Aleksandr Vishnevsky

Aleksandr Leonidovich Vishnevsky (; 1 February 1861 – 27 February 1943) was a Russian actor and one of the founding members of the Moscow Art Theatre.

Biography Vishnevsky studied at the Taganrog gymnasium where he befriended the young Anton Chekhov. From 1883 he took part in the performances of the Taganrog Music and Drama Society. Later he acted in the theatres of Kharkiv, Yekaterinoslav, Odesa, Saratov where he was a jeune premier. In 1898 he joined the troupe of the Moscow Art Theatre (MAT). On the opening night of the MAT, Vishnevsky played the part of Boris Godunov in the play Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy. In 1899 he played Godunov again in Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan the Terrible. Vishnevsky was the first to play the title role in Chekhov's play Uncle Vanya at the MAT.

In 1933 Vishnevsky became the first actor to be awarded the title of Hero of Labour (later replaced with Hero of Socialist Labour). He was also awarded the title of Honoured Worker of the Arts Industry of the RSFSR. He died on 27 February 1943 in Tashkent where he lived in evacuation. He is buried in Tashkent. His son is Aleksandr Vishnevsky, who was a journalist and a senior official at the TASS. His daughter is Natalia Vishnevskaya.

Career

Theatre roles (at the Moscow Art Theatre): 1898 – Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy – Boris Godunov 1898 – The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare – Antonio 1898 – The Seagull by Anton Chekhov – Dr Dorn 1899 – The Death of Ivan the Terrible by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy – Boris Godunov 1900 – An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen – Hovstad 1902 – The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky – Tatar 1903 – Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare – Mark Antonius 1906 – Woe from Wit by Alexander Griboyedov – Count Tugoukhovsky 1907 – Boris Godunov by Alexander Pushkin – Boris Godunov

Filmography 1918 – Cagliostro (“The False Masons”), Russia, Rus, black-and-white 1927 – Woman's Victory Pobeda zhenschiny (“Boyar Nikit Yurievich”), USSR, Mezhrabpomrus, black-and-white, 62 min.

Acknowledgement and awards Hero of Labour (1933) Honoured Worker of the Arts Industry of the RSFSR (1933) Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1937)