Leo Feodoroff (1867 - November 23, 1949) was a Russian opera

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. His ...

, singer and

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

actor. Feodoroff was born in Odessa in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in 1867. At a young age, he left home to travel with an opera company. He sang bass in various groups until 1917. In March, 1917, a group of Russian opera stars met at Feodoroff's home in Ekaterinberg following the start of the Russian Revolution. The Revolution had caused many in the group to lose their jobs, and some were there to escape bombings, starvation, or threats. The group, led by Feodoroff, formed a new opera company called the Russian Grand Opera. As owner and director of the Russian Grand Opera he led the company's tour of Russia and the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

until the early 1920s. The company traveled to the United States in 1922, first landing in Seattle. During a tour in Mexico, a revolution caused the group to lose their money and equipment. When the company returned from the tour to the United States, it disbanded from a lack of funds around 1923. Afterwards, Feodoroff began acting in films in New York. Around 1926, he went to Hollywood to continue acting. Feodoroff became a character actor in silent films, notably, '' God Gave Me Twenty Cents'' (1926), '' The Music Master'' (1927), and '' Laugh Clown Laugh'' (1929) (with

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

and

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...

). He retired from acting in 1935. On November 12, 1949, Feodoroff was involved in a car accident. Eleven days later, he died from injuries caused by the accident at Long Beach Hospital, at age 82. At the time of his death, he had one surviving daughter: Anastasia Pressman. In an interview he recounted his long career in theater, touring outside of Russia, and arriving in the U.S. while Russia was war torn. He said that while the world's operas were translated into Russia and known to him, Russian operas were not well known elsewhere.

Filmography

*'' God Gave Me Twenty Cents'' (1926) as Fico * '' The Music Master'' (1927) as Andre Dufour * ''Laugh, Clown, Laugh'' (1928)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Feodoroff, Leo 1867 births 1949 deaths 19th-century opera singers from the Russian Empire Impresarios 20th-century Russian male actors