Igor Gorbachyov was a popular Russian actor best known as Chichikov in
stage and film productions of "Revizor" (The Inspector-General) based
on the novel by
Nikolay Gogol.
He was born Igor Olegovich Gorbachyov on October 20, 1927, in
Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). His father was an
engineer; his mother was a teacher of French literature. Young Igor
Gorbachyov survived the siege of Leningrad during the Nazi occupation
in the Second World War. After the war, he struggled to overcome the
traumatic experience he suffered during the Nazi bombardments and
aerial attacks. From 1944-47 he studied psychology at Leningrad
University. There he joined a student theatre and made a successful
performance in the title role in "Revizor" (The Inspector-General) by
Nikolay Gogol. He was invited to transfer
to the Institute of Theatre, Music, and Cinematography, from which he
graduated with honors in 1951. That same year he was cast in the
leading role in
The Inspector-General (1952), a film
that made him famous.
Igor Gorbachyov had a stellar career as a stage actor. From 1951-1954
he was an actor at Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in Leningrad. From
1954-1992 he was a permanent member of the troupe and the leading actor
of the Pushkin Drama Theatre in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). There his
stage partners were such remarkable actors as
Nikolay Cherkasov,
Nikolai Simonov,
Vasiliy Merkurev,
Konstantin Skorobogatov,
Yuriy Tolubeev, Galina Karelina,
Aleksandr Borisov,
Bruno Frejndlikh, Rem Lebedev,
Vladimir Chestnokov,
Vladimir Erenberg,
Konstantin Adashevsky, Leonid
Vivyen,
Olga Lebzak,
Nina Mamaeva,
Lidiya Shtykan,
Nina Urgant, Nikolay Marton,
Ivan Dmitriev,
Sergei Parshin, and other notable Russian
actors.
Igor Gorbachyov was Artistic Director of Pushkin (Alexandrinsky) Drama
Theatre in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) from 1975-1992. He was awarded
the State Prize of the USSR (1973) for his stage work. He was
designated the People's Artis of the USSR (1977), decorated with the
Order of the Red Banner of Labor and received many other awards and
decorations from the state of USSR. He was a professor of the Institute
of Theatre, Music, and Cinematography in Leningrad (St. Petersburg).
His best students were
Aristarkh Livanov,
Igor Livanov,
Nikolay Fomenko, and other notable
Russian actors.
In 1992, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Igor Gorbachyov was
confronted by Anatoli Sobchak, mayor of St. Petersburg. Sobchak had a
bitter conflict with Igor Gorbachyov and forced the actor to quit his
acting job at the Pushkin Drama Theatre. Gorbachyov had a heart attack.
After his recovery he limited his work to teaching and playing small
roles in movies. He died of a heart failure on February 19, 2003, in
St. Petersburg, and was laid to rest in the Necropolis of Masters of
Art "Literatorskie Mostki" at Volkovo Cemetery in St. Petersburg,
Russia.
Poka byotsya serdtse(1978)
Na nozhakh(1998)
Ya pervyy tebya uvidel(1998)
Raskol(1993)as (1993)
Moy luchshiy drug, general Vasiliy, syn Iosifa(1991)
Vremya(1968)as Self - Delegate of XXVII Congress of the CPSU (Leningrad)
