Vasily Livanov
| Vasily Livanov MBE | |
|---|---|
|
This photograph of Livanov as Sherlock Holmes is displayed at the Sherlock Holmes Museum in Baker Street. | |
| Born |
Vasily Borisovich Livanov 19 July 1935 Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR (now Moscow, Russian Federation) |
| Occupation | Actor, Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1959–present |
| Spouse(s) | Elena Livanova (1973–present) |
| Parent(s) | Boris Livanov |
| Website | http://www.221b.ru/ |
Vasily Borisovich Livanov MBE,[1] FMF, PAR (Russian: Васи́лий Бори́сович Лива́нов; born 19 July 1935) is a Russian film actor, screenwriter and animator. He was named People’s Artist of the RSFSR in 1988.
Biography
Livanov's father, Boris Livanov, was a prominent actor of the Moscow Art Theatre. Vasily was brought up in the artistic milieu, as many Soviet/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 erratic bohemian lifestyle derailed his film career.[2] 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 multiple popular Soviet cartoon characters – Gena the Crocodile, Udav (the snake) from 38 Parrots (Russian: 38 попугаев). His other contribution to the Soyuzmultfilm cartoon industry was co-writing the screenplay for the animated film Town Musicians of Bremen, a modernised adaptation of the homonymous folktale. He also directed a few animated films, e.g. The Blue Bird.
In the late 1970s and in the 1980s, 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 Holmes TV series directed by Igor Maslennikov.[3][4]
Those movies were filmed between 1979 and 1986, with the latter four stories forming the plot of a standalone big-screen feature entitled The Twentieth Century Approaches. Vasily Livanov played Sherlock Holmes and Vitaly Solomin played Doctor Watson.
On 20 February 2006 Livanov became an Honorary MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) "for service to the theatre and performing arts".[5]
On April 27, 2007 a sculpture featuring Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson as portrayed by Vasily Livanov and Vitaly Solomin was opened on the Smolenskaya embankment alongside the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Moscow (sculptor Andrey Orlov).[6]
Personal life
Vasily Livanov was a close friend of Vitaly Solomin and Rina Zelyonaya, who played Doctor Watson and Mrs. Hudson. As he writes in his memoir,
It happens so that when someone passes away, we customarily treat his actions and related events as the thing of the past. But everything about my beloved closest friend and partner Vitaly Solomin has become a part of my way of life, my conscience, so for me it will become the thing of the past only when I pass away too.[7]
Selected filmography
| Year | Film | Original title | Role | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Letter Never Sent | Неотправленное письмо | Andrei | |
| 1960 | Resurrection | Воскресение | Kryltsov | |
| 1962 | Colleagues | Коллеги | Sasha Zelenin | |
| 1968 | I Was Nineteen | Ich war neunzehn | Wadim Gejman | |
| Junior and Karlson (animation) | Малыш и Карлсон | Karlsson-on-the-Roof (voice) | ||
| 1969 | Gena the Crocodile (animation) | Крокодил Гена | Gena the Crocodile (voice) | |
| The Bremen Town Musicians (animation) | Бременские музыканты | Screenwriter | ||
| Ded Moroz and Summer (animation) | Дед Мороз и лето | Screenwriter | ||
| 1970 | Waterloo | Ватерлоо | officer | |
| Karlson Returns (animation) | Карлсон вернулся | Karlsson-on-the-Roof (voice) | ||
| The Blue Bird (animation) | Синяя птица | dog, miner (voices) | Director, screenwriter | |
| 1971 | Cheburashka (animation) | Чебурашка | Gena the Crocodile (voice) | |
| 1973 | On the Trail of the Bremen Town Musicians (animation) | По следам бременских музыкантов | Director, screenwriter | |
| 1974 | Shapoklyak (animation) | Шапокляк | Gena the Crocodile (voice) | |
| 1975 | The Captivating Star of Happiness | Звезда пленительного счастья | Nicholas I of Russia | |
| 1976 | 38 Parrots (animation) | 38 попугаев | Boa (voice) | |
| 1977 | The Steppe | Степь | Kazimir | |
| 1979 | Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson | Шерлок Холмс и доктор Ватсон | Sherlock Holmes | |
| 1980 | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson | Приключения Шерлока Холмса и доктора Ватсона | Sherlock Holmes | |
| 1981 | The Hound of the Baskervilles | Собака Баскервилей | Sherlock Holmes | |
| The Mystery of the Third Planet (animation) | Тайна третьей планеты | Gromozeka (voice) | ||
| Dog in Boots (animation) | Пёс в сапогах | British detective (voice) | ||
| 1983 | The Treasures of Agra | Сокровища Агры | Sherlock Holmes | |
| Cheburashka Goes to School (animation) | Чебурашка идёт в школу | Gena the Crocodile (voice) | ||
| 1985 | Contract (animation) | Контракт | security alarm (voice) | |
| 1986 | The Twentieth Century Approaches | Двадцатый век начинается | Sherlock Holmes | |
| 1988 | Pereval (animation) | Перевал | Boris (voice) | |
| 1997 | Don Quixote Returns | Дон Кихот возвращается | Don Quixote | Director, screenwriter, producer |
| 2000 | New Bremen Town Musicians (animation) | Новые бременские | Screenwriter | |
| 2005 | The Master and Margarita | Мастер и Маргарита | Alexandr Stravinsky |
References
- ↑ LIST OF HONORARY AWARDS JANUARY-JUNE 2006
- ↑ Василий Ливанов пытался взорвать машину жены
- ↑ Шерлок Холмс запил, солдаты выносят
- ↑ Василий Ливанов: В современных «Шерлоках» нет никакого Конана Дойла
- ↑ List of Honorary Awards January - June 2006, Foreign and Commonwealth Office - UK Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- ↑ (Russian) Livanov and Solomin immortalized in bronze — Komsomolskaya Pravda
- ↑ "Записки Шepлока Холмса".
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vasily Livanov. |
- (English) Biography of Vasily Livanov
- (English) The Sherlock Holmes Museum
- (Russian) Internet site dedicated to Vasiliy Livanov
- (English) A review of the Sherlock Holmes series
- Vasily Livanov at the Internet Movie Database
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson at the Internet Movie Database