Veniamin Smekhov
Veniamin Borisovich Smekhov (; born August 10, 1940 in Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian actor of stage and screen, and a director of the stage, television and documentary film. He was the winner of the Petropol Award (2000) as well as the Tsarskoselsky Artistic Prize (2009). He refused the title of People's Artist of Russia, which was offered to him on his 70th birthday. Smekhov has long worked in the Moscow Taganka Theatre where his roles included Woland in a stage adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita". His portrayal of the main antagonist of  the story is considered to be the best of any adaption of the novel. In film, he is best known and loved for the role of Athos in a Russian version of The Three Musketeers (1978) and its sequels (1992, 1993). He also has written children's poetry, scripts, memoirs and comedic materials. Biography. Veniamin Smekhov spent his childhood in Moscow on Second Meshchansky Street (present day Gilyarovsky Street). He saw his father only after he returned from the war in 1945. From 1947 to 1957 he was a student at School № 235 on Pal'chikov Lane where he was  a part of the Palace of Pioneers drama club. V.E. Struchkova led the club and Rolan Biykov worked with the students. In 1957 Veniamin was accepted into the B.V. Shchukin Theatre School, the conservatory of the E. Vakhtangov Theatre. He studied in the class of V.A. Etush. It was Veniamin's uncle, Lev Smekhov, who encouraged him to study at the school. In 1959 he was removed from his class and began the second year of study as an auditor. This was a probationary measure. In April of 1959 he regained his student status. His graduation performances included Moliere's  Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme in which he played Covielle, and Ostrovsky's "Warm Heart" in which he played Narkis. In 1961 Veniamin graduated from acting school and was sent to the Kuybiyshevsky Drama Theatre where he worked for one year. Upon his return to Moscow in 1962, director A.K. Plotnikov accepted him into the Moscow Theatre of Drama and Comedy. In 1964 Yuri Lyubimov became head director of the theatre. Lyubimov reorganized the theatre and it became the Taganka Theatre. From 1985 to 1987 Veniamin worked in the Sovremennik Theatre where he, along with Leonid Filatov and Vitaly Shapovalov, fled after  Lyubimov's expulsion from the Soviet Union. Veniamin returned to the Taganka Theatre in 1987 and worked there until 1998. Veniamin began acting in films in 1968, but he gained widespread popularity after playing the role of Athos in the famous made-for-television film "d'Artagnan' and the Three Musketeers", filmed at the Odessa Film Studio in 1978. He played Athos in all of the followup films as well. In 1967 he began working as a freelance television director at Gostelradio USSR, the main producer of literary-drama programs. His first work was the teleplay "Mayakovsky's Day." It was  based on his own script and aired as a part of the Poetic Theatre series. In 1990 he began directing theatre performances, operas and made-for-television films in Russia and abroad, and he taught acting for several years in American universities. During this time he continued to act at the Taganka Theatre when he was in Russia. In America Veniamin released a series of compact disks, The Library of Russian Classics, in 1998. He has made around 20 solo audio books as well as a large collection of audio book compilations. In 2011 Veniamin returned to the Taganka Theatre  as a guest actor and director. He reprised the role of Woland in "Master and Margarita" on two occasions that included a dedication performance in memory of actor Vsevolod Sobolev and the 50th anniversary of the Taganka Theatre. He currently performs as an actor in two poetic performances "No Years" (he also composed and directed this performance) and "The Spine of the Flute." He lives in Moscow and very frequently tours with his performances and evenings of poetry. Veniamin also makes poetic programs and documentary films for television. He is also the author of several books of both poetry and  prose, and memoirs. He has called himself an actor, director, writer and traveler. Veniamin has participated in theatrical online readings of the works of Anton Chekhov, Leo Tolstoy