Oleg Yankovsky
Encyclopedia
Oleg Ivanovich Yankovsky (February 23, 1944, Jezkazgan, Kazakh SSR, USSR – May 20, 2009, Moscow, Russia) was a Soviet
/Russian actor who has excelled in psychologically sophisticated roles of modern intellectuals. In 1991, he became, together with Alla Pugacheva
, the last person to be named a People's Artist of the USSR
.
stock, son of Life-Guards Semenovsky regiment's Stabskapitän
, Oleg Yankovsky formed an ambition to emulate his brother Rostislav
and joined the Saratov Drama Theatre in 1965. His film career was launched two years later, when he was cast in two movies about World War II, namely The Shield and the Sword (Shchit i mech) (1968) by director Vladimir Basov
and Two Comrades Were Serving
(Sluzhili dva tovarishcha) (1968) by Yevgeni Karelov.
During his remarkably prolific screen career, Yankovsky appeared in many film adaptations of Russian classics, notably My Sweet and Tender Beast (1977) and The Kreutzer Sonata
(1987). A leading actor of Mark Zakharov
's Lenkom Theatre
since 1975, he starred in the TV versions of the theatre's productions, An Ordinary Miracle
(1978) and The Very Same Munchhausen
(1979) being the most notable. For his role in Roman Balayan's Flights in Dreams and Reality (1984) Yankovsky was awarded the USSR State Prize
. He has been better known abroad for his parts in Tarkovsky
's movies The Mirror
(as the father) and Nostalghia
(in the main role).
In the early 1990s Oleg Yankovsky also played quite different roles in Georgi Daneliya
’s tragic comedy The Passport (1990) and in Karen Shakhnazarov
’s historical and psychological drama The Assassin of the Tsar
(Tsareubiytsa) (1991).
Starting in 1993, Yankovsky ran the Kinotavr
Film Festival in Sochi
. He continued to receive awards for his work with several Nika Award
s from the Russian Film Academy for his directorial debut Come Look At Me (2001) and Valery Todorovsky
's Lyubovnik (2002). He appeared as Count Pahlen in Poor, Poor Pavel (2004) and as Komarovsky in a TV adaptation of Doctor Zhivago
(2006), directed by Oleg Menshikov.
The last film Yankovsky appeared in was Tsar
, which was released in 2009 and demonstrated at the Cannes Film Festival
on the 17th of May 2009, just three days before his death. Yankovsky played the sophisticated role of Metropolitan Philipp in his last film.
in Moscow, aged 65. A civil funeral took place at Lenkom theater. His burial was held on May 22, 2009, at Novodevichy Cemetery
in presence of his close relatives only.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
/Russian actor who has excelled in psychologically sophisticated roles of modern intellectuals. In 1991, he became, together with Alla Pugacheva
Alla Pugacheva
Alla Borisovna Pugacheva or Pugachova , born 15 April 1949), is а Soviet and Russian musical performer. Her career started in 1965 and continues to this day...
, the last person to be named a People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
.
Life
Born into a noble family of PolishPoles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
stock, son of Life-Guards Semenovsky regiment's Stabskapitän
Stabskapitän
Stabskapitän is a historic military rank, used in the Prussian and Russian armies. It ranked between the Premierleutnant and Hauptmann/Rittmeister in the Prussian army, and between lieutenant and captain in the Russian army...
, Oleg Yankovsky formed an ambition to emulate his brother Rostislav
Rostislav Yankovsky
Rostislav Ivanovich Yankovsky is a major Belarusian actor. He was born in Odessa 0n 5 February 1930, studied in Leninabad and debuted in the Tajik theatre in 1951. He has been working in the Minsk Drama Theatre since 1957 . Yankovsky was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1978 . He is the...
and joined the Saratov Drama Theatre in 1965. His film career was launched two years later, when he was cast in two movies about World War II, namely The Shield and the Sword (Shchit i mech) (1968) by director Vladimir Basov
Vladimir Basov
Vladimir Pavlovich Basov was a Soviet actor, film director, and screenwriter. Vladimir Basov was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1983.-Biography:...
and Two Comrades Were Serving
Two Comrades Were Serving
Two Comrades Were Serving is a 1968 Soviet film directed by Yevgeni Karelov, script by Yuli Dunsky and Valeri Frid. The film is about the Russian civil war, in particular, the battle for the Crimean peninsula.- Plot :...
(Sluzhili dva tovarishcha) (1968) by Yevgeni Karelov.
During his remarkably prolific screen career, Yankovsky appeared in many film adaptations of Russian classics, notably My Sweet and Tender Beast (1977) and The Kreutzer Sonata
The Kreutzer Sonata (1987 film)
The Kreutzer Sonata is a 1987 Soviet film directed by Mikhail Shveytser, based on Leo Tolstoy's novella The Kreutzer Sonata.-Cast:* Oleg Yankovskiy - Poznyshev* Aleksandr Trofimov - The Fellow Passenger* Irina Seleznyova - Liza...
