Vyacheslav Tikhonov
Encyclopedia
Vyacheslav Vasilyevich Tikhonov ' onMouseout='HidePop("21954")' href="/topics/Pavlovsky_Posad">Pavlovsky Posad
– 4 December 2009 in Moscow
) was a Soviet
and Russia
n actor
whose best known role was as Soviet spy Stirlitz in the television series Seventeen Moments of Spring
. He was a recipient of numerous state awards, including the titles of People's Artist of the USSR
(1974) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1982).
near Moscow
. "His mother was a kindergarten teacher and his father an engineer in the local textile factory." "Vyacheslav dreamed of acting but his parents envisaged a different career and during the war he worked in a munitions factory." "After employment as a metal worker, he began [training for an] acting career in 1945" by entering, not without difficulty, the Actors’ Faculty of VGIK
. After graduating VGIK with honours in 1950, he began his acting career on stage of Theatre Studio of Film Actor, where he worked for six years.
In 1948 he married Nonna Mordyukova
, a popular actress at the time (the couple had one son, Vladimir, also an actor who died in 1990). The marriage was dissolved in 1963. Later Tikhonov married again, this time Tamara Ivanovna Tikhonova and had one child with her, Anna Tikhonova (also an actor) in 1969.
He died on 4 December 2009 in Moscow, Russia. "Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has expressed his condolences to the actor's family."
." "One of his notable roles there was the bear in Erast Garin
's staging of Yevgeni Schwartz's fairy-tale An Ordinary Miracle."
Tikhonov became better known with the release of "the rural family drama Delo bylo v Penkove (It Happened in Penkovo, 1958), [which] was followed by several wartime dramas: Maiskie Zvyozdy (May Stars, 1959), set in Prague
, and Na Semi Vetrakh (On the Seven Winds, 1962), on the Western front." "In Yevgeny Tashkov's Zhazhda (Thirst, 1959), based on real events, Tikhonov, in the first of his spy roles, is a scout in an operation to free an Odessa water plant from the Nazis."
"In Dve Zhizni (Two Lives, 1961) Tikhonov plays the less fortunate of two men who unwittingly meet in France, 40-odd years after fighting on opposite sides of the 1917 revolution." "Rostotsky's Dozhivyom do Ponedelnika (Live Till Monday 1968), in which a teacher plans to defend a student at a disciplinary meeting, won him a state prize." "In 1979 Rostotsky made a documentary about his friend, called Profession: film actor."
Tikhonov also played Prince Andrei Bolkonski in the Oscar
-winning adaptation of Leo Tolstoy
's War and Peace
(1968) by Sergei Bondarchuk
(who played Bezukhov). But Tikhonov reportedly got the role only "at the suggestion of the Minister of Culture when Innokenty Smoktunovsky
opted for Kozintsev's Hamlet and Oleg Strizhenov
was also unavailable."
"In 1973, [however,] Tikhonov starred in the role for which he is most known for in the former Soviet republics, "when director Tatiana Lioznova chose him over Smoktunovsky to star in an adaptation of Yulian Semyonov
's novel Seventeen Moments of Spring
" as Standartenführer Stirlitz. The 17 moments are 17 days in the spring of 1945 just before the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II "and centers around attempts by the Soviet Union's man in Germany to thwart secret peace talks between the Nazis and the U.S. and Britain." The film enjoyed enormous popularity among Russian viewers of several generations. Prior to that, however, it had faced the risk of remaining unknown: Mikhail Suslov
had opposed the film to go on general release. He had claimed that the film was “not showing the feat of the Soviet people in the war”. Fortunately, the decision to release the would-be classic film was supported by KGB
Chairman Yuri Andropov
. "Although several of Semyonov's Stirlitz novels were adapted for the screen, Tikhonov did not return, perhaps feeling that the original series had been definitive." "The role won him the title People's Artist of the USSR, one of a number of awards."
