Anatoli Dmitriyevich Papanov (; 31 October 1922 – 5 August 1987) was a Soviet and Russian actor, drama teacher, and theatre director at the Moscow Satire Theatre where he served for almost 40 years. A prominent character actor, Papanov is mostly remembered for his comedy roles in a duo with his friend Andrei Mironov, although he had many dramatic roles as well. As a voice actor, he contributed to over one hundred cartoons. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1973 and awarded the USSR State Prize posthumously.Papanov, Anatolii Dmitrievich from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 1979
Early and war years Anatoli Papanov was born in Vyazma, Smolensk Governorate (modern-day Smolensk Oblast, Russia) into a mixed Russian-Polish family.Larisa Zhukova. Vyazma — Anatoly Papanov's motherland. My City — Vyazma.ru newspaper № 47 (24 November 2011). Retrieved on 2016-10-31.Tatiana Bulkina (2011). A Bow to the Soviet Cinema // Interview with Nadezhda Karatayeva. — Moscow: Moscovia Publishing House, pp. 87—96 His father Dmitry Filippovich Papanov (1897–1982) was a retired soldier who served as a railway guard and an amateur actor at the local theatre founded by Nikolai Plotnikov, where Anatoli and his sister also performed as children.Islands. Anatoly Papanov documentary by Russia-K, 2007 (in Russian) His mother Yelena Boleslavovna Roskovskaya (1901–1973) was a Belarus-bornБеларуская глыбіня: наш Папанаў. Піша Павел Севярынец (The Depth of Belarus: Papanov, One of Us. By Paval Sieviaryniec) - Nasha Niva, 17.11.2012 Polish milliner who secretly converted from Roman Catholicism to Russian Orthodoxy. Anatoli himself was raised in Orthodox traditions.
In 1930, the family moved to Moscow. As a schoolboy, Papanov attended drama courses, then went on to work as a caster at a factory, simultaneously performing in a popular theatre studio for factory workers organized by Vakhtangov Theatre actors led by Vasily Kuza whom Papanov later considered his first teacher. During the late 1930s, he made a number of uncredited appearances in movies, such as a sailor in Lenin in October (1937) or a passerby in The Foundling (1939).
In 1941, after the invasion of the Soviet Union, Papanov joined the Red Army and, as a senior sergeant, headed an anti-aircraft warfare platoon on the front lines. In June 1942, he was badly wounded by an explosion and lost two toes on his right foot. He spent six months in a military hospital and was sent home as disabled, and for the next several years he could only walk with a cane. In 1985 he was awarded the 1st class Order of the Patriotic War.Anatoli Papanov at the People's Deed website (in Russian)
In 1943, despite his injury, Papanov enrolled as a student in the acting faculty of the State Institute of Theatre Arts, taking courses with Vasily Orlov. During his studies he met his future wife and fellow student Nadezhda Yuryevna Karatayeva (born 1924), who had also served in the war as a nurse on a hospital train. They married on 20 May 1945, ten days after the end of the war.Nadezhda Karatayeva and Anatoli Papanov. More than Love documentary by Russia-K, 2013 (in Russian)
Career Theatre In 1946, after graduating from the State Institute, Papanov left for Klaipėda, Lithuanian SSR, along with other students. There, they founded the Klaipėda Russian Drama Theatre, where he performed for several years. In 1948, Andrey Goncharov suggested he join the Moscow Satire Theatre, where he continued to act up until his death, performing in about 50 plays.Theatre Roles at the website in the memory of Anantoli Papanov (in Russian)
Among his popular roles were Alexander Koreiko in The Little Golden Calf (1958), Kisa Vorobyaninov in The Twelve Chairs (1960, both based on the novels by Ilf and Petrov), Vasily Tyorkin in Aleksandr Tvardovsky's Tyorkin in the Other World (1966), Anton Antonovich in Nikolai Gogol's The Government Inspector (1972), Nikolai Shubin in Grigori Gorin's and Arkady Arkanov's Little Comedies of the Big House (1973), Pavel Famusov in Alexander Griboyedov's Woe from Wit (1976), Roman Khludov in Mikhail Bulgakov's Flight (1977), Leonid Gayev in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1984), and others.Theatre history at the official Moscow Satire Theatre website (in Russian)
Apart from performing, Papanov also taught acting at the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts, and in 1986 he staged his first and last play, The Last Ones by Maxim Gorky. Being a devout Christian, Papanov wanted to end the play with a prayer. To avoid possible censorship, he used a radio record of Feodor Chaliapin performing a prayer.
Cinema During the 1960s, Papanov began regularly appearing in films. He performed leading roles in the comedies Come Tomorrow, Please... (1962), directed by Yevgeny Tashkov, and Children of Don Quixote (1965), directed by Yevgeny Karelov, and appeared in several comedies by Eldar Ryazanov, including The Man from Nowhere (1961), where he played four roles at once. It didn't bring him any fame, though, as the movie was heavily criticized upon release and quickly banned for 25 years straight.Olga Afanasieva (2015). Eldar Ryazanov. Irony of Fate, or.... — Moscow: Algorythm, p. 26
Papanov became very famous, however, after his work as General Serpilin in Aleksandr Stolper's war drama The Living and the Dead (1964). For this role he was awarded the Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR and the main prize at the First All-Union Film Festival, and Konstantin Simonov personally lauded his work.Cinema: Encyclopedia Dictionary, main ed. Sergei Yutkevich (1987). — Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia, p. 81Konstantin Simonov (1977). The Alive and the Dead. Volume 1. — St. Petersburg: Khudozhestvennaya Literatura, p. 6
In 1966, Eldar Ryazanov released Beware of the Car, in which Papanov appeared alongside his friend Andrei Mironov, with Mironov as a modern-day black marketeer, and Papanov as his father-in-law, a war veteran who mocks him all the way through. Its popularity led Leonid Gaidai to cast them in his 1968 comedy The Diamond Arm as the main antagonists, a pair of smugglers who tried to get their hands on the hero's "diamond arm". The film was seen by 76.7 million people in the year of release, becoming the third most popular Soviet movie of all time.Soviet box office leaders at KinoPoisk In 1971, Gaidai also considered casting both actors for the leading parts in his adaptation of The Twelve Chairs, but decided otherwise.Anna Veligzhanina. Gaidai rejected 22 Ostaps article from Komsomolskaya Pravda, 30 January 2003 (in Russian) In 1976, Mark Zakharov directed his own TV adaptation of the book and eventually cast both actors in the leading roles, reuniting them for the last time.
