Michael Simeon Visaroff (born Mikhail Semenonovich Vizarov (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Михаил Семёнович Визаров); December 18, 1889 – February 27, 1951) was a Russian-born character actor, who worked in the United States on stage and screen.

Biography

Visaroff was born in Moscow, Russian Empire. He was a graduate of the Russian Principal Dramatic School. Visaroff started his career on stage: In July 1922, Visaroff came to the United States with a group from the Kamerny Theatre in Moscow. With a 14-week leave of absence from Russia, the group planned to present 12 plays, each lasting one week, in a Broadway theater. He eventually made the transition to film, appearing in more than 110 films between 1925 and 1952. He was best known for his uncredited appearance in an early scene of ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

'' (1931) as the nervous Hungarian innkeeper who, as Renfield is traveling to meet the Count, warns him about the actual existence of

vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

Personal life

When Visaroff came to the US in July 1922 he was already married to Nina Visaroff, according to the passenger list, and they had a daughter named Lydia. ?Yet they got married again in 1924 in New York.? His age in the passenger list is stated as 32 and in the naturalization file dated in March 1929, is given as 39 meaning that he was born in 1889 and not in 1892 as he claimed later in his life. Census records for 1950 show he was aged 51 and living in Beverly Hills with a wife named Stella, aged 48, who was born in New York State. He died in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

, from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in 1951.''American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913–1929''
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Partial filmography

* ''

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

'' (1926) * '' The Nickel-Hopper'' (1926) * ''

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

'' (1926) * '' The Sunset Derby'' (1927) * '' Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) * '' The Last Command'' (1928) * '' Ramona'' (1928) * '' Tempest'' (1928) * '' The Night Bird'' (1928) * ''

We Americans ''We Americans'' is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by Edward Sloman and starring George Sidney, Patsy Ruth Miller, and George J. Lewis. A young Andy Devine plays an early small role as Pat O'Dougal. Plot Two young couples try to cr ...

'' (1928) * ''

Lullaby A lullaby (), or a cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies, they are used to pass down cultural knowl ...

'' (1929) * '' Marquis Preferred'' (1929) * '' House of Horror'' (1929) * ''

Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creat ...

'' (1929) * '' Du Barry, Woman of Passion'' (1930) * ''

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

'' (1930) * ''

'' (1931) (uncredited) * ''

Mata Hari Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (, ; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari ( , ; , ), was a Dutch Stripper, exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for German Empire, Germany during World War ...

'' (1931) (uncredited) * '' Chinatown After Dark'' (1931) * '' Arizona Terror'' (1931) * '' Six Hours to Live'' (1932) * ''

Mark of the Vampire ''Mark of the Vampire'' is a 1935 American horror film directed by Tod Browning, and starring Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan (British actress), Elizabeth Allan, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, and Jean Hersholt, produced by Metro Goldwyn Mayer. ...

'' (1935) * '' The Magnificent Brute'' (1936) * '' The Soldier and the Lady'' (1937) * '' I'll Give a Million'' (1938) * '' Paris Honeymoon'' (1939) * ''

The Flying Deuces ''The Flying Deuces'', also known as ''Flying Aces'', is a 1939 buddy comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy, in which the duo join the French Foreign Legion. It is a partial remake of their short film '' Beau Hunks'' (1931). Plot During their ...

'' (1939) (uncredited) * '' Everything Happens at Night'' (1939) * '' Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum'' (1940) * '' Never Give a Sucker an Even Break'' (1941) (uncredited) * '' Reunion in France'' (1942) (uncredited) * '' Paris After Dark'' (1943) - Paul * ''

For Whom the Bell Tolls ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...

'' (1943) * ''

Yolanda and the Thief ''Yolanda and the Thief'' is a 1945 American Technicolor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM musical film, musical-comedy film set in a fictional Latin American country. It stars Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, Frank Morgan, and Mildred Natwick, with music by ...

'' (1945) * ''

Don Ricardo Returns ''Don Ricardo Returns'' is a 1946 American western drama film. Plot After having been abducted and sent away on a ship in 1835, Don Ricardo escapes and makes his way back to Alta California. He returns to exact revenge on those who kidnapped h ...

'' (1946)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Visaroff, Michael 1892 births 1951 deaths American people of Russian descent Deaths from pneumonia in California Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Male actors from Moscow Russian male film actors Russian male silent film actors 20th-century American male actors