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- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Violett Beane was born on 18 May 1996 in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. She is an actress and director, known for Death and Other Details (2024), The Flash (2014) and Truth or Dare (2018).- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Soundtrack
Anton Yelchin was an American actor, known for playing Bobby in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), Chekov in the Star Trek (2009) reboot, Charlie Brewster in the Fright Night (2011) remake, and Jacob in Like Crazy (2011).
He was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, USSR, to a Jewish family. His parents, Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, were a successful pair of professional figure skaters in Leningrad, and his grandfather was also a professional sportsman, a soccer player. Anton was a six-month-old baby when he immigrated to the United States, where his parents settled in California and eventually developed coaching careers. He demonstrated his strong personality from the early age of four, and declined his parents' tutelage in figure skating because he was fond of acting and knew exactly what he wanted to do in his life.
Yelchin attended acting classes in Los Angeles, and eventually was noticed by casting agents. In 2000, at the age of 10, he made his debut on television, appearing as Robbie Edelstein in the medical drama ER (1994). At the age of 11, he shot to fame as Bobby Garfield, co-starring opposite Anthony Hopkins in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), and earning himself the 2002 Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film as Leading Young Actor. Over the course of his acting career, Yelchin has already played roles in more than 20 feature films and television productions, including Pavel Chekov in the hugely successful reboot Star Trek (2009), and its sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013).
Outside of his acting profession, Anton loved reading, and was also fond of playing chess. He wrote music and performed with a band, where he also played piano and guitar.
Anton lived in Los Angeles, California, until his death on the evening of June 19, 2016, outside his LA home, when his parked Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled backward on his steep driveway, pinning him against a brick pillar and security fence. This was due to badly designed shifter that indicated park when it was in neutral. This death, along with reports of other near-misses, resulted in a recall of that model.- Actress
- Producer
Dawn Orienne Olivieri is an American actress perhaps best known for her turn as Lydia in Heroes and Monica Talbot in House of Lies. She has appeared in the Showtime series House of Lies for 41 episodes, starting in 2012, playing the competitive management consultant and ex-wife of main character Marty Kaan and mother of their son, Roscoe Kaan. She acted as Janice Herveaux in the third season of the HBO series True Blood. She played a reporter and Damon Salvatore's girlfriend Andie Star in the hit CW show The Vampire Diaries. Wrapping up the 4th season on Heroes, she has also completed parts on TBS's My Boys, NBC's Knight Rider, TNT's Trust Me, and SyFy's Stargate: Atlantis, and recurred on CBS's How I Met Your Mother. Olivieri played a lead role in the SyFy movie Hydra, and she is the voice of Pepper Potts in the new Avengers animated series on Disney XD. She appeared in the October 2009 issue of Maxim. Olivieri appeared on HBO's Entourage on September 13, 2009, and hosted a contest on Scripped. She voiced Lucy Kuo in a PlayStation 3 video game, Infamous 2, which was released in June 2011. As of March 2018, she has a recurring role in the CBS action-adventure series SEAL Team as Amy Nelson.- Margarita Levieva is an American actress. Born in Leningrad, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (now Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation), at age three she began the rigorous training program of a competitive rhythmic gymnast. Levieva continued to train for the next 13 years, winning competitions in Russia and eventually going on to compete in the United States after emigrating. When she was 11, Levieva's mother moved her and her twin brother to Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn in New York City. She attended high school in Secaucus, New Jersey. Levieva majored in economics at NYU and worked as a fashion buyer. Her continuing interest in acting led her to be accepted into the Meisner Training Program at the William Esper Studio. In 2005, New York Magazine featured her as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in New York.
- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Monica Raymund is best know for starring as Gabriela Dawson in NBC's drama "Chicago Fire."
A graduate of The Juilliard School, she is the recipient of the John Houseman Award for her commitment and dedication. Immediately following her graduation, she went on to star opposite Tim Roth for three seasons in "Lie to Me." During this time, she also became a founding member of The Mechanical Theatre Group, has been on faculty and co-head of the Communications Department at The Heifetz Institute and served as faculty for The Broadway Theatre Project. Raymund currently serves on the board and faculty of the Performing Arts Project, is a board member for The Hollywood Arts Organization in Los Angeles, is executive producing the independent feature "Submarine Kid", and is the Founder/President of the theatrical production company, SISU Theatrical Productions, LLC. She was a producer also on the Broadway production of "The Velocity of Autumn".
Other credits include, a lead role in director Stephen Elliott's latest feature "Happy Baby", a supporting role in the feature "Arbitrage" opposite Richard Gere, a starring role in the Sundance Lab musical production of "Like Water for Chocolate," and a recurring role on "The Good Wife." She also guest starred on the 200th episode of "Law & Order: SVU" opposite Robin Williams.
Monica won The Imagen Award this past year for leading actress in a drama.
Monica separated from her husband early 2013 and they completed their divorce in 2014.
Raymund resides in New York City.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Joseph Cheshire Cotten, Jr. was born in Petersburg, Virginia, into a well-to-do Southern family. He was the eldest of three sons born to Sally Whitworth (Willson) and Joseph Cheshire Cotten, Sr., an assistant postmaster.
Jo (as he was known) and his brothers Whit and Sam spent their summers at their aunt and uncle's home at Virginia Beach. And there and at an early age he discovered a passion for story-telling, reciting, and performing acts for his family. Cotten studied acting at the Hickman School of Expression in Washington, D.C. and worked as an advertising agent afterward. But by 1924 tried to enter acting in New York. His money opportunities were limited to shipping clerk, and after a year of attempting stage work, he left with friends, heading for Miami. There he found a variety of jobs: lifeguard, salesman, a stint as entrepreneur -- making and selling 'Tip Top Potato Salad' - but more significantly, drama critic for the Miami Herald. That evidently led to appearance in plays at the Miami Civic Theater. Through a connection at the Miami Herald he managed to land an assistant stage manager job in New York. In 1929 he was engaged for a season at the Copley Theatre in Boston, and there he was able to expand his acting experience, appearing in 30 plays in a wide variety of parts. By 1930 he made his Broadway debut. In 1931 Cotten married Lenore LaMont (usually known as Kipp), a pianist, divorced with a four-year-old daughter.
To augment his income as an actor in the mid-30s, Cotten took on radio shows in addition to his theatre work. At one audition he met an ambitious, budding actor/writer/director/producer with a mission to make his name-Orson Welles. Cotten was 10 years his senior, but the two found a kindred spirit in one another. For Cotten, Welles association would completely redirect his serious acting life. Their early co-acting attempts boded ill for employment in formal acting vehicles. At a rehearsal for CBS radio the two destroyed a scene taking place on a rubber tree plantation. One or the other was supposed to say the line: "Barrels and barrels of pith...." They could not overcome uncontrolled laughter at each attempt. The director berated them as acting like 'school-children' and 'unprofessional', and thereafter both were considered unreliable. Welles's ambition put that quickly behind them when he formed The Mercury Theatre Players. Coming on board were later Hollywood stalwarts: Everett Sloane, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick, and Ray Collins. In 1937, Cotten starred in Welles's Mercury productions of "Julius Caesar" and "Shoemaker's Holiday". And he made his film debut in the Welles-directed short Too Much Johnson (1938), a comedy based on William Gillette's 1890 play. The short was occasionally screened before or after Mercury productions, but never received an official release. Cotten returned to Broadway in 1939, starring as C.K. Dexter Haven in the original production of Philip Barry's "The Philadelphia Story". The uproar over Welles's "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast, was rewarded with an impressive contract from RKO Pictures. The two-picture deal promised full creative control for the young director, and Welles brought his Mercury players on-board in feature roles in what he chose to bring to the screen. But after a year, nothing had germinated until Welles met with writer Herman J. Mankiewicz, resulting in the Citizen Kane (1941) idea - early 1940. The story of a slightly veiled William Randolph Hearst with Welles as Kane and Cotten, in his Hollywood debut, as his college friend turned confidant and theater critic, Jed Leland, would become film history, but at the time it caused little more than a ripple. Hearst owned the majority of the country's press outlets and so forbade advertisements for the film. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards in 1942 but was largely ignored by the Academy, only winning for Best Screenplay for Welles and Mankiewicz.
