Igor Vladimirovich Ilyinsky (13 January 1987) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, director and comedian.

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

(1974) and

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 ...

(1949).

Early years

Igor Ilyinsky was born on 24 July 1901 in Moscow. At age 16 he entered the Theatre Studio of

Theodore Komisarjevsky Fyodor Fyodorovich Komissarzhevsky (; 23 May 1882 – 17 April 1954), or Theodore Komisarjevsky, was a Russian, later British, theatrical director and designer. He began his career in Moscow, but had his greatest influence in London. He was note ...

and in half a year already debuted on the professional stage at

Komissarzhevskaya Theatre The Komissarzhevskaya Theatre () is a theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is named after Vera Komissarzhevskaya. History It was founded in 1942 as the City Theatre (at the time, the city, then Leningrad, was Siege of Leningrad, besieged b ...

. His first theatre role was that of the "Old Man" in

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

' play ''

Lysistrata ''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', ) is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's mission to end the Peloponnesian War between Greek city ...

''. In 1920, he joined the

Vsevolod Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (; born ; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre director, actor and theatrical producer. His provocative experiments dealing with physical being and symbolism in an unconventional theatre setting m ...

Theatre. The young actor's style was in correspondence with the principles of Meyerhold, and so Ilyinsky soon became the central actor of that theatre. He worked with Meyerhold on several of his most famous productions: ''Mistery-Buffo'' (1921), ''The Forest'' (1924), ''The Magnanimous Cuckold'' (1926), ''Woe to Wit'' (1928), ''The Bedbug'' (1929). Alongside Erast Garin, he was the most prominent actor in the Meyerhold theater and this is where he learned the acting technique called Biomechanics.

Career in silent cinema

In the mid-1920s Ilyinsky started to appear in movies, where he also played vivid comic characters. In 1924,

Yakov Protazanov Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov (; 4 February (Old Style, O.S. 23 January ) 1881 – 8 August 1945) was a Russian and USSR, Soviet film director and screenwriter, and one of the founding fathers of cinema of Russia. He was an Honored Artist of the ...

featured him in his futuristic film ''

Aelita ''Aelita'' (, ), also known as ''Aelita: Queen of Mars'', is a 1924 Soviet silent science fiction film directed by Yakov Protazanov and produced at the Mezhrabpom-Rus film studio. It was based on Alexei Tolstoy's 1923 novel of the same name ...

'', which was followed by his role in Protazanov's comedy ''

The Tailor from Torzhok ''The Tailor from Torzhok'' () is a 1925 Soviet silent comedy film directed by Yakov Protazanov and starring Igor Ilyinsky. The picture was commissioned as publicity for the State Lottery Loan. Plot The film takes place in Soviet Russia during ...

'' (1925). In 1926, he appeared in three films.

“I can act on the roof of a train carriage, on the radiator of a moving car, on back of a galloping horse, or while swimming in the sea”.

1930s–1950s

In 1938 he joined the Maly Theatre that had been his favourite one since school years. Afterwards Ilyinsky stayed in the Maly Theatre for almost fifty years and even staged several plays there himself. Ilyinsky would later write that it was Russian classic literature that had helped him overcome the crisis and feeling that he had been unable to create new characters, different from the previous ones. An outstandingly prolific period in the actor's life was related to his work with the film director

Grigori Aleksandrov Grigori Vasilyevich Aleksandrov (23 January 1903 – 16 December 1983, known by artist name Mormonenko) was a Soviet film director who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1947 and a Hero of Socialist Labour in 1973. He was awarded the S ...

. In 1938 Ilyinsky splendidly acted as Byvalov in the comedy

Volga-Volga ''Volga-Volga'' () is a Soviet musical comedy directed by Grigori Aleksandrov, released on April 24, 1938. It centres on a group of amateur performers on their way to Moscow to perform in a talent contest called the Moscow Musical Olympiad. Mo ...

(for this role, he was awarded Stalin Prize in 1941). He deliberately avoided any comic traits in his character to create a common image of a red-tapist. The starting point for him was the gracious and stirring character of

Lyubov Orlova Lyubov Petrovna Orlova ( ; – 26 January 1975) was a Soviet and Russian actress, singer, dancer, and People's Artist of the USSR (1950). Life and career Lyubov Orlova was born to a family of Russian nobility#Hereditary nobility, Russian h ...

