Savely Kramarov

Savely Viktorovich Kramarov (; 13 October 1934 – 6 June 1995) was a Russian–American actor and comedian. He acted in at least 42 Soviet films, and later appeared in several more after his immigration to the United States.

Early life Savely Kramarov was born on 13 October 1934 to Jewish parents: father Viktor Savelyevich Kramarov (Виктор Савельевич Крамаров), a prominent Moscow attorney, and mother Benedikta Solomonovna "Basya" Kramarova (née Volchek) (Бенедиктa Соломоновнa "Бася" Крамарова (Волчек)). When young Savely was only three years old, the elder Kramarov represented some defendants in a widely publicized Soviet secret police case. Within a year Kramarov's father was himself the victim of a "Stalinist purge" —his crime, representing his clients too vigorously. In 1979, he became a practicing Orthodox Jew; and he actively practiced his faith the rest of his life. His application rejected, Kramarov's films were suppressed nationwide; his film career was dead. He found his only outlet to continue acting was a theatre of refuseniks, where the passports of prospective audience members were checked on arrival at a performance. Recalling a newly Kramarov-less Soviet Union, Oleg Vidov, another Russian actor who emigrated after Kramarov, noted: "The government took all of his posters down from the walls. They didn't want to have to explain why he left; it was easier just to forget."

American film career and later life Kramarov achieved only moderate success in American cinema, playing small Russian roles. Americans know him best, probably, for his role as a Soviet KGB handler in Paul Mazursky's Moscow on the Hudson, starring Robin Williams. Kramarov returned to his motherland only once, in 1992, following the break-up of the Soviet Union, as the guest of honor at a Russian film festival. Of Kramarov, his rabbi, Joseph Langer, said, "He was a sincerely believing person, humble and kind" and "[He] was a holy goofball."

Legacy "Mr. Kramarov was perhaps the most beloved figure in the Soviet Union," noted his former fellow Soviet actor Oleg Vidov. Kramarov's consistently-played version of a stock "Crazy Ivan" character "provided a veneer of protection in a totalitarian society". "When you're clever, the system kills you," Vidov said. "When you're crazy, you can get away with things." "[Kramarov] touched off a chain reaction of smiles every time he walked down a Moscow street... He was our guy.", concluded Vidov.

Partial filmography

Soviet

Im bylo devyatnadtsat (1960) Proshchayte, golubi (1961) My Friend, Kolka! (1961) – Pimen Priklyucheniya Krosha (1962) – Ivashkin Na semi vetrakh (1962) Khod konyom (1962) Bey, baraban! (1963) Bez strakha i upryoka (1963) Pervyy trolleybus (1964) – Parasite #1 (uncredited) A Tale of Lost Times (1964) – old Vasya Thirty Three (1965) – Rodion Khomutov Na zavtrashney ulitse (1965) – Matveychuk Artakarg handznararutyun (1966) Gorod masterov (1966) – Klik-Klyak Krasnoye, sineye, zelyonoye (1966) – Registrar Formula radugi (1966) Chyort s portfelem (1966) – Petya Likhov The Red and the White (1967) - White Cossack Savva The Elusive Avengers (1967) – Ilyukha Verekhov The New Adventures of the Elusive Avengers (1968) – lyukha Verekhov Zolotye chasy (1968) Trembita (1968) – Pyotr Groza nad beloy (1968) The Secret of the Iron Door (1970) – Pigeon The Twelve Chairs (1971) – Chess-club chairman Derzhis za oblaka (1971) Gentlemen of Fortune (1971) – Fedya Yermakov / Cross Eyes Zolotye roga (1973) Big School-Break (1972, TV Series) - Timokhin This Merry Planet (1973) – Prokhor Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (1973) – Feofan Zvezda ekrana (1974) – Grisha, chlen kinogruppy Cirkus v cirkuse (1975) – Zrízenec Lopuchov Afonya (1975) – Yegoza It Can't Be! (1975) – Sergei, Vladimir's friend Bolshoy attraktsion (1975) – Senya Au-u! (1976) – Duke Ma-ma (Rock 'n' Roll Wolf) (1976) – Little Wolf Mimino (1977) – Prisoner The New Adventures of Captain Wrongel (1978) – Furious Garry Zhivite v radosti (1978) Po ulitsam komod vodili... (1978) – Professor Russkiy biznes (1993) – uncle Vasya Nastya (1994)

American Moscow on the Hudson (1984) – Boris 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984) – Dr. Vladimir Rudenko Armed and Dangerous (1986) – Olaf Morgan Stewart's Coming Home (1987) – Ivan Red Heat (1988) – Gregor Moussorsky Tango & Cash (1989) – Car owner Love Affair (1994) – Cable Officer (final film role)