Mikhail Nikolayevich Rumyantsev (russian: Михаи́л Никола́евич Румя́нцев; 10 December 1901 – 31 March 1983), better known under his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Karandash (russian: Каранда́ш which means ''pencil''), was a famous

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, ...

clown A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. History The most ancient clowns have been found in ...

.Biography in Italian
, retrieved 27 April 2007.
retrieved 27 April 2007. He was a

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

and a

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...

, and was the teacher of the famous Russian clowns

Oleg Popov Oleg Konstantinovich Popov (russian: Олег Константинович Попoв, 31 July 1930 – 2 November 2016) was a Soviet and Russian clown and circus artist. People's Artist of the USSR (1969). Early life Popov was born on 31 July 19 ...

and

Yuri Nikulin Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin (russian: Юрий Владимирович Никулин; 18 December 1921 – 21 August 1997) was a Soviet and Russian actor and clown who starred in many popular films. He is best known for his roles in Leonid ...

.Monument to legendary clown Karandash to open in Gomel June 1, 2006
, Official site of

Gomel Oblast Gomel Region or Gomel Oblast or Homiel Voblasts ( be, Го́мельская во́бласць, Homielskaja vobłasć, russian: Гомельская область, Gomelskaya oblast) is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center i ...

, retrieved 27 April 2007.

Family life

Rumyantsev was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, and had two younger siblings, brother Kostya and sister Lena. His mother died when he was six. Rumyantsev had at least two daughters.

Career as clown

Starting his career in the circus arena as the imitator of

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

, Mikhail Rumyantsev then abandoned it for, or rather, transformed that part into his would-be renowned image of Karandash always accompanied with his hallmark Scottish Terrier named ''Klyaksa'' (which means ''blot''). He enjoyed immense popularity with the Soviet audience and often gathered full houses all over the country. He had courage to ridicule such topics as religion, alcohol, fascism and even Soviet regime. Rumyantsev taught his profession to both

and

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Rumyantsev toured on frontiers and mimicked German soldiers to raise soldiers’ morale.Official site of Nikulin's circus
, retrieved on 27 April 2007. In 1960, he toured

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

with the

Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoi Boulevard, or Nikulin's Circus, is located on Tsvetnoi Boulevard in the Tverskoy District of central Moscow. It was the only circus in the city between 1926 and 1971. History Salamonsky Circus The circus was establis ...

. Altogether Karandash had worked in the circus for 55 years, the last time he appeared in the arena was just two weeks prior to his death. The Moscow Circus School was named after him.Governmental Russian site about the school
, retrieved 30 April 2007.

Notes

Literature

External links

Karandash the Clown, Symbol of Epoch on Circus Arena (Biography)
1901 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Russian male actors Entertainers from Saint Petersburg Male actors from Saint Petersburg Heroes of Socialist Labour Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian clowns Russian male film actors Soviet clowns {{Soviet-bio-stub Soviet male film actors Burials at Kuntsevo Cemetery