studio.
Borisov had also a stellar career as a stage actor. From 1928-1982 he was a permanent member of the troupe of the Pushkin Drama Theatre in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). There his stage partners were such remarkable actors as Yekaterina Korchagina-Aleksandrovskaya, Nikolay Cherkasov, Yuri Yuryev, Boris Babochkin, Nikolai Simonov, Vasiliy Merkurev, Konstantin Skorobogatov, Yuriy Tolubeev, Illarion Pevtsov, Bruno Frejndlikh, Vladimir Chestnokov, Vladimir Erenberg, Leonid Vivyen, Konstantin Adashevsky, Igor Gorbachyov, Olga Lebzak, Nina Mamaeva, Lidiya Shtykan, Nina Urgant, Valentina Panina, and other notable Russian actors.
Aleksandr Borisov was awarded the State Prize of the USSR three times: for his stage works (1947), for the leading role in film 'Akademic Ivan Pavlov' (1949), and for the leading role in film 'Mussorgsky' (1950). He was designated the People's Artist of the USSR (1951) and the Hero of Socialist Labor (1981). Aleksandr Borisov died on May 19, 1982, in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Russia, and was laid to rest at the Necropolis of Masters of Arts "Literatirskie Mostki" in Volkovskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia.- Director
- Writer
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Grigori Mikhailovich Kozintsev was born on March 22, 1905, in Kiev, Russian Empire (now Kiev, Ukraine). His father, named Mikhail Kozintsev, was a medical doctor. Young Kozintsev studied at the Kiev Gymnazium. There, in 1919, he organized experimental theatre "Arlekin" together with his fellow students Sergei Yutkevich and Aleksei Kapler. During 1919 and 1920 Kozintsev studied art at the Kiev School of Art under the tutelage of Alexandra Exter.
Experiments. In 1920 Kozintsev moved to Petrograd (Leningrad or St. Petersburg). There he studied art at the "VKHUTEMAS" at the Academy of Fine Arts for two years. In 1921 Kozintsev with Sergei Yutkevich, Leonid Trauberg, and Leonid Kryzhitsky organized and led the Factory of Excentric Actors (FEKS). There Kozintsev directed radically avant-garde staging of plays "Zhenitba" (Marriage 1922) by Nikolay Gogol and "Vneshtorg na Eifelevoi Bashne" (Foreign trade on Eiffel Tower 1923). They were based in the former Eliseev Mansion on Gagarinskaya street No. 1 in St. Petersburg. Kozintsev and FEKS collaborated with writer Yuri Tynyanov, cinematographer Andrey Moskvin, young actor-director Sergey Gerasimov, artist Igor Vuskovich, and young composer Dmitri Shostakovich among others. Initially FEKS was the main platform for experimental actors, directors and artists, and was strongly influenced by Vsevolod Meyerhold and Vladimir Mayakovsky.
Artistic position. In 1924 Kozintsev and Trauberg came to "SevZapKino" Studios (now Lenfilm Studios). There Kozintsev continued his FEKS experiments in his first eccentric comedy 'Pokhozhdenie Oktyabriny' (1924). Kozintsev's early films were strongly criticized by official Soviet critics. His film 'Shinel' (1926) was compared to German Expressionism and accused of distortion of the original classic story by Nikolay Gogol. Kozintsev strongly argued against such comparisons with German expressionism; he was unhappy until the end of his life about such criticism of his early experimental works. Kozintsev insisted that his cheerful experiments were essential in the city of Petrograd (St. Petersburg) after the Russian Revolution of 1917, which brought destruction, depression, crime, and degradation of culture.
Early films. Kozintsev made twelve films together with Leonid Trauberg. Their collaboration began in 1921, in Petrograd (St. Petersburg). Their film-trilogy about Russian revolutionary hero Maxim was made from 1935-1941, when people in the Soviet Russia were terrorized under the most brutal dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. In departure from experimental youthfulness and freedom of their FEKS years, the Maxim trilogy was a trade-off blend of experiment and Soviet propaganda. It was still a powerful work and was even banned by censorship in the United States from the 1930s-1950s. For that work Kozintsev and Trauberg were awarded the Stalin's State Prize in 1941. After the Second World War Kozintsev and Trauberg made their last film together: 'Prostye Lyudi (Plain People 1946), which was censored and remained unreleased until 1958, when "Nikita Khrushchev' lifted the ban imposed by Stalin's censorship.
Highlights. Grigori Kozintsev ascended to his best works after the death of Stalin. Then Nikita Khrushchev initiated the "Thaw" which played a role in some liberation of individual creativity in the Soviet film industry. Kozintsev's adaptations of classical literature combined some experimental elements of his earlier silent films with the approach of a mature master. His Don Quixote (1957), King Lear (1969) and especially Hamlet (1963) were recognized worldwide as his highest achievements. In _Korol Lir (1969)_ Kozintsev made a brilliant decision to cast actors from the Baltic States as the Lear's family. Jüri Järvet, Regimantas Adomaitis, Donatas Banionis, Juozas Budraitis, and Elza Radzina together with Oleg Dal, Galina Volchek, Aleksey Petrenko made a powerful acting ensemble.
Hamlet and King Lear. Kozintsev first staged Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and 'King Lear" in 1941. His collaboration with Boris Pasternak began in 1940, when Pasternak was working on his Russian translation of the Shakespeare's originals. Both plays were prepared for stage under direction of Kozintsev. King Lear was staged in 1941, but further work was interrupted because of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Hamlet was staged in 1954. At the same time Kozintsev continued developing the idea of filming _Gamlet (1964)_, until everything came together in his legendary film. The adaptation by Boris Pasternak, the music by Dmitri Shostakovich, the direction by Kozintsev, and the acting talent of Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy produced special creative synergy. Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy was praised as the best Hamlet by Sir Laurence Olivier.
Legacy. In the 1920s Kozintsev taught at the Leningrad School of Acting. From 1944-1964 Kozintsev led his master-class for film directors at the Soviet State Film Institute (VGIK). Among his students were many prominent Russian directors and actors such as Sergey Gerasimov and others. Kozintsev was the head of master-class for film directors at Lenfilm Studios from 1964-1971. He wrote essays on William Shakespeare, Sergei Eisenstein, Charles Chaplin, and Vsevolod Meyerhold and published theoretical works on film direction. Grigori Kozintsev lived near Lenfilm Stidios in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) for the most part of his life. His work and presence was essential to the status of Lenfilm Studios as well as to the film community in Leningrad during the political and economic domination of Moscow as the Soviet capital. From his early works of the 1920s to his masterpiece _Gamlet (1964)_, Kozintsev was faithful to creative experimental approach.
Kozintsev was designated the People's Artist of the USSR. He was awarded the State Lenin's Prize of the USSR (1965), and received other awards and nominations. He died in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) on May 11, 1973, and was laid to rest in the Necropolis of the Masters of Art in St. Aleksandr Nevsky Convent in St. Petersburg, Russia.- Actor
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Pavel Kadochnikov was born on 29 July 1915 in Petrograd, Russian Empire [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. He was an actor and director, known for Secret Agent (1947), Povest o nastoyashchem cheloveke (1948) and A Big Family (1954). He was married to Rozaliya Kotovich. He died on 2 May 1988 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].- Vadim Medvededv was born Vladimir Aleksandrovich Medvedev on April 28, 1929, in Yalta, Crimea province, Ukraine, USSR (now Ukraine). In 1949, he graduated from the Acting Studio of Moscow Chamber Theatre under directorship of Aleksandr Tairov.
From 1952-1966 he was a permanent member of the troupe of Pushkin Drama Theatre in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). There his stage partners were such remarkable actors as Nikolay Cherkasov, Nikolai Simonov, Vasiliy Merkurev, Konstantin Skorobogatov, Yuriy Tolubeev, Aleksandr Borisov, Bruno Frejndlikh, Vladimir Chestnokov, Vladimir Erenberg, Konstantin Adashevsky, Leonid Vivyen, Olga Lebzak, Nina Mamaeva, Lidiya Shtykan, Nina Urgant, Valentina Panina, and other notable Russian actors. In 1954, he made his film debut in A Big Family (1954) by director Iosif Kheifits.
From 1966-1988 Vadim Medvedev was a permanent member of the legendary troupe of Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) under directorship of Georgi Tovstonogov. Medvedev worked with Tovstonogov for 22 years. During that time Medvedev worked with an outstanding ensemble of actors at BDT. There his stage partners were such stars as Oleg Basilashvili, Tatyana Doronina, Alisa Freyndlikh, Lyudmila Makarova, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Zinaida Sharko, Valentina Kovel, Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Sergey Yurskiy, Kirill Lavrov, Oleg Borisov, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Yefim Kopelyan, Evgeniy Lebedev, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Pavel Luspekayev, Nikolay Trofimov, Georgiy Shtil, Leonid Nevedomsky, Yuriy Demich, Roman Gromadskiy, Gennadiy Bogachyov, Andrey Tolubeev, and many other remarkable Russian actors.
Vadim Medvedev was honored with the title of People's Artist of the Russia. He received numerous awards and decorations for his works on stage and in film. His filmography includes over 30 roles, he also played over 80 roles on stage. Vadim Medvedev died on March 2, 1988, and was laid to rest in Bolsheokhtinskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg (Leningrad), Russia. - Aleksey Smirnov is a Soviet theater and film actor.
In 1940 he graduated from the theater studio at the Leningrad Theater of Musical Comedy and was accepted into the troupe of the same theater. In 1946, he was accepted into the troupe of the Leningrad Theater of Musical Comedy. In the early 1950s, he had several notable roles in the repertoire of the Musical Comedy Theater. By the end of the 1950s, he became famous among filmmakers. In 1961, when he became an actor in the Lenfilm film studio, two films with his participation were released on the screens of the country. All-Union fame for the actor brought the role in the films of Leonid Gayday. In all these films, he performed in comedic roles. - Director
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Fridrikh Ermler was born on 13 May 1898 in Rechitsa, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire [now Rezekne, Latvia]. He was a director and writer, known for The Great Force (1951), Great Citizen (1938) and The Turning Point (1945). He died on 12 July 1967 in Leningrad, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].- Yuri German was born on 4 April 1910 in Riga, Russian Empire [now Latvia]. Yuri was a writer, known for Pirogov (1947), Seven Brave Men (1936) and Den schastya (1964). Yuri died on 16 January 1967 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Actor
- Director
Efim Zakharovich Kopelian (Yefim Kopelyan) was born on April 12, 1912, in Rechitsa, Gomel province, Russian Empire (now Rechytsa, Homel province, Belarus). He studied architecture at the Academy of Arts in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), but after a year he dropped out of college and joined the stunts at the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT). In 1935 he graduated from the Acting Studio of the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) and became a permanent member of the main troupe. In 1941 Kopelyan married actress Lyudmila Makarova.
Kopelyan was one of the leading actors of the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in Leningrad for 43 years. He began his acting career under directorship of Aleksei Dikij and then Boris Babochkin. Among his highest achievements were remarkable stage works under the directorship of Georgi Tovstonogov. Kopelyan's stage partners at the BDT were a stellar troupe of actors, including such prominent film stars as Lyudmila Makarova, Oleg Basilashvili, Tatyana Doronina, Valentina Kovel, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Zinaida Sharko, Kirill Lavrov, Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Sergey Yurskiy, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Oleg Borisov, Evgeniy Lebedev, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Nikolay Trofimov, Pavel Luspekayev, and many other remarkable Russian actors.
Kopelyan shot to fame in the Soviet Union with his legendary narration in the TV series Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973). Kopelyan's special and enigmatic voice in that narration gained him such a wide popularity that he became a hero of many popular jokes. A brilliant film actor, Kopelyan played major film roles in the trilogy 'Neulovimye Mstiteli' (1966-1971), Opasnye gastroli (1969), and Povest o chelovecheskom serdtse (1976) among other popular Russian films. Kopelyan himself considered his part as Ataman in epic film Dauriya (1972) as his best work in film.
Yefim Kopelyan was designated the title of People's Artist of the USSR. He died of a heart failure on March 6, 1975, and was laid to rest in Necropolis of The Masters of Art "Literatorskie mostki" at Volkovskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia.- Nikolai Konstantionovich Simonov was born on December 4, 1901, in Samara, Russian Empire. His father, named Konstantin Simonov, was a manager of a local food industry. Young Simonov read voraciously and dreamed about acting in theatre. From 1917-1919 he studied art at Samara School of Art and Design. From 1919-1923 he studied art at Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, where his teachers were Aleksei Rylov and Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin. From 1922-1924 he studied acting under Leonid Vivyen at the Institute of Theatrical Arts in St. Petersburg, from which he graduated with honors in 1924.
From 1924 -1973 Nikolai Simonov was a permanent member with the company of Pushkin Drama Theatre in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). Nikolai Simonov was among the leading actors of the Pushkin Drama Theatre. During the 1950s and 1960s he was Artistic Director of the Pushkin Drama Theatre. There his stage partners were such remarkable actors as Yekaterina Korchagina-Aleksandrovskaya, Illarion Pevtsov, Yuri Yuryev, Boris Babochkin, Nikolay Cherkasov, Vasiliy Merkurev, Konstantin Skorobogatov, Yuriy Tolubeev, Aleksandr Borisov, Bruno Frejndlikh, Vladimir Chestnokov, Vladimir Erenberg, Leonid Vivyen, Igor Gorbachyov, Olga Lebzak, Nina Mamaeva, Lidiya Shtykan, Nina Urgant, Valentina Panina, and other notable Russian actors.
Nikolai Simonov made his film debut in 1924 in Leningrad and played supporting roles in five Russian silent films. He shot to fame after his role of Commander Zhikharev in the classic film 'Chapaev' (1934) by brothers Georgi Vasilyev and Sergey Vasilev, where his partners were Boris Babochkin, Leonid Kmit, Illarion Pevtsov, Georgi Zhzhyonov, Boris Chirkov, and other Russian actors. Simonov's portrayal of Tsar Peter the Great in 'The Conquests of Peter the Great' (part one, 1937, and part two, 1938) brought him international fame and numerous awards.
