Alexander Godunov facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alexander Godunov
Born	Alexander Borisovich Godunov (1949-11-28)November 28, 1949 Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Sakhalin, Russian SFSR, USSR
Died	c. May 18, 1995(1995-05-18) (aged 45) West Hollywood, California, U.S.
Citizenship	Soviet (1949–1982; def.) United States (1987–1995)
Occupation	Ballet dancer actor ballet coach
Years active	1958–1995
Spouse(s)	Lyudmila Vlasova ​ ​ (m. 1971; div. 1982)​
Partner(s)	Jacqueline Bisset (1981–1988)

Alexander Borisovich Godunov (Russian: Александр Борисович Годунов; November 28, 1949 – c. May 18, 1995) was a famous ballet dancer and actor. He was born in Russia and later became an American citizen.

Godunov was a top dancer, known as a Premier danseur, with the famous Bolshoi Ballet in Russia. In 1979, he moved to the United States. While he kept dancing, he also started acting in Hollywood movies. You might know him from films like Witness and Die Hard.

Early Life and Dance Training

Alexander Godunov was born in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, a city in the Russian Far East. When he was nine years old, in 1958, he started studying ballet in Riga. He was in the same class as another famous dancer, Mikhail Baryshnikov. Godunov once said his mother sent him to ballet lessons to stop him from becoming "a hooligan." He and Baryshnikov became good friends and helped each other during their time there.

In 1971, Godunov joined the Bolshoi Ballet, one of the world's most famous ballet companies. He quickly became their lead male dancer, known as a Premier danseur.

In 1973, Godunov won a gold medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition. He also became well-known in the Soviet Union as a movie actor. He starred in the 1976 film Anna Karenina and the 1978 film 31 June. Because of his success, he was given the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR in 1976.

Moving to the United States

On August 21, 1979, Alexander Godunov was on tour with the Bolshoi Ballet in New York City. He decided to ask for political asylum, meaning he wanted to stay in the United States.

When Russian officials found out he was gone, they tried to send his wife, Lyudmila Vlasova, back to Moscow. She was also a dancer with the Bolshoi company. Her plane was stopped before it could take off. After three days, with help from U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, the U.S. government was sure that Vlasova wanted to return to the Soviet Union. So, her plane was allowed to leave. This event was even made into a movie called Flight 222 in 1986.

Vlasova later explained that Godunov loved American culture and had wanted to live in the U.S. for a long time. However, she felt she was "too Russian" to live there. Alexander and Lyudmila divorced in 1982.

Later Career in America

After moving to the U.S., Godunov joined the American Ballet Theatre. He was a main dancer there until 1982. He then had a disagreement with Mikhail Baryshnikov, who was the director of the company. The American Ballet Theatre said that changes in their dance shows meant Godunov didn't have enough roles.

After leaving the company, he traveled with his own dance group. He also performed as a guest dancer with many famous ballet companies around the world.

Godunov also started a new career as an actor in Hollywood. He played different kinds of roles. He was an Amish farmer in the movie Witness (1985). He played a funny, self-centered orchestra conductor in The Money Pit (1986). And he was one of the bad guys in the action movie Die Hard (1988). He often turned down roles that would make him play only dancers or action villains, because he wanted to try different characters. In the mid-1990s, he also appeared in Canadian TV commercials.

Personal Life

Alexander Godunov married Lyudmila Vlasova, a dancer from the Bolshoi Ballet, in 1971. They did not have any children. They divorced in 1982 after being separated for a while.

In 1981, Godunov started dating actress Jacqueline Bisset. They met at a party in New York City. They broke up in 1988.

Godunov became a citizen of the United States in 1987.

Death

On May 18, 1995, Alexander Godunov's friends became worried because he had not called them, which was unusual for him. A nurse, who had not heard from him since May 8, went to his home in West Hollywood, California. She found his body there. He had passed away a few days earlier. It was determined that Godunov's death was caused by problems from a liver condition called hepatitis.

Godunov was cremated, and his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean. There is a memorial for him in Los Angeles with the words: "His future remained in the past."

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Aleksandr Godunov para niños

• List of dancers
• List of Russian ballet dancers
• List of Eastern Bloc defectors