The following year Cotten and Welles collaborated again in The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), acclaimed but again ignored at Oscar time, and the next year's Nazi thriller Journey Into Fear (1943). Cotten, along with some Welles ideas, wrote the screenplay. Welles with his notorious overrunning of budgeting was duly dropped by RKO thereafter. Later in 1943 Cotten's exposure and acquaintance with young producer David O. Selznick resulted in a movie contract and the launching of his mainstream and very successful movie career as a romantic leading man. Thereafter he appeared with some of the most leading of Hollywood leading ladies - a favorite being Jennifer Jones, Selznick's wife with the two of them being his most intimate friends. Cotten got the opportunity to play a good range of roles through the 1940s - the darkest being the blue beard-like killer in Alfred Hitchcock thriller Shadow of a Doubt (1943) with Teresa Wright. Perhaps the most fun was The Farmer's Daughter (1947) with a vivacious Loretta Young. Cotten starred with Jennifer Jones in four films: the wartime domestic drama Since You Went Away (1944), the romantic drama Love Letters (1945), the western Duel in the Sun (1946), and later in the critically acclaimed Portrait of Jennie (1948), from the haunting Robert Nathan book. Cotten is thoroughly convincing as a second-rate, unmotivated artist who finds inspiration from a chance acquaintance budding into love with an incarnation of a girl who died years before. Welles and Cotten did not work again until The Third Man (1949), directed by Carol Reed. For Cotten, the role as the hapless boyhood friend and second-rate novel writer Holly Martins would be a defining moment in a part both comedic and bittersweet, its range making it one of his best performances. Unfortunately, he was again overlooked for an Oscar.
Cotten was kept in relative demand into his mature acting years. Into the 1950s, he reunited with "Shadow Of A Doubt" co star Thereas Wright, to do the memorable bank caper "The Steel Trap"(1952).He co stared with Jean Peters in "Blueprint For A Murder"(1953). For the most part, the movie roles were becoming more B than A. He had a brief role as a member of the Roman Senate, reuniting with lifelong friend Welles in his Othello (1951). There were a few film-noir outings along with the usual fare of the older actor with fewer roles. However, he was much more successful in returning to theater roles in the new television playhouse format. He also did some episodic TV and some series ventures, as with On Trial, which was later called The Joseph Cotten Show. He had a memorable role in an Alfred Hitchcock Presents, "Breakdown", where he was a man in a lone and isolated car accident, trapped and unable to speak. He voices over and shows his great acting skill simply through facial expressions. His one last stint with Welles was uncredited and sort of Jed Leland-revisited as the hokey coroner early in Welles's over-the-top Touch of Evil (1958). Of his association with Welles, Cotten said: "Exasperating, yes. Sometimes eruptive, unreasonable, ferocious, yes. Eloquent, penetrating, exciting, and always - never failingly even at the sacrifice of accuracy and at times his own vanity - witty. Never, never, never dull."
With the passing of his first wife in 1960 Cotten met and married British actress Patricia Medina. The 1960s found him equally busy in TV and film. He made the circuit of the most popular detective and cowboy series of the period. By 1964 he returned to film with the money making old-Hollywood-dame- horror-movie genre hit Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) with other vintage Hollywood legends Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, and Agnes Moorehead. His other films of that decade were of the quick entertainment variety along with some foreign productions, and TV movies. There were also more TV series and guests appearances, especially The Ed Sullivan Show, a popular stop during its long run. In the 1970s Cotten was still in demand-for even more of the curiosity-appeal of the populace for an older star. Along with the new assortment of TV series, he anchored himself at Universal with small parts in forgettable movies, the sluggish Universal epic dud Tora! Tora! Tora! for instance, and the steady diet of TV series being cranked out there. Though older actors have laughed in public about their descent into cheap horror movies, one can only wonder at the impetus to do them -- by such greats, as Claude Rains -- besides a can't-pass-up alluring salary.
Cotten did the campy The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) with Vincent Price and about that time two second rate Italian horror outings where he was Baron Blood and Baron Frankenstein. Then again there was better exposure in the Universal minor sci-fi classic Soylent Green (1973). And in yet another Universal sequel, where the profit-logic was to gather a cast of veterans from the Hollywood spectrum in any situation spelling disaster and watch the ticket sales skyrocket, Cotten joined the all-star cast of Airport '77 (1977). He rounded out the decade with the ever faddish Fantasy Island and more Universal TV rounds. This contributor met and worked with Joseph Cotten during this latter evolution of one of Hollywood's greats. He wore his own double-breasted blue blazer and tan slacks in several roles - no need for wardrobe. His pride and joy was a blue 1939 Jaguar SS, something of a fixture on the Universal lot.
Cotten was not ready to turn his back on Hollywood until the beginning of the 1980s when he managed to appear in the epic flop Heaven's Gate (1980). After a Love Boat episode (1981), Cotten joined his wife and his love of gardening and entertaining friends in retirement. He also had the time to write an engaging autobiography Vanity Will Get You Somewhere (1987). Cotten's somewhat matter-of-fact and seemingly gruff acting voice served him well. Certainly his command of varied roles deserved more than the snub of never being nominated for an Academy Award. He was not the only actor to suffer being underrated, but that is largely forgotten in those memorable roles that speak for him. And for what it is worth, the Europeans had the very good sense to award him the Venice Film Festival Award for Best Actor for Portrait of Jennie, one of his favorite roles.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
George Sanders was born of English parents in St. Petersburg, Russia. He worked in a Birmingham textile mill, in the tobacco business and as a writer in advertising. He entered show business in London as a chorus boy, going from there to cabaret, radio and theatrical understudy. His film debut, in 1936, was as Curly Randall in Find the Lady (1936). His U.S. debut, the same year, with Twentieth Century-Fox, was as Lord Everett Stacy in Lloyd's of London (1936). During the late 1930s and early 1940s he made a number of movies as Simon Templar--the Saint--and as Gay Lawrence, the Falcon. He played Nazis (Maj. Quive-Smith in Fritz Lang's Man Hunt (1941)), royalty (Charles II in Otto Preminger's Forever Amber (1947)), and biblical roles (Saran of Gaza in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949)). He won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as theatre critic Addison De Witt in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's All About Eve (1950). In 1957 he hosted a TV series, The George Sanders Mystery Theater (1957). He continued to play mostly villains and charming heels until his suicide in 1972.- Oksana Akinshina was born on 19 April 1987 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress, known for Lilya 4-Ever (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and Sputnik (2020). She was previously married to Archil Gelovani and Dmitriy Litvinov.
- Greta Onieogou was born on 14 March 1991 in St. Petersburg, Russia. She is an actress, known for Fever Pitch (2005), Miss Sloane (2016) and Undercover Grandpa (2017).
- She was born in Leningrad, former Soviet Union. Her parents moved with her from Russia to New York when she was 17 years old, and she continues to reside in New York.
While working as a hairdresser at a salon, she was discovered by Luc Besson, the co-writer of Transporter 3, in New York, when she crossed a street. He gave her acting lessons and cast her as the female lead in Transporter 3. - Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Paulina Andreeva was born on 12 October 1988 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress and writer, known for Plachu s vami (2019), The Method (2015) and Better Than Us (2018). She has been married to Fedor Bondarchuk since 17 September 2019. They have one child.- Victoria Haralabidou was born on 23 October 1971 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress, known for Brides (2004), Psyhi vathia (2009) and The Tourist (2022).
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Afemo Omilami was born on 13 December 1950 in Petersburg, Virginia, USA. He is an actor, known for Forrest Gump (1994), Bringing Out the Dead (1999) and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013). He has been married to Elizabeth Omilami since 11 September 1985. They have two children.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Jacob Reynolds was born on 13 May 1983 in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Gummo (1997), Salting the Fly (2019) and For Love of the Game (1999). He has been married to Helen Spaw since 21 October 2006.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Aleksey German was born on 20 July 1938 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. He was an actor and writer, known for Khrustalyov, My Car! (1998), Hard to Be a God (2013) and Moy drug Ivan Lapshin (1985). He was married to Svetlana Karmalita. He died on 21 February 2013 in St. Petersburg, Russia.- Actor
- Soundtrack
A Russian-born stage and screen actor who usually plays a military man in lots of spy thrillers and war films, Alexander Molchanoff was born in Petrograd in 1921. He was the eldest son of Colonel Paul Molchanoff, of the Semionovsky regiment. In 1924 his family left Russia via Finland and Germany finally ending up in London,where Alexander's grandmother had a house in Harley Street. Alexander was educated in Monmouth School. After that he became an assistant to the Russian tenor Vladimir Rosing at Covent Garden. Later he joined the RAF and after being invalided out he turned into Richard Marner and started his long career as a stage and film actor.
