Oleg Vidov

Oleg Borisovich Vidov (; June 11, 1943 – May 15, 2017) was a Russian–American actor, film director and producer. He appeared in 50 films beginning in 1961. An emigrant from his native Soviet Union, he was granted U.S. citizenship and became a naturalized American.

Early life Oleg Vidov was born in either the Leninsky District, Moscow Oblast or Vidnoye, Moscow Oblast to Varvara Ivanovna Vidova, a teacher and a school principal, and Boris Nikolaievich Garnevich, an economist and a Finance Ministry deputy. According to Garnevich's fifth wife, Irina Vavilova, Garnevich was an influential man and served as an assistant of Lazar Kaganovich. Vidov was raised by his mother under her surname. He spent his childhood in Russia, Mongolia and East Germany where his mother was assigned to work. When she was sent to China, he went to live with his aunt Anuta in Kazakhstan near the Chinese border. Eventually all of them moved to Moscow.

Career Vidov played his first episodic role in 1960 in the teen drama My Friend, Kolka! In 1962 he entered actor's courses at VGIK led by Yakov Segel and Yuri Pobedonostsev.

In 1983 Vidov was given permission to live and work in Yugoslavia with his second wife, Yugoslavian actress Verica Stamenković.

In May 1985, Soviet authorities unexpectedly required him to return to Moscow within 72 hours, so an Austrian actor friend helped procure an Austrian visa for him. Together they drove to the Yugoslavian-Austrian border where he escaped into Austria. Vidov was then able to emigrate to the U.S. under a refugee visa from the U.S. embassy in Rome obtained with the help of the International Rescue Committee.

In the U.S., he married Joan Borsten, daughter of Hollywood publicist, scriptwriter and studio executive Orin Borsten (1912–2005).

In 2007 Vidov co-founded Malibu Beach Recovery Center, a well-respected alcohol and drug treatment program based on the principles of neuroscience in Malibu, California. Vidov served as chairman of the board, and his wife Joan as CEO, until June 2014 when they sold the center to a medical investment branch of Wells Fargo Bank. The Malibu Beach Recovery Center has been featured on television shows such as A&E's Intervention.

Death Vidov died on May 15, 2017, from complications following a battle with cancer at his Westlake Village, California, home at the age of 73. He is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Selected filmography

My Friend, Kolka! (1961) (uncredited) The End of the World (1962) as Vanya An Easy Life (1963) as theater visitor Esli ty prav... (1964) Walking the Streets of Moscow (1964) as Chap on a Bicycle (uncredited) I Am Twenty (1965) (uncredited) The Blizzard (1965) as Vladimir An Ordinary Miracle (1965) The Tale of Tsar Saltan (1967) as Tsarevich Gvidon Hagbard and Signe (1967) as Hagbard Uzrok smrti ne pominjati (1968) as Nemacki pukovnik Ima ljubavi, nema ljubavi (1968) Battle of Neretva (1969) as Nikola Waterloo (1970) as Tomlinson Mission in Kabul (1970) as Skazkin Gentlemen of Fortune (1971) as Lieutenant Vladimir Slavin Lion's Grave (1971) as Masheka Tecumseh (1972) as Elliot Lützower (1972) as Major Margent Train Stop — Two Minutes (1972, TV Movie) as Igor Maksimov Za vsyo v otvete (1973) The Headless Horseman (1973) as Morris Gerald Adventures of Mowgli (1973) (voice) All in Response (1973) as presenter Moscow, My Love (1974) as Wolodja Pokoj, rci, jad (1975) as Gavriil Ivanov's Family (1975) as Nikolai Osintsev Rudin (1977) as Sergey Pavlovich Volyntsev Die Fledermaus (1979, TV Movie) as Alfred Urgent ... Secret ... Hubchek (1982) as Staff Captain Petrov Cry of Silence (1983) as Pavel Kolchin, the huntsman Demidovs (1984) as Nefyodov (1985, TV miniseries) as Ivan Orkestar jedne mladosti (1985) as Brauske U zatvoru (1985) as Slobodan Red Heat (1988) as Yuri Ogarkov Wild Orchid (1990) as Otto Munch Three Days in August (1992) as Gen. Vlasov Prisoner of Time (1993) as Alexander Jadov Love Affair (1994) as Russian Businessman The Immortals (1995) as Junkyard Owner Police Story 4: First Strike (1996) as Russian Group #7 2090 (1996) as Tony Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies (1999) as Osip Krutchkov A Christmas Tree and a Wedding (2000) as Man Thirteen Days (2000) as Valerian Zorin Monkey Love (2002) as Professor Dworkin Alias (2005–2006, TV Series) as Laborer Say It in Russian (2007) as Drunk Russian Man Player 5150 (2008) as Russian Dignitary Hollywood Seagull (2013) as Nina's Grandfather 6 Days Dark (2014) as Sergej Nikolajevich