Batalov, Aleksei

Born Nov. 20, 1928, in the city of Vladimir. Soviet film actor and director. People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1969).

In 1950, after having graduated from the Moscow Art Academic Theater Studio, Batalov joined the troupe of the Central Theater of the Soviet Army. From 1953 to 1956, he was an actor in the Moscow Art Academic Theater. In 1954, Batalov made his film debut in the role of the worker Aleksei Zhurbin (A Large Family). He then played the role of the chauffeur Sasha Rumiantsev (The Rumiantsev Case, 1956). The role of the young contemporary occupies a major place in Batalov’s work. His best roles include Boris (in the film The Cranes Are Flying, 1957), the young physics scholar Gusev (in the film Nine Days in One Year, 1962), and the doctor Ustimenko (in the film My Dear Man, 1958). In film versions of works of classical literature, Batalov played the roles of Pavel Vlasov (Mother, after M. Gorky) and Gurov (The Lady With the Dog, after A. P. Chekhov). In 1960 he made his debut as a film director (in the film The Overcoat). In 1966 he directed the film Three Fat Men in which he played the role of the rope walker Tibul. Batalov was awarded the Order of Lenin.