His first success was a title role in a stage version of Dracula where he made a memorable performance. He went on with his work in theatre but he started appearing in films as well. A small part in The African Queen (1951) was one of his first. He continued with roles in plenty of films where he usually played German or Russian officers. He acted in classic films such as The Dirty Dozen and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and also had a part in James Bond's You Only Live Twice.
While working as an actor he supplemented his income by working as a sales agent for a costume jewellery manufacturer. In the 1980s Marner played the part of Colonel Von Strohm in the British comedy classic "Allo Allo" which was his most famous and loved performance as an actor. His last film was The Sum of All Fears where he played the Russian president.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lila Kedrova was a Russian actress, who spend most of her career as an expatriate. For her role as widowed courtesan Madame Hortense in Zorba the Greek (1964), Kedrova won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was the first Russian actress to win the award, and this was her only Academy Award nomination.
Kedrova was born in Petrogad, Russia (modern Saint Petersburg). She claimed to have been born in 1918, but she may have older by several years. She wanted to appear younger than she was. Her father was opera singer and liturgical music composer Nikolay Kedrov Sr. (1871-1940). Her mother was opera singer Sofia Gladkaya (1875-1975) was a singer at the Mariinsky Theatre and a teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris. Kedrova's older brother was composer Nikolay Kedrov Jr. (c. 1904-1981). Her sister, Irene Kedroff (real name: Irina Nikolayevna Kedrova) was a soprano.
The Kedrov family left the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic c. 1922, before the formation of the Soviet Union. They settled in Berlin , in the Weimar Republic. In 1928, the family moved to France (during the Third French Republic), where her parents were able to find better jobs.
Kedrova made her theatrical debut in 1932, appearing with the Moscow Art Theatre touring company, the foremost state-supported theatre of the Soviet Union. She made her film debut in the World War I-themed historical drama Ultimatum (1938). She appeared exclusively in French theatre and film until 1964. "Zorba the Greek" was her first appearance in an English-language film.
Kedrova's next notable role was that of Polish noblewoman Countess Kuchinska in the political thriller Torn Curtain (1966). She found some success in American theatre, playing Fraulein Schneider in the West End stage production of "Cabaret" (1968). She shared the stage with Judi Dench.
Kedrova appeared in Hollywood films for several years, mostly typecast in the role of an either eccentric or outright insane woman. Her last film appearance was a maternal role in the international co-production La prossima volta il fuoco (1993). She retired from acting as she was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
In February 2000, Kedrova died in her residence in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, The cause of death was pneumonia. She was cremated, and her ashes were buried in the Kedrov family grave at the Russian cemetery in Paris.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Tom Conway played "The Falcon" in ten of that series' entries. He starred in three Val Lewton horror classics. He appeared in comedies, musicals, two Tarzan films and even science fiction films.
He was early television's Detective Mark Saber, but Conway will probably be best remembered as George Sanders' brother.
Born into a wealthy family in pre-Bolshevik Revolution Russia, Thomas Charles Sanders might have followed his father as a rope manufacturer and inherited several estates. Had the family not been forced to flee to England, the brothers Sanders may never have added their names to the Hollywood saga.
But the Russian Revolution came, and Tom (age 13), George (age 11), sister Margaret (age 5), together with their parents, fled to England, leaving most of their wealth in the hands of the Bolsheviks.
The brothers attended Dunhurst and Bedales, private schools, and eventually Brighton College.
After college, Tom went to Northern Rhodesia where he worked in gold, copper and asbestos mines and even attempted ranching. Frustrated and "pretty well fed up to the teeth" with his failures, he borrowed passage home. In England, Conway worked as an engineer in a carburetor company and later sold safety glass.
He was discovered by a representative from a little theater group who persuaded him to join them. Conway eventually worked for the Manchester Repertory Company and toured with them in over twenty-five plays. He also appeared in BBC radio broadcasts.
Brother George persuaded him to come to Hollywood. To prevent confusion on the part of the public, they tossed a coin to see who would have to change his name. Tom lost, thereby becoming Tom Conway.
Conway began work at MGM, eventually appearing as a contract player in twelve films there, including a bit part in Mrs. Miniver (1942).
Brother George, tiring of B-film appearances in RKO's Falcon series and with better roles at two studios looming on the horizon, offered Tom his first big break. In The Falcon's Brother (1942), George was conveniently eliminated by a Nazi sniper so that Tom, as Tom Lawrence, could inherit the role. Conway played the role with even greater success than that of his brother in the next ten installments, concluding with The Falcon's Adventure (1946).
During those years, he also appeared in Val Lewton's Cat People (1942), I Walked with a Zombie (1943) and The Seventh Victim (1943). These led to two major film appearances, Universal's One Touch of Venus (1948), with Ava Gardner and Eve Arden and Warner Brothers' Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951).
Amidst the collapse of the studio system, Tom found his opportunities shrinking. There were to be no further major roles for him. His next film was Bride of the Gorilla (1951).
Alert to new possibilities for work, he accepted the part of homicide detective Mark Saber in the television series, Mark Saber (1951). Conway also made several mystery films in England during the same period. He played a cameo role as a bearded and be-wigged Sir Kay in Prince Valiant (1954) with two brief lines.
Back in the states, there were guest appearances on TV's Rawhide (1959), Adventures in Paradise (1959), and Perry Mason (1957).
In October, 1957, Tom turned in a brilliant performance as ventriloquist Max Collodi in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) chilling tale "The Glass Eye". He appeared regularly as the boyfriend on the The Betty Hutton Show (1959).
Conway also lent his voice to One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). His final appearance was an uncredited part, in What a Way to Go! (1964).
Failing eyesight and prolonged bouts with alcohol took their toll on Conway in his last years. His second wife, Queenie Leonard divorced him in 1963. George Sanders broke off all contact with him over his drinking.
Conway underwent cataract surgery during the winter of 1964/65. In September of 1965 Tom briefly returned to the headlines when he was discovered living in a $2-a-day room in a Venice, California flophouse. Gifts, contributions and offers of aid poured in - for a time. Conway, still standing tall and trim, his hair now white, peered owl-like through thick-lensed glasses at the newspaper cameras.
His last years were marked with further visits to the hospital. It was there that former sister-in-law Zsa Zsa Gabor visited him one day and gave him $200. "Tip the nurses a little bit so they'll be good to you," she told him. The following day, the hospital called her to say that Conway had left with the $200, gone to his girlfriend's and died in her bed.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Justin Hires was born on 24 June 1985 in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for 21 Jump Street (2012), MacGyver (2016) and Rush Hour (2016).- Writer
- Actress
- Editorial Department
Ayn Rand was born on 2 February 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was a writer and actress, known for The Night of January 16th (1941), The Fountainhead (1949) and We the Living (1942). She was married to Frank O'Connor. She died on 6 March 1982 in New York City, New York, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Johnny Brown was born on 11 June 1937 in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. He was an actor, known for Good Times (1974), Man in the Mirror (2008) and Life (1999). He was married to June Russell. He died on 2 March 2022 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Leonid Kinskey, originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, performed across Europe and much of Latin America before his arrival in the United States. By 1932 he landed a small role as a radical in Ernst Lubitsch's comedy, Trouble in Paradise (1932). The next year he played an agitator in Duck Soup (1933). He went on to play small parts, nearly always foreigners and often comedic, in over sixty films, including Genflou in Les Misérables (1935), the snake charmer in the well-known scene from The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), an Arab in The Garden of Allah (1936), Ivan in The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938), and Pierre in That Night in Rio (1941). His final film role was Dominiwski in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). Kinskey's most famous role was as Sascha, the humorous bartender at Rick's Cafe Americaine, in Casablanca (1942). The part had originally been given to Leon Mostovoy; Kinskey replaced him because (1) he was funnier than Mostovoy, and (2) by his own testimony, he was a drinking buddy of the star Humphrey Bogart. His contract guaranteed him two weeks at $750 a week. He died on 8 September 1998, in Fountain Hills, Arizona, aged 95.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Palina Rojinski was born on 21 April 1985 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress and writer, known for Welcome to Germany (2016), Tatort (1970) and Nightlife (2020). She has been married to Ilya since April 2022.- Actress
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- Director
Julie Anne was born and raised in the St. Petersburg, Florida area. She was inspired to pursue a career in the entertainment business at an early age. Her mother was a stay at home mom, and children's book / screenplay writer, who encouraged Julie to write and perform throughout her childhood and early teens.
