Vitaly Solomin
| Vitaly Solomin | |
|---|---|
| Born |
12 December 1941 Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, RSFSR, USSR |
| Died |
27 May 2002 (aged 60) Moscow, Russia |
| Occupation | Actor, theatre director |
| Years active | 1964–2002 |
Vitaly Mefodievich Solomin (Russian: Виталий Мефодьевич Соломин; 12 December 1941 – 27 May 2002[1]) was a Soviet and Russian actor, director and screenwriter. He was the younger brother of Yury Solomin.
Biography
Vitaly Solomin was born in 1941 in Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, USSR, to a family of professional musicians.[2] From childhood he was fascinated by music and learned to play the piano. On leaving school he went to Moscow and in 1959 he entered Shchepkin's drama school. He studied in the class of Nikolay Annenkov.
While a student, Vitaly rehearsed and performed at the Maly Theatre. After finishing the school he became an actor at this theater.
In the 1960s Vitaly Solomin began to appear in films. He debuted in 1963 in 1 Newton street. His first big role was as Kirill in the 1966 film Elder sister.
Vitaly Solomin shot to fame after playing the leading role as Cossack Roman in the epic film Dauria (1971) where he worked with his brother Yuri Solomin and other Russian stars, such as Yefim Kopelyan, Viktor Pavlov and Vasili Shukshin.[3]
During the 1980s his performances in films directed by Igor Maslennikov were especially successful. Most famous of these was his role as Dr. John H. Watson in a series of films about Sherlock Holmes (1979—1986). In 1982 Maslennikov invited him to play the role of Count Tomsky in The Queen of Spades, an adaptation of Alexander Pushkin's story. His work in the serial Winter cherries was very successful.
From 1 September 1986 to September 1989 Solomin worked in the Mossovet Theater. There he acted in a play based on Viktor Astafiev's Sad detective. In 1991 he returned to the Maly Theatre and staged Aleksandr Ostrovsky's Savage, playing the role of Ashmetiev.
Solomin wrote the screenplay for and directed the 1994 film The Hunt.
On 4 November 1974 he received the title of Honoured Artist of the RSFSR, and on 3 February 1992 of People's Artist of Russia. In April 2002 Vitaly Solomin suffered a stroke which proved to be fatal; he died on 27 May 2002 and is interred in Vagankovo Cemetery.
Private life
Vitaly Solomin's first wife was the actress Natalia Rudnaya. The marriage soon fell apart. On October 28, 1970, he married the actress Maria Solomina (née Leonidova). In 1974 they had a daughter Anastasia, and in May 1984 - a daughter Elizaveta.
Selected filmography
| Year | English Title | Original Title | Role |
| 1964 | I Am Twenty | Мне двадцать лет | Uncredited |
| The Chairman | Председатель | Valyozhin, surgeon | |
| 1966 | Women | Женщины | Zhenya Bednov |
| 1967 | Tough Nut | Крепкий орешек | Lieutenant Ivan Groznykh |
| The Kingdom of Women | Бабье царство | Kostya Lubentsov | |
| 1969 | To the New Shores (teleplay) | К новым берег | Modest Mussorgsky |
| 1970 | Hail, Mary! | Салют, Мария! | Seva Chudreev |
| 1971 | Dauria | Даурия | Roman Ulybin |
| 1972 | Here's My Village (mini-series) | Вот моя деревня | Dmitri Nikolaevich, school principal |
| 1978 | Siberiade | Сибириада | Nikolai Ustyuzhanin |
| 1979 | Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson | Шерлок Холмс и доктор Ватсон | Dr. Watson |
| 1980 | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson | Приключения Шерлока Холмса и доктора Ватсона | Dr. Watson |
| 1981 | The Hound of the Baskervilles | Собака Баскервилей | Dr. Watson |
| 1982 | The Queen of Spades | Пиковая дама | Count Tomsky |
| 1983 | The Treasures of Agra | Сокровища Агры | Dr. Watson |
| Return from the Orbit | Возвращение с орбиты | Vyacheslav Mukhin | |
| 1985 | Winter Cherry | Зимняя вишня | Vadim Dashkov |
| 1986 | The Twentieth Century Approaches | Двадцатый век начинается | Dr. Watson |
| 1990 | Winter Cherry 2 | Зимняя вишня 2 | Vadim Dashkov |
| 1992 | Dreams of Russia | Сны о России | Alexander Bezborodko |
| 1993 | Uncle Vanya | Дядя Ваня | Mikhail Lvovich Astrov |
| 1995 | Winter Cherry 3 | Зимняя вишня 3 | Vadim Dashkov |
| 2001 | Request Stop (TV series) | Остановка по требованию | Investigator Itcenko |
| 2003 | All or Nothing (TV series) | Пан или пропал | Leszek Krzyżanowski |
References
External links
- Vitaly Solomin at the Internet Movie Database
- (Russian) Biography
- (Russian) Biography online peoples.ru
- To Be Remembered. Vitaly Solomin by Leonid Filatov (2003)
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