Georgy Frantsevich Millyar, sometimes spelled Milliar (russian: Георгий Францевич Милляр; 7 November 1903 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

– 4 June 1993 in Moscow), was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

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, best known for playing evil spirits in Soviet fairy tale films, including the witch

Baba Yaga In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga, also spelled Baba Jaga (from Polish), is a supernatural being (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) who appears as a deformed and/or ferocious-looking woman. In fairy tales Baba Yaga flies around in a ...

in films such as ''

Vasilisa the Beautiful Vasilisa the Beautiful (russian: Василиса Прекрасная) or Vasilisa the Fair is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in '' Narodnye russkie skazki''. Synopsis By his first wife, a merchant had a single daughter, ...

'', ''

Jack Frost Jack Frost is a personification of frost, ice, snow, sleet, winter, and freezing cold. He is a variant of Old Man Winter who is held responsible for frosty weather, nipping the fingers and toes in such weather, coloring the foliage in autumn, ...

'', ''

Fire, Water, and Brass Pipes ''Fire, Water, and Trumpets'' (russian: Огонь, вода и… медные трубы, ''Ogon', voda i... mednye truby'') is a 1968 Soviet Union, Soviet fantasy film directed by Aleksandr Rou. Its story and characters are derived from Slavic ...

'' and ''

The Golden Horns ''The Golden Horns'' (russian: Золотые рога, Zolotye roga), also known in English as ''Baba Yaga'', is a 1973 Soviet fairy tale film. It was director Alexander Rou's last film before his death later in 1973. While collecting mushrooms ...

''.45 (1722)
/ref> Georgy Millyar was born into a wealthy family of Franz de Milieu, a French bridge builder working in Russia, and Elizaveta Zhuravlyova, a daughter of an

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is ...

goldminer. Millyar's father died when he was almost three. Before the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he and his widowed mother had moved from Moscow to

Gelendzhik Gelendzhik (russian: Геленджи́к) is a resort town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the Gelendzhik Bay of the Black Sea, between Novorossiysk ( to the northwest) and Tuapse ( to the southeast). Greater Gelendzhik sprawls for along t ...

. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

, Millyar's family was left without relatives and means of living, their apartment in Moscow and a house in Gelendzhik were soon nationalized by the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

. Millyar's mother was prudent enough to remove the "de" particle from her and her son's last name to conceal their French origin and then change it to Millyar. Even though Georgy Millyar was able to speak fluent French and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, he never mentioned this fact in any official documents.Аргументы и факты. Суперзвёзды
/ref> After the October Revolution, Georgy Millyar worked as a props man at a Gelendzhik theater. He always dreamed of becoming a professional actor and memorized all the roles played at his theater. In 1920, Millyar made his first incidental appearance on stage when one of the actors fell suddenly ill. His debut was a success, and from then on he was asked to substitute on a regular basis. In 1924, Georgy Millyar, already a well-known provincial actor, entered an Acting School for Juniors at Moscow Theater of the Revolution (today's

Mayakovsky Theater Mayakovsky Theater (russian: Театр Маяковского; Московский академический театр имени Вл. Маяковского) is a theater in Moscow, Russian Federation, Russia, founded in 1920, first as ''Tere ...

). Subsequently, he played different roles in numerous stage plays. Prominent Soviet film director

Aleksandr Rou Alexander Arturovich Rou (also, Rowe, from his Irish father's name) (russian: Александр Артурович Роу, – 28 December 1973) was a Soviet Union, Soviet film director, and People's Artist of the RSFSR (1968). He directed a ...

played an important part in Georgy Millyar's acting career. He invited Millyar to star in a film adaptation of a Russian fairy tale, ''

Wish upon a Pike ''Wish upon a Pike'', also known as ''The Magic Fish'' (russian: По щучьему веленью, Po shchuchemu veleniyu), is a 1938 fantasy film directed by Alexander Rowe, which was his debut and filmed at Soyuzdetfilm. It is adapted from a ...

'' (1938). From that moment on, their cinematographic partnership and friendship lasted for over 30 years. Millyar acted in all Rou's films. Among his roles are Kashei the Deathless,

Baba-Yaga In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga, also spelled Baba Jaga (from Polish), is a supernatural being (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) who appears as a deformed and/or ferocious-looking woman. In fairy tales Baba Yaga flies around in a ...

, king Goroh, king Chudo-Yudo, a demon etc. Throughout his career, Georgy Millyar played thirty major roles, took part in the

dubbing Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production sou ...

of seventy movies, and voiced over a hundred

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

s.''Оллэ''. К гастролям Московского Театра Революции // ''Бурят-Монгольская правда''. Верхнеудинск. № 168 (1138) за 28 июля 1927 года. — С. 4. He died in 1993, 2 years after the

Dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

Selected filmography

References

External links

* *
Georgy Millyar
1903 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Russian male actors Male actors from Moscow Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR {{USSR-actor-stub Russian male actors Russian male film actors Russian male stage actors Russian male voice actors Russian people of French descent Soviet male actors Soviet male film actors Soviet male stage actors Soviet male voice actors Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery