Aleksandr Abdulov

Aleksandr Gavrilovich Abdúlov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Гаври́лович Абду́лов - May 29, 1953 – January 3, 2008) was a notable Soviet/Russian actor.

Aleksandr Abdulov went to school from 1960 to 1970 and upon graduating wanted to become a sportsman. However, Abdulov's father encouraged his son to act, and, in 1974 Aleksandr Abdulov starred in About Vitya, about Masha and the Sea Force. In 1975 he graduated from the GITIS and was hired by Lenkom Theater director Mark Zakharov.

Aleksandr Abdulov appeared in several films in the 1970s. In 1977 he appeared in the TV version of the film The Twelve Chairs by Mark Zakharov. In 1978 he became a celebrity after he appeared in An Ordinary Miracle and in 1979 Abdulov appeared in The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed with Vladimir Vysotskiy. That year he also appeared in Do not part with the Loved Ones.

During the early 1980s he was considered a sex symbol and in 1982 he appeared in Look for a Woman, Magicians and The Woman in White. In 1983 he appeared in the film The House that Swift Built (about Jonathan Swift) as Dr. Simpson. In 1984 Abdulov appeared in The Formula of Love. The following year he appeared in Searching for Captain Grant. He also appeared in The Most Charming and Attractive and Naval Cadets, Charge!.

Aleksandr Abdulov then went on to appear in Desyat Negrityat (based on Agatha Christie's mystery novel Ten Little Indians) in 1987 and To Kill a Dragon in 1988. The next year he appeared in Black Rose Is an Emblem of Sorrow, Red Rose Is an Emblem of Love.

In 1991 Abdulov appeared in Genius and The House under the Starry Sky. In 1992 he appeared in the film Gold. During the 1990s he mostly worked in the Lenkom Theatre. In 2000 he appeared in Still Waters, and in The Christmas Miracle with Chulpan Khamatova. In 2002 he appeared in the TV series Next (the title being the actual English word) playing a Russian oligarch. In 2003 he appeared in the sequel Next 2; the following year he was in About Love.

In 2005 Abdulov appeared in the TV series Anna Karenina and The Master and Margarita. In 2006 he directed the play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at the Lenkom and played the lead character of Randall P. McMurphy (played by Jack Nicholson in the American film). Abdulov has also appeared in the film Leningrad.

In 1991 Abdulov was awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR.

Attitude to the mass media

Abdulov had extremely tense relations with the mass media, especially tabloids, in the last years of his life. He fervently resented all false information about him and hated those unscrupulous journalists who tried to pry into his personal life. Once on "Chelovek i zakon" ("Man and law") aired on Russia's Channel One Abdulov said that he owned a licensed gun and he would not hesitate to shoot any trespassing rubber neck that dared to enter the territory of his dacha during his forthcoming birthday party.

Marriages

Aleksandr Abdulov was married three times. His first marriage was to Irina Alfyorova, by whom he has a stepdaughter, Ksenia Alfyorova. His second wife was a theatre administrator named Galina. In 2006 he married Julia Miloslavskaya, who gave birth to their daughter Eugenia in early 2007.

Health problems and death

Abdulov's grave

Abdulov was a smoker throughout his adult life. In August 2007, the actor experienced health problems, supposedly an ulcer. However, in September of the same year he was diagnosed with lung cancer in an Israeli clinic. 

He was last seen in public in mid-December 2007 at an awards ceremony at the Kremlin, where Vladimir Putin awarded the actor with the Order of National Merit (4th degree).

He died on January 3, 2008, aged 54.

Honours and awards

• Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th class
• Medal of Honour
• People's Artist of the RSFSR, 1991
• Honoured Artist of the RSFSR, 1986

Quotes

In an interview some months prior to his death, Abdulov said: "God knows the length of a life, but its breadth depends on the person."

Filmography

• 1973 Pro Vityu, pro Mashu i morskuyu pekhotu
• 1974 Moscow, My Love
• 1975 The Lost Expedition
• 1976 Twelve Chairs
• 1977 An Ordinary Miracle
• 1979 The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed
• 1979 The Very Same Munchhausen
• 1982 Look for a Woman
• 1982 Charodei
• 1984 Formula of Love
• 1985 In Search for Captain Grant
• 1985 The Most Charming and Attractive
• 1987 Naval Cadets, Charge!
• 1987 Desyat Negrityat
• 1988 To Kill a Dragon
• 1989 Black Rose Is an Emblem of Sorrow, Red Rose Is an Emblem of Love
• 1990 Sons of Bitches
• 1991 Genius
• 1993 Pominalnaja molitva
• 1994 Kafe V'Limon
• 2005 The Master and Margarita
• 2006 Park Sovetskogo Perioda
• 2006 The Funeral Party
• 2007 Anna Karenina
• 2007 Artistka
• 2007 Luzer
• 2008 Mika i Alfred
• 2009 Attack on Leningrad