Vyacheslav Vasilyevich Tikhonov

Vyacheslav Vasilyevich Tikhonov was a Soviet and Russian film actor, voice actor and dub artist. Vyacheslav Tikhonov was born on 8 February 1928 in Pavlovsky Posad. His father worked as a mechanic at a factory, and his mother worked as a kindergarten teacher. At the age of thirteen Vyacheslav enrolled in a vocational school, then worked as a lathe operator at a military plant. In 1944 he entered the Auto-Mechanical Institute. A year later he attempted to enroll in VGIK (the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography), but was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, teacher Boris Bibikov accepted him into the acting faculty.

Vyacheslav Tikhonov made his film debut in 1948 in the film 'The Young Guard'. In 1950 Tikhonov successfully completed his studies at VGIK. He worked at the Theatre of the Film Actor, and from 1957 at the Gorky Film Studio. His role in the film 'It Happened in Penkovo' brought him popularity and recognition. Worldwide fame came to Tikhonov after his role as Prince Andrei Bolkonsky in Sergei Bondarchuk's film epic 'War and Peace', based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy (1965–1967). Over his career Tikhonov appeared in nearly sixty films and TV series, collaborating with many well-known directors. Tikhonov's last film role was in Eldar Ryazanov's picture 'Andersen. Life Without Love' (2006). Vyacheslav Tikhonov died on 4 December 2009 and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.