and Mikhail Bulgakov, including "Chekhov Is Alive" (September 25, 2015), "War and Peace. We Read the Novel" (December 8, 2015) and a Google-Reading of "Master and Margarita. I Was There" (November 12, 2016). Theatre Roles. Shchukin Theatre School * "Cruelty" - author Nilin, (second year) The "Gorky" Kuybiyshevsky Drama Theatre * "Ocean" A. Stein, directed by P. Monastiyrsky - Chasovnikov * "Person Nearby" V. Mol'ko, directed by Y. Kirzhner - Boris Moscow Theatre of Drama and Comedy  * "Blizzard" L. Leonov, directed by A. Plotnikov - M. Nayazmetov Taganka Moscow Theatre of Drama and Comedy * "The Good Person of Szechwan" B. Brecht, directed by Y. Lyubimov - 3rd God * "The Suicide Victim" N. Erdman, directed by Y. Lyubimov (performance was banned) * "Life of Galileo" B. Brecht, directed by Y. Lyubimov - Curator Priuli, Cardinal Bellarmin * "Listen!" V. Mayakovsky, stage adaptation by Y. Lyubimov and V. Smekhov, directed by Y. Lyubimov - Mayakovsky-Cynic * "Mokinpott" ("How Mr. Mokinpott Escaped His Misfortunes") directed by Y. Lyubimov and M. Levitin - Lord God * "Mother" M. Gorky, directed by Yuri Lyubimov - Gendarme General * "Watch Your Faces" A.  Voznesensky, directed by Y. Lyubimov (it was performed three times before it was banned) * "Hamlet" W. Shakespeare, directed by Y. Lyubimov - Claudius * "Under the Skin of the Statue of Liberty" E. Evtushenko, directed by Y. Lyubimov, B. Glagolin, A. Vasil'ev, V. Smekhov, L. Filatov * "Comrade, Believe!" A.S. Pushkin, stage adaptation by Y. Lyubimov and L. Tselinkovsky, directed by Yuri Lyubimov * "Fasten Your Seat belts!" stage adaptation by G. Baklonov and Yuri Lyubimov, directed by Yuri Lyubimov - Gera, Radio and Television Corresspondent *"Master and Margarita" M. Bulgakov, directed by Y. Lyubimov, A. Vil'kin, B. Glagolin - Woland * "Cautionary Tale" N. Gogol', directed  by Y. Lyubimov, V. Smekhov - Plyushkin and Writer * "House On the Embankment" Y. Trifonov, directed by Y. Lyubimov - D. Glebov * "Vladimir Viysotsky" composed and directed by Y. Lyubimov (it was performed twice and then banned) * "The Lower Depths" M. Gorky, directed by A. Efros - Baron Sovremennik Theatre Taganka Theatre * "Vladimir Viysotsky" composed and directed by Y. Lyubimov * "The Suicide Victim" N. Erdman, directed by Y. Lyubimov, B. Glagolin, V Smekhov - Aristarkh Dominikovich Goloshchapov * "No Years" E. Evtushenko, directed by V. Smekhov * "Spine of the Flute" V. Mayakovsky, directed by G. Aksenova Politheatre * "Waves" V. Sorokin, directed by E. Boyakov Gogol ' Center Filmography. Acting Roles 1. 1968 - "Two Comrades Served" - Baron Krauze 2. 1969 - "The Air of Sovnarkom" - Petrovsky (not credited) 3. 1971 - "Twenty Years Later" - Aramis 4. 1976 - "Smoke and the Baby" - Smoke (voiced by Vladimir Ferapontov) 5. 1977 - "Middle of Life" - Dennis 6. 1979 "D'Artagnan and Three Musketeers" - Athos 7. 1979 "I Ask to Accuse Klava K. of My Death" - Uncle Seva 8. 1983 "The Story of Voyages" - Local Don Quixote 9. 1984 "Favorites of the Moon" - episode 10. 1986 "Seven Cries in the Ocean" - Baron Porto 11. 1988 "Puppy" - Alexander, journalist for Komsomol'sky Truth 12. 1990 "Trap For  the Single Man" - Maksimen 13. 1991 "Fool" - Benjamin Borever 14. 1992 "Key" - Alexander Brown 15. 1992 "Musketeers Twenty Years Later" - Athos 16. 1993 "The Secret of Queen Anne or Musketeers Thirty Years Later" - Athos 17. 1993 "Breakfast With a View on El'brus" - Sumarokov 18. 2004 "Middle Age, Or All Men Are bas..." - Alexander, Sonia's Admirer 19. 2007 "The Captain's Children" - Lev Goreyno 20. 2008 "Montecristo" - Ilia Orlov 21. 2008 "The Magician Friend Is Flying In" - Semen Semenovich 22. 2009 "The Return of The Musketeers, Or the Treasure of Cardinal Mazarini" - Athos 23. 2009 "Proposed Circumstances" - Georgiy Strunin, Director  24. 2011 "Furtseva" - Peter Vladimirovich Boguslavsky 25. 2011 "Countertrig" - Baron von Libenfel's, Olaf's Uncle 26. 2012 "The Toy Salesman" - Ivan Polikarpovich, Professor 27. 2013 "Finding a Husband In the Big City" - Alexander Gordeev, Lisa's Father 28. 2014 "Spiral" - Yakob Arnol'dovich 29. 2014 "The Frog Princess" - Kashcheev 30. 2014 "Bones" - Vitaliy Borisovich Deykevich 31. 2016 "" - Luka Sergeyevich Television Productions 1. 1965 - "The Room" 2. 1965 - "Four Friends and the Magic Slippers" 3. 1969 - "Khafiz" 4. 