Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-50 of 1,303
- 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.- 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.- 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
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
- 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.- 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.- 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 Hipsters (2008). She was previously married to Archil Gelovani and Dmitriy Litvinov.
- 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.- 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).
- 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.- 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 was previously married to Fedor Bondarchuk.- 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
- 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.- 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.- 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.- 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
- Director
- Producer
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.- 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).- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
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.- Actress
- Writer
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), Three Days (1991) and 977 (2006). She was married to Sharunas Bartas and Andrey Kaprin. She died on 3 August 2011 in Paris, France.- Actress
- Soundtrack
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.- 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.- 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. - Actress
- Director
- Soundtrack
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.- Viktoriya Agalakova was born on 30 August 1996 in St. Petersburg, Russia. She is an actress, known for Identity, The Bride (2017) and Mermaid: The Lake of the Dead (2018).