"In 1976, [Tikhonov] rejoined Bondarchuk in an adaptation of Sholokhov's They Fought for Their Country." "It suited Tikhonov by concentrating on character rather than histrionics and won him another state prize in the year that he finally joined the Communist Party." "1977 saw a change of pace with Rostotsky's Oscar-nominated Beliy Bim Chernoe Ukho (White Bim the Black Ear), in which Tikhonov played a middle-aged writer who is "adopted" by a non-pedigree setter puppy."
"Though he was often typecast as militiamen or spies, there were good roles among them, such as the KGB general in the cold-war thriller TASS upolnomochen zayavit (Tass is authorised to announce, 1984), another television series based on a Semyonov novel." "In later years he was able to display a wider range, including the bishop in Besy, a film version of Dostoyevsky's The Devils (1992) and Charlemagne, in the Ubit Drakona, (Kill the Dragon, 1998) after Yevgeny Schwartz's wartime satire." "Schwartz was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen
, and Tikhonov appeared in Eldar Ryzanov's fantasy-biography of the Danish fabulist, Andersen: Life Without Love (2006), playing God." In 8 February 2003, Russian President Vladimir Putin
awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland
, third degree, to Tikhonov.
Tikhonov appeared in Nikita Mikhalkov
's Oscar-winning Burnt By the Sun (1994) and will also appear in the 2010 sequel, which finished shooting before his death.
Pavlovsky Posad
Pavlovsky Posad is a town and the administrative center of Pavlovo-Posadsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located from Moscow, at the confluence of the Klyazma and the Vokhna Rivers. Population: The Moscow–Vladimir railway goes through the town....
– 4 December 2009 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
whose best known role was as Soviet spy Stirlitz in the television series Seventeen Moments of Spring
Seventeen Moments of Spring
Seventeen Moments of Spring is a 1973 Soviet TV miniseries. It was filmed at Gorky Film Studio, directed by Tatyana Lioznova and based on the book of the same title by the novelist Yulian Semyonov. The series comprises 12 episodes of 70 minutes each...
. He was a recipient of numerous state awards, including the titles of People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
(1974) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1982).
Biography
He was born in Pavlovsky PosadPavlovsky Posad
Pavlovsky Posad is a town and the administrative center of Pavlovo-Posadsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located from Moscow, at the confluence of the Klyazma and the Vokhna Rivers. Population: The Moscow–Vladimir railway goes through the town....
near Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. "His mother was a kindergarten teacher and his father an engineer in the local textile factory." "Vyacheslav dreamed of acting but his parents envisaged a different career and during the war he worked in a munitions factory." "After employment as a metal worker, he began [training for an] acting career in 1945" by entering, not without difficulty, the Actors’ Faculty of VGIK
Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography
The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov), VGIK for short, is a film school in Moscow, Russia.-History:...
. After graduating VGIK with honours in 1950, he began his acting career on stage of Theatre Studio of Film Actor, where he worked for six years.
In 1948 he married Nonna Mordyukova
Nonna Mordyukova
Noyabrina "Nonna" Viktorovna Mordyukova was a Soviet actress and People's Artist of the USSR...
, a popular actress at the time (the couple had one son, Vladimir, also an actor who died in 1990). The marriage was dissolved in 1963. Later Tikhonov married again, this time Tamara Ivanovna Tikhonova and had one child with her, Anna Tikhonova (also an actor) in 1969.
He died on 4 December 2009 in Moscow, Russia. "Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has expressed his condolences to the actor's family."
Career
Tikhonov had made his film debut in 1948, but for the next "few years, he appeared in relatively low-profile films and at the Film Actors' Studio Theatre in SmolenskSmolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
." "One of his notable roles there was the bear in Erast Garin
Erast Garin
Erast Pavlovich Garin was, together with Igor Ilyinsky and Sergey Martinson, one of the leading comic actors of Vsevolod Meyerhold's company and of the Soviet cinema. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1977....
's staging of Yevgeni Schwartz's fairy-tale An Ordinary Miracle."