Papanov was also highly sought after by animation directors. His distinguishing growling voice suited all kinds of beasts such as Shere Khan from Adventures of Mowgli (1967), a Soviet adaptation of The Jungle Book. His most popular characters, though, were wolves, especially after he voiced the Wolf character in the top-rated animated series Well, Just You Wait! (1969—1986), which has been considered his best role, overshadowing all of his other work, to his great displeasure.Papanov and Cartoons at the website in the memory of Anatoli Papanov (in Russian)
Death
Papanov passed away on August 5, 1987, at the age of 64 in Moscow, USSR. After performing his last role, The Cold Summer of 1953. He suffered a myocardial infarction in his bathtub filled with cold water. Nadezhda Karatayeva found his body 2 days later when she was in Riga. His funeral took place on August 11, 1987, in Novodevichy Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, actress Nadezhda Karatayeva, who also performed at the Moscow Satire Theatre, and their daughter Yelena Papanova, a theatre and film actress.
Asteroid No. 2480 is named after Papanov.
In 2012, a monument in memory of Papanov was opened in his native Vyazma.[http://smolensk-i.ru/culture/v-smolenskoy-oblasti-otkryili-pamyatnik-anatoliyu-papanovu_8259 Anatoly Papanov monument opened in the Smolensk Oblast. Smolensk-i.ru. Retrieved on 31 October 2016.
One of the streets in Mikhaylovsk, Stavropol Krai is named after the actor.Anatoly Papanov street at the Postal codes website (in Russian)
Selected filmography Movies
Lenin in October (1937) as sailor (uncredited) The Foundling (1939) as passerby (uncredited) Minin and Pozharsky (1939) as peasant boy (uncredited) Composer Glinka (1952) as aide-de-camp The Inspector-General (1952) as official (uncredited) How Robinson Was Created (almanac "Absolutely Seriously", 1961) as chief editor Man Follows the Sun (1961) as super The Cossacks (1961) as cornet The Man from Nowhere (1961) as Arkady Krokhalyov / tribal chief / theatre actor / bully A Trip Without a Load (1962) as Akim Sevastyanovich Come Tomorrow, Please... (1962) as Nikolay Vasilievich (voiced by Yevgeny Tashkov) The Living and the Dead (1964) as major general Fyodor Serpilin The Green Flame (1964) as Boris Zhmurkin Children of Don Quixote (1965) as Pyotr Bondarenko Our House (1965) as father Give me a complaints book (1965) as a maître d'hôtel Vasily Kutaytsev Going Inside a Storm (1965) as Anykeyev, the head of the lab Beware of the Car (1966) as Sokol-Kruzhkin, Semitsvetov's father-in-law Retribution (1967) as major general Fyodor Serpilin Seven Old Men and a Girl (1968) as legal adviser Two Comrades Were Serving (1968) as regimental commander The Diamond Arm (1968) as Lyolik the smuggler The Golden Calf (1968) as Vasisualy Lokhankin (deleted scene) The Adjutant of His Excellency (1969) as Yevgeny Angel Belorussian station (1970) as Nikolai Dubinsky All The King's Men (1971) as Burden Sr. Gentlemen of Fortune (1971) as chess player in a hotel The Bad Good Man (1973) as Samoilenko the doctor Eleven Hopes (1975) as Vorontsov The Twelve Chairs (1976) as Kisa Vorobianinov Mama, I'm Alive (1977) as Lopatkin the home owner Incognito from St. Petersburg (1977) as mayor Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmuhanovsky Domestic Circumstances (1977) as male nanny Engineer Graftio (1979) as Genrikh Graftio Comic Lover, or Love Escapades of Sir John Falstaff (1983) as Falstaff The Cold Summer of 1953 (1987) as Nikolai "Kopalych" Starobogatov (voiced by Igor Yefimov)
Animation The Key (1961) as Zmei Gorynich's third head A Little Frog Is looking for His Father (1964) as Crocodile Fitil (1964—1984) as various roles Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (1965) as Nag Adventures of Mowgli (1967—1971) as Shere Khan The Little Mermaid (1968) as guide Well, Just You Wait! (1969—1994, 18 episodes) as Wolf (voice samples in episodes 17—18) Happy Merry-Go-Round № 5 (1973) as Nikodim Sack of Apples (1974) as Wolf Ded Moroz And a Gray Wolf (1978) as Wolf A Flying Ship (1979) as Vodyanoy The Three on Island (1986) as pirate The Hare and the Leader (2021 workprint) as Wolf the Leader (hero)
References
External links
Anatoli Papanov. A Short Biography of the Great Actor