Aleksandr Leonidovich Vishnevsky

Aleksandr Vishnevsky (Russian: Александр Леонидович Виншевский) was a Russian actor and one of the founding members of the Moscow Art Theatre.

Aleksandr Vishnevsky
Born	Aleksandr Leonidovich Vishnevetsky 20 January 1861 Taganrog, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	27 February 1943 (aged 82) Tashkent, Soviet Union
Occupation	Actor

Biography

Vishnevsky studied at the Taganrog gymnasium where he befriended the young Anton Chekhov. From 1883 he took part in the performances of the Taganrog Music and Drama Society. Later he acted in the theatres of Kharkov, Ekaterinoslav, Odessa, Saratov where he was a jeune premier. In 1898 he joined the troupe of the Moscow Art Theatre (MAT). On the opening night of the MAT, Vishnevsky played the part of Boris Godunov in the play Tsar Fiodor Ioannovich by Alexei Tolstoy. In 1899 he played Godunov again in Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan the Terrible. Vishnevsky was the first to play the title role in Chekhov's play Uncle Vanya at the MAT.

In 1933 Vishnevsky became the first actor to be awarded the title of Hero of Labour. Later that honorary title was renamed Hero of Socialist Labour. He was also awarded the title of Honored Worker of Arts of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. He died on 27 February 1943 in Tashkent where he lived in evacuation. He is buried in Tashkent. His son is Alexander Alexandrovich Vishnevsky, who was a journalist and a senior official at the TASS. His daughter is Natalia Alexandrovna Vishnevskaya.

Career

Theatre roles

(at the Moscow Art Theatre):

• 1898 – Tsar Fiodor Ioannovich by Alexei Tolstoy – Boris Godunov
• 1898 – The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare – Antonio
• 1899 – The Death of Ivan the Terrible by Alexei Tolstoy – Boris Godunov
• 1900 – An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen – Hovstad
• 1902 – The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky – Tatar
• 1903 – Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare – Mark Antonius
• 1906 – Woe from Wit by Alexandr Griboyedov – Count Tugoukhovsky
• 1907 – Boris Godunov by Alexandr Pushkin – Boris Godunov

Filmography

• 1918 – Cagliostro (“The False Masons”), Russia, Rus, black-and-white
• 1927 – Woman's Victory aka Pobeda zhenschiny (“Boyar Nikit Yurievich”), USSR, Mezhrabpomrus, black-and-white, 62 min.

Acknowledgement and awards

• Hero of Socialist Labour (1933)
• Honored Worker of Arts of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

References

• Encyclopaedia of Taganrog, 2nd edition, Taganrog, 2003

External links

• Aleksandr Vishnevsky at IMDb