By the age of 20, Julie Anne had established herself as a spokesmodel (working with companies such as Troma Studios and Sony PlayStation), as well as a widely published alternative model appearing in such nationally distributed publications as Gothic Beauty Magazine.
Soon after, she began performing small variety shows, as a way to have more action in her art. But stage performance was not enough for Julie Anne, she wanted to go even further and pursue full creative expression as an actress.
Since accepting her first role, Julie Anne has been working non stop, both in front of the camera as well as behind the scenes. Presently she has an impressive film resume, ranging from feature length films, award winning shorts, to nationally televised programs.
As far as future goals, she is actively pursuing projects that will allow her to grow and strengthen her skills, and expand her resume into yet uncharted territory. With a strong work ethic, unlimited energy, and unequalled passion for the business, she is poised and determined to conquer her vision as well as simply enjoying the lifelong journey.- Michael was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. He spent most of his youth studying jazz music and attended North Texas State University on a scholarship. He played lead trumpet with Stan Kenton's 1979 Tour and appeared with Woody Herman and his Thundering Heard. After a car accident left him unable to play, Michael re-directed his creativity into acting.
On the small screen, Michael starred in the series Something So Right, landed the leads in two television movies The Princess And The Marine and A Loss Of Innocence and recurred on 3rd Rock From The Sun as the high school gym coach. He has also made a number of guest starring appearances in series including That 70's Show, X-Files, Arli$$, The Drew Carey Show, Home Improvement, Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, Two Guys And A Girl, and 7th Heaven, where he played the father of a child with Tourette's Syndrome.
An avid golfer, Michael is most recognizable for his role as Boone in Tin Cup with Kevin Costner. Additional big screen credits include Pearl Harbor, Collateral Damage, Anywhere But Here, Crimson Tide, Executive Decision, Phenomenon, Dreamweaver as James Spader's lawyer, and as Chicago White Sox third baseman Buck Weaver in Field Of Dreams.
When not working, Michael spends every free minute golfing. Set on achieving one of his goals, playing on a PGA Senior tour. - Nikita Bogolyubov was born in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). He had his first taste of being an entertainer from ice skating when he was only four years old. His family immigrated to the US when Nikita was only eight years old which allowed him to stay fluent in both English and Russian.
Nikita's television debut came from NBC's Prime Suspect (2011) where he had a scene opposite of Maria Bello. Wanting to showcase more of his versatility, he also worked in various projects at the American Film Institute (AFI).
For his feature film The Saratov Approach (2013), Larry King exclaimed at the premiere that Nikita "stole the movie" with his performance.
He has since been cast on ABC's Castle (2009), CBS' Scorpion (2014), FX's Legion (2017), HBO's Barry (2018) and NETFLIX's Iron Fist (2017). - Actor
- Director
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Konstantin Khabenskiy is a Russian actor known in the West for his working the horror flicks Night Watch (2004) and Day Watch (2006). He is also co-starring opposite Angelina Jolie in Wanted (2008).
He was born Konstantin Yurevich Khabenskiy on January 11, 1972, in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). His father, Yuri Aronovich Khabenskiy, and his mother, Tatiana Gennadievna (nee Nikulina), were hydrological engineers. Young Konstantin studied electronics at the Leningrad Technical School of Aviation Electronics and Automatics. He dropped out after three years of studies after deciding that electronics was not for him.
He then played guitar on Leningrad's famous main street, Nevsky Prospekt, as a struggling street musician, and also worked as stage technician at the Theater-Studio "Subbota". From 1990 to 1995 he studied acting at the St. Peterburg Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography, renamed in 1991 when the city of Leningrad was renamed St. Petersburg. There his classmates were [link=nm0691717 Andrey Zibrov, and Mikhail Trukhin. In 1995, Konstantin graduated from the class of Veniamin Filshtinsky, as an actor. He had a five-month stint at the Raikin Theater of Satire in Moscow, but could not obtain any serious work there, so he returned to St. Petersburg.
Konstantin made his film debut in Na kogo Bog poschlet (1994). He shot to fame in Russia after co-starring in Uboynaya sila (2000), a popular series about crime in St. Petersburg, Russia. He ascended to international fame with the leading role as Anton Gorodetsky in the popular Russian vampire franchise, Night Watch (2004), and the second installment, Day Watch (2006), both by director Timur Bekmambetov and based on the books by Sergey Lukyanenko. He further advanced his film career appearing as Exterminatior in the horror film Wanted (2008).
From 1996 to 2003 Konstantin was a member of the troupe at the St. Petersburg Theater of Lensovet. There he worked together with his former classmates Mikhail Porechenkov, Mikhail Trukhin, and Andrey Zibrov, under the directorship of Yuri Butusov. In 2003 Khabenskiy and Porechenkov were invited by Oleg Tabakov to work with the world famous Moscow Arts Theater (MXAT). There Konstantin played the leading role in"White guard", a classic play by Mikhail A. Bulgakov. He also appeared as Claudius in a Russian adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet",directed by Yuri Butusov. Konstantin also made appearances on stage at the St. Petersburg Theatre of Lensovet in the leading role in a contemporary play 'V ozhidanii Godo', and as Kaligula in a Russian adaptation of the play by Albert Camus.
Outside of his acting profession, Konstantin Khabenskiy enjoys a Russian-style rural life in his country home near Moscow. He moved back to Russia after a few years of living in Los Angeles. He was married to radio-journalist Anastasiya Khabenskaya from January 12, 2000, until her untimely death at age 35 from a brain tumor on December 3, 2008. He has one son by her, Ivan Konstantinovich, who was born in Moscow on September 25, 2007. In 2013 he married actress Olga Litvinova and June 3, 2016 she gave birth to their daughter.
Konstantin Khabenskiy was designated Honorable Actor of Russia (2006) and also received numerous awards and decorations for his works on stage and in the movies. He has homes in both Russian capitals: Moscow and St. Petersburg.- Actress
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Yekaterina Golubeva was born on 9 October 1966 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She was an actress and writer, known for I Can't Sleep (1994), 977 (2006) and Projection. She was married to Sharunas Bartas. She died on 3 August 2011 in Paris, France.- Actor
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Mischa Auer, the American screen's supreme exponent of the "Mad Russian" stereotype so dear to Yankee hearts before and after World War II, was born Mischa Ounskowsky on November 17, 1905, in St. Petersburg, Russia, the grandson of violinist Leopold Auer, whose surname he took when he became a professional actor in the U.S. during the 1920s. Mischa's father, an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, died in the Russo-Japanese War while was he was still a baby, which wiped the family out financially. After the November 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, the Ounskowsky family disintegrated and Mischa became a "street Arab", living with homeless youths and barely scraping by in appalling poverty. He eventually was reunited with his mother, who had nursing experience and became a caregiver in the nascent Soviet Union. But Vladimir Lenin's socialist dream wasn't for her, and she fled to Turkey with Mischa.
In Constantinople Mischa's mother contracted typhus from the patients she was tending and died. The young boy had to dig a grave with his own hands to bury her. He then began wandering, and was in Italy when Leopold Auer, his mother's father, discovered his whereabouts. Subsequently, young Ounskowsky emigrated to the United States to join Auer, who lived in New York.
