Nikolai Nikolaevich Kryukov was born on July 8, 1915, in a village in
Tver province, USSR. His parents were farmers. Young Kryukov was fond
of silent films. In 1930, he decided to become an actor and moved to
Leningrad. During the 1930s he was industrial worker at the "Sevkabel"
plant in Leningrad. At that time he also attended acting class at the
Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in Leningrad, graduating in 1935 as an
actor. From 1936 - 1941 he was permanent member of the troupe with E.
Radlov's theatre, then at Lensoveta Theatre in Leningrad. In 1940,
Kryukov made his film debut in 'Politruk Kolyvanov' (1940), but the
film was not completed because of the hardship in the Second World War.
During WWII, Nikolai Nikolaevich Kryukov worked as actor during the
siege of Leningrad. In the beginning of 1942, he was evacuated from
besieged Leningrad to the city of Pyatigorsk. There he was arrested by
the advancing Nazi Army and was taken to Germany as a POW. In Germany,
Nikolai Nikolaevich Kryukov worked as actor until liberation at the end
of WWII. Then he was returned to the Soviet Union together with five
million other POWs.
After the war, Nikolai Nikolaevich Kryukov undergone interrogation by
the Red Army intelligence and the KGB, before he was allowed to work
again as a stage actor with various theatre companies in such cities as
Tbilisi, Tver, Rostov, and Riga. However, he was restricted from
working in Leningrad/St. Petersburg until after the death of the Soviet
dictator Joseph Stalin a series of political changes were initiated in
the Soviet Union by Nikita Khrushchev. In 1958 Nikolai Kryukov returned
to Leningrad and became staff actor at the Lenfilm Studios. He was
regarded for his roles in such films as
Tumannost Andromedy (1967),
Devushka i Grand (1982), and in
the popular Russian series about Sherlock Holmes.
Nikolai Nikolaevich Kryukov was married to actress Lilia Gurova and the
couple lived in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was designated Honorable
Actor of Russia (1992) and was a highly respected actor in Russia. He
died of a heart failure on April 30, 1993, and was laid to rest in
Serafimovskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Svidanie v teatre pepla(2000)as Philosopher
Vospominanie o Sherloke Kholmse(2000)as Colonel Sebastian Moran
Tayna(1992)as Fleming, lawyer
Cynics(1992)as Prodavets knizhnogo magazina
22 iyunya, rovno v 4 chasa(1992)as Fyodor Bragin - otets
