Aleksandr Abdulov

Aleksandr Gavrilovich Abdulov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Гаври́лович Абду́лов; 29 May 1953 – 3 January 2008) was a Soviet and Russian film and stage actor, film director, screenwriter and television presenter. He was awarded People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1991.

Biography Aleksandr Abdulov went to school from 1960 to 1970, and upon graduation wanted to become a sportsman. However, Abdulov's father encouraged his son to act, and Aleksandr Abdulov starred in About Vitya, about Masha and the Sea Force, 1974. In 1975 he graduated from GITIS and was hired by Lenkom Theater director Mark Zakharov.

Aleksandr Abdulov appeared in several films in the 1970s. In 1977 he was in the TV version The Twelve Chairs, directed by Mark Zakharov. In 1978 he became a celebrity after his role in An Ordinary Miracle. In 1979 Abdulov appeared in The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed with Vladimir Vysotskiy. That year he also had roles in Do not part with the Loved Ones and The Very Same Munchhausen.

During the early 1980s, he was considered a sex symbol. In 1982 he performed in Look for a Woman, Magicians and The Woman in White. In 1982, he was given a role in The House That Swift Built (a film about Jonathan Swift) as Dr. Simpson. In 1984 Abdulov was in The Formula of Love and, the following year, In Search for Captain Grant. He also performed in The Most Charming and Attractive and Naval Cadets, Charge!.

Aleksandr Abdulov then went on to play in Desyat Negrityat (based on Agatha Christie's mystery novel Ten Little Indians) in 1987 and To Kill a Dragon in 1988. The next year he had a role in Black Rose Is an Emblem of Sorrow, Red Rose Is an Emblem of Love.

Abdulov was in Genius, The House under the Starry Sky (both made in 1991) and "Gold" (1992). During the 1990s he mostly worked in the Lenkom Theatre. In 2000 he performed in Still Waters and The Christmas Miracle with Chulpan Khamatova. In 2002 he appeared in the TV series Next (the title is the actual English word), where he played a Russian oligarch. He reprised the role in the sequel "Next 2" (2003). The following year he was in About Love.

In 2005, Abdulov had roles in the TV series Anna Karenina and The Master and Margarita. In 2006, he directed the play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at the Lenkom and played the lead character of Randall P. McMurphy (played by Jack Nicholson in the American film). He also had an appearance in the film Attack on Leningrad.

Attitude to the mass media In the last years of his life, Abdulov had extremely tense relations with the mass media, especially the tabloids. He vehemently resented all false information about him and hated those unscrupulous journalists who tried to pry into his personal life. On Man and Law, aired on Russia's Channel One, Abdulov said once that he owned a licensed gun and he would not hesitate to shoot any trespasser who dared to enter the territory of his dacha during his forthcoming birthday party.

He was last seen in public in mid-December 2007 at an awards ceremony at the Kremlin, where Vladimir Putin awarded the actor with the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class.

He died on 3 January 2008, aged 54.

Honors and awards Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1986) People's Artist of the RSFSR (1991) Order of Honour (1997) Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class (2007)

Selected filmography

1974: Moscow, My Love as boyfriend 1974: About Vitya, about Masha and the Marines (Про Витю, Машу и морскую пехоту) as paratrooper Kozlov 1975: The Lost Expedition (Пропавшая экспедиция) as Boris Rogov 1977: Golden River (Золотая речка) as Boris Rogov 1976: Twelve Chairs (Двенадцать стульев) as engineer Ernest Schukin 1977: An Ordinary Miracle (Обыкновенное чудо) (TV Mini-Series) as the Bear 1978: Front Beyond the Front Line as Soldier (uncredited) 1979: The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed (Место встречи изменить нельзя) (TV Mini-Series) as driver for the gang 1979: The Very Same Munchhausen (Тот самый Мюнхгаузен) (TV Movie) as Heinrich Rammkopf 1980: Do Not Part with Your Beloved (С любимыми не расставайтесь) as Mitya Lavrov 1982: Carnival (Карнавал) as Nikita 1982: Premonition of Love (Предчувствие любви) as Sergey Vishnyakov 1982: The House That Swift Built (Дом, который построил Свифт) (TV Movie) as Richard Simpson, Doctor 1982: Charodei (Чародеи) (TV Movie) as Ivan Sergeevich Puhov 1983: Look for a Woman (Ищите женщину) (TV Movie) as Robert de Charans 1984: Formula of Love (Формула любви) as (TV Movie) Jacob 1985: The Most Charming and Attractive (Самая обаятельная и привлекательная) as Volodya Smirnov 1985: In Search for Captain Grant (В поисках капитана Гранта) as Bob the Tar 1986: Guard Me, My Talisman (Храни меня, мой талисман) as Anatoli Klimov 1987: And Then There Were None (Десять негритят) as Anthony Marston 1987: Tracker (Филёр) as Vanya 1988: Gardes-Marines, Ahead! (Гардемарины, вперёд!) as Count Vasily Lyadashchev 1988: To Kill a Dragon (Убить Дракона) as Lancelot 1989: Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (Леди Макбет Мценского уезда) as Sergei 1990: Black Rose Is an Emblem of Sorrow, Red Rose Is an Emblem of Love (Чёрная роза — эмблема печали, красная роза — эмблема любви) as Vladimir 1991: Genius (Гений) as Sergey Nenashev 1991: Sons of Bitches (Сукины дети) as Igor Gordynsky 1991: Humiliated and Insulted (Униженные и оскорблённые) as Masloboev 1991: Caccia alla vedova as Prince Badritzky 1991: House under the Starry Sky (Дом под звёздным небом) as Zhora 1993: Prison Romance (Тюремный романс) as Artynov 1992: Over the Dark Water (Над тёмной водой) as Lev 1994: Nastya (Настя) as Teterin 1997: Schizophrenia (Шизофрения) as Ivan Golubchik 1999: Women's Property (Женская собственность) as Sazonov 2000: Still Waters (Тихие омуты) as academician Anton Kashtanov 2000: The Christmas Miracle (Рождественская мистерия) as the puppeteer 2001: Yellow Dwarf (Жёлтый карлик) as Vladimir Zharovsky 2005: The Master and Margarita (Мастер и Маргарита) (TV Mini-Series) as Koroviev 2005: The Case of "Dead Souls" (Дело о «Мёртвых душах») (TV Mini-Series) as Nozdryov 2006: The Funeral Party (Ниоткуда с любовью, или Весёлые похороны) as Alik 2007: Actress (Артистка) as Bosyakin 2009: Attack on Leningrad (Ленинград) as Chigasov