. He decided to create a totally contrasting character, which he succeeded in. That role brought Ilyinsky the State Prize.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

reportedly watched the film sixteen times. At

Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov (; – 8 November 1986) was a Soviet politician, diplomat, and revolutionary who was a leading figure in the government of the Soviet Union from the 1920s to the 1950s, as one of Joseph Stalin's closest allies. ...

's birthday party, Stalin flung Ilyinsky a remark: “Ah, Byvalov! You are a bureaucrat and I am a bureaucrat. We shall understand each other”. The success of that movie determined the development of Soviet film comedy for the next several decades. However, after the film Ilyinsky almost stopped his film acting. In the mid-1950s Ilyinsky finally got a chance to act in a movie. It was a light comedy, ''

A Crazy Day ''A Crazy Day'' () is a 1956 Soviet musical comedy film directed by . Plot The manager wants the creche to open on time and he is ready to do everything possible for this. But the trouble is: the bureaucrat does not want to put the resolution ne ...

''. The character created by Ilyinsky was a repetition of what he had done 20 years earlier. He managed to play a truly starry film role only 18 years after Volga-Volga. It was the role of the bureaucrat Ogurtsov in the smash-hit comedy ''

Carnival Night ''Carnival Night'' () is a 1956 Soviet musical film. It is Eldar Ryazanov's first big-screen film, and Lyudmila Gurchenko's first role. It is also one of the most famous films starring popular comedian Igor Ilyinsky. Produced during the Khrushc ...

'', directed by

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 ...

''“I was not going to feature the great Igor Ilyinsky in Carnival Night - I felt timid, and understood that being a coryphaeus he would suppress me. When Pyryev offered him for the role of Ogurtsov, I just panicked: he was my idol from childhood, the famous actor of the Meyerhold Theatre! And me, directing my first film, on the other scale!”'' (Eldar Ryazanov)

Later years

In Maly Theatre at the same time Ilyinsky shifted to portrayals of deeply tragic characters, in particular, from

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian literature, Russian and world literature, and many of his works are consider ...

and

Leo 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 Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

. In the late 1960s Ilyinsky went into stage directing. His first stage production was the stage version of

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...

's popular novel ''

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' (; ), commonly known as simply ''Madame Bovary'', is the début novel by France, French writer Gustave Flaubert, originally published in 1856 and 1857. The eponymous character, Emma Bovary, lives beyond he ...

''. The last period of Ilyinsky's career was marked by his portrayal of

in the play ''Turning Full Circle and of Firs'', and his performance in ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' () is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition later that year in Saint Petersburg, via A.F. Marks Pu ...

'' by

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

. As a very old person Igor Ilyinsky acted a lot on the radio – almost blind, he was accompanied to the studio.

Personal life

His first marriage was to actress Tatyana Ivanovna Ilyinskaya, who died of typhus during the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

. Igor Ilyinsky took her death very hard, and according to his son, he almost committed suicide. His second wife was the Maly Theater actress Tatyana Yeremeyeva (real name - Bitrich; 1913-2012). They had a son, Vladimir Ilyinsky.

Death

Igor Ilyinsky died on 13 January 1987, aged 85. His widow, actress , died on 29 November 2012, aged 99.

Legacy

* A

minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...

3622 Ilinsky, discovered by Soviet astronomer

Lyudmila Zhuravleva Lyudmila Vasilyevna Zhuravleva (, ; born 22 May 1946) is a Soviet Union, Soviet, Russian and Ukraine, Ukrainian astronomer, who worked at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnij, where she discovered 213 minor planets. She also serves a ...

in 1981 is named after Igor Ilyinsky.

Filmography

*1924: ''

'' as Kravtsov, amateur sleuth *1924: ''

Papirosnitsa ot Mosselproma ''The Cigarette Girl from Mosselprom'' () is a 1924 Soviet Union, Soviet film. The silent comedy film is directed by Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky and stars Igor Ilyinsky. Plot As she works in her tedious office job, Maria Ivanovna dreams about being mar ...

'' as Nikodim Mityushin, bookkeeper *1925: ''

'' as Petya Petelkin *1926: ''

The Three Million Trial ''The Three Million Trial'' () is a 1926 Soviet silent comedy film starring Igor Ilyinsky and directed by Yakov Protazanov based on the play ''The Three Thieves'' () by Umberto Notari. It was also released as ''Three Thieves'' in the United Stat ...

