Alexander Borisovich Belyavsky (; 6 May 1932 – 8 September 2012) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n actor who appeared in more than one hundred films. Belyavsky was also the first presenter of the popular TV Show ''The 13 Chairs Tavern''. In 1988, he was designated a Meritorious Artist of Russia; in 2003, he was named a

People's Artist of Russia People's Artist of the Russian Federation (, ''Narodnyy artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the Russian Federation, is an honorary and the highest title awarded to citizens of the Russian Federation ...

Biography

Alexander Belyavsky was born in Moscow, to Boris Moiseyevich Belyavsky and his wife Lyubov Alexandrovna. He was the family's eldest child, with two younger siblings. After finishing school in 1949 he enrolled in the Geological research faculty of the Moscow's Gold and Non-ferrous metals Institute where he studied up until 1955, making frequent trips to the Central Asian Soviet republics for professional practice. After the graduation, Belyavsky spent several years in

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...

, working for the East-Siberian Geological department. He made his debut as an actor at the Irkutsk Drama Theatre, playing Molchalin in

Alexander Griboyedov Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (; 15 January 179511 February 1829) was a Russian diplomat, playwright, poet, and composer. His one notable work is the 1823 verse comedy '' Woe from Wit''. He was Russia's ambassador to Qajar Persia, where he and ...

's ''

Woe from Wit ''Woe from Wit'' (, also translated as "The Woes of Wit", "Wit Works Woe", ''Wit's End'', and so forth) is Alexander Griboyedov's comedy in verse, satirizing the society of post-Napoleonic Moscow, or, as a high official in the play styled it, "a ...

''. Back in Moscow, Belyavsky continued working as a geology engineer, occasionally taking part in amateur theatrical productions staged by The Teachers' House. He decided then to quit his regular job, enrolled into the

Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute The Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute () is a Russian Federation, Russian drama college in Moscow, formed in 1914 as part of the Vakhtangov Theatre. In 2002 it was granted the Academy status. History The history of the Shchukin Institute (or Shchu ...

, and joined

Vladimir Etush Vladimir Abramovich Etush (6 May 19229 March 2019) was a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor of Jewish descent. People's Artist of the USSR (1984). Biography He was born on 6 May 1922 in Moscow into a Jewish family. Father - Abram Shak ...

's class at the

Vakhtangov Theatre The Vakhtangov State Academic Theatre () is a drama theatre in Moscow. It was founded in 1913 as the Student Drama Studio, headed by Yevgeny Vakhtangov. The official opening date of the 3rd Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT) is considered to ...

. In summer 1957, Belyavsky made his debut on screen in ''Tales About Lenin'' (as a young worker Kolya). Three years later, still a student, he appeared in the Kiev Studio's film ''Save Our Souls'' (1960). In 1961, Belyavsky graduated the Shchukin Theatre Institute with honors and was invited to join the

Moscow Satire Theatre The Moscow Academic Theatre of Satire () is a dramatic theatre in Moscow, Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest countr ...

. In 1964, the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

director

Leonard Buczkowski Leonard Buczkowski (5 August 1900 – 19 February 1967) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He directed 23 films between 1928 and 1966. His 1959 film ''The Eagle (1959 film), The Eagle'' was entered into the 1st Moscow International ...

cast him in the film ''Przerwany lot'' (Aborted Flight). While working in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Belyavsky learned the

Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...

and later appeared in five more Polish films, including the popular TV wartime thriller series ''The Four Tankmen and a Dog'' (as a Soviet captain Pavlov). In 1964, he left the Satire Theatre but never severed ties with its troupe, having become the co-director (with Georgy Zelinsky) and the first presenter of the popular TV series '' Pub "13 Chairs"''. It was Belyavsky who came up with the idea of staging a satirical TV series ridiculing a good-for-nothing 'firm' (apparently based in Poland), members of which meet at the tavern to discuss their (highly ridiculous) problems and perform Polish (later West European) pop songs in a karaoke-style. In 1964 Belyavsky joined the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre, then moved in 1966 to the Theatre-Studio of a Cinema Actor. All in all he appeared in more than one hundred films (working in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, France, Chekhoslovakia, United States), one of his best-known roles being that of villainous Fox in

Stanislav Govorukhin Stanislav Sergeyevich Govorukhin (; 29 March 1936 – 14 June 2018) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russians, Russian film director, actor, screenwriter, producer and politician. He was named People's Artist of Russia in 2006. His movies often fe ...

