Nikolay Konstantionovich Simonov (russian: Николай Константинович Симонов; December 4, 1901 – April 20, 1973) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

film and stage actor.Театральная энциклопедия. Гл. ред. С. С. Мокульский. Т. 1 — М.: Советская энциклопедия, А — «Глобус», 1961, 1214 стб. с илл., 12 л. илл. (стб. 707)

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 significa ...

(1950).Николай Симонов. Герой не нашего времени
/ref>

Biography

Early life and education

Nikolay Simonov was born on December 4, 1901, in

Samara, Russia Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population of ...

. From 1917–1919 he studied art at Samara School of Art and Design. From 1919–1923 he studied art at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the T ...

. From 1922–1924 he studied acting at the

Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy The Russian State Institute of Performing Arts (russian: Российский государственный институт сценических искусств), formerly known as St Petersburg Theatre Arts Academy, formerly Leningrad State ...

, from which he graduated with honors in 1924.Николай Симонов. Герой не нашего времени
/ref>

Career

From 1924–1973, He was a permanent member with the company of Pushkin Drama Theatre in St. Petersburg. During the 1950s and 1960s he was also the theatre's

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

.Театральная Энциклопедия
/ref> Simonov made his film debut in 1924 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 the

Vasilyev brothers Georgi Vasilyev (russian: Георгий Николаевич Васильев, 1899 – 1946) and Sergei Vasilyev (russian: Серге́й Дмитриевич Васильев, 1900 – 1959), usually credited as Vasilyev brothers (russian ...

. Simonov's portrayal of

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

in ''The Conquests of Peter the Great'' (1937 and 1938) brought him international fame and numerous awards. This portrayal was the one used to define Peter the Great for American audiences in

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...

's 1943 propaganda film ''

The Battle of Russia ''The Battle of Russia'' (1943) is the fifth film of Frank Capra's '' Why We Fight'' documentary series. The longest film of the series, it has two parts. It was made in collaboration with Ukrainian-born Anatole Litvak as primary director under ...

'', which used brief clips from the Soviet films. Simonov was considered to be a patriarch of the St. Petersburg school of acting. Simonov's stage performances were legendary; several of his stage works were filmed for a historic record. His leading role in ''

The Living Corpse ''The Living Corpse'' (russian: Живой труп, italic=yes, link=no) is a Russian play by Leo Tolstoy. Although written around 1900, it was only published shortly after his death—Tolstoy had never considered the work finished. An immediate ...

'', an adaptation of the book by

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

, is remembered as one of the highest achievements in stage acting in Russian theatre. Simonov's portrayal of

Antonio Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monar ...

in '' Mozart and Salieri'' from ''The Little Tragedies'' by

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

won him a

Stanislavski State Prize Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( Alekseyev; russian: Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈgʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Russian Soviet Fe ...

award in 1962. Simonov regarded acting on stage as superior to acting in film; he supported the similar position of

Constantin Stanislavski Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( Alekseyev; russian: Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈgʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Soviet Russian t ...

and

Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko (russian: Владимир Иванович Немирович-Данченко; , Ozurgeti – 25 April 1943, Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian theatre director, writer, pedagogue, playwright, producer a ...

Marriage and children

Simonov was also the father of a remarkable family. His wife was an actress and his son, Nikolay Nikolaevich Simonov, was a famous surgeon in Russia.

Death and afterward

Nikolay Simonov died on April 20, 1973, in St. Petersburg and was laid to rest in the Necropolis of Masters of Arts at

Alexander Nevsky Lavra Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Ale ...

.Николай Симонов. Герой не нашего времени
/ref>

Filmography

* '' Red Partisans'' (1924) as Dolgov *''Katerina Izmailova'' (1927) as Sergey *''Khabu'' (1928) as Yegor *'' Kastus Kalinovskiy'' (1928) as Kastus Kalinovskiy *''Brother'' (1929) as Fyodor Gorbachyov * ''A Lad from the Banks of the Missouri'' (1932) as Iogann Timan * ''Chapaev'' (1934) as Zhikharev * ''Miracles'' (1934) as Fyodor, his son *'' Hectic Days'' (1935) as Tank Commander Mikhail Trofimovich Belokon *''

I'' (1937) as

*''Peter the Great II'' (1938) as Peter the Great *'' The Battle of Stalingrad, Part I'' (1949) as Lt. Gen.

Vasily Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (russian: link=no, Васи́лий Ива́нович Чуйко́в; ; – 18 March 1982) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is best known for commanding the 62nd Army which saw h ...

*'' The Battle of Stalingrad, Part II'' (1949) as Lt. Gen. Chuikov *''Living Dead'' (1952) as Fyodor Protasov *'' Belinsky'' (1953) as landlord * ''The Gadfly'' (1955) as Cardinal Montanelli * ''Geroite na Shipka'' (1955) as

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...

* ''Amphibian Man'' (1962) as Prof. Salvator * ''Workers' Quarters'' (1965) as Sotnikov * ''Suspicion'' (1972) as Berlach

Awards and honors

*1938:

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

*1941: Stalin Prize, 1st class *1947: USSR State Prize, 2nd class *1950: USSR State Prize *1950:

for his role of General Chuikov *1966:

Stanislavsky State Prize of the RSFSR The State Prizes of the Soviet Republics were each republic counterpart to the USSR State Prize. Each republic granted several different prizes, generally named after writers or artists from the republic, as well as a blanket Komsomol prize for you ...

for the performance of roles Matthias Clausen and Salieri in productions of "Before Sunset" by Hauptmann, and "Little Tragedies" by Pushkin *1967: Order of Lenin *1971: Hero of Socialist Labour *1971: Order of Lenin

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simonov, Nikolai 1901 births 1973 deaths Actors from Samara, Russia People from Samarsky Uyezd Russian male film actors Russian male silent film actors Russian male stage actors Soviet male silent film actors Soviet male actors Belarusfilm films Russian State Institute of Performing Arts alumni People's Artists of the USSR Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the USSR State Prize Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order of Lenin