Tikhonov became better known with the release of "the rural family drama Delo bylo v Penkove (It Happened in Penkovo, 1958), [which] was followed by several wartime dramas: Maiskie Zvyozdy (May Stars, 1959), set in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, and Na Semi Vetrakh (On the Seven Winds, 1962), on the Western front." "In Yevgeny Tashkov's Zhazhda (Thirst, 1959), based on real events, Tikhonov, in the first of his spy roles, is a scout in an operation to free an Odessa water plant from the Nazis."
"In Dve Zhizni (Two Lives, 1961) Tikhonov plays the less fortunate of two men who unwittingly meet in France, 40-odd years after fighting on opposite sides of the 1917 revolution." "Rostotsky's Dozhivyom do Ponedelnika (Live Till Monday 1968), in which a teacher plans to defend a student at a disciplinary meeting, won him a state prize." "In 1979 Rostotsky made a documentary about his friend, called Profession: film actor."
Tikhonov also played Prince Andrei Bolkonski in the Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
-winning adaptation of Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
's War and Peace
War and Peace (1968 film)
War and Peace is a Soviet-produced film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace. Sergei Bondarchuk directed the film, co-wrote the screenplay and also acted in the lead role of Pierre. It was produced over a seven year period and released in four parts between 1965 and...
(1968) by Sergei Bondarchuk
Sergei Bondarchuk
Sergei Fedorovich Bondarchuk was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, and actor.- Biography :Born in Belozerka, in the Kherson Governorate, Sergei Bondarchuk spent his childhood in the cities of Yeysk and Taganrog, graduating from the Taganrog School Number 4 in 1938. His first performance as an...
(who played Bezukhov). But Tikhonov reportedly got the role only "at the suggestion of the Minister of Culture when Innokenty Smoktunovsky
Innokenty Smoktunovsky
Innokentiy Mikhailovich Smoktunovsky was a Soviet actor acclaimed as the "king of Soviet actors". He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1974 and the Hero of Socialist Labour in 1990....
opted for Kozintsev's Hamlet and Oleg Strizhenov
Oleg Strizhenov
Oleg Aleksandrovich Strizhenov was a Soviet and Russian film actor and a People's Artist of the Soviet Union.-Filmography:...
was also unavailable."
"In 1973, [however,] Tikhonov starred in the role for which he is most known for in the former Soviet republics, "when director Tatiana Lioznova chose him over Smoktunovsky to star in an adaptation of Yulian Semyonov
Yulian Semyonov
Yulian Semyonovich Semyonov , pen-name of Yulian Semyonovich Lyandres , was a Soviet and Russian writer of spy fiction and crime fiction.-Career:...
's novel Seventeen Moments of Spring
Seventeen Moments of Spring
Seventeen Moments of Spring is a 1973 Soviet TV miniseries. It was filmed at Gorky Film Studio, directed by Tatyana Lioznova and based on the book of the same title by the novelist Yulian Semyonov. The series comprises 12 episodes of 70 minutes each...
" as Standartenführer Stirlitz. The 17 moments are 17 days in the spring of 1945 just before the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II "and centers around attempts by the Soviet Union's man in Germany to thwart secret peace talks between the Nazis and the U.S. and Britain." The film enjoyed enormous popularity among Russian viewers of several generations. Prior to that, however, it had faced the risk of remaining unknown: Mikhail Suslov
Mikhail Suslov
Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov was a Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1965, and as unofficial Chief Ideologue of the Party until his death in 1982. Suslov was responsible for party democracy and the separation of power...
had opposed the film to go on general release. He had claimed that the film was “not showing the feat of the Soviet people in the war”. Fortunately, the decision to release the would-be classic film was supported by KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
Chairman Yuri Andropov
Yuri Andropov
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.-Early life:...
. "Although several of Semyonov's Stirlitz novels were adapted for the screen, Tikhonov did not return, perhaps feeling that the original series had been definitive." "The role won him the title People's Artist of the USSR, one of a number of awards."
