Boris Livanov

Biography

Boris Livanov was a popular Russian actor of Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT), best known as Pozharsky in the film Minin i Pozharskiy (1939). He was born Boris Nikolaevich Livanov on May 8, 1904, in Moscow. His parents were professional actors. Young Livanov was brought up in a highly intellectual environment of his parents' circle, he received an excellent private education, and was fond of theatre and classic Russian literature. From 1920 - 1924 he studied acting at the 4th studio of Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). In 1924 Livanov made his film debut in silent films Father Frost (1924) and 'Chetyre i Pyat' (1924). From 1924 to 1972 Boris Livanov was a permanent member of the troupe at Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). There his stage partners were such renown Russian actors as Konstantin Stanislavski, Ivan Moskvin, Alla Tarasova, Anatoli Ktorov, Olga Androvskaya, Angelina Stepanova, Nikolay Khmelyov, Mikhail Yanshin, Aleksei Gribov, Mark Prudkin, Mikhail Kedrov, Viktor Stanitsyn, Anastasiya Georgiyevskaya, Vasili Toporkov, Mikhail Bolduman, Pavel Massalsky, and the next generation of MKhAT actors - Oleg Efremov, Kira Golovko, Iya Savvina, Alla Pokrovskaya, Anastasiya Voznesenskaya, Irina Miroshnichenko, Andrey Myagkov, Vladimir Kashpur, Viktor Sergachyov, Vyacheslav Nevinnyy, Stanislav Lyubshin, Sergey Sazontev, Avangard Leontev, Igor Vasilev, and others. Bori Livanov's acting career spanned 50 years, and he was a member of the board at Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). However, his disagreements with the new director Oleg Efremov, led to a divisive and lasting conflict within the Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT), eventually causing fragmentation of the company, and a bitter rivalry that continued even after the death of both Livanov and Efremov, Boris Livanov received Stalin's Prize five times (1941, 1942, 1947, 1949, and 1950), and was designated People's Actor of the USSR (1948). His son, Vasiliy Livanov, is an actor. Boris Livanov died of a heart failure, on September 22, 1972, in Moscow, and was laid to rest in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.