Leopold encouraged his grandson to become a musician, and Mischa matriculated at New York City's Ethical Culture School to please his grandfather. He became an accomplished musician, able to play multiple instruments, including the violin and piano. However, young Mischa soon became smitten with acting and, through his grandfather's contacts, was able to turn professional in the 1920s. Mischa Auer made his Broadway debut on February 24, 1925, in a walk-on role as an elderly guest in the Actors Theatre production of Henrik Ibsen's "The Wild Duck", which starred Helen Chandler as Hedvig. He also appeared in the Actors Theatre's Broadway production of the play "Morals" in 1925 before continuing his his apprenticeship in small roles, including an appearance with the great Walter Hampden in "Cyrano de Bergerac".
While acting, Mischa also performed as a musician. As an actor, he eventually caught on with Eva Le Gallienne's touring theatrical company before joining Bertha Kalich's company, which toured the provinces after Kalich -- a stalwart of the Yiddish theater -- made her last appearance as the eponymous "Magda" on Broadway in January and February 1926. Kalich cast Auer as Max in the touring production of "Magda".
Director Frank Tuttle hired Auer for a role in the comedy Something Always Happens (1928) after he saw the Russian perform with the Bertha Kalich Company in Los Angeles. This led to a decade of screen work in many films, in which the tall, unusual-looking actor was typecast as a foreigner, often of a villainous bent as befitted the prejudices of the time, which were actively catered to by the movies. The films he appeared in, usually in small, uncredited parts, included Rasputin and the Empress (1932) with John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore; Viva Villa! (1934) with superstar Wallace Beery; and The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), one of Gary Cooper's best early films.
One year after signing a long-term contract with Universal, Auer broke through into the realm of featured character actors with his Academy Award-nominated turn as the fake nobleman/freeloader/gigolo Carlo in the classic screwball comedy My Man Godfrey (1936) over at Universal in 1936. That was the first year that Oscars were awarded to supporting players, and although he lost to eventual three-time Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winner Walter Brennan, it made him as a popular character actor. Auer -- the Mad Russian -- became a fixture in comedies of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Of the role of Carlo, he said: "That one role made a comedian out of me. I haven't been anything else since. It's paid off very well. Do you wonder that I am flattered when people say I am mad?"
He turned in a memorable appearance as the Russian ballet-master Boris Kolenkhov in Frank Capra's Oscar-winning classic You Can't Take It with You (1938) opposite Jean Arthur and Ann Miller. Other memorable parts in the "Golden Years of Hollywood" phase of his career came in the musical One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937) in support of Deanna Durbin and as Boris Callahan, who touches off a cantina catfight between Marlene Dietrich and Una Merkel, in the classic Destry Rides Again (1939).
After appearing in the musical comedy "The Lady Comes Across" in early 1942, a flop which lasted three performances, he toured with vaudeville before acting in the summer radio series "Mischa the Magnificent". In the radio show, he played a man writing his memoirs, but after the summer run he returned to the movies. The last play he appeared in on Broadway, "Lovely Me", opened on Christmas Day 1946 and closed 37 performances later, on January 25, 1947. Between movies, he appeared in touring shows and in vaudeville.
During the 1950s, after the Paramount decision, when Hollywood first experienced runaway production as American producers turned to the cheaper European film studios to save money, Auer decamped for Europe. He and his family settled in Salzburg, Austria, where he made broadcasts for Radio Free Europe between appearances in European-made films, mostly in France. He achieved acclaim in Paris for his appearance in the title role of the 1953 revival of the comedy "Tovarich".
On the Continent he was typecast as an elderly eccentric, most notably in Orson Welles's Confidential Report (1955). He also appeared frequently on American television during the 1950s. He was praised for his appearance in a 1953 Omnibus (1952) presentation of George Bernard Shaw's play "Arms and the Man". He suffered a heart attack in 1957 but continued to make movies in Europe and appear on television in the U.S.
In 1964 he appeared as Baron Popoff in the New York Lincoln Center Music Theater's revival of "The Merry Widow". It was not a success, but the New York Times review praised him: "Mischa Auer is, after all, one of the great comics. With his head down a little, jowls flapping, his ripe Marsovian accent rolling through the house, his eyes popping--he dominates the performance."
Suffering from cardiovascular disease, Auer suffered a second heart attack and died in Rome on March 5, 1967, at the age of 61. He will long be remembered as one of the inimitable character actors who graced the classic films of the Golden Age of Hollywood.- Actor
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Lenn Kudrjawizkis family moved with him as a child from Leningrad (USSR) to East Berlin. At the age of four, Lenn auditioned on the stage with the Leningrad State Ballet. At five, he became enchanted with a violin that his father brought down from the attic of the family home. This was to play an important part in his life. Later he attended a secondary school for music in Berlin where he studied acting, voice, and violin. In Dresden he refined his skills on the violin and graduated with a Master of Arts in Music in 2003. In 1994 Lenn made his television debut as a teenager with the role of Wladimir in the film Katrin and Wladimir. Jean-Jacques Annaud's Duel - Enemy at the Gates followed, as well as Alain Gsponer's feature film Kiki & Tiger. From 2001 to 2006 Lenn was a series regular in the highly acclaimed RTL series Abschnitt 40. Since, he was performing in more than 50 TV and feature film productions, including Pope Joan, The Counterfeiters - 2008 Oscar winner for best foreign-language film -, Paramount Pictures' Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, directed by Kenneth Branagh and most recently The Transporter Refueled - written and produced by Luc Besson. Since 2016 Lenn is back as a detective in the Kroatien Krimi for ARD (national German Television).
Lenn was giving his directors debut in 2007 with the short film Today Is My Day. His second work as a director and writer was Thank You Mr. President (2009), that successfully toured international festivals and has won the renowned award Murnaupreis.
In 2014, Lenn filmed his third short film Business As Usual - The Prophet on board, for which he received the Amnesty International Human Rights Award. In addition to this, he founded the world wide first sustained orchestra "The Berlin Show Orchestra" with his company Legrain Productions and is committed to the sustainability concept for CO2 reduction.
Lenn is member of the German Film Academy.- Viktoriya Agalakova was born on 30 August 1996 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She is an actress, known for Identity, The Bride (2017) and Mermaid: The Lake of the Dead (2018).
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Sofya was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia. She studied ballet at age 9 while attending the elite Vaganova Ballet Academy. From ages 10-12, Sofya studied modern dance then returned to classical ballet from ages 13-16. At 17, Sofya became a professional ballerina where she was discovered by talent agents. She won many beauty contests and competitions and starred on the talk show circuit. She opened the Venice Ball in Moscow where she met her future husband, Russian industrialist Sergey Veremeenko. They married quickly, and at age 18, Sofya entered the Mrs. World pageant in St. Petersburg, Russia, and won the title.
The international media quickly discovered her and suggested that she learn English and head to Hollywood, where she began landing TV roles and quickly moved to the big screen.- Lyudmila Savelyeva is a Russian actress known as Natasha Rostova in epic film War and Peace (1965), a powerful adaptation of the eponymous masterpiece by Lev Tolstoy.
She was born Lyudmila Mikhailovna Savelyeva on 24 January 1942, in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), while the city suffered the heroic Siege of Leningrad during WWII. From 1950 to 1962 she studied acting and ballet at the prestigious Vaganovoy Academy of Russian Ballet, graduating in 1962 as ballerina. That same year she became member of the Kirov Ballet at Mariinsky Theatre in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). She made her film debut in Sleeping beauty (1964).
Savelyeva shot to fame as Natasha Rostova in epic film War and Peace (1965) by director Sergey Bondarchuk. The eight-hour epic became the most expensive film ever made, War and Peace (1965) was produced over seven years, from 1961 to 1968, at an estimated cost of $100,000,000 (about one billion dollars adjusted for inflation in 2010). The film set several records, such as involving over three hundred professional actors from several countries and also tens of thousands extras from the Red Army in filming of the two-hour-long episode about the historic Battle of Borodino against the Napoleon's invasion, making it the largest battle scene ever filmed.
Savelyeva's natural beauty and effortless style won her numerous accolades form international critics. She was chosen by the Soviet Union's communist government to represent the country at various film festivals across the world. In 1969, Savelyeva was sent to the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood to represent War and Peace (1965) which won the 1969 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. A few days later, when Savelyeva brought the Oscar back to Moscow, she was met by members of the Soviet government who took the Oscar away from the filmmakers.
