Yury Vasilyevich Yakovlev (; 25 April 1928 – 30 November 2013) was a Soviet and

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. He was awarded the honorary title of

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

in 1976.

Main works

Yury Yakovlev is best known for his roles in late Soviet film, particularly for his roles in

Eldar Ryazanov Eldar Aleksandrovich Ryazanov (; 18 November 1927 – 30 November 2015) was a Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter, poet, actor and pedagogue whose popular comedies, satirizing the daily life of the Soviet Union and Russia, are celebrat ...

's and

Leonid Gaidai Leonid Iovich Gaidai (30 January 192319 November 1993) was a Soviet comedy film director, screenwriter and actor who enjoyed immense popularity and broad public recognition in the former Soviet Union. His films broke theatre attendance records a ...

's comedies. Yakovlev's most popular comedic roles in

's films are Poruchik Rzhevsky in ''

Hussar Ballad ''The Hussar Ballad'' () is a 1962 Soviet musical film by Eldar Ryazanov, filmed on Mosfilm. In effect, it is one of the best loved musical comedies in Russia. With most of its dialogue delivered in verse, Ryazanov's script romanticizes the advent ...

'' (1962), Ippolit in ''

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 ...

'' (1976), and comic roles of the tsar

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar of all Russia, Tsar and Grand Prince of all R ...

and his namesake Ivan Vasilevich Bunsha in

's comedy '' Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future'' (1973).Russkiy Mir Foundation Information Service
BELOVED RUSSIAN ACTOR YURI YAKOVLEV DIES AT AGE OF 85
Article BELOVED RUSSIAN ACTOR YURI YAKOVLEV DIES AT AGE OF 85 (02.12.2013) ''RUSSKIY MIR FOUNDATION''. Moscow. Retrieved 2021/01/19 (19 January 2021) He also played dramatic roles, such as inimitable complicated psychological role of the Prince Myshkin in ''

The Idiot ''The Idiot'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform ) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–1869. The titl ...

'' (1958), and other cinema roles (''Dangerous turn'', ''

Earthly Love ''Earthy Love'' () is a 1974 Soviet romantic drama film directed by Yevgeny Matveyev and starring Matveyev, Olga Ostroumova, and Yury Yakovlev. The film was a screen adaptation of Pyotr Proskurin's novel ''Earthy Love'', and was viewed by 50.9 m ...

'' movies).Ruggero
Yuri Yakovlev
''findagrave''. Moscow. Retrieved 2021/01/19 (19 January 2021) He was the leading artist of the Vakhtangov State Academic Theatre during its heyday.

Life and career

The early years

From a young age he was fond of acting and theatre. At the turn of the 1940s, he studied acting at Shchukin Theatrical School of Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow starting to work as an actor at Vakhtangov Theatre.

Theatrical career

Yakovlev joined the ensemble of the Vakhtangov State Academic Theatre in 1952. He played over seventy roles onstage, including Casanova in ''Three Ages of Casanova'', Duke Bolingbroke in ''Glass of Water'', and Prokofiev in ''Lessons of Master''.

Film career

Yakovlev became really famous as a cinema actor in 1958, after his inimitable complicated psychological role of the Prince Myshkin in ''

'' directed by

Ivan Pyryev Ivan Aleksandrovich Pyryev (; – 7 February 1968) was a Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter, actor and pedagogue remembered as the high priest of Stalinism, Stalinist cinema. He was awarded six USSR State Prize, Stalin Prizes (194 ...

. He achieved international fame playing the role as Prince Myshkin. Yakovlev made his first appearance in an

comedy in 1961, in ''The Man From Nowhere''. Yakovlev followed his first success with regular appearances in Ryazanov's comedies, most notably splendid film

in 1962, in which he played phantasmagoric role of Poruchik Rzhevsky. The feature was such a resounding success that Rzhevsky's character gave rise to innumerable

Russian jokes Russian jokes () are short fictional stories or dialogs with a punch line, which commonly appear in Russian humor. Russian joke culture includes a series of categories with fixed settings and characters. Russian jokes treat topics found everywher ...

