Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sokoloff (; 26 December 1889 – 15 February 1962) was a Russian actor of stage and screen. After studying theatre in Moscow, he began his professional film career in Germany and France during the Silent era, before emigrating to the United States in the 1930s. He appeared in over 100 films and television series, often playing supporting characters of various nationalities and ethnicities.
Early life and education Sokoloff was born in Moscow, Russian Empire. He was raised bilingual, speaking both Russian and German. He studied theatre in Moscow, first at the Moscow State University and later at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts, graduating in 1913. At one point a pupil of Constantin Stanislavski, he would later reject Method acting (as well as all other acting theories).
Career Upon graduation, he joined the Moscow Art Theatre as an actor and assistant director. Later in the decade, he joined the Kamerny Theatre. In the early 1923, he toured with his troupe in Germany, where he met theatre director and producer Max Reinhardt, who invited him to stay in Berlin. He appeared in numerous stage productions, and began acting in German and Austrian films, including The Love of Jeanne Ney (1927), The Ship of Lost Souls (1929), Farewell (1930), and Darling of the Gods (1930).
With the rise of Nazism, the Jewish Sokoloff moved first to Paris in 1932, where he continued to act on stage and screen. In 1937, he emigrated to the United States. Although he spoke very little English at the time of his arrival, his first stage role there was a lead in Georg Büchner's play Danton's Death, under the direction of Orson Welles.
That same year, he had his English-language breakthrough starring in fellow expat William Dieterle's The Life of Emile Zola, portraying Paul Cézanne. He appeared in a number of Broadway plays from 1937 to 1950. He also quickly found work in American films, playing characters of a wide variety of nationalities (he himself once estimated 35), for example, Filipino (Back to Bataan), French (Passage to Marseille), Greek (Mr. Lucky), Arab (Road to Morocco), Romanian (I Was a Teenage Werewolf), and Chinese (Macao). Among his better known parts are the Spanish guerrilla Anselmo in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) and the Mexican Old Man in The Magnificent Seven (1960).
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he also appeared on a number of television series, including three episodes of CBS's The Twilight Zone ("Dust", "The Gift" and "The Mirror"). On 1 January 1961, Sokoloff guest-starred as "Old Stefano", a wise shepherd, in the ABC/Warner Brothers western series Lawman, with John Russell and Peter Brown. He also appeared in one episode of The Untouchables entitled "Troubleshooter".
His final roles were in Escape from Zahrain and Taras Bulba, both of which starred Yul Brynner. Both films were released posthumously.
Death After a long career, he died of a stroke in 1962 in Hollywood, California, aged 72.
Partial stage credits Run TitleRoleTheatreRefs. 12/07/27 - 12/31/27JedermannDeath / The DevilCentury Theatre12/20/27 - 01/01/27Dantons TodMaximilien Robespierre01/02/28 - 01/31/28Peripherie JudgeCosmopolitan Theatre11/02/38 - 11/19/38Danton's DeathMaximilien RobespierreMercury Theatre02/05/42 - 02/07/42The Flowers of VirtueGeneral OrijasRoyale Theatre12/22/47 - 01/24/48Crime and PunishmentPorfiry PetrovitchNational Theatre12/27/48 - 01/07/50The Madwoman of ChaillotThe ProspectorRoyale Theatre
