Yevgeny Leonov

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Yevgeny Leonov
Postage stamp devoted to Leonov (2001)
Born
Yevgeny Pavlovich Leonov

(1926-09-02)2 September 1926
Died29 January 1994(1994-01-29) (aged 67)
Resting placeNovodevichy Cemetery, Moscow
Alma materMoscow Art Theatre
OccupationActor
Years active1947–1994
TitlePeople's Artist of the USSR (1978)
SpouseVanda Stoilova
ChildrenAndrei Leonov
Parent(s)Pavel Vasilyevich Leonov
Anna Ilyinichna Leonova
AwardsOrder of Lenin

Yevgeny Pavlovich Leonov (Russian: Евгений Павлович Леонов; 2 September 1926 – 29 January 1994) was a Soviet and Russian actor. He was in many of the most famous Soviet movies. These include Gentlemen of Fortune, Mimino and Striped Trip. He has been called "one of Russia's best-loved actors".[1] He also voiced many Soviet cartoon characters. This includes Vinny Pukh (Winnie-the-Pooh).[2]

Early life[change | change source]

While growing up in Moscow, he wanted to be a pilot. His father worked in an airplane factory. During the Great Patriotic War, he and his whole family worked in a weapons making/airplane making factory.[3] After the war, he joined the Moscow Art Theatre school. There he studied under Mikhail Yanshin.

Career[change | change source]

In his first movie, Leonov was cast as an extra. He later became Georgiy Daneliya's regular. He was in all of Daneliya's features. These include Gentlemen of Fortune, Autumn Marathon, Mimino, Afonya and Kin-dza-dza!. He was seen for his tragic parts and his natural acting.

He won Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for Daneliya's Autumn Marathon (1980). He performed over 200 roles and was the Russian cinema's best-known supporting actor.[1]

In 1991 (or in 1988[4][5][6]), when touring in Germany, he had a heart attack. This put him into a coma for 10 days (or 16 days[4][5][6]). His life was saved only after a big surgery.[1]

Leonov died on 29 January 1994 on his way to the Lenkom Theatre to perform in The Prayer for the Dead (A Memorial Prayer[3]).[1] His death was announced in the auditorium. Following the announcement, the audience went to the church across the road and lit candles in mourning.[1] Over half a million people went to his memorial service in the freezing cold of winter.[1] He is buried in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow near other major people of Russian culture.[7]

Filmography[change | change source]