. In the 1960s and 1970s, Yakovlev branched out into further various roles, from the nobleman Stiva Oblonsky in the 1967 adaptation, the classic Soviet movie adaptation of

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using pre-reform Russian orthography. ; ), usually referr ...

's ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, Анна Каренина, p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial in ...

'', directed by Alexander Zarkhi, to jealous fiancé Ippolit in Ryazanov's ''

''.Биография Юрия Яковлева
/ref> Perhaps his most famous roles were the tsar

and his namesake Ivan Vasilevich Bunsha in

's 1973 comedy '' Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future'' – the movie about the travel using the

time machine A time machine is a fictional or hypothetical device that allows time travel. Concept A time machine is a device that makes time travel possible. The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' distinguishes between two different types of time ma ...

(based on the play ''

Ivan Vasilievich (play) ''Ivan Vasilievich'' is a play by Mikhail Bulgakov, written in the Soviet Union from 1934 until 1936. Performance of the play was forbidden upon its completion, and it was not published until 1965, after Bulgakov's death. The action takes place in ...

'' by

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( ; rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright. His novel ''The M ...

Decline in popularity

His participation in two-part film "Love Earth" and "Destiny" – a series of movies about the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

brought him the

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize () was one of the Soviet Union’s highest civilian honours, awarded from its establishment in September 1966 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It recognised outstanding contributions in the fields of science, mathem ...

for 1979. His film career effectively came to a halt after the role of the alien Bi in

Georgiy Daneliya Georgiy Nikolozis dze Daneliya, Romanization of Georgian, : (25 August 19304 April 2019) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. He was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1989 and a laureate of the State Prize of the Russi ...

’s 1986 sci-fi comedy ''

Kin-dza-dza! ''Kin-dza-dza!'' (, ) is a 1986 Soviet film released by the Mosfilm studio and directed by Georgiy Daneliya, with a story by Georgiy Daneliya and Revaz Gabriadze. It is a dystopian science-fiction comedy, in which two men from the Soviet Union a ...

'' where he starred alongside

Yevgeny Leonov Yevgeny Pavlovich Leonov (; 2 September 1926 – 29 January 1994) was a Soviet and Russian actor who played main parts in several of the most famous Soviet films, such as '' Gentlemen of Fortune'', '' Mimino'' and '' Striped Trip''. Called "one ...

and

Stanislav Lyubshin Stanislav Andreyevich Lyubshin (; born 6 April 1933) is a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian actor, film director, and People's Artist of the RSFSR (1981). Life Stanislav Lyubshin is a Russian actor whose recognition came after his role of a spy in ...

. The last role in Ikno was the role in the film ''The Irony of Fate 2'' (''Ирония судьбы. Продолжение'') as Ippolit Georgievich.

Death

Yakovlev felt ill in early morning of 29 November 2013. He soon fainted in his home. He was rushed to a Moscow hospital where he died there on 30 November 2013 from heart failure, aged 85. On the same day, the death of Yuri Yakovlev was reported by RIA Novosti to ''Times.am'' 'with reference to the theater's press service.
RIA News posted that day the information:

Bibliography

In 1997, the publishing house ''Art'' (''Iskusstvo'') published a book by Yakovlev entitled ''Album of my destiny'' ()

Selected filmography

*1953: '' The Great Warrior Skanderbeg'' (') as Warrior *1956: ''

Early Joys ''Early Joys'' () is a 1956 Soviet drama film directed by Vladimir Basov. The film, set in 1910, follows a young revolutionary who endures imprisonment, personal loss, and exile as he refuses to betray his comrades in the fight for justice and fr ...

