Savely Viktorovich Kramarov (Russian: Ð¡Ð°Ð²ÐµÌ Ð»Ð¸Ð¹
Ð'Ð¸Ì ÐºÑ‚Ð¾Ñ€Ð¾Ð²Ð¸Ñ‡ ÐšÑ€Ð°Ì Ð¼Ð°Ñ€Ð¾Ð²; 13 October 1934 â€" 6 June
1995) was one of the most popular comic actors of Soviet cinema in the
1960s and 1970s. He acted in at least 42 Soviet films, and later
appeared in several more after his immigration to the United States of
America.Savely Kramarov was born 13 October 1934 to Jewish parents:
father Viktor Savelyevich Kramarov (Ð'иктор Савельевич
Крамаров), a prominent Moscow attorney, and mother Benedikta
Solomonovna "Basya" Kramarova (née Volchek) (Ð'енедиктa
Соломоновнa "Ð'Ð°Ñ Ñ " Крамарова (Ð'олчек)).
When young Savely was only three years old, the elder Kramarov
represented some defendants in a widely publicized Soviet secret
police case. Within a year Kramarov's's father was himself the victim
of a "Stalinist purge"â€"his crime, representing his clients too
vigorously. Arrested and tortured to confess, Kramarov's father was
sentenced to a term of eight years in the Soviet Gulag. Savely's
mother was forced to divorce his convict father, and mother and son
lived for a time in a communal apartment. Before Viktor Kramarov's
prison term was up, young Savely's mother died, leaving him
effectively an orphan. By a stroke of luck, she had managed to
register him as Russian, not Jewish, on his domestic Soviet passport.
Savely was once allowed to see his father prior to the elder
Kramarov's exile in Biisk. During this meeting, his father,
practically a stranger to him, told Savely that his Jewish faith that
had sustained him in prison. In the 1950s, the once prominent attorney
died in exile. Kramarov spent the remainder of his childhood in
poverty, living with relatives, mainly his maternal uncles. During
this time, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis; a Jewish physician
helped him back to health.Seeking to follow in his father's footsteps
with a career in law, Kramarov quickly found that door closed for the
son of an enemy of the people. Instead Kramarov accepted an offer to
technical school for forestry science. It was around this time
Kramarov started acting. Kramarov did not attend formal acting school,
at the State Theatre Art Institute, until 1972, well after achieving
film stardom. At the same time as his late schooling for acting, he
took up yoga, which attracted negative attention from the Soviet
authorities.Kramarov's first serious acting work was on stage in the
late 1950s, in the lead role of Vasily Shukshin’s Vanka, How are You
Here. Soon Kramarov was invited to act in Soviet cinema. His first
film role was as Soldier Petkin in They Were Nineteen (Im bilo
devyatnadtsat) (1960). By his second film, My Friend, Kolka!, Kramarov
was well on his way to Soviet stardom. His goofy persona (in part a
natural result of his being cross-eyed) delighted audiences. And he
was a director's dream, dependably turning his lead roles into
film-making gold. At the end of his life, Kramarov was asked to
identify his favorite films he made; He named My Friend, Kolka!, The
Elusive Avengers, The Twelve Chairs, Gentlemen of Fortune, It Can't
Be!, and Big School-Break.
Ð'Ð¸Ì ÐºÑ‚Ð¾Ñ€Ð¾Ð²Ð¸Ñ‡ ÐšÑ€Ð°Ì Ð¼Ð°Ñ€Ð¾Ð²; 13 October 1934 â€" 6 June
1995) was one of the most popular comic actors of Soviet cinema in the
1960s and 1970s. He acted in at least 42 Soviet films, and later
appeared in several more after his immigration to the United States of
America.Savely Kramarov was born 13 October 1934 to Jewish parents:
father Viktor Savelyevich Kramarov (Ð'иктор Савельевич
Крамаров), a prominent Moscow attorney, and mother Benedikta
Solomonovna "Basya" Kramarova (née Volchek) (Ð'енедиктa
Соломоновнa "Ð'Ð°Ñ Ñ " Крамарова (Ð'олчек)).
When young Savely was only three years old, the elder Kramarov
represented some defendants in a widely publicized Soviet secret
police case. Within a year Kramarov's's father was himself the victim
of a "Stalinist purge"â€"his crime, representing his clients too
vigorously. Arrested and tortured to confess, Kramarov's father was
sentenced to a term of eight years in the Soviet Gulag. Savely's
mother was forced to divorce his convict father, and mother and son
lived for a time in a communal apartment. Before Viktor Kramarov's
prison term was up, young Savely's mother died, leaving him
effectively an orphan. By a stroke of luck, she had managed to
register him as Russian, not Jewish, on his domestic Soviet passport.
Savely was once allowed to see his father prior to the elder
Kramarov's exile in Biisk. During this meeting, his father,
practically a stranger to him, told Savely that his Jewish faith that
had sustained him in prison. In the 1950s, the once prominent attorney
died in exile. Kramarov spent the remainder of his childhood in
poverty, living with relatives, mainly his maternal uncles. During
this time, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis; a Jewish physician
helped him back to health.Seeking to follow in his father's footsteps
with a career in law, Kramarov quickly found that door closed for the
son of an enemy of the people. Instead Kramarov accepted an offer to
technical school for forestry science. It was around this time
Kramarov started acting. Kramarov did not attend formal acting school,
at the State Theatre Art Institute, until 1972, well after achieving
film stardom. At the same time as his late schooling for acting, he
took up yoga, which attracted negative attention from the Soviet
authorities.Kramarov's first serious acting work was on stage in the
late 1950s, in the lead role of Vasily Shukshin’s Vanka, How are You
Here. Soon Kramarov was invited to act in Soviet cinema. His first
film role was as Soldier Petkin in They Were Nineteen (Im bilo
devyatnadtsat) (1960). By his second film, My Friend, Kolka!, Kramarov
was well on his way to Soviet stardom. His goofy persona (in part a
natural result of his being cross-eyed) delighted audiences. And he
was a director's dream, dependably turning his lead roles into
film-making gold. At the end of his life, Kramarov was asked to
identify his favorite films he made; He named My Friend, Kolka!, The
Elusive Avengers, The Twelve Chairs, Gentlemen of Fortune, It Can't
Be!, and Big School-Break.
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