Simonov was considered to be a patriarch of the St. Petersburg school of acting. His education and acting style was based on deep traditions of the School of Russian Drama which was founded in 1779, in St. Petersburg by Catherine the Great. Simonov's stage performances were legendary; several of his stage works were filmed for a historic record. His leading role in "The Living Corpse", an adaptation of the book by Lev Tolstoy, is remembered as one of the highest achievements in stage acting in Russian theatre. Simonov's portrayal of Antonio Salieri in "Malenkie tragedii" by Alexander Pushkin won him a Stanislavski State Prize award in 1962. Simonov regarded acting on stage as superior to acting in film; he supported the similar position of Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko.
Nikolai Simonov was awarded the State Prize of the USSR three times (1941, 1947, and 1950) and the State Prize of Russia (1966). He was the only actor in Russia three times awarded the Order of Lenin (1938, 1950, and 1967) for his achievements as an actor. In 1950 he was honored with the title of the People's Artist of the USSR. Simonov was also the father of a remarkable family, his wife was an actress, and his son, named Nikolai Nikolaevich Simonov, was a famous surgeon in Russia.
Nikolai Simonov died on April 20, 1973, in Leningrad (ST. Petesburg) and was laid to rest in the Necropolis of Masters of arts in St. Aleksandr Nevsky Convent in St. Petersburg, Russia. - Evgeniy Shvarts was born on 21 October 1896 in Kazan, Russian Empire [now Tatarstan, Russia]. He was a writer, known for Kain XVIII (1963), Na otdykhe (1936) and Don Kikhot (1957). He died on 15 January 1958 in Leningrad, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Yuri Kamornyj was born on 8 August 1944 in Alapayevsk, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia]. He was an actor, known for 20-e dekabrya (1982), 'Poseidon' speshit na pomoshch (1978) and Sergeyev ishchet Sergeyeva (1974). He died on 27 November 1981 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Nikolai Boyarsky was a Russian character actor known as Kozlevich in the popular comedy The Golden Calf (1968), and as leading stage actor with the Theatre of Komissarzhevskoi in St. Petersburg, Russia.
He was born Nikolai Aleksandrovich Boyarsky on 10 December 1922, in St. Petersburg, Russia. His father, Aleksandr Boyarsky, was a priest of Russian Orthodox Church who was executed by the communists during the Great Purge of 1937 under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. Young Nikolai Boyarsky was fond of theatre, he followed his elder brother, Sergey Boyarskiy. From 1940 to 1941 he studied acting at the Leningrad Institute of Theatre and Cinema, but his studies were interrupted by WWII. Nikolai Boyarsky was drafted in the Red Army and served for four years fighting in the front-lines against the Nazis. During the war, he was taken by the Nazi forces and was kept as a POW, but he managed to escape and survived. He was wounded in the battle, but survived again and made it to the Victory day. He received numerous decorations for his courage. After the end of WWII, Nikolai Boyarsky returned to Leningrad. There, in 1945, he married actress Lidiya Shtykan who survived the Siege of Leningrad.
From 1948 to 1988 Nikolai Boyarsky was a permanent member of the troupe at the Theatre of Komissarzhevskoi in Leningrad/St. Petersburg. There his stage partners were such actors as Galina Korotkevich, Ivan Dmitriev, Tamara Abrosimova, Natalya Chetverikova, Elena Safonova, Valentina Chemberg, Tatiana Samarina, Aleksandr Galibin, Yefim Kamenetsky, Mikhail Khrabrov, Georgi Korolchuk, Stanislav Landgraf, Sergey Boyarskiy, Vladimir Osobik, Boris Sokolov, Ivan Krasko, Petr Shelokhonov, and other notable Russian actors. His most memorable stage appearances were as Zakhar in "Oblomov" and as Levan in "Esli b nebo bylo zerkalom" among other stage works.
He made his film debut as King Karl II of Spain in Don Sezar de Bazan (1957). In the course of his acting career, Nikolai Boyarsky played over 30 characters in film and on television. He worked with such directors as Pavel Kadochnikov, Mikhail Shapiro, Aleksandr Belinsky, Mikhail Shveitser, Vladimir Vengerov, Aleksandr Rou, Aleksandr Proshkin, Sergey Bondarchuk, and others. Nikolai Boyarsky was regarded for his presence and effortless style. He was designated People's Artist of Russia. He died on 7 October 1988, and was laid to rest in Komarovo cemetery near St. Petersburg, Russia. - Dmitri Leshchenko was born on 25 October 1876 in Nikolaev, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]. He was an actor, known for The Pianist (2002) and Congestion (1918). He died on 9 November 1937 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Aleksandr Kuprin was born on 7 September 1870 in Narovchat, Penza Governorate, Russian Empire [now Penza Oblast, Russia]. He was a writer, known for Trus (1914), Granatovyy braslet (1965) and Sisters of the Gion (1936). He was married to Yelizaveta Maritsovna Geinrikh and Maria Karlovna Davydova. He died on 25 August 1938 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Arkadi Trusov was born on 10 January 1905 in Alekseyevskoye, Kazan Governorate, Russian Empire [now Tatarstan, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Dauriya (1972), Dostoyanie respubliki (1972) and Avariya (1965). He died on 23 July 1982 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Leonid Andreev was born on August 21, 1871 in Orel, Russia. His father, named Nikolai Ivanovich Andreev, was a member of the provincial Russian Nobility and worked as a land inspector for the government. His mother, Named Anastasia Nikolaevna Andreeva (Pazkovska) belonged to the Polish Nobility. Andreev graduated from the Orel Gymnasium, went to study law at the St. Petersburg University, and graduated from the Moscow University. His work as a crime reporter for "Moscovski Vestnik" (Moscow daily paper) provided material for his stories. He was fond of reading Fyodor Dostoevsky, Lev Tolstoy, and Anton Chekhov. He also red then popular Friedrich Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. After the death of his father and a painful first love experience in 1894 he was depressed and tried to shoot himself in a suicide attempt. He survived and worked hard to support his mother and his two sisters and two younger brothers. He successfully passed the Russian Law Bar in 1897 and practiced law as an attorney for five years from 1897-1902.