1971 - "Twenty Years Later" - Aramis 5. 1972 - "The Magician From Shiraz" - Khafiz (he was also the author of the script and director) 6 . 1983 - "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" - Mustafa (he was also the author of the script and song lyrics) 7. 1983 - "Monsieur Lenoir, Who..." - Victor Lenoir 8. 1984 - "The Life and Books of Alexander Green" - Visitor, Til's, Bill, Read-Headed Young Man, Guard 9. 1984 - "Ten Jazz Scenes Based on Macbeth" - Macbeth 10. 2002 - "Willy-Nilly Doctor" - Sganarel' 11. 2016 - "Disturber of the Peace" - Hussein Guslia Director 1. 1967 - "Mayakovsky's Day" (television) 2. 1971 - "First Songs - Last Songs" (television) 3. 1972 - "Magician From Shiraz" (television) 4. 1973 - "Frederick Moro" (television) 5. 1982 - "Gentlemen From Congress" (television) 6. 1985  - "The Sorochinsky Market" (television) 7. 2002 - "Willy-Nilly Doctor" (television) 8. 2013 - "Movie Star Between the Hammer and Sickle" (documentary film about Marina Ladiynina) 9. 2013 - "Vladimir Tendryakov. A Portrait In the Background of Time" (documentary film) 10. 2015 - "The Last Poet of the Great War" (documentary film about Ion Degen) 11. 2015 - "Boris Zaborov. Searching For Lost Time" (documentary film about Boris Zaborov) 12. 2016 - "Archives. Film 1. Alexander Dovzhenko and Yulia Solntseva" 13. 2016 - "Archives. Film 2. Elem Klimov and Larisa Shepit'ko" Scenarist 1. 1967 - "Mayakovsky's Day" (television) 2. 1971 - "First Songs - Last Songs" (television) 3. 1972  - "Magician From Shiraz" (television) 4. 1983 - "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" 5. 1985 - "Sorochinsky Market" (television) 6. 2013 - "Movie Star Between the Hammer and Sickle" (documentary film about Marina Ladiynina) 7. 2013 - "Vladimir Tendryakov. A Portrait In the Background of Time" (documentary film) 8. 2014 - "Volcano Theatre" (documentary film) 9. 2015 - "The Last Poet of the Great War" (documentary film about Ion Degen) 10. 2016 - "Archives. Film 1. Alexander Dovzhenko and Yulia Solntseva" 11. 2016 - "Archives. Film 2. Elem Klimov and Larisa Shepit'ko" Voice Work 1. 1971 - "Good!" (based on B. Mayakovsky) 2. 1970 - "Late Child" - text from the  author 3. 1973 - "Mayakovsky On Love" (television) - reads poetry 4. 1978 - "A Lucky Person" - behind the scenes text 5. 1979 - "Call of the Fading Summer" - behind the scenes text (not credited) 6. 1987 - "Face To Face With Height" (Soviet Sport №3) - speaker 7. 2003 - "Bowl" (documentary film about Andrei Pozdeev) - text from the author 8. 2003 - "Preserve Everything That Is Dear.., Or Erdman and Stepanova: A Double Portrait In the Interior of An Era" - reads for Nikolai Erdman 9. 2008 - "Hostages of the Future" (documentary film about David Burlyuk) - behind the scenes text 10. 2009 - "A Room and a  Half, Or Sentimental Travels to the Homeland" (documentary film) - text from the author 11. 2009 - "Great Novgorod - Motherland of Russia" (documentary film) - behind the scenes text 12. 2009 - "Great Novgorod in Russia's History" - behind the scenes text 13. 2011 - Participated in the voice work for the album, "Blood Holiday," of the group The King and the Joker 14. 2012 - Participated in the voice work for the album, "On the Edge," of the group The King and the Joker 15. 2013 - "Terezine. Code of Life" - (documentary film) - behind the scenes text 16. 2013 - "I Am Zal" - behind the scenes text  (voice of Zal) 17. 2015 - "Boris Zaborov. Searching For Lost Time" (documentary film) - behind the scenes text 18. 2016 - "Archives. Film 1. Alexandra Dovzhenko and Yulia Sol'ntseva" - behind the scenes text 19. 2016 - "Archives. Film 2. Elem Klimov and Larisa Shepit'ko" (documentary film) Dubbing 1. 1974 - "Agonia" - King Andronnikov 2. 1976 - "Pastoral" 3. 1976 - "Only the Wind Knows the Answer" - Kessler 4. 1982 - "The Chosen Ones" - Dr. Fausto 5. 1983 - "Paul Gauguin" 6. 1987 - "Pretender" - Dino Castello 7. 2017 - "The Death of Stalin" - Vyacheslav Molotov (dubbing was not utilized) Animation Voice Artist 1. 1969 - "Mystery - Buff" (based on V. Mayakovsky ) 2. 1974 - "The Wizard of Oz" - Bastinda 3. 1975 - "What Do You Want?" 4. 1979 - "The Adventures of Captain Vrungel"' - Admiral, Commander of Sea Maneuvers 5. 2014 - "Lelya and Min'ka" - text from the author 6. 2014 - "See the Music" - Antonio Sverchinsky