"In 1976, [Tikhonov] rejoined Bondarchuk in an adaptation of Sholokhov's They Fought for Their Country." "It suited Tikhonov by concentrating on character rather than histrionics and won him another state prize in the year that he finally joined the Communist Party." "1977 saw a change of pace with Rostotsky's Oscar-nominated Beliy Bim Chernoe Ukho (White Bim the Black Ear), in which Tikhonov played a middle-aged writer who is "adopted" by a non-pedigree setter puppy."
"Though he was often typecast as militiamen or spies, there were good roles among them, such as the KGB general in the cold-war thriller TASS upolnomochen zayavit (Tass is authorised to announce, 1984), another television series based on a Semyonov novel." "In later years he was able to display a wider range, including the bishop in Besy, a film version of Dostoyevsky's The Devils (1992) and Charlemagne, in the Ubit Drakona, (Kill the Dragon, 1998) after Yevgeny Schwartz's wartime satire." "Schwartz was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
, and Tikhonov appeared in Eldar Ryzanov's fantasy-biography of the Danish fabulist, Andersen: Life Without Love (2006), playing God." In 8 February 2003, Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland
Order of Merit for the Fatherland
The Order of Merit for the Fatherland was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree. The statutes describe it as a decoration for merit, not an order of knights....
, third degree, to Tikhonov.
Tikhonov appeared in Nikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union.Mikhalkov was born in Moscow into the distinguished, artistic Mikhalkov family. His great grandfather was the imperial governor of Yaroslavl, whose mother was a Galitzine princess...
's Oscar-winning Burnt By the Sun (1994) and will also appear in the 2010 sequel, which finished shooting before his death.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Russian Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | The Young Guard The Young Guard (film) The Young Guard is a two-part 1948 Soviet film directed by Sergei Gerasimov based on the novel of the same title by Alexander Fadeyev. In 1949 a Stalin Prize for this film was awarded to Gerasimov, cinematographer Vladimir Rapoport, and the group of leading actors.The Film was also the highest... |
Молодая гвардия' | Volodya Osmuhin | Directed by Sergei Gerasimov Won the Stalin Prize USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation.... in 1949 |
| 1950 | In Peaceful Time | В мирные дни | sailor Volodya Grinevsky, torpedoman | |
| 1951 | Taras Shevchenko Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko -Life:Born into a serf family of Hryhoriy Ivanovych Shevchenko and Kateryna Yakymivna Shevchenko in the village of Moryntsi, of Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire Shevchenko was orphaned at the age of eleven... |
Тарас Шевченко | Representative of the St Petersburg youth | |
| 1952 | Maximka | Максимка | Lieutenant Goreilov | |
| 1954 | This should never be forgotten | Это никогда не должны быть забыты | Lieutenant Danchenko | |
| 1956 | The Heart is Beating Again | Сердце бьётся вновь | Leonid V.Golubev | |
| 1957 | It Happened in Penkovo | Дело было в Пенькове | Matvey Morozov | |
| 1958 | Extraordinary Incident | ЧП. Чрезвычайное происшествие | a sailor | |
| 1959 | Thirst | Жажда | Oleg Bezborodko | |
| 1959 | May Stars | Майские звёзды | Andrei Ruckavichkin | |
| 1960 | Midshipman Panin | Мичман Панин | Midshipman Panin | |
| 1961 | Two Lives | Две жизни | ||
| 1962 | Seven Winds | На семи ветрах | ||
| 1963 | Optimistic Tragedy Optimistic Tragedy (film) Optimistic Tragedy is a 1963 Soviet film directed by Samson Samsonov. It is based on the eponymous play by Vsevolod Vishnevsky and was entered into the 1963 Cannes Film Festival.... |
