Mikhail Astangov was a legendary stage actor of the Vakhtangov Theatre
in Moscow.
He was born Mikhail Fyodorovich Ruzhnikov on November 3, 1900, in
Warsaw, Russian Empire (now Warsaw, Poland). His father worked for
Imperial Russian railroad. In 1920 he made his acting debut in
Theatrical Studio of
Feodor Chaliapin Sr.. From 1923 to
1930 he worked as actor in Leningrad, Odessa, and other cities. From
1930 - 1941 he was member of the troupe at Moscow Theatre of
Revolution, then was member of Theatre of Mossovet.
From 1945 to 1965 Astangov was member of the troupe at Vakhtangov
Theatre in Moscow. There his stage partners were such actors as
Yuri Zavadsky,
Mikhail Ulyanov,
Ruben Simonov,
Boris Zakhava,
Vladimir Etush,
Varvara Popova,
Irina Kupchenko,
Yuliya Borisova,
Lyudmila Maksakova,
Lyudmila Tselikovskaya,
Marianna Vertinskaya,
Nina Ruslanova,
Nikolai Plotnikov,
Vasiliy Lanovoy,
Yuriy Yakovlev,
Vyacheslav Shalevich,
Andrei Abrikosov,
Grigori Abrikosov,
Boris Babochkin,
Nikolai Gritsenko,
Nikolai Timofeyev,
Nikolai Bubnov,
Andrey Tutyshkin, and
Aleksandr Grave, among others. His most
memorable stage performances were such roles as Cyrano de Bergerac
(1946), and the title role in the Shakespeare's "Hamlet" (1958)
directed by Boris Zakhava.
Mikhail Astangov was designated People's Actor of the USSR (1955), and
was awarded the State Stalin's Prize tree times (1948, 1950, 1951) for
his roles on Soviet war dramas. He died of a heart failure on April 20,
1965, in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, and was laid to rest in the
Convent Cemetery of Donskoy Monastery in Moscow, Russia.
