Mikhail Zharov facts for kids

Mikhail Zharov
Quick facts for kids Mikhail Zharov
	1939
Born	Mikhail Ivanovich Zharov ; 27 October 1899; Moscow, Russian Empire
Died	15 December 1981 (aged 82); Moscow, USSR
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1915–1978

Mikhail Ivanovich Zharov (Russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Жа́ров; 27 October 1899 – 15 December 1981) was a Soviet actor.

He studied under the prominent director Theodore Komisarjevsky and debuted in Yakov Protazanov's Aelita (1924). Later he became a Protazanov regular, appearing in The Man from the Restaurant (1927) together with Mikhail Chekhov.

In the 1930s he was a leading actor of Alexander Tairov's Chamber Theatre, before moving to the Malyi Theatre where he was engaged from 1938 till the rest of his life and most fully unfolded his actor's gift, mainly playing classical repertoire parts (in Wolves and Sheep, The Inspector-General, Heart is not a Stone, The Thunderstorm, etc.)

Mikhail Zharov gained wide popularity thanks to the role of Zhigan in Nikolai Ekk’s internationally known drama Road to Life (1931). Playing the leader of a gang of thieves, the actor made use of the opportunities of the first sound-film: he endowed his character with a specific accent, played the guitar and sang songs with his peculiar charm. In 1933 he appeared in Boris Barnet's Okraina.

The most acclaimed of his sound films were Peter the Great (1938), in which he played Prince Menshikov, and Sergei Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible (1942–44), in which he played Malyuta Skuratov. His last and probably most popular role was that of Aniskin, an amusing and witty village militiaman in the television series The Village Detective (1968), Aniskin & Fantomas (1974) and Aniskin Again (1978).

Zharov was awarded three Stalin Prizes: twice in 1941 and in 1942.

Partial filmography

Tsar Ivan Vasilevich Groznyy (1915) - Soldier
Aelita (1924) - Actor in Play
His Call (1925)
Chess Fever (1925)
Miss Mend (1926)
Man from the Restaurant (1927) - The Waiter
Belyy oryol (1928)
Don Diego and Pelagia (1928) - Himself
Dva-Buldi-dva (1929)
Road to Life (1931) - Tomka Zhigan
The House of the Dead (1932) - Officer (uncredited)
Dvadtsat shest komissarov (1932) - Menshevik
Okraina (1933) - Krayevitch - Menchevik student
Marionettes (1934) - Head of Frontier Post
The Storm (1934) - Koudryash
Three Comrades (1935) - The Engineer
Lyubov i nenavist (1935) - Ensign Kukva
Po sledam geroya (1936)
The Return of Maxim (1937) - Platon Vassilievich Dymba, billiards braggart
Pyotr pervyy (1937, part 1) - Alexander Danilovich Menshikov
The Bear (1938) - Alexander Danilovich Menshikov
The Vyborg Side (1939) - Platon Vassilievich Dymba
Man in a Shell (1939) - Mikhail Kovalenko
Stepan Razin (1939) - Lazunka - boyar's son
Engineer Kochin's Error (1939) - Lartsev
Bogdan Khmelnitskiy (1941) - Deacon Gavrilo
The Defense of Tsaritsyn (1942, part 1, 2) - Perchikhin
The District Secretary (1942) - Gavril Fedorovich Rusov
Aktrisa (1943) - Reciter in hospital
In the Name of the Fatherland (1943) - Ivan Ivanovich Globa
Taxi to Heaven (1943) - Ivan Baranov
The Young Fritz (1943, Short) - Fritz
Ivan the Terrible (1944, 1958, part 1, 2) - Czar's Guard Malyuta Skuratov
The Call of Love (1945) - Vadim Spiridonovich Yeropkin
Bespokoynoe khozyaystvo (1946) - Semibab
For Those Who Are at Sea (1948) - Kharitonov
Michurin (1949) - Khrenov
Happy Flight (1949) - Driver Zachyosov
Vassa Zheleznova (1953) - Prokhor Khrapov
The Anna Cross (1954) - Artynov
A Girl with a Guitar (1958) - Sviristinsky
Mlechnyy Put (1959) - Mikhail Silovich
Kain XVIII (1963) - Minister of War
Vnimanie! V gorode volshebnik! (1964) - Cook
Older sister (1967) - Ukhov
Village Detective (1969) - Aniskin