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Boris Nikolayevich Livanov (russian: Бори́с Никола́евич Лива́нов; – 22 September 1972) 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 nation ...
and
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
and
theatre director
A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...
.
People's Artist of the USSR (1948).
(1979) He was a member of the
Moscow Art Theatre from 1924 through 1972.
Biography
Livanov was born in Moscow into a family of the well-known Russian actor Nikolai Alexandrovich Livanov (1874—1949), a
Volga Cossack from
Simbirsk
Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population:
The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (born ...
who moved to Moscow and performed under a pseudonym of Izvolsky.
['']Vasily Livanov
Vasily Borisovich Livanov (russian: link=no, Василий Борисович Ливанов; born 19 July 1935), MBE, is a Soviet and Russian film actor, animation and film director, screenwriter and writer most famous for portraying Sherlock ...
(2013)''. The Path from Childhood. Echo of One Dash. — Moscow: AST, 256 pages.
When Boris was 16, he ran away from home and joined the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
to fight
Basmachi in
Turkestan
Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang.
Overview
Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turk ...
, but soon returned to Moscow and enrolled in the 4th Studio of the
Moscow Art Theatre to study acting. He graduated in 1924 and became a member of the theatrical troupe. He performed in both dramatic and comedy roles; his expressive acting and wide range of emotions soon turned him into one of the leading and most respected actors. Among his notable roles were Nozdryov from ''
Dead Souls'', Chatsky from ''
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 ...
'', Count Almaviva from
''The Marriage of Figaro'', Vassily Solyony from
''Three Sisters'' and others.
Livanov first appeared in cinema in 1924 as Morozko in the
fairy tale adaptation of the same name. In 1927 he performed his first serious roles in two historical-revolution films: ''
Kastus Kalinovskiy'' and ''
October: Ten Days That Shook the World''. During the 1930s he played Dubrovsky in the film version of
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, ...
's novel
''Dubrovsky'' and
Dmitry Pozharsky
Dmitry Mikhaylovich Pozharsky ( rus, Дми́трий Миха́йлович Пожа́рский, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ pɐˈʐarskʲɪj; 17 October 1577 – 30 April 1642) was a Russian prince known for his military leadersh ...
in the ''
Minin and Pozharsky'' historical epic (he was awarded his first
Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to:
* The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...
for this role), although his most famous performance of that time was Mikhail Bocharov in the ''Baltic Deputy'' biographical movie based on the life of
Kliment Timiryazev
Kliment Arkadievich Timiryazev (russian: Климент Аркадьевич Тимирязев, surname sometimes transliterated as Timiriazev; – 28 April 1920) was a Russian Imperial botanist and physiologist and a major proponent of the ...
(portrayed by
Nikolay Cherkasov).
With the start of the
Great Patriotic War
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sou ...
Livanov informed the administration of the theater that he was going to join the Red Army and head to war, but was told that the actors of the leading Moscow theaters couldn't be mobilized by
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
's orders. During the
Battle of Moscow his family was evacuated, yet he chose to stay in the city and perform for the soldiers at the front line.
After the war he continued his theater and movie career. He was named
People's Artist of the USSR in 1948. In 1953, Livanov staged his first play Mikhailo Lomonosov as a
theatre director
A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...
, where he also performed the main part of
Mikhail Lomonosov. In two years it was adapted into a movie by Alexandr Ivanov. Among his other works were stage adaptations of ''
The Brothers Karamazov
''The Brothers Karamazov'' (russian: Братья Карамазовы, ''Brat'ya Karamazovy'', ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly two years writing '' ...
'' novel (also played Dmitri Karamazov's part),
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
's ''Yegor Bulychov and Others'', ''
The Seagull
''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises th ...
'' by
Anton Chekhov and other plays.
Livanov was married to Eugenia Kazimirovna Livanova (née Prawdzic-Filipowicz) who belonged to an old
szlachta family.
Their son
Vasily Livanov
Vasily Borisovich Livanov (russian: link=no, Василий Борисович Ливанов; born 19 July 1935), MBE, is a Soviet and Russian film actor, animation and film director, screenwriter and writer most famous for portraying Sherlock ...
also became a popular Russian actor, screenwriter, director of live action and animated movies. He is most famous for his portrait of
Sherlock Holmes in the
Soviet mini-series.
Boris Livanov was also known for drawing
caricatures on everything that surrounded him. According to his son, he was so good at it that the famous trio
Kukryniksy
The Kukryniksy (russian: Кукрыниксы) were three caricaturists/ cartoonists in the USSR with a recognizable style.
"Kukryniksy" is a collective name, which is derived from the names of three caricaturists Mikhail Kupriyanov (Михаи ...
asked him to join them as the fourth artist. He left thousands of caricatures after his death. Some of them were included with the autobiographical book written by Vasily Livanov in 2013.
Livanov died in Moscow on September 22, 1972. He was buried at the
Novodevichy Cemetery.
Boris Livanov's tomb
/ref>
Awards
*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 ...
(1933)
*People's Artist of the RSFSR
People's Artist of the RSFSR (russian: Народный артист РСФСР, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchest ...
(1938)
* People's Artist of the USSR (1948)
*Order of the Badge of Honour
The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union.
It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...
(1938)
*Four Orders of the Red Banner of Labour (1937, 1948, 1954, 1971)
*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 ...
(1964)
*USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...
(1970) for the stage work
*I Class Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to:
* The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...
(1941) for '' Minin and Pozharsky''
*I Class Stalin Prize (1942) for ''Kremlin Сhimes''
*II Class Stalin Prize (1947) for '' Cruiser 'Varyag'''
*I Class Stalin Prize (1949) for ''Green Street''
*I Class Stalin Prize (1950) for ''Alien Shadow''
*
*
Selected filmography
References
External links
*
To Be Remembered. Boris Livanov
documentary by Leonid Filatov
Leonid Alekseyevich Filatov ( rus, links=no, Леонид Алексеевич Филатов, p=lʲɪɐˈnʲit əlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ fʲɪˈlatəf, a=Lyeonid Alyeksyeyevich Filatov.ru.vorb.oga; 24 December 1946 – 26 October 2003) was a ...
, 2003 (in Russian)
Drawings and Caricatures. Boris Livanov
documentary by Russia-K
Russia-K (russian: Россия Культура, translit=Rossiya Kul'tura "Russia - Culture") is a Russian nationwide not-for-profit television channel that broadcasts shows regarding arts and culture. It belongs to the state-controlled VGTRK ...
, 2004 (in Russian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Livanov, Boris
1904 births
1972 deaths
Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery
People's Artists of the USSR
Soviet male actors
Stalin Prize winners