Viktor Stanitsyn was a legendary actor and director of the Moscow Art Theatre, best known for his role as Prince Ilya Rostov in the Academy Award-winning film
War and Peace (1965) by director
Sergey Bondarchuk.
He was born Viktor Yakovlevich Gyoze (later changed name to Stanitsyn) on May 2, 1897, in Katerynoslav, Russian Empire (now Dnipro, Ukraine). From 1918 to 1924, he studied acting under
Michael Chekhov, following the system of
Konstantin Stanislavski at 2nd Studio of Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT), graduating in 1924 as an actor.
From 1924 to 1976, Viktor Stanitsyn was a permanent member of the troupe at Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). There his stage partners were such renowned Russian actors as
Konstantin Stanislavski,
Olga Knipper-Chekhova,
Ivan Moskvin,
Alla Tarasova,
Anatoli Ktorov,
Olga Androvskaya,
Angelina Stepanova,
Nikolay Khmelyov,
Mikhail Yanshin,
Aleksey Gribov,
Boris Livanov,
Mikhail Kedrov,
Mark Prudkin,
Anastasiya Georgievskaya,
Vasili Toporkov,
Mikhail Bolduman,
Pavel Massalsky, and the next generation of MKhAT actors -
Oleg Efremov,
Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy,
Kira Golovko,
Iya Savvina,
Anastasiya Voznesenskaya,
Irina Miroshnichenko,
Oleg Tabakov,
Andrey Myagkov,
Vladimir Kashpur,
Viktor Sergachyov,
Vyacheslav Nevinnyy,
Sergey Sazontev,
Avangard Leontev,
Igor Vasilev, and others. Stanitsyn's acting career spanned over 50 years, and he was a member of the board at Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). His most important stage works were such roles as Molchalin in "Gore ot Uma" (aka.. Woe from Wit), a play by
Aleksandr Griboyedov, and Mister Pickwick in a popular stage adaptation of Dickens' novel.
Viktor Stanitsyn received the Stalin Prize five times (1944, 1947, 1949, 1951, and 1952), was designated People's Actor of the USSR
(1948), and was awarded the Stanislavsky State Prize of Russia (1974). He was married to actress
Elena Ponsova and the couple had one daughter, Olga Stanitsina. Stanitsyn died of heart failure on December 26, 1976, in Moscow, and was laid to rest in
Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.
Na vsyakogo mudretsa dovolno prostoty(1976)
Mariya Styuart(1976)
Yedinstvennyy svidetel(1973)
Solo dlya chasov s boyem(1974)as Inspektor Mic
War and Peace, Part IV: Pierre Bezukhov(1967)as Ilya Andreyevitch Rostov
War and Peace, Part III: The Year 1812(1967)as Ilya Andreyevich Rostov
War and Peace(1965)as Ilya Andreyevich Rostov
War and Peace, Part II: Natasha Rostova(1965)as Ilya Andreyevitch Rostov