After co-starring in a few less successful movies, Savelyeva disappeared form public view during the 90s. She re-emerged after a ten-year hiatus appearing in Nezhnyy vozrast (2000) and later appeared as Countess Scherbatskaya in _"Anna Karenina" (2009 TV mini-series)_.
Outside of her acting career, Lyudmila Savelyeva is known as a collector of rare books, having amassed a significant private library. She has been married to fellow actor Aleksandr Zbruev, and the couple is living in Moscow, Russia. - Actress
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Kseniya Rappoport was born on 25 March 1974 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress and director, known for The Double Hour (2009), The Unknown Woman (2006) and Yurev den (2008). She is married to Dmitriy Borisov.- Actress
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As a teenager, she graduated from the modeling school. In secondary school her studies were mediocre, but for the last few years learning everything caught up due to coaching. Because of this, Elizaveta acquired two foreign languages - English and German. The graduating class decided to enter the branch of "Public relations" of the Faculty of Journalism at Saint Petersburg State University. Visiting the opening of the academic theater "On Mokhovoy" and several productions Theatre Lensoveta, Elizaveta decided to enter the Theatre Institute. As she later recalled Boyarskaya, parents did not dissuade her from such a choice, but warned "About all the undercurrents".
Since 2006 - the actress of the Maly Drama Theatre (Theatre of Europe) in St. Petersburg.
Elizaveta a few months to prepare for entry into the Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy under Lev Dodin's mastery. He received the Presidential Scholarship. Graduated SPbGATI in 2007.- Actor
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Lee Perkins is a multiple award winning actor who has worked opposite Academy Award Winner Benicio Del Toro in "Reptile", Academy Award Winner Jon Voight in "Woodlawn", Academy Award Nominee Steve Carell in "Foxcatcher", Academy Award Nominee Charles Durning in "Death & Texas" and Academy Award Nominee Gary Busey in "Daze". He has also shared the screen with Jason Statham, Kate Bosworth, Channing Tatum, Lance Reddick, Tyler Hoechlin, Dean Cain, Mandy Moore along with other recognizable names.
Perkins grew up in California where he attended high school and college. Although he loved movies - particularly the films of John Wayne and Kirk Douglas - sports were also a passion where Perkins excelled in baseball, football and even auto racing.
After earning his SAG Card on "Freejack", Perkins started studying the Meisner Technique at Playhouse West under Academy Award Nominee Jeff Goldblum. He also attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London to study the classics. Perkins has appeared twice on the London stage in the Shakespeare plays, 'The Two Gentlemen of Verona' and 'Troilus and Cressida'.
Perkins' first lead film role was in the World War II period drama, "The Red Machine", in which he played the Navy Lieutenant who masterminds the U.S. Navy's breaking of the unbreakable Japanese Naval Code. Roger Ebert gave the film "Two Thumbs Up". Perkins earned rave reviews for his performance where he had to learn period Japanese.
With over 40 years in the entertainment business, Lee Perkins continues to fuel his passion for great stories and plans to appear on the large screen, small screen and on the stage where his journey began.- Writer
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Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was born on April 22, 1899, the eldest of five children in a wealthy aristocratic family in St. Petersburg, Russia. His grandfather was a Justice Minister to the Czar Alexander II. His father, named Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov, was a liberal political leader, the editor of a liberal newspaper, and was a friend of Sergei Diaghilev. His mother, named Elena Ivanovna (née Rukavishnikov), was the daughter of the wealthiest Russian goldmine owner.
Nabokov's family was trilingual. As a child he was already reading foreign writers Edgar Allan Poe, Gustave Flaubert, and the Russians Lev Tolstoy, Nikolay Gogol, and Anton Chekhov. He excelled in languages and literature, as well, as in soccer, tennis and chess. He was inspired by his father's studies in lepidoptery from the age of 7, and spent summers collecting butterflies in the family estate of Vyra, near St. Petersburg. He graduated from the most advanced and prestigious Tenishev School in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Nabokov's father was the Secretary of the Russian Provisional Government, when he was arrested during the Russian revolution of October, 1917, and the family estate was confiscated by the communists. The Nabokov family emigrated to London and then to Berlin. There Nabokov's father was murdered at a political meeting while shielding his opponent from assassins. The painful memory of his father's violent death would echo in many of Nabokov's writings. In 1923 Nabokov graduated with honors from Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied zoology and literature. He worked as a translator and tutor in Europe for 18 years. In 1925 he married Vera Evseevna Slonim, from a Russian-Jewish family, and their son Dimitri was born in 1934.
Traumatized by the death of his father and the loss of his home country, Nabokov expressed himself in writing. His novel 'The Luzhin Defence' (1930) is alluding to his own story of emigration and the sense of loss. In 1937 his father's killer was released by Adolf Hitler, and Nabokov had to move to Paris. Three years later he fled from the advancing German Armies to the United States, with his wife and son. In 1940 he crossed the Atlantic Ocean on the Champlain, where he had a first class cabin, paid with the money from the composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. In 1945 Nabokov became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He taught literature at Cornell University and worked as entomologist at Harvard University, becoming a distinguished lepidopterist.
He published short stories in the Atlantic and the New Yorker magazines in English, while still writing his memoirs in Russian, and agonizing to switch from Russian to English. It took him 6 years to complete "Lolita" (1955), a controversial story of a pedophile's desire for a 12-year-old girl, who reminds him of the little girl he loved as a boy. The novel was banned in America and the UK until 1958. He later wrote a screenplay for the film Lolita (1962), directed by Stanley Kubrick. Lolita and "Pale Fire" (1962) are his best known novels. In 1964 Nabokov published his four-volume translation of 'Eugene Onegin' by Alexander Pushkin, on which he worked for 10 years. He later made English translations of poems by Mikhail Lermontov and Fyodor Tyutchev. His own later works: the artfully constructed 'Ada' (1969), 'Transparent Things' (1972), and the autobiographic 'Look at the Harlequins' (1975), were translated into Russian by his son Dimitri. Nabokov also published scholarly works on Nikolay Gogol, James Joyce and Franz Kafka.
In 1960 Nabokov moved to Switzerland and made his home at the Montreux Palace Hotel. From there he frequently traveled to Milan, Italy, where his son Dimitri Nabokov was an opera singer at the La Scala. Nabokov's main hobby was his immense collection of rare butterflies which grew to a museum-quality with his many entomological expeditions. He never learned to drive a car, and he depended on his wife Vera to drive him around. Nabokov's individualism manifested in his ironic rejection of any mass-psychology, especially Marxism, Freudism, etc. He never used telephones, thus preventing any outside influence over his way of life. He had a rare gift of synaesthesia, cognate with that of composer Alexander Scriabin and artist Wassily Kandinsky. Nabokov also made his name in chess by composing chess problems.
Vladimir Nabokov died on July 2, 1977, in Montreux Palace Hotel, and was laid to rest in the Clarens Cemetery, Montreux, Switzerland. His wife and muse, Vera Slonim, died in 1993, and was laid to rest with Nabokov. The family mansion of Nabokov's in St. Petersburg, Russia is now a Nabokov's Museum. His first collection of butterflies is now part of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. His last and most valuable butterfly collection was bequeathed to the Zoology Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.- This explosive actress, whose work has been described as breathtaking and soulful, is originally from St. Petersburg, Florida and is the youngest child of Henry and Minnie Sellers, who strongly encouraged education, music and artistic creativity. In St. Petersburg, Diane attended Azalea Middle School and Dixie Hollins High School, where she performed in numerous stage productions and sang in many talent shows. She knew she was destined for a career as a performer when her sister, Dolores, escorted her to her first professional audition, a touring stage musical titled Sights and Sounds, wherein Diane was described as the cast's "triple threat," as an actress, singer and dancer. After graduating from St. Petersburg College (and after a short, less than memorable stint as a flight attendant), she relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, where she began her professional acting career. Diane has performed on-stage in Florida, Little Rock, Arkansas, Atlanta and Los Angeles. After receiving critical acclaim for her performance with Sharon Stone in the feature film "Last Dance," Diane relocated to Los Angeles, where she continues to work in film, television and on stage.