Andreev published his first story "Bargamot and Garaska" in 1898. It was noticed by Maxim Gorky, who promoted Andreev to the circle of writers and publishers, called Znanie (Knowledge). In 1901 his first book of stories was published by Znanie. His story "Bezdna" (Abyss, 1902), about a teenager's experience with a prostitute ending in her murder and his suicide, was attacked by Lev Tolstoy. But Andreev became an instant celebrity in Russia. After his anti-war story "Krasny Smekh" (Red Laughter, 1904), written during the Russian-Japanese war, he got involved with anti-Czar revolutionaries. Andreev was arrested and jailed by the Czar's secret service in 1905, after that he emigrated to Europe and lived in Capri, Italy as a guest of Maxim Gorky. While developing his expressionist style, Andreev wrote a bluntly realistic anti-war story "Rasskaz o semi poveshennykh" (A Story About the Seven Hung, 1909) and a realist novel "Sashka Zhegulev" (1911). After the war and the first Russian revolution of 1905, Andreev was writing a play every year. His plays were staged at the Moscow Art Theatre and theatres in Vienna, Berlin, Odessa and Kazan by directors Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko and Vsevolod Meyerhold among others. His best plays "Anathema", "Tsar-Golod" (Czar-hunger), "Samson v okovakh" (Samson in Handcuffs, 1914) were banned by Russian censorship under the Czar. Andreev built a big villa in Kuokkala, Finland, where many Russian intellectuals lived, just 50 km. West of St. Petersburg. He was a regular member of the circle of Korney Ivanovich Chukovskiy and maintained friendship with Maxim Gorky. Leonid Andreev also was a friend of writers Aleksandr Kuprin, Vladimir Korolenko, Ivan Bunin, Vikenti Veresaev, and singer Feodor Chaliapin Sr.. During WWI he was a strong critic of German aggression. In 1917 he opposed the Bolshevik Revolution.
Leonid Andreev was the founder of the Russian Expressionism in literature. He modernized his style through experiments with spiritualism, symbolism, eroticism and mysticism, and also studied a range of occult and religious traditions. His literary parallel was the American writer H.P. Lovecraft. Andreev remained in his villa in Finland after it's separation from Russia during the Russian revolution of 1917. He was a staunch critic of the Soviet communism and wrote powerful articles about the atrocities of communists in Russia. He died on September 12, 1919, at his home in Kuokkala, Finland, at the age of 48. Some mystery was haunting his burial; his grave in Finland was later on the Soviet territory since WWII. His magnificent villa was destroyed. In 1957 Leonid Andreev's remains were exhumed and moved to the prestigious "Poet's Alley" at the "Literatorskie Mostki" (Literary burials) near the graves of Ivan Turgenev, Ivan Goncharov, Nikolai Leskov and other Russian cultural luminaries at the Volkovo Cemetery in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). - He was born in 10 September 1867 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (Russia). He was a Russian ballet dancer, ballet master and choreographer, founder of character dance in Russian ballet who served at the Mariinsky Theatre, and also a pioneering animation director who is credited with invention of stop motion animation.
At the age of nine Alexander entered the Saint Petersburg Imperial Theatrical School where he studied under Marius Petipa, Pavel Gerdt, Platon Karsavin and Lev Ivanov. He graduated in 1885 and in a year became a member of the Mariinsky Theatre troupe. Shiryaev quickly rose to fame. During the studies he already managed to learn almost the entire repertoire of Mariinka, thus he easily substituted solo performers, both in classical and character roles. Shiryaev's musical talent and extraordinary visual memory gained him a place of Marius Petipa's assistant and tutor. He easily recollected all movements, reconstructing and finishing ballets after his teacher. He helped to stage The Seasons, Harlequinade, The Trial of Damis, among others. As a ballet master he helped Petipa to bring back such ballets as Coppélia, The Little Humpbacked, The Pharaoh's Daughter, Tsar Kandavl or Le Roi Candaule and Giselle.
Around the same time he became deeply interested in character dance. In 1891 Shiryaev, aged 24, opened and headed the first character class under the Theatrical School. He studied and implemented elements of Russian, Hungarian, Spanish and other national dances into his ballets.
He was the first performer of the Buffoon part in The Nutcracker (the role was edited out from later productions) which he also staged, gaining praise from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky himself. He also performed the buffoon dance from Mlada, Russian dance from Dubrovsky, dance of jesters and skomorokhs from The Merchant Kalashnikov and other operas directed by Lev Ivanov. Some of his famous ballet performances include Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty, Ivanushka in The Little Humpbacked Horse, Quasimodo in La Esmeralda, Harlequin in Harlequinade, Dr. Coppélius in Coppélia and Abderakhman in Raymonda.
In 1905 a new director of Imperial Theatres made Shiryaev leave the theatre. After that Shiryaev spent a lot of time touring around Europe. He also opened a training school in London; his students later joined the troupe led by Anna Pavlova. After the October revolution he worked both as a dancer and a pedagogue in the Mariinsky and Alexandrinsky Theatres, restoring forgotten ballets. In 1921 he left the stage and became a teacher at the Leningrad Choreographic Institute where he had worked for the rest of his life. Among his students were such acclaimed artists as Mikhail Fokin, Fyodor Lopukhov, Pyotr Gusev, Galina Ulanova.
During his 1904-1905 visits to London Shiryav acquired a 17.5 mm film Biokam camera and started filming ballets, as well as making home movies involving his family, comedy and trick films. His suggestion to film primary dancers of the Mariinka for free was rejected by the theatre management.
After that he built an improvised studio at his apartment where he carefully recreated various ballets by staging them using hand-made dolls which he created from either clay or papier-mâché; they were 20-25 centimeters tall, and their body parts were connected by thin wire which provided plasticity. He then filmed them on camera, frame by frame. In the process he also made thousands of sketches, catching every movement, also turning them into a filming reel so that one could watch the entire dance in form of a cartoon.
From 1906 to 1909 Shiryav produced a number of pioneering stop motion and traditionally animated films. This happened at least several years before Wladyslaw Starewicz - another influential Russian animator who had been long credited with invention of stop motion animation - produced his first films. Although Shiryav didn't hold much interest in animation as an art form, but rather saw it as an instrument in studying human plastics, using his films for educational purposes.
During the Soviet period those films were mostly forgotten, although Fyodor Lopukhov and some other memoirists mentioned his animation experiments in their books. Ninel Yultyeva described how Shiryaev produced around 1700 drawings and filmed them just to demonstrate one complex dance to his students. For a Hindu dance from La Bayadère he prepared clay figures and made them repeat every movement on camera; his film was later used during the restoration of Marius Petipa's ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre.
In 1995 a Russian documentarist and ballet historian Victor Bocharov started researching information on Shiryaev's animation experiments. He was soon contacted by Daniil Savelyev, a ballet photographer who personally knew the family. He got hold of the entire archive from the last wife of Alexander Shiryaev's son and kept it safe. Bocharov spent many years trying to get financing from Roskino in order to restore the films and produce a documentary.
In 2003 he finally released the one-hour movie entitled A Belated Premiere (2004) which included fragments of different films by Shiryaev. Around 2008 Bocharov finally managed to get fundings from the Pordenone Silent Film Festival in order to restore the negatives. Around the same time he got in contact with Aardman Animations who also became involved in restoration and digitizing process. The films were subsequently shown at various international film festivals. - Director
- Writer
- Actor
Semyon Timoshenko was born on 18 January 1899 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was a director and writer, known for Island of Doom (1933), Myatezh (1929) and Napoleon-gaz (1925). He was married to Lyudmila Glazova. He died on 14 November 1958 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].- Panteleymon Krymov was born on 13 February 1919 in Petrograd, RSFSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Evo Zvali Robert (1967), The Lady with the Dog (1960) and Krug (1972). He died on 19 June 1982 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Aleksandr Verrtinsky was a famous Russian actor, singer and songwriter who suffered traumatic experience during the Russian Revolution of 1917, and expressed himself through acting, singing and songwriting. Vertinsky created a cross-genre style of his own, by blending such styles as Russian folk-song with French chanson and American stand-up comedy, and created his image as a "Russian Pierot", becoming a cult figure among Russian émigrés.