'' as Tapioka *1926: ''

Miss Mend ''Miss Mend'' (also known as ''The Adventures of the Three Reporters'') is a 1926 Soviet spy film, originally realised in three parts, directed by and starring Boris Barnet and Fyodor Otsep. It is loosely based on the books by Marietta Shagin ...

'' as Tom Hopkins, clerk *1927: '' A Kiss From Mary Pickford'' as Goga *1928: '' The Doll with Millions'' as Pierre Cuisinai *1930: ''

St. Jorgen's Day ''St. Jorgen's Day'', (''Holiday of St. Jorgen'', ''The Feast of St. Jorgen'', ) is a 1930 Soviet, partly silent comedy film by Yakov Protazanov and starring Igor Ilyinsky. Uncredited are the original novel by Harald Bergstedt, and the cues ...

'' as Franz Schulz *1931: '' Shakhta 12-28'' as The Angel *1936: '' Once in the Summer'' as Teleskop / professor Sen-Verbuda *1938: ''

'' as Byvalov *1952: ''

Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man ''Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man'' (; translit. Na vsyakogo mudretsa dovolno prostoty), sometimes published in English under the title ''Too Clever By Half'', is a five- act comedy by Aleksandr Ostrovsky.Brockett and Hildy (2003, 370). ...

'' as Krutitsky *1952: ''

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 ...

'' as Anton Antonovich Zagoretski *1952: '' Wolves and Sheep'' as Appolon Murzavetsky *1956: '' Crazy Day'' (Безумный день) as Zajtsev *1956: ''

'' as Serafim Ivanovich Ogurtsov *1962: ''

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 ...

'' as

Mikhail Kutuzov Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov-Smolensky (; – ) was a Field Marshal of the Russian Empire. He served as a military officer and a diplomat under the reign of three Romanov monarchs: Empress Catherine II, and Emperors Paul ...

*1962: '' Dinner Time'' (short) as Pyotr Petrovich *1969: ' as Ogurtsov *1974: ''

Sea Cadet of Northern Fleet ''Sea Cadet of Northern Fleet'' () is a 1973 Soviet World War II film directed by Vladimir Rogovoy. Plot The film takes place during the war. The film tells about four Soviet boys who go to the Solovetsky Islands to the Jung school, which beca ...

'' as man from the queue *1976: ''

This Is the House That Jack Built "This Is the House That Jack Built" is a popular English nursery rhyme and cumulative tale. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20854. It is Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index type 2035. Lyrics This is perhaps the most common set of modern lyr ...

'' (short) as narrator (voice)

Honours and awards

(1974) *

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 ...

(1942) *

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 ...

(1945) *

(1949) * Three

Orders 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 ...

(1967, 1971, 1974) *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

(1986) *

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 ...

, three times (1939, 1949 and 1961) *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

(1981) *

Lenin Prize The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...

(1980) * Stalin Prize, 1st class, three times ** for his role as Byvalov in the 1938 film ''

'' (1941) ** for his role of garlic in the play "In the steppes of Ukraine" by

Oleksandr Korniychuk Oleksandr Yevdokymovych Korniychuk (; ; – 14 May 1972) was a Soviet and Ukrainian playwright, literary critic and state official. His plays include ''The Death of the Squadron'' (1933), ''Platon Krechet'' (1934), ''Bohdan Khmelnytsky'' (1938), ...

(1942) ** for his role in the play "Unforgettable 1919" by

Vsevolod Vishnevsky Vsevolod Vitalyevich Vishnevsky (, – 28 February 1951) was a Soviet and Russian writer, screenwriter, playwright and journalist. Early life He was born in 1900 in Saint Petersburg and educated at a Petersburg gymnasium. During World War I ...

(1951)

Notes

References

External links

*
"A modest life of jolly comedian" (in Russian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilyinsky, Igor 1901 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Russian male actors Male actors from Moscow People from Moskovsky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Modernist theatre Heroes of Socialist Labour Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Lenin Prize Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian male film actors Russian male silent film actors Russian male stage actors Russian male voice actors Russian theatre directors Silent film comedians Soviet male film actors Soviet male silent film actors Soviet male stage actors Soviet male voice actors Soviet theatre directors Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery