Igor Ilyinsky

Igor Ilyinsky was a notable Russian actor of Maly Theatre in Moscow, who was best known for his roles in Soviet comedies, such as Byvalov in Volga - Volga (1938).

He was born Igor Vladimirovich Ilyinsky on June 24, 1901, in Moscow, Russia. Young Ilyinsky was fond of theatre, he was involved in drama class while a student of Moscow Gymnasium. In 1917, at the age of 16, he joined the acting studio of Fedor Komissarzhevsky, father of Vera Komissarzhevskaya, and director of Komissarzhevsky Theatre in Moscow. There, in 1917, Ilyinsky made his stage debut in Aristophanes's Lysistrata.

From 1920 - 1934 Ilyinsky was member of Meyerhold's Theatre in Moscow, he worked with director Vsevolod Meyerhold for 14 years. By the late 1920s he established himself as a popular comedian in the Soviet Union. At the same time, Ilyinsky also made appearances at the 1st Moscow Art Theatre, as Grumio in the Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew'. His popularity led to more invitations, and he worked with several other theatre companies in Moscow during the 1920s - early 1930s.

In 1924 Ilyinsky made his film debut as Kravtsov, a comic character in the first Soviet science-fiction movie Aelita, the Queen of Mars (1924) by director Yakov Protazanov. In 1925 he shot to fame with the role as Petya Petelkin, who won a lottery and is now trying to start his own business in the new Soviet reality, in Zakroyshchik iz Torzhka (1925) also by director Yakov Protazanov. Ilyinsky was best known in the Soviet Union for his role as Byvalov in Volga - Volga (1938) by director Grigoriy Aleksandrov.

From 1938 to 1987 Ilyinsky was the leading actor of Maly Theatre. He worked on stage with such actors as Vera Pashennaya, Nikolai Annenkov, Varvara Massalitinova, Varvara Ryzhova, Yevdokiya Turchaninova, Yelena Gogoleva, Varvara Obukhova, Yelena Shatrova, Elina Bystritskaya, Rufina Nifontova, Tatyana Eremeeva, Aleksandr Ostuzhev, Vladimir Davydov, Sergei Aidarov, Stepan Kuznetsov, Prov Sadovsky, Boris Ravenskikh, Boris Babochkin, Mikhail Zharov, Mikhail Tsaryov, Pavel Olenev, Mikhail Sadovsky, Konstantin Zubov, Viktor Khokhryakov, Vsevolod Aksyonov, Nikolai Ryzhov, Evgeniy Vesnik, Viktor Korshunov, Evgeniy Samoylov, Yuriy Solomin, and many other notable Russian actors. Ilyinsky's stage performances were admired by such contemporaries as Vsevolod Meyerhold, Konstantin Stanislavski, and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, among others.

Igor Ilyinsky was designated People's Actor of the USSR, and was awarded the State Stalin's Prize. He was also known for his radio performances in the Soviet Union. Ilyinsky was married to actress Tatyana Eremeeva and the couple had one son. Igor Ilyinsky died on January 13, 1987, in Moscow, and was laid to rest in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.