He was born Aleksandr Nikolaevich Vertinsky on March 19, 1889, in Kiev, Russian Empire (now Kiev, Ukraine). His father, Nikolai Petrovich Vertinsky, was an attorney and also wrote a satirical column in a Kiev paper. His mother, Evgenia Stepanovna Skolatskaya, was not married to his father because his father could not get a divorce from his previous marriage. Both parents died before Vertinsky was 5 years old, so he was brought up by his father's sister in Kiev. Although he dropped out of Alexandrinskaya Gymnasium in Kiev, Vertinsky established friendship with a teacher, named Sofia Zelinskaya, who was married to the brother of Anatoli Lunacharsky who would later become the Commissar for Culture in the Soviet Union. At that time Vertinsky made his stage acting debut at a Jewish Club on Podol in Kiev, but his first performance was a failure. He worked a variety of jobs, including that of a salesman, a hard laborer at the Dneper river-port, and an accountant at a local hotel, he also published his first short stories in a Kiev paper.
In 1910 Vertinsky came to Moscow and started as a stand-up comedian and singer-songwriter, then tried to get an acting job at the Moscow Art Theatre, albeit he failed an audition. In 1912 Vertinsky made his film debut in the role as an Angel who falls into a pile of snow in a silent film 'Chem lyudi zhivi', based on the eponymous story by Lev Tolstoy and directed by the writer's son Ilya Tolstoy. Vertinsky worked as a crew member and a part-time actor with the film studio of Aleksandr Khanzhonkov, and played about a dozen supporting and cameo parts in silent movies. At that time Vertinsky began his life-long friendship with film star Ivan Mozzhukhin, and later met and fell in love with the film star Vera Kholodnaya to whom he dedicated many of his popular songs. From 1914-1915 Vertinsky worked as a male nurse treating the wounded in the Russian Tsar's Army during the World War I. At that time he became addicted to cocaine, but managed to overcome the addiction and continued his stage and film career. Vertinsky made success with his smooth, touching and witty songs, and became a popular actor and singer, having toured with concerts in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa, and Kiev before the Russian Revolution of 1917. After the Communist Revolution, in 1918 he moved from Moscow to Kiev, trying to escape from the disaster.
During the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920 Vertinsky was on the side of the White Russians, and against the Soviet Communists. He suffered from the loss of his property and saw the destruction and degradation of life under the rule of the Soviet Communists. In 1920 Vertinsky boarded one of the last ships leaving Crimea and emigrated from Russia to Constantinopol, and was struggling to survive as an actor. By chance he obtained a fake Greek passport which became his only document allowing him to travel and work. He further suffered through more traumatic experiences in emigration, and struggled to survive as an actor, trying to express himself through singing and songwriting. Eventually Vertinsky polished his stage image with flying gestures of his unusually expressive hands with elongated fingers, his smooth manners and aristocratic face. He emerged as one of the most popular Russian actors and singers along with such stars as Feodor Chaliapin Sr. and Ivan Mozzhukhin. During the 1920s he lived in Romania, Poland and France, and made many concert tours all over Europe, gaining substantial popularity among the growing numbers of Russian émigrés. He was a personal friend of impresario Sergei Diaghilev and choreographer Mikhail Fokin. In 1930s he made concert tours in the United States, where he had personal meetings with Sergei Rachmaninoff, Marlene Dietrich and Charley Chaplin. He also gave a private performance for the Vanderbilt family in the USA. At that time Vertinsky was offered to play a role in a Hollywood movie. However, after he struggled with his rudimentary English for two months, he quit any further efforts to have a career in Hollywood, and continued singing and acting in Russian and French.
From 1927-1934, while living mainly in Paris, Vertinsky kept concertizing around the world. After having a few successful tours in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States, Vertinsky's career suffered during the Great Depression. However he managed to get performances before such dignitaries as the Prince of Whales, King Gustav of Sweden, King Alfonce of Spain, Baron von Rothchild, and others. Despite the steady success in his acting and singing career, Vertinsky was not really happy in his personal life. He often performed in the stage image as "Russian Pierrot", a "melancholy clown" who lost his country, was nostalgic, depressed and homesick, albeit was able to survive due to his wit and wisdom. His first marriage to a Polish lady did not last. From 1935 - 1943 he lived in Shanghai, China, where he opened his cabaret called "Gardenia" catering to a small Russian community. There, after two years of courtship and romance, Vertinsky married young Lidiya Vertinskaya (nee Lidia Vladimirovna Tsirgvava), also a Russian émigré who was born into a Georgian-Russian family in Kharbin, and the couple had their first daughter, Marianna Vertinskaya, born in 1943, in Shanghai, China. He was still homesick, longing for the image of "Old Russia" of his youth, and petitioned to the Soviet authorities, ".. let me come back, please. My heart yearns for Russia, my home, which has been through such hardship ..", so permit to return was granted. But he did not know much about the Soviet reality until he was there.
Vertinsky returned to the Soviet Union during the World War II, in December of 1943, and was allowed to settle in Moscow. His most popular songs were banned by the Soviet censorship under the rule of Joseph Stalin. Vertinsky was sent to perform at hospitals to entertain the wounded Red Army troops and proletarians with an official instruction to sing mostly patriotic songs in order to receive redemption. Regardless of the political restrictions on his creativity and acting career, Vertinsky managed to support his family. His second daughter, Anastasiya Vertinskaya was born in 1944, in Moscow, during the World War II. In 1948, when the Soviet leadership launched massive attacks on Russian intellectuals, Vertinsky was blacklisted by the Soviet Communist ideologist, Andrei Zhdanov, and his life and career was at risk. Joseph Stalin decided to leave Vertinsky alone and personally crossed his name out of the dangerous "black list", so Vertinsky was spared. After that he was allowed to resume his film career. In 1951 he was awarded the State Stalin's Prize for the supporting role as Brinch, an anti-Communist Cardinal in Zagovor obrechyonnykh (1950) by director Mikhail Kalatozov.
However, Aleksandr Vertinsky still remained under suspicion and was banned from recording of his songs as well as from publications of his writings for the rest of his life in the Soviet Union. He was also restricted from performing before big audiences, while the Soviet censorship put pressure on many Russian cultural figures, such as Anna Akhmatova and Boris Pasternak, among others. After the death of Joseph Stalin things began to change because Nikita Khrushchev initiated the "Thaw" and eased a few bans and restrictions. During the last decade of his life Vertinsky gave over two thousand concerts. Every year Vertinsky was making concert tours in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), the city where he had successful performances as a young man, before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Years later, in 1953 he wrote to his wife that Leningrad looked like a "dead city with empty palaces of the Tsars, as if a giant cemetery with beautiful monuments, ... where people still listen to the songs of Vertinsky." He died of a heart attack on May 21, 1957, at the Astoria Hotel in Leningrad (St. Petersburg).
