Petr (Pyotr) Glebov was a Russian film and stage actor, best known as
Grigori Melekhov in 'Tikhiy Don' trilogy (1957-1958) by director
Sergey Gerasimov.
He was born Petr Petrovich Glebov on April 14, 1915, in Moscow, Russia.
His parents belonged to Russian Landed Gentry, having ancestral
relations with Count Orlov-Denisov, ataman Platov, and writer Count
Lev Tolstoy. Glebov's mother was aunt of
writer Sergey Mikhalkov. His father,
Petr Vladimirovich Glebov, was leader of Kashirskoe Nobility in Moscow,
and owner of a profitable horse farming business. The Glebovs were
wealthy landowners having properties in Moscow and in central Russia;
but they lost all their wealth in the disaster of the Russian communist
revolution of 1917. Many of their relatives fled the communist Russia,
albeit Glebovs did not emigrate, and started their life again from
scratch.
Young Petr Glebov was an excellent equestrian, he had a natural
physical strength, confidence, and masculinity. Being fond of movies,
he was especially impressed with
Andrei Abrikosov's acting in the silent
film Der stille Don (1930). After
completion of an agricultural college, he worked in the countryside
south of Moscow, albeit he had a dream of becoming an actor. From 1936
1940 he studied at the acting studio ofKonstantin Stanislavski,
graduating as an actor from the class of
Mikhail Kedrov. In 1940 he became member
of Stanislavski's Drama Theatre in Moscow. His acting career was
interrupted by the Second World War. From 1941 - 1945 he served in the
Red Army Artillery and was decorated for his courage in fighting the
Nazis in the battle of Moscow. However, his acting career was very slow
for another ten years.
In 1956 Glebov came as an extra to a filming location of
Der stille Don (1957). He was immediately
noticed by director Sergey Gerasimov
and soon was approved by the author,
Mikhail Sholokhov, as Melekhov, the
male lead in the film. After the 1957 premiere of 'Tikhii Don', Petr
Glebov became an instant celebrity in the Soviet Union. He was
personally congratulated by
Leonid Brezhnev, and was promptly
awarded the Oder of Lenin, and was designated People's Actor of the
USSR. Upon Brezhnev's personal instruction all paperwork was done in
one day, a unique case in the history of the Soviet Union.
During the 1960s - 1990s Glebov enjoyed a wide popularity in the Soviet
Union and Russia. However, he remained known as the star of one role,
the definitive Grigori Melekhov in the Sergei Gerasimov's film-trilogy
'Tikhii Don' (1957 - 1958). Petr Glebov died aged 85, on April 17,
2000, at his home in Moscow, and was laid to rest in Novodevichi
Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.
