Sergei Martinson

Sergey Aleksandrovich Martinson (Russian: Сергей Александрович Мартинсон; 6 February [O.S. 25 January] 1899 – 2 September 1984) was a Soviet and Russian stage, film and voice actor. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1964). He was born in Saint Petersburg in the family of Swedish and Russian descent. His parents adored theater and took their son to many performances. As a schoolboy, Sergey played in a theatrical studio. After one year of education in the Technological institute, he decided to become a professional actor. At the entrance exams he read Boris Godunov's monologue from Pushkin's play. The exam board roared with laughter, but refused to accept him. He later joined the theatrical institute from a second attempt.Martinson worked in several theaters. In 1924–1941 he played in the Theatre of the Revolution. In 1925–1926, 1929–1933, 1937–1938 he was the leading actor of Vsevolod Meyerhold's theatre. He was cast by Meyerhold in the plays The Government Inspector, Mandate and others. From 1933 to 1936 he worked in the music hall.He married his first wife, Yekaterina Ilyinichna Ilyina (born: St Petersburg, Russia, died: 1985, New York, USA), an actress, in 1927, whom he met during his acting studies; their daughter, Anna, later a (died New York, 2012), she married the Russian conductor and violist Rudolf Barshai (1924–2010). Although they had never officially divorced, he married his second wife, dancer Lola Dobrokhotova, who was later exiled by the government for alleged connections to "foreign elements" and died in exile; they had a son, Aleksandr (1939–2003). His third wife, Luisa (born: Ukraine, died: 2018, USA) was a woman 30 years junior to Martinson. They had a daughter, Natasha and divorced several years later.