Even after his death the official ban on Vertinsky's songs was enforced for many years, and his name was banned from being mentioned in publications and critical reviews. However, his unofficial recordings were popular among the underground intellectuals in the former USSR. His first legal vinyl album was released in the Soviet Union in the 1970s. Vertinsky's book of memoirs and poetry, titled "Dorogoi dlinnoyu", was published in Russia in 1990.- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Yeveni (Evgeni) Aleksandrovich Mravinsky was born on June 4, 1903, in St. Petersburg, Russia. his father, named Aleksandr Konstantinovich Mravinsky, belonged to the Russian Nobility and was a General to the Tsar Nicholas II. His mother, named Elizaveta Nikolaevna (nee Filkova), belonged to the landed Russian Gentry. The family was trilingual. Young Mravinsky received an excellent private education. From the age of 18 to 26 he was a concert-master pianist at the Vaganova Ballet school and an actor at the Mariinsky Opera House. He studied natural sciences at the St. Petersburg University for one year. In 1924 he was admitted to the St. Petersburg Conservatory. There he studied piano, composition, and conducting under Aleksandr Gauk, and graduated in 1931, as composer and conductor.
In 1932 Mravinsky made his conducting debut at the Mariinsky Theatre with the 'Sleeping Beauty' ballet by 'Pyotr Tchaikovsky'. In 1935 he took part in the Leningrad Festival of Arts. In 1937 Mravinsky opened the new concert season at the Leningrad Philharmonia, and premiered the Symphony No.5 by Dmitri Shostakovich. In 1938 Mravinsky won the Natinal competition of conductors and was appointed the Artistic Director of the Leningrad Philharmonia. In may of 1940 Mravinsky conducted the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra in Moscow and made a sensation. Moscow critics recognized the Leningrad Philharmonic the best symphony orchestra in the Societ Union. Such status was indisputable from 1940-1988 under the leadership of Yevgeni Mravinsky.
During the Nazi siege of Leningrad in the Second World War Mravinsky evacuated the entire symphony orchestra of 100+ musicians with families to the Siberian city of Novosibirsk. From 1941-1944 Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra lived and worked in Siberia. Their music helped the Russian people in their struggle to survive through the hardships of the war. In addition to the regular season concerts in Novosibirsk the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra gave 56 concerts in other cities of Siberia and Central Asia, including Tashkent, Fergana, Omsk, Tomsk, Barnaul, Kemerovo, and other cities. Mravinsky was also instrumental in providing supplies and food for his musicians during the hard times in the Second World War. The Leningrad Philharmonic musicians founded the Novosibirsk Opera House and a Symphony orchestra in that Siberian city during the war.
After the end of the siege Mravinsky brought the Philharmonic Orchestra back in Leningrad. He renewed the Leningrad Philharmonic seasons in the fall of 1945. In 1946 Mravinsky was awarded the State Prize of the USSR and received the title of the Honorable Artist of Russia. He continued collaboration with Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Aram Khachaturyan, and also premiered symphonies by many other composers. Mravinsky took the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra on international tours to more than 40 countries across the world.
Everyone who heard the live performances of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Yevgeni Mravinsky remember the lasting ennobling impression. Mravinsky was famous for creating the special "Leningrad" sound and ambiance. He made the orchestra sound solid, powerful and transparent, giving great attention to the clarity of every single instrument. Mravinsky's live performances as well as his recordings of symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich were considered definitive by the composer himself.
Yevgeni Mravinsky was the Honorable Member of the Vienna Music Society, the People's Artist of the USSR, the Laureat of the State prize of the USSR (twice), and was decorated for his lifetime achievement. He died on January 19, 1988, in Leningrad, and was laid to rest in the Bogoslovskoe Cemetery in Leningrad (St. Petersburg).- Sergey Kirov was born on 27 March 1886 in Urzhum, Vyatka Governorate, Russian Empire [now Kirov Oblast, Russia]. He died on 1 December 1934 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Writer
- Music Department
Sergei Esenin was born on 3 October 1895 in Konstantinovo, Ryazan Governorate, Russian Empire [now Ryazan Oblast, Russia]. He was a writer, known for Poj pesnyu, poet (1973), The Hollow (2007) and Mongol Shuudan: Moskva (1996). He was married to Sophia Tolstaya, Isadora Duncan, Zinaida Reich and Anna Izryadnova. He died on 28 December 1925 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].- Aleksandr Zakharov was born on 19 September 1951 in Leningrad, USSR. He was an actor, known for Flame Top (1980), Amphibian Man (1961) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (1980). He died on 26 March 1982 in Leningrad, USSR.
- Irina Zarubina was born on 22 April 1907 in Kazan, Kazan Governorate, Russian Empire [now Republic of Tatarstan, Russia]. She was an actress, known for Avariya (1965), Three Women (1936) and Bezumnyy den (1956). She was married to Aleksandr Rou. She died on 20 May 1976 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
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Gerbert Moritsevich Rappaport was born on July 7, 1908, in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria). His father, Morice Rappaport, was a Doctor psychoanalyst. In 1927-28, young Rappaport studied law at University of Vienna. In 1928 he moved to Berlin and started working at Nero-Film Studio. There he met his Austrian compatriot, director Georg Pabst. During the 1930s he worked as assistant director with Georg Wilhelm Pabst in about ten productions, including several works with the Paramount Studios in Hollywood. There, in 1935, Rappaport was handpicked by Boris Shumyatskiy, the leader of the Soviet State Committee for Cinema. Boris Shumyatskiy invited Rappaport to work as director at the Lenfilm Studios in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). Rappoport accepted the invitation, because the Soviets supported his artistic ideas for making anti-Nazi films.
In 1938 Rappaport made his directorial debut with Professor Mamlock (1938), an anti-Nazi film about a brilliant Jewish doctor who saves the life of a Nazi leader, and get killed as a reward.The film based on the eponymous play by Friedrich Wolf was a success in the Soviet Union, but it was temporarily banned in 1939, after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentropp Pact. During the Second World War, the film was popular again, and Rappaport continued making successful films securing himself a steady career and a high reputation in the Soviet Cinema.