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1926Uneasy MoneyRag Collector1927Out of the MistPoletoThe Love of Jeanne NeyZacharkiewicz1928The White SonataDinas Vater1929Sensation im WintergartenBerryThe Ship of Lost SoulsGrischaKatharina KnieJulius 1930Westfront 1918Meal OrderlyUncreditedMorals at MidnightThe OverseerFarewellThe BaronDarling of the GodsBoris JussupoffThe Flute Concert of SanssouciRussian Envoy1931KismetThe Threepenny OperaSmith, the JailerL'opéra de quat'sousThe Sacred FlameHell on EarthLewin1932L'AtlantideGraf BielowskiTeilnehmer antwortet nichtZeichner BodyStrafsache von GeldernHaunted People1933Don QuichotteGypsy KingDon QuixoteServant UncreditedOn the StreetsFather SchlampHigh and LowMonsieur Berger1934Lake of LadiesBaron DobbersbergCount WoronzeffPetroff1935Le secret des WoronzeffNapoléon BonaparteTrista Fleuri1936MayerlingThe Chief of PoliceUnder Western EyesRectorCompliments of Mister FlowMerlowThe Lower DepthsKostylev1937The Life of Emile ZolaPaul CézanneAlcatraz IslandThe Flying DutchmanConquestDying SoldierWest of ShanghaiChow Fu-ShanExpensive HusbandsAndrew BrennerBeg, Borrow or StealSaschaTovarichScenes deleted1938Arsène Lupin ReturnsIvan PavloffBlockadeBasilThe Amazing Dr. ClitterhousePopusSpawn of the NorthDimitriRide a Crooked MileGlinka1939JuarezCamiloSons of LibertyJacobShort; uncreditedThe Real GloryThe Datu1940Comrade XMichael Bastakoff1941Love CrazyDr. Klugle1942CrossroadsCarlos Le DucUncreditedRoad to MoroccoHyder Khan1943Mission to MoscowPresident Mikhail KalininMr. LuckyGreek PriestUncreditedFor Whom the Bell TollsAnselmo1944Song of RussiaAlexander MeschkovPassage to MarseilleGrandpèreTill We Meet AgainCabeauThe ConspiratorsMiguel1945A Royal ScandalMalakoffBack to BataanSeñor Buenaventura J. BelloParis UndergroundUndertakerScarlet StreetPop LeJon1946Two Smart PeopleMonsieur Jacques DufourA Scandal in ParisUncle HugoCloak and DaggerPolda1948To the Ends of the EarthCommissioner Lum Chi Chow1950The Baron of ArizonaPepito1952MacaoKwan Sum Tang1956While the City SleepsGeorge "Pop" Pilski1957IstanbulAziz RakimMonster from Green HellDr. LorentzI Was a Teenage WerewolfPepe the JanitorSabu and the Magic RingOld Fakir1958Twilight for the GodsFeodor Morris1960Man on a StringSergei MitrovBeyond the Time BarrierThe SupremeThe Magnificent SevenThe Old ManCimarronJacob Krubeckoff1961Mr. SardonicusHenryk Toleslawski1962Escape from ZahrainAbdulUncredited; posthumous releaseTaras BulbaOld StepanPosthumous release
Television credits Year Title Role Episodes1955CrusaderGrandfather"The Bargain"1956The MillionaireUncle Jacques Monet"The Story of Lucky Swanson"1957Wire ServicePrime Minister"No Peace in Lo Dao" / "A Matter of Conscience"Cavalcade of AmericaJake Bartosh"The Last Signer"SuspicionEnrique Bartolo"The Flight"Have Gun – Will TravelGourken"Helen of Abajinian"1957-1959Playhouse 90Bartok / Anselmo"For I Have Loved Strangers" / "For Whom the Bell Tolls", parts 1 and 21958Alfred Hitchcock PresentsUncle FernaudSeason 3 Episode 22: "The Return of the Hero"Father Knows BestMan"The Great Experiment"1959Peter GunnVictor Majeski"Edge of the Night"Johnny StaccatoFather Keeley"Nature of the Night"Sunday ShowcaseDr. Alexis Rostov"Murder and the Android"1960Five FingersPeter Vestos"The Judas Goat"Tightrope!Emile Kovacs"Cold Ice"The AlaskansChanook"Peril at Caribou Crossing"Dick Powell's Zane Grey TheatreAlf"Knife of Hate"LawmanOld Stefano"Old Stefano"1960-1961The UntouchablesStanley Tannenbaum / Sam"The Tommy Karpeles Story" / "The Troubleshooter"1961The Law and Mr. JonesDr. Harding"Lethal Weapons"HenneseyPapa Bronsky"Max Remembers Papa"MaverickPedro Rubio"The Forbidden City"The Donna Reed ShowDr. Steinhaus"Donna's Helping Hand"Death Valley DaysTarabal"The Stolen City"Adventures in ParadiseSada"Adam San"Harrigan and SonKowalski"The Legacy"Wagon TrainFelipe"The Don Alvarado Story"The RiflemanAbuelito"The Vaqueros"Whispering SmithFather Antonio"Prayer of a Chance"CheckmatePedro Moreno"Juan Moreno's Body"1961-1962ThrillerPapa Glockstein / The Janitor"The Terror in Teakwood" / "Flowers of Evil"The Twilight ZoneGallegos / Father Tomas / Guitarist"Dust" / "The Mirror" / "The Gift"1962The Dick Powell ShowMarco"Death in a Village"Hawaiian EyeDr. Anton Miklos"The Missile Rogues"
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