's ''

The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed ''The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed'' () is a 1979 Soviet five-part television film directed by Stanislav Govorukhin and starring singer-songwriter Vladimir Vysotsky in one of his final screen appearances alongside actor Vladimir Konkin. The ...

'' (1979). In the 1990s, Belyavsky hosted several TV shows; he played

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

in Igor Gostev's ''Grey Wolves'' (1993). In 1999, he returned to the theatre and in 2003 was awarded the title of The People's Artist of Russia. In December 2003, Alexander Belyavsky suffered a stroke which left him incapacitated. On September 8, 2012, he was found on the ground by the house where he lived, having fallen, apparently, from the staircase window between the 5th and the 6th floor of the house he lived in. The initial police reports implied it was suicide; later it was suggested the fall might have been accidental. Alexander Belyavsky was buried in Kuzminskoye Cemetery in Moscow.

Private life

Alexander Belyavsky was married twice. In his first marriage, to Valentina Viktorovna, he fathered a son, Boris (born on March 22, 1973, drowned aged two) and daughter Nadezhda (born in 1976). With his second wife Lyudmila Tikhonovna they had a daughter, Alexandra, born on August 28, 2003, just three months prior to his suffering a stroke. After Boris's death they have adopted another son, who committed suicide after being told by neighbors that Alexandr and Lyudmila are not his biological parents.

Selected filmography

* ''

Stories About Lenin ''Stories About Lenin'' () is a 1957 Soviet drama film directed by Sergei Yutkevich. The story tells about the events connected with Lenin in 1917 (when he was supposed to be in Finland) and in 1923–1924, when his life was approaching the end. ...

'' (Рассказы о Ленине, 1958) - electrician Nikolai * ''Spasite nashi dushi'' (1960) - Yuriy Tsymbalyuk * '' Quite Seriously'' (Совершенно серьёзно, 1961) - journalist (segment "Inostrantsy") * ''Noch bez miloserdiya'' (1962) - Henry Davis * '' It Happened in the Police'' (Это случилось в милиции, 1963) - Lieutenant Ganin * ''Yolanta'' (1963) - Duke Robert * ''Przerwany lot'' (1964) - Wowa * '' Going Inside a Storm'' (Иду на грозу, 1966) - Sergei Krylov * ''

Czterej pancerni i pies ''Four Tank-Men and a Dog'' ( Polish: ''Czterej pancerni i pies'', ) was a Polish black and white TV series based on the book by Janusz Przymanowski. Made between 1966 and 1970, the series is composed of 21 episodes of 55 minutes each, divided ...

'' (Четыре танкиста и собака, 1966, TV Series) - Captain Ivan Pavlov * ''Ikh znali tolko v litso'' (1967) * ''Net i da'' (1967) - Stronskiy * ''

July Rain ''July Rain'' () is a 1967 Soviet drama film directed by Marlen Khutsiev. ''July Rain'' is story about the rather boring life of 28-year old Lena, her mother, her longterm boyfriend Volodya and their intellectual friends - and Zhenya, the stranger ...

'' (1967) - Volodya * '' The Mysterious Monk'' (Таинственный монах, 1968) - Stronski * ''24-25 ne vozvrashchaetsya'' (1969) - Imant Herbert * ''Glavnyy svidetel'' (1969) - Matvey Novozhilov * ''Dzień oczyszczenia'' (1970) - partyzant Sasza * ''Tsena bystrykh sekund'' (1971) - Oleg Vorobyov * ''Talanty i poklonniki'' (1973) - Grigoriy Antonych Bakin * ''

Failure of Engineer Garin ''Failure of Engineer Garin'' (, translit. Krakh inzhenera Garina) is a 1973 Soviet television film in four parts loosely based on a novel '' Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin'' by Alexei Tolstoy. Produced by Lenfilm by the order of Gostelera ...

'' (Крах инженера Гарина, 1973, TV Mini-Series) - Vasili Shelga * (1974) - Rzhaviy * (1974) - Kondrashin * (1975) * (1975) - Prokofyev * ''

The Irony of Fate ''The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!'',; usually shortened to ''The Irony of Fate'', is a 1976 Soviet romantic comedy television film directed by Eldar Ryazanov and starring Andrey Myagkov, Barbara Brylska, Yury Yakovlev and Lyubov Dobrzh ...