Gerbert Rappaport was designated Honorable Artist of Russia. He was nominated for Grand Prize of the Cannes Film Festival for Stars of the Russian Ballet (1954). His last film was a criminal drama Menya eto ne kasaetsya (1976). Gerbert Rappaport died on August 31, 1983, in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Russia, Soviet Union.- Cinematographer
Andrey Moskvin was born on 14 February 1901 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was a cinematographer, known for Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1944), Pirogov (1947) and Aktrisa (1943). He died on 28 February 1961 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Vyacheslav Viskovsky was born in 1881 in Odessa, Odessa uyezd, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire [now Odessa Oblast, Ukraine]. He was a director and writer, known for Khabu (1928), Kak oni lgut (1917) and Minaret Smerti (1924). He died in 1933 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].- Writer
- Additional Crew
Daniil Kharms was born on 12 January 1906 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was a writer, known for Clownery (1989), Charms Zwischenfälle (1996) and Five No Budget Films (2010). He was married to Marina Malitsch. He died on 2 February 1942 in Leningrad, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Isaak Shvarts was a prominent Soviet and Russian composer of Jewish descent. Born in Ukraine (Soviet Union), his family soon moved to Leningrad (present day St. Petersburg) in 1930. By the age of 12 young Isaac has already given his major concert performance at Leningrad Philharmonic Hall. In 1936, during Stalin repressions, his father was arrested (later executed in 1938) and the family was sent in exile to Frunze (present day Bishkek), Kyrgyzstan. He got married in 1943 and had a daughter Galina. He remained in exile until 1945 and upon his return to St. Petersburg began his studies at the city's Conservatory. Graduating in 1951, he began his life-long career of a composer for stage plays and motion pictures. He composed music for over 35 various plays for theaters of Leningrad and Moscow and for over 110 motion pictures, working with well-known directors. He was Akira Kurosawa's choice in composing music for award winning Dersu Uzala (1975). His other notable works on motion pictures include White Sun of the Desert (1970), One Hundred Days After Childhood (1975), Young Catherine (1991), Luna Park (1992), Muzhchina dlya molodoy zhenshchiny (1996). He received several international and local awards and nominations at various festivals and was an Acedemician of the National Academy of Cinematographic Arts, Russia.- Director
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Boris Sushkevich was born on 7 February 1887 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was a director and actor, known for Sverchok na pechi (1915), Rabi lyubvi (1916) and Khleb (1918). He died on 10 July 1946 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].- Director
- Writer
Vladimir Fetin was born on 14 November 1925 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia]. He was a director and writer, known for Virineya (1969), Don Tale (1964) and Otkrytaya kniga (1974). He died on 19 August 1981 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].- Cinematographer
Sergei Ivanov was born on 24 February 1905. He was a cinematographer, known for Valgus Koordis (1951), Nenavist (1930) and Vesna v Moskve (1953). He died on 11 October 1966 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].- Glikeriya Bogdanova-Chesnokova was a popular Russian comedienne, dancer and singer who performed about three thousand concerts for the servicemen during the Second World War, and was also known for her hilarious gags and funny faces, notably in the film Mister Iks (1958).
She was born Glikeria (Lika) Vasilevna Bogdanova on May 16, 1904, in Russia (at that time the Russian Empire). Her parents were of mixed Ukrainian and Siberian Cossacs ancestry. She attended Gymnasium in St. Petersburg and was fond of theatre and arts; her mother arranged for her regular visits to the Mariinsky Opera in St. Petersburg. In 1917, at age 13, she made a reckless move by joining the revolutionary crowd on their way to storm into the Tsar's Winter Palace during the Russian Revolution.
From 1919-1922 she studied acting at Academic School of Russian Drama at Aleksandrinsky (now Pushkin) Theatre in St. Petersburg; she was also seriously engaged in comedy, vocal and dance classes. Her classmates were such actors as Nikolay Cherkasov, Yuri Tolubeev, Nikolai Simonov, Boris Chirkov, Aleksandr Borisov, Vasili Merkuryev, Konstantin Adashevsky, and other notable actors. In 1920, while a student, she made her stage debut as Lucille in Molière's 'Le bourgeois gentilhomme' on the Aleksandrinsky stage. From 1920-1924 she was a permanent member of the troupe at Aleksandrinsky Theatre. At that time she married a fellow actor, Dmitri Vasilchikov, and they had one daughter, named Lidia. From 1924-1930 she worked together with her actor/director husband, with a touring troupe, then at Kharkov State Theatre of Musical Comedy, albeit her first marriage did not work, and she returned to St. Petersburg (then Leningrad).
From 1932 - 1941 she was a stand-up comedienne and a singer in Leningrad. At that time she worked with the legendary Leonid Utyosov and his "Tea-Jazz" Big Band at the Leningrad Music Hall. Her numerous performances with Leonid Utyosov helped her professional and personal growth. Maestro Leonid Utyosov was very happy to have her as a principal star, as he commented, "Lika can make people laugh just by making one of her funny faces, and then... she begins to dance..." Although, she did not have a pretty face, Bogdanova-Chesnokova was adored by public and critics alike: for her hilarious gags, for her funny and grotesque masks, and for her effortless style. She also had numerous successful performances with the Leningrad Theatre of Miniatures under the leadership of Arkady Raykin. At that time she was married to actor Semen Chesnokov, and their daughter, named Olga, was born in 1940. Although, she was already a popular stage actress, she had trouble being accepted by the rigid Soviet film community during the 1930s. She made her film debut as an uncredited cabaret actress in Spring Song (1941).
Bogdanova-Chesnokova performed before the soldiers who defended the city of Leningrad besieged by the Nazis, during the Second World War. It is believed that she gave about three thousand performances, often giving three or four full shows daily. At that time she worked with a small troupe of actors, and they were constantly moving along the front-lines around Leningrad, and also performed shows at hospitals to lift the spirits of the wounded veterans. One night during her performance, the Nazis started a deadly bombing attack, her troupe was trying to escape in a truck, but the driver got killed. Bogdanova-Chesnokova, who never had driven a car before, jumped in the driver's seat and managed to escape from the inevitable death and saved the lives of her fellow actors. For that feat she was decorated with the Order of the Red Banner.
From 1945-1983 she was a permanent member of the troupe at the Musical Comedy theatre in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). Her most memorable stage performances were in classic musical comedies by Johann Strauss, Emmerich Kálmán, Franz Lehár, and Isaak Dunaevskiy, as well as in many other plays and shows. During the 50s she also performed in the popular stand-up comedy number with Boris Vyatkin, they had numerous gigs at the Leningrad Circus for three years, and toured about the Soviet Union. At that time she emerged as an important character actress and gave memorable performances in such films as Tiger Girl (1955) , Mister Iks (1958) , and Twelve Chairs (1971) among other films.
Bogdanova-Chesnokova was designated Honorable Actor of Russia (1965), People's Actor of Russia (1970), and was awarded the State Prize of the USSR. She received numerous decorations, including the Order of the Red Banner. She died on April 17, 1983, and was laid to rest in the Necropolis of Masters of Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her artistic tradition and heritage is carried on by her grandson, Yuri Borisovich Pravikov, who is a writer in Russia. A comprehensive biography of Bogdanova-Chesnokova was written by Sergei Kapkov, and was published in Russia in 2004. - Aleksandr Belyaev was born on 16 March 1884 in Smolensk, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was a writer, known for The Amphibian, Amphibian Man (1961) and Zaveshchaniye professora Douelya (1984). He was married to Margarita Konstantinovna Belyaeva, Vera Belyaeva and Anna Iwanowna Stankevich. He died on 6 January 1942 in Pushkin, Leningrad, USSR.
- Sergei Boyarsky was a Russian character actor at the Theatre of Komissarzhevskoi in St. Petersburg, Russia.
