Anatoli Papanov

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Anatoli Papanov
Anatoli Papanov
Born	Anatoli Dmitrievich Papanov October 31, 1922(1922-10-31) Vyazma, RSFSR, USSR
Died	August 7, 1987 (aged 64) Moscow, USSR
Occupation	actor
Years active	1946 — 1987

Anatoli Dmitrievich Papanov (Russian: Анато́лий Дми́триевич Папа́нов; 31 October 1922 in Vyazma, Smolensk Oblast, Russia - 7 August 1987 in Moscow, Russia) was a popular Soviet/Russian film and theatre actor.

Papanov starred in some of the best and well-known Soviet films, often together with his friend, Andrei Mironov. Mostly known for his great performances in comedies, he also had serious and dramatic roles, such as that of the political prisoner in Cold Summer of 1953. Anatoli Papanov was honored as People's Artist of the USSR (1973).

[edit] Biography

Anatoli Papanov was born into a family of common workers in Vyazma. The family moved to Moscow in the 1930s. As a schoolboy he attended a drama circle, yet he pursued an actor’s career only after having worked as a caster at a factory and fought at the Great Patriotic War. In 1942 he was badly wounded and invalided to the reserve. As a student of GITIS (State Institute of Theatre Arts) he met his future wife, his fellow student Nadezhda Karatayeva, who had also seen war, being a nurse in a hospital train. They got married ten days after the end of war, on May 20, 1945.

Gaining recognition on stage of the Moscow Theatre of Satire (where he altogether worked for about 40 years) in the mid 1950s Anatoli Papanov attracted attention of film directors as well. He started with supporting roles in comedies, yet became really famous after his work as General Sepilin in the war drama The Alive and the Dead (1963).

He was most popular for his roles in the comedies of director Leonid Gaidai (especially in The Diamond Arm, 1968) and as Wolf (voice) in the animation series Nu, pogodi!.

His last work was in the tragic drama Cold Summer of 1953 (1987) Papanov died of a heart attack on August 7, 1987, just nine days before the untimely death of his friend and partner Andrei Mironov. Anatoli Papanov was laid to rest in the Novodevichy Cemetery.