Maria Blumental-Tamarina

Maria Mikhailovna Blumenthal-Tamarina (; 16 July 1859 – October 16, 1939), was a Soviet and Russian movie and theater actress. She was given the title of People's Artist of the USSR and was one of the first actresses to receive this honor. She was also recognized as Honored Artist of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (also known as the RSFSR) in 1925 and People's Artist of RSFSR in 1928. She was also named a recipient of the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Red Banner of Labour.

Biography Maria Blumenthal-Tamarina's father, Mikhail, was born a serf. Maria graduated in 1875 from the Mariinsky de Saint-Petersburg gymnasium. In 1880, she married a drama teacher and actor named Alexander Eduardovich Blumenthal-Tamarin. Her stage debut was in 1885, when she became part of an amateur theater group. By 1887, she had appeared with a professional troupe in the Alexandre Dumas play Kean at Petrovsky Park in Moscow.

By 1889, she began working in the Mikhail Valentovich Lentovsky Theater Group . This troupe traveled throughout the Russian Empire between 1890 and 1901, reaching locations such as Tbilisi, Vladikavkaz, Rostov-on-Don, and Kharkiv. Upon returning to Moscow, Blumenthal-Tamarina worked at the Korsh Theatre, the Comedy Theater, the Soukhodolski Theater, and the Maly Drama Theatre (1933–1938). In 1911, she worked on the Boris Tchaikovsky silent movie The Living Corpse.

Throughout her career, Blumenthal-Tamarina appeared in over 20 films. In 1936, she performed the main role in the movie Seekers of Happiness, which tells the story of a Jewish family that moves to the Jewish colony of Birobidzhan

Maria Blumenthal-Tamarina was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1937.

She died on October 16, 1938, in Moscow. She was buried in Novodevichy Cemetery.

Filmography

1911: The Living Corpse by Boris Tchaikovsky: Lisa 1916: Merry Nursery Girl: Anna Markovna Kozelskaya 1916: Star Glistening in the Distance: Elisa's mother 1923: Brigade Commander Ivanov by Aleksandr Razumny: Deaconess 1923: On the Wings of the Sky!: Glagoleva's wife 1924: In the Wilds of Life: Grandmother 1925: The Road to Happiness: Arina 1925: His Call by Yakov Protazanov: Grandmother Katie 1925: Bricks: Sidorovna 1926: The Mighty: Mother of the character Stout 1926: The Driver Ukhtomsky: Sapozhnikov 1926: The Last Shot: Grandma Lukerya 1928: Don Diego and Pelagia by Yakov Protazanov: Pelagia Demina 1928: Vasilisina Victory: Grandmother Zaychikha 1928: Two Rivals: Mother Firsova 1928: The Seventh Satellite: Polinka 1928: For Your Health 1928: Sailor Ivan Galai: Mother of Galai 1932: Counterplan by Fridrikh Ermler and : Babtchikha 1933: The International 1934: Peasants: Collective Farmer 1935: Zoya's Friends 1936: Girl Friends by Lev Arnshtam: Fekla Petrovna 1936: Seekers of Happiness by Vladimir Korsh-Sablin and Joseph Shapiro (also or Chapiro) : Dvora 1937: Daughter of the Motherland: Grandma Martha 1938: The New Moscow: Grandmother