He was born Sergei Aleksandrovich Boyarsky on 31 December 1916, in St. Petersburg, Russia. His father, Aleksander Boyarsky, was a Russian Orthodox priest who was executed by the communists during the Great Purge of 1937 under the dictatorship of 'joseph Stalin'. Young Sergei Boyarsky was fond of music and theatre. From 1935 to 1939 he studied acting under Boris Sushkevich at the old Russian acting school of Aleksandrinsky Theatre (named after Pushkin), graduating in 1939 as actor. After having worked for a few seasons at a small theatre in Ukraine, he returned to his hometown, Leningrad/St. Petersburg. From 1949 to 1976 Sergei Boyarsky was a permanent member of the troupe at the Theatre of Komissarzhevskoi in St. Petersburg. There his stage partners were such actors as Galina Korotkevich, Ivan Dmitriev, Tamara Abrosimova, Natalya Chetverikova, Elena Safonova, Valentina Chemberg, Tatiana Samarina, Aleksandr Galibin, Yefim Kamenetsky, Mikhail Khrabrov, Georgi Korolchuk, Stanislav Landgraf, Nikolay Boyarsky, Vladimir Osobik, Boris Sokolov, Ivan Krasko, Petr Shelokhonov, and other notable Russian actors.
Sergei Boyarsky made his film debut in 'Amphibian man', and later appeared in various supporting roles in film and on television. He was highly regarded for his works on stage having created over 50 roles in stage productions. Sergei Boyarsky also made memorable readings of Russian classic literature for various cultural events and radio shows. Outside of his acting career Sergei Boyarsky enjoyed a happy family life with his wife, Tatiana Melentieva, and the couple's son, Mikhail Boyarskiy, made a career as one of the leading stars of Russian cinema.
Sergei Boyarsky's last work was the leading role as Ivan the Terrible in the eponymous play by A. Tolstoy; he created the character of the legendary Russian Tsar in the period costume on the famous stage at the Theatre of Komissarzhevskoi in St. Petersburg. However, Sergei Boyarsky did not make it to the premiere. He died after a long and exhausting stage rehearsal on 1 March 1976, and was laid to rest in Komarovo cemetery near St. Petersburg, Russia. - Director
- Actor
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Nikolai Ivanovich Lebedev was a Russian film director specializing in movies for children, such as Schastlivogo plavaniya (1949) and V moey smerti proshu vinit Klavu K. (1980).
He was born Nikolai Ivanovich Lebedev on 9 August 1897, in Gus-Khrustalny, Vladimir province, Russian Empire. Young Lebedev grew up in Vladimir province east of Moscow. After the Russian revolution of 1917, he moved to St. Petersburg (then called Petrograd). In 1923 he made his acting debut in Petrograd Film Studio (predesessor of Lenfilm Studios). In 1925 he graduated from Leningrad Institute of Cinema Art and worked as an assistant director for over a decade. From the beginning of his career Lebedev became specialized in children's film. He received awards at the 1959 and 1980 Soviet Film Festivals in the category of films for children. Nikolai Lebedev died in Russia, in October of 1989 (natural causes).- Director
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- Editor
Aleksandr Ivanovsky was born on 29 November 1881 in Kazan, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was a director and writer, known for Muzykalnaya istoriya (1940), Tri portreta (1919) and House of Greed (1934). He died on 12 January 1968 in Leningrad, USSR.- Actor
- Cinematographer
- Art Director
Gleb Bushtuyev was born on 23 May 1903 in Pavlovsk, St. Petersburg Governorate, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was an actor and cinematographer, known for Fragment of an Empire (1929), Zhizn na polnyj hod (1930) and Nashi devushki (1930). He died on 7 September 1954 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].- Marfa Lapkina was born on 17 September 1898 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Old and New (1929). She died on 1 January 1936 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Sergey Filippov was born on 24 June 1912 in Saratov, Saratov uyezd, Saratov Governorate, Russian Empire [now Saratov Oblast, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Twelve Chairs (1971), Carnival Night (1956) and Dvenadtsataya noch (1955). He died on 19 April 1990 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Vera Streshnyova was born on 24 April 1884. She was an actress, known for Kapitanskaya dochka (1928), Zhenitba (1937) and Palachi (1925). She died on 16 September 1957 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Since 1907 played in theatres of Istanbul. In 1922 repatriated to Armenia, Soviet Union. From 1922 to 1953 toured with different Armenian and Russian theatre companies. Since 1954 until his death was the leading star of Sundukyan Academic Theatre, Yerevan, Armenia. Became famous as one of leading Shakespeare performers, particularly by the role of Othello. Had occasional roles in cinema.
- Viktor Chekmaryov was born on 30 January 1911 in Astrakhan, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was an actor, known for Dni Turbinykh (1976), The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin (1965) and The Rumyantsev Case (1956). He died on 22 August 1987 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Yuri Vladimirovich Tolubeev (Yuri Tolubeyev) was born on May 1, 1905, in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1929 he graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Theatrical Arts as an actor. From 1926-1979 Tolubeyev worked as an actor and director with various theatres in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), mainly with the Pushkin Drama Theatre (Aleksandrinski Theatre).
Tolubeev's film career began in 1935 with a supporting role of Sailor Andrei in 'Sovershennoletie' (Coming of Age) by director 'Boris Shreiber'. Tolubeev was best known for his roles in the films of director Grigoriy Kozintsev. Their collaboration began with the work in 'The Return of Maksim' (1937). Later Tolubeev played Sacho Panza in 'Don Quixote' (1957), where his partner was Nikolay Cherkasov. His best known film role was Polonius in the legendary 'Hamlet' (1964), where his film partners were Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Mikhail Nazvanov, Anastasiya Vertinskaya and other remarkable Russian actors.
From 1942-1979 Yuri Tolubeev worked with the Pushkin Drama Theatre (Aleksandrinski Theatre) in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). He was invited to the troupe of the oldest Russian Drama Theatre by his acting teacher Leonid Vivyen. Tolubeev was among the leading actors of the Pushkin Drama Theatre. There his stage partners were such remarkable actors as Nikolay Cherkasov, Nikolai Simonov, Konstantin Skorobogatov, Aleksandr Borisov, Vasiliy Merkurev, Bruno Frejndlikh, Vladimir Chestnokov, Vladimir Erenberg, Leonid Vivyen, Igor Gorbachyov, Olga Lebzak, Nina Mamaeva, Lidiya Shtykan, Nina Urgant, Valentina Panina, and other notable Russian actors.
Yuri Tolubeev was awarded the State prize of the USSR in 1947, and also received numerous awards and decorations for his works in theatre and film. He was honored with the title of the People's Artist of the USSR (1964). Yuri Tolubeev died on December 28, 1979, in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Russia, and was laid to rest in the "Literatorskie mostki" Necropolis of The Masters of Art at Volkovskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia. - Veniamin Nechaev was born on 20 March 1915 in Novo-Nikolayevsk [now Novosibirsk, Russia], Russian Empire. He died on 15 August 1987 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR.
- Vladimir Losev was born on 7 January 1945 in Furmanov, Ivanovo Oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. He was an actor, known for Dauriya (1972), Nochnaya smena (1971) and Rasskazhi mne o sebe (1972). He died on 13 November 1984 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].