Vasily Livanov
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Vasily Borisovich Livanov OBE (Russian: Васи́лий Бори́сович Лива́нов, born 19 July 1935) is one of the most easily recognizable Russian film actors and the only one to receive an Order of the British Empire (of the second degree, for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes).
His father was Boris Livanov, a preeminent actor of the Moscow Art Theatre and probably the most acclaimed stage actor of his generation. Vasily was brought up in the artistic milieu, as many of the greatest Russian actors (such as Olga Knipper and Alla Tarasova) worked with his father and frequented the Livanov house.
Livanov graduated from the Vakhtangov Theatre school and started his film career in 1959. His breakthrough role came in the 1963 adaptation of Vasily Aksyonov's Colleagues, in which he co-starred with Vasily Lanovoy and Oleg Anofriev.
Livanov's rather dissipated bohemian lifestyle all but derailed his film career. He made very few appearances in the movies produced in the late 1960s and 1970s, using his newly acquired hoarse voice to become the voice behind the famous Russian cartoon characters - Karlsson-on-the-Roof and Crocodile Gena. His other major contribution to the Soyuzmultfilm cartoon industry was the modernized adaptation of Town Musicians of Bremen, which went on to become a cult Soviet cartoon film of the 1970s.
In the late 1970's and in the 1980's, Livanov returned to film stardom in what became the greatest success of his acting career - the role of Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles and other TV series directed by Igor Maslennikov. The Russians believe that Livanov was the most believable and authentic Holmes to ever grace the screen. His other notable roles from the period included Don Quixote and Tsar Nicholas I.
Russian Sherlock Holmes stories and novels that were filmed in Livanov's movies included: A Study In Scarlet, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Adventure of the Final Problem, The Adventure of the Empty House, A Scandal In Bohemia, and The Sign of Four. Those movies were filmed between 1979 and 1986. Vasily Livanov played Sherlock Holmes and Vitaly Solomin played Doctor Watson.
To most Russians, Livanov represents the true Sherlock Holmes, even though the character that he portrayed is slightly different than what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle described. For many, Livanov is Sherlock Holmes.
Livanov's first name Vasily is Russian translation of Basil. Coincidentally, in the West, the actor best known for portrayal of Sherlock Holmes was Basil Rathbone. Not only do the two share the same name and the same main role, but they had very similar facial features.
