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Boris Nikolayevich Livanov (russian: Бори́с Никола́евич Лива́нов; – 22 September 1972) was a
Soviet and
Russian actor and
theatre director.
People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union.
Nomenclature and significan ...
(1948).
from 1924 through 1972.
Biography
Livanov was born in Moscow into a family of the well-known Russian actor Nikolai Alexandrovich Livanov (1874—1949), a
Volga Cossack from
Simbirsk
Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population:
The city, founded as Simbirsk (), w ...
who moved to Moscow and performed under a pseudonym of Izvolsky.
['' Vasily Livanov (2013)''. The Path from Childhood. Echo of One Dash. — Moscow: AST, 256 pages. ]
When Boris was 16, he ran away from home and joined the
Red Army to fight
Basmachi in
Turkestan, but soon returned to Moscow and enrolled in the 4th Studio of the
Moscow Art Theatre
The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...
to study acting. He graduated in 1924 and became a member of the theatrical troupe. He performed in both dramatic and comedy roles; his expressive acting and wide range of emotions soon turned him into one of the leading and most respected actors. Among his notable roles were Nozdryov from ''
Dead Souls
''Dead Souls'' (russian: «Мёртвые души», ''Mjórtvyje dúshi'') is a novel by Nikolai Gogol, first published in 1842, and widely regarded as an exemplar of 19th-century Russian literature. The novel chronicles the travels and adv ...
'', Chatsky from ''
Woe from Wit'', Count Almaviva from
''The Marriage of Figaro'', Vassily Solyony from
''Three Sisters'' and others.
Livanov first appeared in cinema in 1924 as Morozko in the
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
adaptation of the same name. In 1927 he performed his first serious roles in two historical-revolution films: ''
Kastus Kalinovskiy'' and ''
October: Ten Days That Shook the World''. During the 1930s he played Dubrovsky in the film version of
Alexander Pushkin's novel
''Dubrovsky'' and
Dmitry Pozharsky in the ''
Minin and Pozharsky'' historical epic (he was awarded his first
Stalin Prize for this role), although his most famous performance of that time was Mikhail Bocharov in the ''Baltic Deputy'' biographical movie based on the life of
Kliment Timiryazev (portrayed by
Nikolay Cherkasov
Nikolay Konstantinovich Cherkasov (russian: Никола́й Константи́нович Черка́сов; 14 September 1966) was a Soviet and Russian actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1947).
Career
He was born in Saint Petersburg (lat ...
).
With the start of the
Great Patriotic War Livanov informed the administration of the theater that he was going to join the Red Army and head to war, but was told that the actors of the leading Moscow theaters couldn't be mobilized by
Joseph Stalin's orders. During the
Battle of Moscow
The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January ...
his family was evacuated, yet he chose to stay in the city and perform for the soldiers at the front line.
After the war he continued his theater and movie career. He was named
People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union.
Nomenclature and significan ...
in 1948. In 1953, Livanov staged his first play Mikhailo Lomonosov as a
theatre director, where he also performed the main part of
Mikhail Lomonosov
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (; russian: Михаил (Михайло) Васильевич Ломоносов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ , a=Ru-Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov.ogg; – ) was a Russian Empire, Russian polymath, s ...
. In two years it was adapted into a movie by Alexandr Ivanov. Among his other works were stage adaptations of ''
The Brothers Karamazov'' novel (also played Dmitri Karamazov's part),
Maxim Gorky's ''Yegor Bulychov and Others'', ''
The Seagull'' by
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
and other plays.
Livanov was married to Eugenia Kazimirovna Livanova (née Prawdzic-Filipowicz) who belonged to an old
szlachta
The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...
family.
Their son
Vasily Livanov also became a popular Russian actor, screenwriter, director of live action and animated movies. He is most famous for his portrait of
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
in the
Soviet mini-series.
Boris Livanov was also known for drawing
caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...
s on everything that surrounded him. According to his son, he was so good at it that the famous trio
Kukryniksy asked him to join them as the fourth artist. He left thousands of caricatures after his death. Some of them were included with the autobiographical book written by Vasily Livanov in 2013.
Livanov died in Moscow on September 22, 1972. He was buried at the
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist ...
.
Boris Livanov's tomb
/ref>
Awards
* Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1933)
* People's Artist of the RSFSR (1938)
*People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union.
Nomenclature and significan ...
(1948)
* Order of the Badge of Honour (1938)
*Four Orders of the Red Banner of Labour (1937, 1948, 1954, 1971)
* Order of Lenin (1964)
* USSR State Prize (1970) for the stage work
*I Class Stalin Prize (1941) for '' Minin and Pozharsky''
*I Class Stalin Prize (1942) for ''Kremlin Сhimes''
*II Class Stalin Prize (1947) for ''Cruiser 'Varyag'
, image =File:Cruiser 'Varyag' movie.jpg
, caption =
, director = Viktor Eisymont
, producer =Pavel Danilyants
, writer = Georgy Grebner
, starring =
, music =
, cinematography = Bentsion Monastyrsky
, editing =
, released = 1946
, ...
''
*I Class Stalin Prize (1949) for ''Green Street''
*I Class Stalin Prize (1950) for ''Alien Shadow''
* Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
* Medal "In Commemoration of the 800th Anniversary of Moscow"
Selected filmography
References
External links
*
To Be Remembered. Boris Livanov
documentary by Leonid Filatov, 2003 (in Russian)
Drawings and Caricatures. Boris Livanov
documentary by Russia-K, 2004 (in Russian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Livanov, Boris
1904 births
1972 deaths
Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery
People's Artists of the USSR
Soviet male actors
Stalin Prize winners