- Leon Kemstach was born on 1 August 2008 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is an actor, known for The Boy's Word: Blood on the Asphalt (2023) and Normalnyy tolko ya (2021).
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Joe Buck was born on 25 April 1969 in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Fever Pitch (2005), Tour de Pharmacy (2017) and Deconstructing Harry (1997). He has been married to Michelle Beisner since 12 April 2014. They have two children. He was previously married to Ann Carolyn Archambault.- Maurice Tillet, better known by his Professional wrestling name, "The French Angel". Maurice was born in St. Petersburg, Russia on October 23, 1903 of French parents. His father was an engineer involved in the construction of the Trans-Siberian railroad and his mother was a teacher of languages. By age 8 Maurice had lost his father. Sometime afterwards Maurice's mother moved him to Moscow Russia, where she taught at a St. Philip Neri Catholic School where Maurice attended classes.
With the Russian Revolution underway in 1917, his mother decided to move to Rheims, France. She found employment teaching languages at a local girl's college. Probably due to his mother's influence, Maurice learned to speak many languages. Maurice was a devout Catholic and attended church every Sunday. Once in 1947 he was even given an audience with the Pope.
By age 17, Maurice's head, chest, hands, and feet started to expand. By age 19, he was diagnosed with acromegaly. Acromegaly is a disease caused by a tumor on the pituitary gland that then causes bones to thicken to abnormal proportions. It took an angelic young man and turned him into what the public perceived as a monster.
Maurice received his secondary education at St. Stanislaus, a Catholic school in Paris. Once complete he went onto his post-secondary education at Toulouse University of Law.
He was always the athlete, enjoying rugby in particular. Once in 1926 he was named to an all-France rugby team. After a game in London, he received the distinction of shaking the hand of King George V., a distinction he would often mention.
Maurice completed his law degree however chose not to practice.
In the French Navy, Maurice worked as an engineer aboard many battleships eventually achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer serving a total of 5 years. He eventually got bored with Navy life and rejoined the civilian population.
It was in this time-frame he tried his hand at a number of occupations, and acted in the French cinema. When in the course of WWII he heard the French Navy sunk his ship to avoid capture by the Nazi's, he wept.
Maurice was discovered in Paris, France in 1936 by Lithuanian light-heavyweight champion amateur wrestler Karl Pojello. Karl knew Maurice's interesting look could make him a professional wrestling sensation. At that time Maurice was working for a local Paris studio as an actor and as a doorman. 1939 saw Maurice wrestle in England as, "The Angel", a nickname given to him by his mother. Other names given to him were not as kindly including "Ugliest Man in the World". The bear hug became his signature move.
By late 1939, Maurice had a proven track record and was ready to invade professional wrestling in the United States. Maurice made his American debut on January 24, 1940 at Boston Garden against Luigi Bacigaiupi. Maurice walked down the aisle, entered the ring, leaned over the ropes, and roared at the crowd.
At his American debut were Harvard scientists anticipating the sight of Maurice. They asked him if he would submit to be measured for science and Maurice agreed. They were curious about Maurice as acromegalics often did not live past their 30th year. Acromegalics would often get weak, where-as Maurice was still very strong, and healthy at his current 37 years of age. Maurice was 5 foot 8.5 inches in height, 276 pounds, 47 inch chest. Maurice had a head almost twice that of normal for a man of his size, and hands that could shuffle three decks of cards. He was declared to be the closest living specimen to that of Neanderthal man known to exist.
The crowds flocked to see this monster of a man who was a throwback to prehistoric times. Maurice proved incredibly strong and staged events where he would pull a bus or street car. He wrestled and won against all the greatest wrestlers of his day. His persona was fierce, and although he was sold as a heel, he was kind, gentle, educated, and well-mannered.
On May 13, 1940 Maurice defeated Steve Casey by disqualification for the American Wrestling Association World Title in Boston, and beat him clean again two weeks later. Maurice reinvigorated professional wrestling as crowds dramatically increased to witness his body and his ability. He remained unbeaten for nineteen months but on May 13, 1942, Maurice lost the AWA title back to Steve Casey.
Although no longer billed as unbeatable, "The Angel" remained a very popular draw. Maurice held the AWA World Title (Boston) from May 13, 1940 to May 13, 1942 and the Montreal World Title March 30, 1942 to June 25, 1942. He was also the AWA champion from August 1, 1944 until August 15, 1944.
Maurice reported to the U.S. Army in 1942 to serve in the war effort but was told that he would be a curiosity and distraction and was denied service. In February of 1947, Maurice took his oath of citizenship to the United States.
Wrestling promoter Jack Pfefer recognized the genius in the wrestling nickname "Angel" and started importing other "Angels" with physical abnormalities. This influx forced Maurice to change his nickname "Angel to "The French Angel." With the "theft" of his very personal nickname it likely explains why Maurice's first face-to-face meeting with Pfefer ended with him slapping Jack across the face.
Maurice's appearance drew significant attention when he was in public. This is likely why he chose to live a very private life and was particular about his friends.
Karl, his wife Olga, and Maurice went in together on a mansion at 726 W. Garfield Blvd in Chicago. The three of them were living at that location together in 1954. In 1954, Karl had lung cancer and Maurice had recently recovered from bought of pneumonia. Maurice was also suffering from an enlarged heart caused by his acromegaly.
Karl died on September 4, 1954. When informed of Karl's passing, Maurice became ill and was taken to county hospital where he passed away thirteen hours after his friend. They were buried side by side in the Pojello family plot in the Lithuanian National Cemetery in Justice, Illinois.
Maurice is widely believed to have been the inspiration for the cartoon character "Shrek", although DreamWorks has never confirmed precisely from where Shrek's inspiration arose. The film was originally written and animated to fit actor Chris Farley. When Farley died, a whole new film was written. In a rush to create a new film, it is presumed Dreamworks found in Maurice the perfect representation of an older, wiser, grumpier ogre, yet possessing a noble character of a hero. The physical characteristics, as well personality traits of Maurice, and his wrestling persona "The French Angel", appear to be evident throughout the film.
Maurice was found in the 1935 French Film Princesse Tam Tam, starring Josephine Baker. - Manager
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Robert Enriquez was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. He is a manager and producer.- Actor
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Dmitri Nagiev - a talented actor and one of the most popular show-business figures in Russia. In 1991 graduated from the Leningrad State University of Theatre, Music and Cinematography. After obligatory military service he worked in the theatre "Vremya", then he was a "Radio Modern" DJ. Best known for his numerous roles in the popular comedy-show "Modern Ostorozhno" (nominated at International Emmy Award for best comedy-show) and none the less popular TV-series "Modern Ostorozhno - 2!", in which he co-starred with his only show-mate and friend Sergey Rost (who writes many of their series-scripts). He also plays on theatre stage and directs his own theatre projects. In 1996 he was called "The most popular person of Saint-Petersburg". Was called "The Best Russian DJ". In Russia he's considered a sex-symbol since his first roles in "Modern".- Actress
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Olga Dibtseva was born on 25 June 1986 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress and director, known for YA BOGINYA (2023), Ozabochennye (2015) and Good Day (2016). She was previously married to Roman Bocharov.- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Actress
Marlo Hampton was born on 7 February 1976 in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. She is an actress, known for Games People Play (2019), Boss Moves with Rasheeda (2022) and Caught in the Act: Unfaithful (2022).- Actor
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Kirill Lavrov was a notable Russian actor, director and political figure who was also longtime Chairman of Theatrical Union of the USSR and the leader of Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in St. Petersburg (Leningrad), Russia.
He was born Kirill Yuryevich Lavrov on September 15, 1925, in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia), into a family with deep roots in St. Petersburg society. He was baptized by the Russian Orthodox Church of St. John the Divine in Lavrushinskoe Podvorie Monastery in Leningrad.
Young Kirill Lavrov was brought up in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), in a noble family which was part of the St. Petersburg cultural milieu. His grandmother, named Olga Leonidovna Lykoshina, was related to writer Aleksandr Griboyedov and belonged to Polish Nobility. His grandfather was member of Imperial Humanitarian Society and Director of Gymnasium in St. Petersburg. His father, named Yuri Lavrov, was an actor at the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in St. Petersburg, where his stage costumes were designed by Alexandre Benois. His mother, named Olga Ivanovna Gudim-Levkovich, was an actress.