'' (Ирония судьбы, или С лёгким паром!, 1975, TV Mini-Series) - Sasha * ''Ocalic miasto'' (1976) - Cpt. Syemyonov * ''100 gramm dlya khrabrosti'' (1977) - Nachalnik laboratorii * ''Rallijs'' (1978) - Man with a mouthpiece * (1978) - Bit-Part * ''

Father Sergius "Father Sergius" () is a short story written by Leo Tolstoy between 1890 and 1898 and first published (posthumously) in 1911.Julian Connolly in Charles A. Moser (ed.), ''The Cambridge History of Russian Literature'' (Cambridge University Press, 19 ...

'' (Отец Сергий, 1979) - master of the ferry * ''Test pilota Pirxa'' (1979) - (uncredited) * ''

'' (Место встречи изменить нельзя, 1979, TV Mini-Series) - Yevgeniy Fox * (1980) * ''

The Youth of Peter the Great ''The Youth of Peter the Great'' () is a first part of a two-part film, which was based on a novel Peter I (novel), Peter I, written by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Aleksey Tolstoy. The film was directed by a famous Russian director Sergei Gerasim ...

'' (Юность Петра, 1980) -

Lev Naryshkin Lev Alexandrovich Naryshkin (; also known as Léon Narychkine) (5 February 1785—1846, Naples) was a Russian Imperial aristocrat who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Biography He was the son of Alexander Lvovich Naryshkin and his wife Maria Ale ...

* '' At the Beginning of Glorious Days'' (В начале славных дел, 1980) -

* ''Na Granatovykh ostrovakh'' (1981) * '' Say a Word for the Poor Hussar'' (О бедном гусаре замолвите слово, 1981, TV Movie) - governor * '' Anxious Sunday'' (Тревожное воскресенье, 1983) - Istomin * (1984) * (1984) * (1985) * '' One Second for a Feat'' (1985) - Chistyakov * ''Povod'' (1986) - otets Kosti * ''Golova Gorgony'' (1987) * ''Tsyganka Aza'' (1987) - (voice) * ''Proisshestviye v Utinoozyorske'' (1988) * ''Interdevochka'' (1989) - (voice) * ''Právo na minulost'' (1989) * ''

Entrance to the Labyrinth ''Entrance to the Labyrinth'' () is a 1989 Soviet five-episode television crime film directed by Valeriy Kremnev based on the Vayner Brothers novel ''Medicine against Fear''. Plot The film consists of several storylines. Main one occurs in the US ...

'' (Вход в лабиринт, 1989, TV Mini-Series) - Mayor of Naousen * '' Private Detective, or Operation Cooperation'' (Частный детектив, или Операция "Кооперация", 1990) - Major Cronin * ''Nevozvrashchenets'' (1991) * ''Ocharovatelnye prisheltsy'' (1991) * ''

Promised Heaven ''Promised Heaven'' () is a 1991 cinema of the Soviet Union, Soviet film directed by Eldar Ryazanov. The film is a fantastical social tragicomedy. Plot The movie is set in against the dusk of the Soviet Union and associated changes in economical a ...

'' (Небеса обетованные, 1991) - Mirov * '' Tractor Drivers 2'' (1992) - Nazar Duma * '' Three Days in August'' (1992) * (1992) * (1993) - Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev * (1993) - Edmund Edmontowicz * (1993) * (1993) - Sergey * ''Marquis de Sade'' (1996) - Judge de Bory * '' Demobbed'' (ДМБ, 2000) - Rear Admiral * (2000) - Boris Ivanovich * ''Przedwiosnie'' (2001) - Jastrun * ''

The Sum of All Fears ''The Sum of All Fears'' is a political thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and released on August 14, 1991, as the sequel to '' Clear and Present Danger'' (1989). Main character Jack Ryan, who is now the Deputy Director of Central Intellig ...

'' (2002) - Admiral Ivanov * '' Antikiller'' (Антикиллер, 2002) - King * (2003) - Chlen Politbyuro #1 * '' Moscow Heat'' (Московская жара, 2004) - Vlad's grandfather * '' The Irony of Fate 2'' (Ирония Судьбы. Продолжение, 2007) - Dyadya Sasha * '' Kiss not for the press'' (Поцелуй не для прессы, 2008) - governor (final film role)

References

External links

Andrey Malakhov Andrey Nikolayevich Malakhov (; born 11 January 1972) is a Russian television personality and presenter on the main Russian television channel, Russia-1. Biography Malakhov was born in the town of Apatity, Murmansk Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet ...

'
''Let'em Talk'' show
on the controversy surrounding Alexander Belyavsky's death. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Belyavsky, Alexander People's Artists of the RSFSR Soviet male voice actors Soviet male film actors 1932 births 2012 deaths Male actors from Moscow Accidental deaths from falls Russian people of Jewish descent