(1987). A leading actor of Mark Zakharov
Mark Zakharov
Mark Anatolyevich Zakharov is a Soviet and Russian theatrical director and playwright. He was also a professor of the Moscow Theatre Institute ....
's Lenkom Theatre
Lenkom Theatre
Lenkom Theatre is the official name of what was once known as the Moscow State Theatre named after Lenin's Komsomol. Designed by Illarion Ivanov-Schitz, it was built in 1907 to house a Merchant's Club, and was home to many theatrical and musical performances...
since 1975, he starred in the TV versions of the theatre's productions, An Ordinary Miracle
An Ordinary Miracle (1978 film)
An Ordinary Miracle is a Soviet 1978 musical film, a love story by Mark Zakharov based on a play by Yevgeni Shvarts. This is the second screen version of the play; the first one was filmed in 1964 by Erast Garin....
(1978) and The Very Same Munchhausen
The Very Same Munchhausen
The Very Same Munchausen is a 1979 Soviet television movie directed by Mark Zakharov, based on a script by Grigoriy Gorin. The film relays the story of the baron's life after the adventures portrayed in the book, particularly his struggle to prove himself sane...
(1979) being the most notable. For his role in Roman Balayan's Flights in Dreams and Reality (1984) Yankovsky was awarded the USSR State Prize
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
. He has been better known abroad for his parts in Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
's movies The Mirror
The Mirror (1975 film)
The Mirror is a 1975 Russian film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. It is loosely autobiographical, blending childhood memories, newsreel footage and poems by his father Arseny Tarkovsky...
(as the father) and Nostalghia
Nostalghia
Nostalghia is a 1983 Soviet film, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and starring Oleg Yankovsky, Domiziana Giordano and Erland Josephson.The plot of the film centers around the meaning of the term nostalgia, which describes a longing for the past, often in idealized form.-Plot:The opening scene is a...
(in the main role).
In the early 1990s Oleg Yankovsky also played quite different roles in Georgi Daneliya
Georgi Daneliya
Georgi Daneliya is a Soviet/Georgian/Russian film director, who became known throughout the Soviet Union for his "sad comedies" .Daneliya graduated from the Moscow Architecture Institute and worked as an architect...
’s tragic comedy The Passport (1990) and in Karen Shakhnazarov
Karen Shakhnazarov
Karen Georgievich Shakhnazarov is a Soviet and Russian-Armenian filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. He became the Director General of the Mosfilm studios in 1998.Shakhnazarov is the son of a prominent politician of Armenian descent, Georgy Shakhnazarov....
’s historical and psychological drama The Assassin of the Tsar
The Assassin of the Tsar
The Assassin of the Tsar is a 1991 Russian film. It was entered into the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.- Plot :Timofyev is a patient in an asylum who claims to be the man who killed Tsar Alexander II in 1881, and his grandson Tsar Nicholas II in 1918.-Cast:* Oleg Yankovsky — Dr.Smirnov / Tsar...
(Tsareubiytsa) (1991).
Starting in 1993, Yankovsky ran the Kinotavr
Kinotavr
Kinotavr , also known as Sochi Open Russian Film Festival is an open film festival carried out in the resort city of Sochi, Russia annually in June since 1991...
Film Festival in Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
. He continued to receive awards for his work with several Nika Award
Nika Award
The Nika Award is a prestigious annual ceremony held by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences which was established in 1987 in Moscow, Russia by Yuli Gusman, and ostensibly modelled on the Academy Awards . Russian Academy Award takes its name from Nike, the goddess of victory...
s from the Russian Film Academy for his directorial debut Come Look At Me (2001) and Valery Todorovsky
Valery Todorovsky
Valery Petrovich Todorovsky is a Russian film director, screenwriter, TV producer.Legend has it that Todorovsky was born immediately after his mother watched Hitchcock's Psycho, in 1962. The film did not have an official release in Odessa; rather, it somehow reached Odessa Film Studio, where his...
's Lyubovnik (2002). He appeared as Count Pahlen in Poor, Poor Pavel (2004) and as Komarovsky in a TV adaptation of Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
-Original creation:*Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak, published in 1957**Yuri Andreyevich Zhivago, a fictional character and the main protagonist of the book Doctor Zhivago-Adaptations:There are several adaptations based on the Doctor Zhivago book:...
(2006), directed by Oleg Menshikov.
The last film Yankovsky appeared in was Tsar
Tsar (film)
Tsar is a 2009 Russian drama film directed by Pavel Lungin. It competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:*Pyotr Mamonov - Ivan The Terrible*Oleg Yankovskiy - Metropolitan Philip Kolychev...
, which was released in 2009 and demonstrated at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
on the 17th of May 2009, just three days before his death. Yankovsky played the sophisticated role of Metropolitan Philipp in his last film.
Filmography
- Two Comrades Were ServingTwo Comrades Were ServingTwo Comrades Were Serving is a 1968 Soviet film directed by Yevgeni Karelov, script by Yuli Dunsky and Valeri Frid. The film is about the Russian civil war, in particular, the battle for the Crimean peninsula.- Plot :...