Kirill Lavrov's family was at risk during the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin, because Lavrov's grandfather, a member of Imperial Humanitarian Society in St. Petersburg, was an anti-communist who fled Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Russian intellectuals suffered badly under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. The murder of the popular governor of Leningrad, Sergei Kirov, triggered massive extermination of intellectuals and destruction of culture and society under repressions known as "The Great Purge." In 1938, the Lavrovs escaped repressions by moving from Leningrad to Kiev.
During the Second World War Kirill Lavrov was evacuated to Novosibirsk in Siberia. In 1943, then 17-year-old Lavrov applied to join the Red Army to fight the Nazis. He was sent to Astrakhan Aviation Technical School from which he graduated in 1945, and then served as an aircraft technician in the Air Force in the Kuril Island of Iturup until 1950. He was also an amateur actor at a local army club.
In 1950 Kirill Lavrov reunited with his parents in Kiev. There he became a professional actor of the Russian Drama Theatre named after Lesya Ukrainka, where his father was the leading actor at that time. Although Kirill Lavrov did not study acting professionally, he had a natural talent. He made his stage acting debut in Kiev, and appeared alongside with his father in several plays at the Russian Drama Theatre named after Lesya Ukrainka. In 1955, Lavrov came back to Leningrad; he was invited by director Georgi Tovstonogov and joined the troupe at BDT.
From 1955 - 2007 Kirill Lavrov was a permanent member of the legendary troupe at the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). Lavrov worked under directorship of Georgi Tovstonogov for 33 years. After the death of Tovstonogov, Lavrov remained the leader of outstanding ensemble of actors at BDT. There his stage partners were such stars as Oleg Basilashvili, Tatyana Doronina, Alisa Freyndlikh, Lyudmila Makarova, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Zinaida Sharko, Valentina Kovel, Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Sergey Yurskiy, Nikolay Trofimov, Oleg Borisov, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Yefim Kopelyan, Evgeniy Lebedev, Georgiy Shtil, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Pavel Luspekayev, Vadim Medvedev, Yuriy Demich, Leonid Nevedomsky, Gennadiy Bogachyov, Andrey Tolubeev, and many other remarkable Russian actors.
In 1989, Kirill Lavrov was unanimously elected the Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in St. Petersburg. He managed to preserve the artistic tradition established by the great Russian director Georgi Tovstonogov, and to rename BDT after G. A. Tovstonogov. Kirill Lavrov was awarded the State Prizes of the USSR and Russia for his works on stage and in film. He received numerous decorations and was designated People's Actor of the USSR (1972). He was elected representative to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and later was also an active political and cultural figure in the new Russia. From 1992 - 2006 Lavrov was President of the International Confederation of Theatrical Unions.
Outside of his acting and political career, Kirill Lavrov was a dedicated football (soccer) fan, a passion he inherited from his father. Kirill Lavrov was a good sportsman since his youth; he was a member of the youth football (soccer) team at "Spartak" club in Leningrad. He also trained in skiing, gymnastics and fencing. For many years, Lavrov was a captain of the football team of actors at BDT, and also a follower of Zenit, a football club in St. Petersburg.
Kirill Lavrov was Honorary Citizen of St. Petersburg. He died of a heart failure, aged 81, on April 27, 2007, in St Petersburg. His burial service was held at the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) and then at the same Russian Orthodox Church where he was baptized as a child. Kirill Lavrov was laid to rest next to his late wife in Bogoslovskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia.- Victoria Chalaya was born on 14 October 1982 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress, known for I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007), Her Knight (2003) and Aces 'N' Eights (2008).
- Nikita Volkov was born on 19 May 1993 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is an actor, known for Dance to Death (2017), A Rough Draft (2018) and Trudnye podrostki (2019).
- Actress
- Music Department
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Alisa Brunovna Freindlikh was born on December 8, 1934, in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). Her father, named Bruno Frejndlikh, was a notable actor. Alisa Freindlikh graduated from Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music, and Cinematography in 1957.
From 1961-1983 Alisa Freindlikh was a permanent member of the Leningrad Theatre of Lensovet under directorship of her husband Igor Vladimirov. She was the leading star of that theatre and her stage partners were such actors as Georgi Zhzhyonov, Aleksey Petrenko, Sergey Migitsko, Anatoliy Ravikovich, Mikhail Devyatkin, Mikhail Boyarskiy, Larisa Luppian, Galina Nikulina, Vera Ulik, Leonid Dyachkov, Valeri Kuzin, Yefim Kamenetsky, Leila Kirakosian, Aleksandr Estrin, Petr Shelokhonov, and other notable Russian actors.
Alisa Freindlikh made a stellar film career in collaboration with director Eldar Ryazanov. She also brilliantly played a supporting role in A Cruel Romance (1984), a Ryazanov's adaptation of the 19th century story by Aleksandr Ostrovskiy. In 1983 Alisa Freindlikh was designated the People's Artist of the USSR. That same year she divorced from her husband Igor Vladimirov, and soon left the Theatre of Lensovet.
Since 1984 Alisa Freindlikh has been a permanent member of Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) under directorship of Georgi Tovstonogov. There her stage partners were such stars as Kirill Lavrov, Oleg Basilashvili, Lyudmila Makarova, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Zinaida Sharko, Valentina Kovel, Sergey Yurskiy, Nikolay Trofimov, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Evgeniy Lebedev, Georgiy Shtil, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Vadim Medvedev, Yuriy Demich, Leonid Nevedomsky, Gennadiy Bogachyov, Andrey Tolubeev, and many other notable Russian actors.
In 2004, on her 70th birthday, Alisa Freindlikh was visited in her home by the Russian president Vladimir Putin. She was decorated for her achievements as an actress in film and theatre. Alisa Freindlikh is residing in St. Petersburg, Russia.- Born in 7 October 1952 is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has been serving as the president of Russia since 2012, and previously between 2000 and 2008. He also served as the prime minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000, and again from 2008 to 2012.
Putin worked as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel (podpolkovnik), before resigning in 1991 to begin a political career in Saint Petersburg. He moved to Moscow in 1996 to join the administration of president Boris Yeltsin. He briefly served as director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and secretary of the Security Council, before being appointed as prime minister in August 1999. After the resignation of Yeltsin, Putin became acting president and, less than four months later, was elected outright to his first term as president. He was reelected in 2004. As he was constitutionally limited to two consecutive terms as president at the time, Putin served as prime minister again from 2008 to 2012 under Dmitry Medvedev. He returned to the presidency in 2012 in an election marred by allegations of fraud and protests and was reelected in 2018. In April 2021, following a referendum, he signed into law constitutional amendments including one that would allow him to run for reelection twice more, potentially extending his presidency to 2036.
During his first tenure as president, the Russian economy grew on average by seven percent per year, following economic reforms and a fivefold increase in the price of oil and gas. He also led Russia during a war against Chechen separatists, reestablishing federal control of the region. As prime minister under Medvedev, he oversaw military reform and police reform, as well as Russia's victory in its war against Georgia. During his third term as president, Russia annexed Crimea and sponsored a war in eastern Ukraine with several military incursions made, resulting in international sanctions and a financial crisis in Russia. He also ordered a military intervention in Syria against rebel and jihadist groups.[16] During his fourth term as president, he presided over a military buildup on the border of Ukraine. Putin accused the Ukrainian government of committing atrocities against its Russian-speaking minority, and in February 2022, he ordered a full-scale invasion of the country, resulting in numerous atrocities and leading to widespread international condemnation, as well as expanded sanctions and calls for Putin to be pursued with war crime charges.
Under Putin's leadership, Russia has experienced democratic backsliding and a shift to authoritarianism. Putin's rule has been characterised by endemic corruption, the jailing and repression of political opponents, the intimidation and suppression of independent media in Russia, and a lack of free and fair elections. Putin's Russia has scored poorly on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index, and Freedom House's Freedom in the World index. Putin is the second-longest currently serving European president after Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus.