Olga Baclanova
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Olga Vladimirovna Baklanova (russian: О́льга Влади́мировна Бакла́нова; 19 August 1893 – 6 September 1974), known professionally as Olga Baclanova, was a Russian-born actress who found success in Hollywood film and stage roles, an exotic blonde temptress, who was given the title of the "Russian Tigress". Baclanova spent her early years in her native land and after deducting several years off her age and changing the spelling of her native surname from Baklanova, appeared in silent films from 1914 until 1918a, indeed she was often billed under her surname only, similarly to the surname-only nomenclature of her fellow countrywoman
Nazimova Alla Nazimova (Russian: Алла Назимова; born Marem-Ides Leventon, Russian: Марем-Идес Левентон; June 3 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._May_22.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O ...
.Mank, Gregory W. (1999). ''Women in horror films, 1930s,'' p. 118. McFarland; Vazzana, Eugene Michael (2001). ''Silent film necrology,'' p. 25. McFarland; She emigrated to the United States in 1925, and started appearing on stage and subsequently in Hollywood films, which she remains most noted for the
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
silent ''
The Man Who Laughs ''The Man Who Laughs'' (also published under the title ''By Order of the King'' from its subtitle in French) is a novel by Victor Hugo, originally published in April 1869 under the French title ''L'Homme qui rit''. It takes place in England beg ...
'' as the evil Duchess Josiana and in
Tod Browning Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of vari ...
's cult-classic horror film ''
Freaks Freak has several meanings: a person who is physically deformed or suffers from an extraordinary disease and condition, a genetic mutation in a plant or animal, etc. Freak, freaks or The Freak may also refer to: Fictional characters * Freak (Ima ...
'' (1932) at MGM, as scheming circus trapeze artist, Cleopatra.


Early life, Moscow Arts Theatre and Russian career (radio, stage and film)

Olga Vladimirovna Baklanova was born on 19 August 1893 (other sources state 1883, 1884 or even 1900, according to her obituary) in Moscow, Russia. She was the daughter of Vladimir Baklanov and his wife Alexandra, herself an actress in early Russian films. She had 6 siblings, including later Soviet general and
World War II 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 ...
hero
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. Baclanova studied drama at the Cherniavsky Institute before being accepted into the
Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...
with contemporaries such as
Maria Ouspenskaya Maria Alekseyevna Ouspenskaya (russian: Мария Алексеевна Успенская; 29 July 1876 – 3 December 1949) was a Russian actress and acting teacher.Nissen, Axel. 2006. ''Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywoo ...
in 1912. Over the next decade she appeared in Russian films, and also performed extensively on stage, touring and performing in many countries of the world. As a feature actress of plays by
Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...
,
Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
and
Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...
, and the M.A.T productions of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
,
Dickins Dickins is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alan Dickins, Arundel Herald of Arms Extraordinary *Barry Dickins (born 1949), Australian author, artist and playwright *Bruce Dickins FBA (1889–1978), Elrington and Bosworth Profes ...
and
Berger Berger is a surname in both German language, German and French language, French, although there is no etymological connection between the names in the two languages. The French surname is an occupational name for a shepherd, from Old French ''bergi ...
. In the 1930s, Baclanova who had trained in voice at the Moscow Arts Theatre, had a program called ''Olga Baclanova's Continental Review'', and she often appeared as a guest on radio programs singing songs in her native Russian, often with the F. Zarkerich Orchestra and also made recordings, including an album titled the "Olga Baclanova Album", released in 1946, by Unique Records In 1925 she was given the award " Merited Artist of the Republic", the highest Soviet artist honour. Baclanova appeared in around 17 films during her career in Russia.


American career

Baclanova first came to New York City with the 1925 touring production of the
Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...
's ''
Lysistrata ''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', "Army Disbander") is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponne ...
''. Though the rest of the company returned to Russia the following year, she stayed in America. She would appear in a West Coast production of ''The Miracle'', before being cast in a bit part in her debut film, '' The Dove'' in 1927. A statuesque blonde, Baclanova quickly established herself as a popular actress in American
silent movies A silent film is a film with no synchronized 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) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
and achieved a notable success with ''
The Docks of New York ''The Docks of New York'' is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring George Bancroft, Betty Compson, and Olga Baclanova. The movie was adapted by Jules Furthman from the John Monk Saunders story ''The Dock ...
'' in 1928, directed by
Josef von Sternberg Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major ...
. Later that year, she appeared in ''
The Man Who Laughs ''The Man Who Laughs'' (also published under the title ''By Order of the King'' from its subtitle in French) is a novel by Victor Hugo, originally published in April 1869 under the French title ''L'Homme qui rit''. It takes place in England beg ...
'' as Duchess Josiana, the ''femme fatale'' love interest to
Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laugh ...
's disfigured hero. The introduction of talking films proved difficult for Baclanova, as audiences did not respond to her heavy Russian accent. She no longer secured leading roles, and was relegated to supporting parts. Her career was in decline when she was offered the role of the cruel circus performer Cleopatra in Tod Browning's film ''Freaks'' (1932). This horror movie, which featured actual carnival freaks, was highly controversial and screened only briefly before being withdrawn. It would be 30 years before ''Freaks'' gained a
cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
following. The movie did not revive Baclanova's film career, which ended in 1943. Baclanova worked extensively on stage in
London's West End The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...
and in New York, for about 10 years starting in the mid-1930s. In 1943 she appeared in ''Claudia'' at the Moore Theatre in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
.


Personal life

Baclanova's father died of natural causes in 1922. She was married three times. Her first husband was a lawyer named Vladimir Zoppi with whom she had her first son. Her second husband was actor
Nicholas Soussanin Nicholas Soussanin (born 16 January 1889, Yalta, Taurida Governorate, Russian Empire (present-day Crimea, Ukraine) – 27 April 1975, New York City) was an actor from the Russian Empire who settled and worked in the United States. He was married ...
with whom she had her second son. The birth of her second son was front-page news and was covered quite extensively in the press in 1930. Her third marriage was to Russian-born David Judovitch, better known as Richard Davis (1900–1984), who owned the Fine Arts Theatre in New York. In 1931, Baclanova became a naturalized American citizen.


Legacy

Olga's likeness to the American pop singer
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
in the 1980s has been frequently mentioned as particularly evident in ''The Man Who Laughs''. In Russia, Baclanova's departure from the USSR is well remembered for its involuntary significant contribution to the unrivaled success of a Soviet movie star
Lyubov Orlova Lyubov Petrovna Orlova (russian: link=no, Любовь Петровна Орлова ; – 26 January 1975) was a Soviet and Russian actress, singer, dancer and People's Artist of the USSR (1950). Life and career She was born to a family o ...
, a struggling ex-pianist with a certain likeness to Olga. In 1926, Orlova was promoted from a choir, after two months in a theatre, by the heart-broken
Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko (russian: Владимир Иванович Немирович-Данченко; , Ozurgeti – 25 April 1943, Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian theatre director, writer, pedagogue, playwright, producer an ...
, a rumored lover and/or admirer of Baclanova, his favorite student. Fashion historian Alexander Vasilyev remembered in 2018: "He ladimirloved her lgain letters, he was thinking deeply about her. The only time he cried ublicly at the piano in the Art Theatre foyer, was when he had found out about Olga Vladimirovna Baclanova
migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
.. He really began to cry. I'm sure of this, not because I was there but because I was a friend of who was also closely connected to Nemirovich-Danchenko and could have known this from the wife of the famous director... Lyubov Orlova blossomed as Baclanova's substitute."


Later years

After her retirement she migrated to Switzerland. She died at a rest home on 6 September 1974 from lung cancer in
Vevey Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the district of ...
, aged 81, and apparently had
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
, although this is unconfirmed. She was interred at Corsier cemetery, in
Corsier-sur-Vevey Corsier-sur-Vevey is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Corsier-sur-Vevey is first mentioned in 1079 as ''Corise''. Until 1953 it was known as ''Corsier''. Geography Corsier- ...
.


Filmography


Russian films


United States Silent Films


United States Sound Films


Stage roles (US and UK)

* '' The Miracle'' (west coast production, 1926) * ''The Farewell Supper'' (After on anatol), 1929 * ''Silent Witness'' (1931) * ''Grand Hotel'' (1932) * ''Twentieth Century'' (1932) * ''The Cat and the Fiddle'' (west coast, 1932) * ''$25 an Hour'' (Germaine Granville, 1933) * ''Murder at the Vanities'' (Broadway Production, 1933) *'' Mahogany Hill'', Broadway, 1934) * ''Going Place'' (London debut, 1936) * ''Idiot's Delight'' (US tour), 1936 * ''Twentieth Century'' (US Tour revival, 1937) * '' Claudia'' 1941–1943, US tour * ''The Cat and the Fiddle'' (revival, New Jersey), 1945 * ''Louisiana Lady'' (summer stock, East Coast production, mid 1947) * ''A Copy of Madame Aupic'' (East Coast, New Milford, summer stock, 1947)


References


External links

* *
Olga Baclanova
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Baclanova, Olga 1893 births 1974 deaths Actresses from Moscow Actresses from the Russian Empire Soviet film actresses Soviet silent film actresses Soviet stage actresses Soviet emigrants to the United States Deaths from lung cancer in Switzerland