'' (''Первые радости'') as Vasily Dibich, lieutenant *1957: '' No Ordinary Summer'' (''Необыкновенное лето'') as Vasily Dibich, lieutenant *1957: ''Pervye radosti'' as Dibich (uncredited) *1958: ''

'' (''Идиот'') as Prince Myshkin *1958: ''Wind'' (''Ветер'') as Leonid Zakrewsky, lieutenant *1959: ''Gorod na zare'' as Altman *1959: '' Ballad of a Soldier'' (''Баллада о солдате'') as narrator (uncredited) *1960: ''Zare navstrechu'' as Pyotr Sapozhkov *1961: '' Nowhere Man'' (''Человек ниоткуда'') as Vladimir Porazhaev *1962: ''

'' (''Гусарская баллада'') as Lieutenant Dmitry Rzhevsky *1963: '' Bolshaya doroga'' as Polivanov *1964: '' Summer Is Over'' as Narrator (voice, uncredited) *1964: '' An Easy Life'' (''Легкая жизнь'') as Alexander P. Bochkin, underground businessman *1964: ''Russkiy les'' as German Officer Walter Kittel *1966: '' Beware of the Car'' (''Берегись автомобиля'') as narrator (voice) *1966: '' Friends and Years'' (''Друзья и годы'') as Yuri Derzhavin *1967: '' A Pistol Shot'' (''Выстрел'') as count *1967: ''

'' (''Анна Каренина'') as Stiva Oblonsky *1968: '' Crash'' (''Крах'') as Andrey Pavlovich Fyodorov *1969: '' Subject for a Short Story'' as Potapenko *1970: ''Korol-olen'' as Deramo *1970: ''Sinyaya ptitsa'' (voice) *1972: ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' () is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 in literature, 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature#Drama, 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramati ...

'' (''Чайка'') as Boris Alexeyevich Trigorin, writer *1972: ''

Grandads-Robbers ''Old Robbers'' (, lit. "elderly bandits") is a 1972 Soviet crime comedy-drama by Eldar Ryazanov, filmed on Mosfilm. The movie title resembles the name of a Russian children's traditional yard game ''Cossacks-Robbers'' (). Plot In the twilight o ...

'' (''Старики-разбойники'') as narrator (voice) *1973: ''Skhvatka'' as Joachim *1973: '' Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future'' (''Иван Васильевич меняет профессию'') as

/ Ivan Vasilievich Bunsha, building superintendent *1973: ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'' (''Много шума из ничего'') (TV Movie) (uncredited) *1975: ''

'' (''Любовь земная'') as Tikhon Bruchanov, Secretary of district committee of Communist Party *1975: ''

'' (''Ирония судьбы, или С лёгким паром!'') (TV Mini-Series) as Ippolit Georgievich *1977: ''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

'' (''Судьба'') as Tikhon Bruchanov, Secretary of district committee of Communist Party *1978: ''Yuliya Vrevskaya'' as Nikolai Nikolaevich *1978: ''Pravo pervoy podpisi'' as Narrator (voice) *1979: ''Barkhatnyy sezon'' *1980: ''Poema o krylyakh'' as Igor Sikorskiy *1981: ''

An Ideal Husband ''An Ideal Husband'' is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for ...

'' (''Идеальный муж'') as Sir Robert Chiltern *1982: ''

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

'' (''Карнавал'') as Mikhail Solomatin, father of Nina *1982: ''Beshenye dengi'' as Ivan Telyatyev *1986: ''

'' (''Кин-дза-дза!'') as Bee – the wandering Patsak singer *1986: ''Vremya synovey'' *1987: ''Levsha'' *1987: ''Izbrannik sudby'' as Narrator (voice) *1988: ''Shtany'' *1988: ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

'' as Ben Gunn (voice) *1990: '' A Trap for Lonely Man'' as Police inspector *1991: ''Sem dney posle ubiystva'' *1992: ''Plashchanitsa Aleksandra Nevskogo'' *1992: ''Tantsuyushchiye prizraki'' *1992: '' Gardemarines-III'' (''Гардемарины-III'') as

Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin (; – ), a relative of Fyodor M. Apraksin, commanded the Russian armies during the Seven Years' War. He should not be confused with his son Stepan Stepanovich Apraksin, who had a notable military career in the ser ...