(1968) as Andrei Nekrasov - The MirrorThe Mirror (1975 film)The Mirror is a 1975 Russian film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. It is loosely autobiographical, blending childhood memories, newsreel footage and poems by his father Arseny Tarkovsky...
(1975) as the father - A Hunting AccidentA Hunting AccidentA Hunting Accident is a 1978 Soviet drama film directed by Emil Loteanu. It was entered into the 1978 Cannes Film Festival. It is adapted from Anton Chekhov's "The Shooting Party."-Cast:* Galina Belyayeva as Olga...
(1977) - An Ordinary MiracleAn Ordinary Miracle (1978 film)An Ordinary Miracle is a Soviet 1978 musical film, a love story by Mark Zakharov based on a play by Yevgeni Shvarts. This is the second screen version of the play; the first one was filmed in 1964 by Erast Garin....
(1978) as The Wizard - The Very Same MunchhausenThe Very Same MunchhausenThe Very Same Munchausen is a 1979 Soviet television movie directed by Mark Zakharov, based on a script by Grigoriy Gorin. The film relays the story of the baron's life after the adventures portrayed in the book, particularly his struggle to prove himself sane...
(1979) as Baron MünchhausenBaron MunchhausenKarl Friedrich Hieronymus, Freiherr von Münchhausen , usually known as Baron Münchhausen in English, was a German nobleman born in Bodenwerder and a famous recounter of tall tales.... - The Hound of the BaskervillesThe Hound of the Baskervilles (1981 film)The Hound of the Baskervilles is a 1981 Soviet film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. It was the third installment in the TV series about adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson...
as Stapleton - Vlyublyon po sobstvennomu zhelaniyuVlyublyon po sobstvennomu zhelaniyuVlyublyon po sobstvennomu zhelaniyu is a 1983 Soviet comedy film directed by Sergey Mikaelyan. It was entered into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival, where Yevgeniya Glushenko won the Silver Bear for Best Actress.-Cast:* Oleg Yankovskiy as Igor...
(1983) - Flights in Dreams and Reality (1984)
- The Kreutzer SonataThe Kreutzer Sonata (1987 film)The Kreutzer Sonata is a 1987 Soviet film directed by Mikhail Shveytser, based on Leo Tolstoy's novella The Kreutzer Sonata.-Cast:* Oleg Yankovskiy - Poznyshev* Aleksandr Trofimov - The Fellow Passenger* Irina Seleznyova - Liza...
(1987) - NostalghiaNostalghiaNostalghia is a 1983 Soviet film, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and starring Oleg Yankovsky, Domiziana Giordano and Erland Josephson.The plot of the film centers around the meaning of the term nostalgia, which describes a longing for the past, often in idealized form.-Plot:The opening scene is a...
(1983) as Andrei Gorchakov - The Man Who CriedThe Man Who CriedThe Man Who Cried is an 2000 Anglo-French film, written and directed by Sally Potter. The film stars Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Harry Dean Stanton, and John Turturro....
(2000) - Come Look At Me (2001)
- Lyubovnik (2002)
- Poor, Poor Pavel (2003) as Count Pahlen
- Doctor ZhivagoDoctor Zhivago-Original creation:*Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak, published in 1957**Yuri Andreyevich Zhivago, a fictional character and the main protagonist of the book Doctor Zhivago-Adaptations:There are several adaptations based on the Doctor Zhivago book:...
(2006) as Komarovsky - StilyagiStilyagi (2008 film)Stilyagi is a 2008 Russian film, named Hipsters for its American release. It is a musical that deals with Soviet youth subculture "stilyagi" of the 1950s....
(2008) as Fred's father - Anna Karenina (2009) as Alexei Karenin
- TsarTsar (film)Tsar is a 2009 Russian drama film directed by Pavel Lungin. It competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:*Pyotr Mamonov - Ivan The Terrible*Oleg Yankovskiy - Metropolitan Philip Kolychev...
(2009) as Metropolitan Philip Kolychev
Death
On May 20, 2009 Yankovsky died from pancreatic cancerPancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
in Moscow, aged 65. A civil funeral took place at Lenkom theater. His burial was held on May 22, 2009, at Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia. It is next to the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. It should not be confused with the Novodevichy Cemetery in Saint Petersburg....
in presence of his close relatives only.
External links
- Oleg Yankovsky, Russian Film Star, Dies at 65 in the New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- Obituary: Oleg Yankovsky in the GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Obituary in the IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
- Obituary by the Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
on Legacy.comLegacy.comLegacy.com was founded in 1998 and is the world's largest commercial provider of online memorials. The Web site hosts obituaries and memorials for more than 70 percent of all U.S. deaths. Legacy.com hosts obituaries for more than three-quarters of the 100 largest newspapers in the U.S., by... - Biography of Oleg Yankovsky