Оптимистическая трагедия | ||
| 1968 | War and Peace | Война и мир | ||
| 1968 | We'll Live Till Monday | Доживём до понедельника | ||
| 1969 | Family Happiness | Семейное счастье | ||
| 1970 | The Roundabout | Карусель | ||
| 1971 | Yegor Bulychyov and Others | Егор Булычёв и другие | ||
| 1971 | Man on the other hand | Человек с другой стороны | ||
| 1974 | Front Without Flanks | Фронт без флангов | ||
| 1975 | They Fought for Their Country They Fought for Their Country They Fought for Their Country is a 1975 Soviet war film directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. It was entered into the 1975 Cannes Film Festival. The film is the story of a Soviet platoon fighting a rearguard action during the German drive on Stalingrad.-Cast:... |
Они сражались за Родину | ||
| 1975 | 'Story of a Human Heart | Повесть о человеческом сердце | ||
| 1976 | ... And Other Officials | ... И другие официальные лица | ||
| 1977 | 'White Bim Black Ear White Bim Black Ear White Bim Black Ear is a 1977 Soviet film directed by Stanislav Rostotsky. The movie is based upon the book of the same name, written by Gavriil Troyepolsky. The movie was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.- Plot :... |
Белый Бим Черное ухо | ||
| 1977 | Front behind the front Line | Фронт за линией фронта | Colonel Ivan Petrovich Molinsky | |
| 1981 | Unpaid Vacation | Отпуск за свой счёт | ||
| 1981 | The Rear Front | Фронт в тылу врага | ||
| 1982 | One True Love | Один истинной любви | ||
| 1984 | European Story' | Европейская история | ||
| 1987 | The Appeal | Апелляционный | ||
| 1988 | To Kill a Dragon | Убить дракона | ||
| 1989 | Love and Privileges | Любовь с привилегиями | ||
| 1991 | The Ghosts of the Green Room | Призраки зелёной комнаты | ||
| 1992 | The Possessed | Бесы (Николай Ставрогин) | ||
| 1993 | The Codex of Disgrace | Кодекс бесчестия | ||
| 1993 | Incomparable | Несравненная | ||
| 1993 | Provincial Benefit | Провинциальный бенефис | ||
| 1994 | A Boulevard Romance | Бульварный роман | ||
| 1994 | Burnt by the Sun Burnt by the Sun Burnt by the Sun is a 1994 film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film depicts the story of a senior Red Army officer and his family during the Great Purge of the late 1930s in the Stalinist Soviet Union... |
Утомлённые солнцем | ||
| 1995 | An Adventure | Авантюра | ||
| 1996 | 'Sweet Friend of Years Forgotten Long Ago... | Милый друг давно забытых лет... | ||
| 1998 | Composition for Victory Day | Сочинение ко Дню Победы | ||
| 2006 | Eyes of the Wolf | Глазами волка | ||
| 2006 | Andersen. A life without love | Андерсен. Жизнь без любви | ||
| 2010 | Burnt by the Sun 2 Burnt by the Sun 2 Burnt by the Sun 2 is a 2010 Russian drama film directed by and starring Nikita Mikhalkov. The film concists of two parts: : Exodus and Citadel . It is the sequel to Mikhalkov's 1994 film Burnt by the Sun, set in the Eastern Front of World War II... |
Утомлённые солнцем 2 |
| Year | Title | Russian Title | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Seventeen Moments of Spring Seventeen Moments of Spring Seventeen Moments of Spring is a 1973 Soviet TV miniseries. It was filmed at Gorky Film Studio, directed by Tatyana Lioznova and based on the book of the same title by the novelist Yulian Semyonov. The series comprises 12 episodes of 70 minutes each... |
Семнадцать мгновений весны | |
| 1984 | TASS Is Authorized to Declare... TASS Is Authorized to Declare... TASS Is Authorized to Declare... is a 1984 Soviet film directed by Vladimir Fokin based on a novel with the same name by Yulian Semyonov, also the author of Seventeen Moments of Spring. '17 Moments' star Vyacheslav Tikhonov played the central role of the KGB General in the film.Runtime - 700 min... |
ТАСС уполномочен заявить... | |
| 1998 | Waiting Room | Зал ожидания |