Nikita Soussanin (June 2, 1914 – August 6, 2006) was a Russian–American film, television, theatre actor, theatre translator and

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

Life and career

Saunders was born in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, Russian Empire to Russian parents

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

, an actor and

Olga Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia ...

, an actress. He was raised in Hollywood, California. Saunders began his career in 1938, appearing in the Broadway play ''The Bridal Crown'', playing the pastor. Later in his career, Saunders appeared and starred in other Broadway plays, including ''

Lady in the Dark ''Lady in the Dark'' is a musical with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book and direction by Moss Hart. It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy editor of a fashion magazine who is undergoing p ...

'', playing Liza's father; ''A Highland Fling'', playing Sandy MacGill; ''Happily Ever After'', stage-managing and playing Stubbs; ''Marriage is for Single People'', playing Reginald Hecuba; ''The Magnificent Yankee'', playing Mason; ''The Fifth Season'', stage-managing; ''A Call on Kuprin'', playing Mr. Kendall and guard at Yalta; ''Take Her, She's Mine'', playing the principal, Mr. Whitmyer, Frank Michaelson, and Mr. Hibbetts; ''

The Passion of Josef D. ''The Passion of Josef D'' is a play by Paddy Chayefsky based on the life of Josef Stalin. It only had a short run on Broadway in 1964 despite being directed by Chayefsky himself and featuring a cast including Luther Adler and Peter Falk. This ex ...

'', language consultant and playing Sukhanov, Orjonikidze, and ensemble; ''Scenes and Revelations'', playing Mr. Karonk; and ''Zoya's Apartment'', translating the play with Frank Dwyer. Saunders started his television career in 1947, appearing in ''

Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947, on NBC, airing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Impe ...

''. He also was a Russian radio announcer on Voice for America, in the same year. In 1950, Saunders played Sergeant Ross in the television series ''

Martin Kane, Private Eye ''Martin Kane, Private Eye'' is an American crime drama radio programming, radio and television series sponsored by United States Tobacco Company. It aired via radio from 1949 to 1952 and was simultaneously a television series on NBC from 1949 to ...

'' from 1950 to 1952. He also played Captain J. Barker in ''

The Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on the CBS Television Network from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes wer ...

''. In 1990, Saunders retired. He won a Los Angeles Drama Critic's Award, which he shared with his writing partner Frank Dwyer, in 2005.

Death

Saunders died in August 2006 of lung cancer at his home in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 92.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

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Rotten Tomatoes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Nicholas 1914 births 2006 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in California Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Nicholas Saunders American male stage actors American male television actors American male film actors 20th-century American male actors Ukrainian male stage actors Ukrainian male television actors Ukrainian male film actors 20th-century Ukrainian male actors Stage managers American theatre people