Actor
  • Happy Flight (Счастливый рейс) (1949) as Firefighter (uncredited)
  • Sporting Honour (Спортивная честь) (1951) as Waiter (uncredited)
  • Submarine chaser (Морской охотник) (1954) as cook
  • Road (Дорога) (1955) as driver Pasha Yeskov
  • Criminal Case of Rumyantsev (Дело Румянцева) (1956) as driver Mikhail Snegiryov
  • A Unique Spring (Неповторимая весна) (1957) as Alexey Koshelev
  • The street is full of surprises (Улица полна неожиданностей) (1958) as Yevgeniy Pavlovich Serdyukov
  • Difficult happiness (Трудное счастье) (1958) as Agathon
  • Tale of newlyweds (Повесть о молодожёнах) (1959) as Fedor
  • Ne imey 100 rubley... (Не имей сто рублей...) (1959) as Ivan S. Mukhin
  • Povest o molodozhyonakh (1960) as Fedya
  • Artwork (Произведение искусства) (196, Short) as Sasha Smirnov
  • Snow tale (Снежная сказка) (1959) as Old Year
  • Striped Trip (Полосатый рейс) (1961) as Gleb Shuleykin
  • Cheremushki (Черёмушки) (1962) as Barabashkin
  • Serf actress (Крепостная актриса) (1963) as Count Ivan P. Kutaisov
  • Short humoresques (Короткие истории) (1963, TV Movie) as client
  • Don Tale (Донская повесть) (1964) as Yakov Shibalok
  • Thirty Three (Тридцать три) (1965) as Ivan S. Travkin
  • Nad nami Yuzhnyy Krest (1965) as Disabled-seller in the market
  • The Snow Queen (Снежная королева) (1967) as King Erik XXIX
  • Parviyat kurier (1968) as Kritski
  • Illusionist (Фокусник) (1968) as Stepan Nikolaevich Rossomakhin
  • Do not be sad (Не горюй!) (1968) as soldier Yegor Zaletayev
  • Zigzag udachi (Зигзаг удачи) (1968) as photographer Vladimir Oreshnikov
  • Literature lesson (Урок литературы) (1968) as Pavel Vronsky, Nina's father
  • Virineya (Виринея) (1969) as Michael
  • Carrousel (Карусель) (1969, TV Series) as Ivan I. Nyukhin (voice)
  • Tchaikovsky (Чайковский) (1970) as Alyosha
  • Shine, shine, my star (Гори, гори, моя звезда) (1970) as Pasha, the master illusion
  • Between high spikes (Меж высоких хлебов) (1970) as Pavlo Struchok
  • Belorussian Station (Белорусский вокзал) (1971) as Ivan Prikhodko
  • Gentlemen of Fortune (Джентльмены удачи) (1971) as Yevgeny Ivanovich Troshkin / Dotsent
  • As Ilf and Petrov rode a tram (Ехали в трамвае Ильф и Петров) (1972) as Vitaly Kapitulov
  • Big School-Break (Большая перемена) (1972, TV Mini-Series) as Lednyov
  • Racers (Гонщики) (1973) as Ivan M. Kukushkin
  • Hopelessly Lost (Совсем пропащий) (1973) as rogue nicknamed "The King"
  • Under a stone sky (Под каменным небом) (1974) as Senior lieutenant Kravtsov
  • Bonus (Премия) (1974) as Vasily T. Potapov
  • Afonya (Афоня) (1975) as Kolya
  • Circus in the Circus (Соло для слона с оркестром) (1975) as circus director Ivanov
  • Step towards (Шаг навстречу) (1976) as Serafim Nikitich
  • The Elder Son (Старший сын) (1976, TV Movie) as Andrei Grigorievich Sarafanov
  • Legend about Till Eulenspiegel (Легенда о Тиле) (1977) as Lamme Goedzak
  • Long criminal case (Длинное, длинное дело) (1977) as Mikhail P. Luzhin
  • Mimino (Мимино) (1977) as Volokhov
  • Funny people! (Смешные люди!) (1977) as chorister Aleksei Alekseyevich
  • Marriage (Женитьба) (1978) as Baltazar Baltazarovich Zhevakin
  • Chaperon (Дуэнья) (1978, TV Movie) as Don Izokelyo Mendoso
  • An Ordinary Miracle (Обыкновенное чудо) (1978, TV Movie) as King
  • And it's all about him (И это всё о нём) (1978) as Police Captain Aleksandr M. Prokhorov
  • Autumn Marathon (Осенний марафон) (1979) as Vasily Ignatyevich Kharitonov, sosed Buzykina
  • Faithfully (Верой и правдой) (1979) as Evgeny S. Bannikov
  • Holidays in September (Отпуск в сентябре) (1979, TV Movie) as Vladimir Andreevich Kushak
  • Borrowing Matchsticks (За спичками) (1980) as Antti Ihalainen
  • Say a Word for the Poor Hussar (О бедном гусаре замолвите слово) (1981, TV Movie) as provincial actor Afanasy P. Bubentsov
  • The House that Swift Built (Дом, который построил Свифт) (1982, TV Movie) as giant Glyum
  • Tears Were Falling (Слёзы капали) (1983) as Pavel Ivanovich Vasin
  • Unique (Уникум) (1983) as director
  • Time and the Conways (Время и семья Конвей) (1984) as Alan Conway, twenty years later
  • Kin-dza-dza! (Кин-дза-дза!) (1986) as Wef the Chatlanian, a wandering singer
  • To Kill a Dragon (Убить Дракона) (1988) as burgomaster
  • Passport (Паспорт) (1990) as official of Soviet Embassy in Austria
  • Detective bureau "Felix" (Детективное агентство "Феликс") (1993) as uncle Vanya
  • Amerikanskiy dedushka (Американский дедушка) (1993) as Gogolev
  • Nastya (Настя) (1993) as Yakov Alekseyevich
Voice actor

References[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Death: Yevgeny Leonov. The Guardian (London). 23 February 1994.
  2. Peter Rollberg (2009). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. US: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 403–405. ISBN 978-0-8108-6072-8.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Russia Parts With a Comic Legend. John Freedman. The Moscow Times No. 392. 3 February 1994.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Леонов Евгений - Биография - Актеры советского и российского кино (in Russian)
  5. 5.0 5.1 Евгений Леонов (Evgeniy Leonov) - биография - советские актёры - Кино-Театр.РУ (in Russian)
  6. 6.0 6.1 Биография Евгения Леонова - РИА Новости, 02.09.2016 (in Russian)
  7. Sviridov buried in Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow. Viktoria Dunayeva. TASS 9 January 1998.

Other websites[change | change source]