*1992: ''Davayte bez fokusov!...'' as Ot avtora *1993: ''

Children of Iron Gods ''Children of Iron Gods'' (, translit. Deti chugunnykh bogov, ) is a 1993 Russian-Hungarian drama film directed by Tamás Tóth. It was entered into the 18th Moscow International Film Festival.East/West ''East/West'' (; ) is a 1999 drama film directed by Régis Wargnier, starring Sandrine Bonnaire, Oleg Menshikov, Catherine Deneuve and Sergei Bodrov Jr. It received generally positive reviews from critics. The film was nominated for the Best ...

'' as Vieil Homme Kommonalka *2007: ''

The Irony of Fate 2 ''The Irony of Fate 2'' or ''The Irony of Fate: Continuation'' is a 2007 Russian romantic comedy film directed by Timur Bekmambetov based on a screenplay by Aleksey Slapovsky produced by Channel One and released by Mosfilm. It is a direct sequel ...

'' (''Ирония судьбы. Продолжение'') as Ippolit Georgievich (final film role)

Honors and awards

*Honorary Member of the

Russian Academy of Arts Russian Academy of Arts (RAA / rus. РАХ, Росси́йская акаде́мия худо́жеств) is the State scientific Institution of Russian Federation, eligible heir to the USSR Academy of Arts. A founder of RAA is the Governmen ...

Honored Artist of the RSFSR Honored Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Zasluzhenny artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achievements in the ...

(1961) *

People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, actors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achiev ...

(1968) *

(1976) *

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

: **2nd class (10 June 2008) – for outstanding contributions to the development of domestic theatrical and cinematic arts, many years of creative activity **3rd class (17 October 1996) – for services to the State and outstanding contribution to the development of theatrical arts *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(1988) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

(1978) *

(1979) – for his role Tikhon Ivanovich Bryukhanova in two-part film "Love Earth" and "Destiny" *Stanislavsky State Prize of the RSFSR (1970) – for his performance as Yegor Dmitrievich Glumov in the play "The Wise Man Stumbles" by Alexander Ostrovsky *

State Prize of the Russian Federation The State Prize of the Russian Federation, officially translated in Russia as Russian Federation National Award, is a state honorary prize established in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates ...

in Literature and Art in 1994 (29 May 1995) – for the performance of the State Academic Theatre named Eugene. Vakhtangov "Guilty Without Guilt" on the play by

Alexander Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 original plays, Ostrovsky "almost single-handedly created a Russian national repe ...

*Russian Federation President Prize in Literature and Art in 2003 (13 February 2004) – for outstanding creative and scientific contribution to the artistic culture of Russia *

Golden Mask Award The Golden Mask (, ''Zolotaya maska'') is a Russian theatre festival and the main national theatre award, established in 1994 by the Theatre Union of Russia. The award is given to productions in all genres of theatre art: drama, opera, ballet, ope ...

s, awarded with "Silver Mask" for best actor (

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...

, "Unfinished Dialogue") (1976) *Gold Medal for AP Dovzhenko film ''Destiny'' (1978) * Crystal Turandot Award (1998) *Prize of the business community, "Idol" for high service to art (1999) *Chekhov Medal (2010)

References

External links

* *
Yakovlev on the Vakhtangov Theatre HomepageBiography of Yury Yakovlev
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yakovlev, Yury 1928 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Russian male actors 21st-century Russian male actors Honorary members of the Russian Academy of Arts Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the USSR State Prize State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates Russian male film actors Russian male stage actors Russian male television actors Russian male voice actors 20th-century Russian memoirists Soviet male film actors Soviet male stage actors Soviet male television actors Soviet male voice actors Soviet memoirists Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery