Vyacheslav
Vasilyevich Tikhonov (8 February 1928 – 4 December 2009) was a Soviet and Russian actor and a
recipient of numerous state awards, who appeared in dozens of films, most
famously as a Soviet war hero or spy.
He
was born in Pavlovsky Posad near Moscow in the family of an engineer in the
local textile factory. After employment as a metal worker, he began training
for an acting career in 1945 by entering, not without difficulty, the Actors’
Faculty of VGIK. After graduating VGIK with honours in 1950, he began his
acting career on stage of Theatre Studio of Film Actor, where he worked for six
years; however, his theatre appearances were not quite sucessful, and he became
most remembered for his roles in movies. Tikhonov had made his film debut in
1948, but for the next few years, he appeared in relatively low-profile films.
In 1948 he married Nonna Mordyukova, a popular actress at the time (the couple had
one son, Vladimir, also an actor who died in 1990). The marriage was dissolved
in 1963. Later Tikhonov married again, this time Tamara Ivanovna Tikhonova and
had one child with her, Anna Tikhonova (also an actor) in 1969.
Tikhonov
became better known with the release of the rural family drama It Happened
in Penkovo (1958); later he also starred in Stanislav Rostotsky's We'll
Live Till Monday (1968) and White Bim the Black Ear (1977), War and Peace (1966)
by Sergei Bondarchuk, Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973) by Tatiana Lioznova, etc.
Vyacheslav Tikhonov died on 4 December 2009 in
Moscow, Russia, and was buried in Novodevichy
Cemetery.
Filmography:
1948 – The Young Guard – Volodya Osmukhin
1950 – In Peaceful Time – sailor Volodya Grinevsky, torpedoman
1950 – In Peaceful Time – sailor Volodya Grinevsky, torpedoman
1951 – Taras Shevchenko – Representative
of the St Petersburg youth
1952 – Maximka - Lieutenant Goreilov
1954 – This should never be forgotten – Lieutenant
Danchenko
1956 – The Heart is Beating Again – Leonid V.Golubev
1957 – It Happened in Penkovo – Matvey
Morozov
1958 – Extraordinary Incident – a sailor
1959 – Thirst – Oleg Bezborodko
1959 – May Stars – Andrei Ruckavichkin
1960 – Midshipman Panin – Midshipman Panin
1961 – Two Lives – Sergei
Nashchokin
1962 – Seven Winds – Captain Suzdalev
1963 – Optimistic Tragedy - Aleksey
1966 – War and Peace – prince Andrey Bolkonsky
1969 – Family Happiness - Kapitonov
1970 – The Roundabout – Head of the
house
1971 – Man on the other hand – Krymov
1974 – Front Without Flanks – Mlynsky
1975 – They Fought for Their Country – Nikolay
Strel'tsov
1975 – Story of a Human Heart (voice)
1976 – ... And Other Officials - Konstantin Ivanov
1977 – WhiteBim Black Ear – Ivan Ivanovich
1977 – Front behind the front Line – Colonel Ivan Petrovich Mlinsky
1979 – Revival - anchorman
1981 – Unpaid Vacation (voice)
1981 – The Rear Front
1984 – European Story - Peter Losser
1984 – TASS Is Authorized to Declare... (TV mini-series) – Konstantinov
1987 – The Appeal - Dmitry Plotnikov
1988 – To Kill a Dragon - Charlemagne
1989 – Love and Privileges – Koshchemyakin
1991 – The Ghosts of the Green Room - Martin Chiverel
1992 – The Possessed – Tikhon
1993 – The Codex of Disgrace - Chugunov
1993 – Incomparable - Kholev
1993 – Provincial Benefit - Velikatov
1994 – A Boulevard Romance - Stanislav Kandinsky
1994 – Burntby the Sun – Vsevolod Konstantinovich
1995 – An Adventure - cameo
1996 – SweetFriend of Years Forgotten Long Ago... - Pheodor Pheodorovich
1998 – Composition for Victory Day – Margulis
1998 – Waiting Room (TV series) - Mikhail Zaitsev
2006 – Eyes of the Wolf - scientist
2006 – Andersen. A life without love - God
Notable Theatre Appearances (The Film Actors' Studio Theatre):
An Ordinary Miracle
(1973, E.P. Garin) – The Bear
Awards:
Meritorious Artist (1962)
The USSR State Prize (1970)
People's Artist of the USSR (1974)
The Lenin Prize (1980)
Shevchenko National Prize (1980)
Hero of Socialist Labour (1982)
Trivia:
Obituary (EN)
Interview (RU)