Biography

Sergei Boyarsky was a Russian character actor at the Theatre of Komissarzhevskoi in St. Petersburg, Russia.

He was born Sergei Aleksandrovich Boyarsky on 31 December 1916, in St. Petersburg, Russia. His father, Aleksander Boyarsky, was a Russian Orthodox priest who was executed by the communists during the Great Purge of 1937 under the dictatorship of 'joseph Stalin'. Young Sergei Boyarsky was fond of music and theatre. From 1935 to 1939 he studied acting under Boris Sushkevich at the old Russian acting school of Aleksandrinsky Theatre (named after Pushkin), graduating in 1939 as actor. After having worked for a few seasons at a small theatre in Ukraine, he returned to his hometown, Leningrad/St. Petersburg. From 1949 to 1976 Sergei Boyarsky was a permanent member of the troupe at the Theatre of Komissarzhevskoi in St. Petersburg. There his stage partners were such actors as Galina Korotkevich, Ivan Dmitriev, Tamara Abrosimova, Natalya Chetverikova, Elena Safonova, Valentina Chemberg, Tatyana Samarina, Aleksandr Galibin, Yefim Kamenetsky, Mikhail Khrabrov, Georgi Korolchuk, Stanislav Landgraf, Nikolay Boyarsky, Vladimir Osobik, Boris Sokolov, Ivan Krasko, Petr Shelokhonov, and other notable Russian actors.

Sergei Boyarsky made his film debut in 'Amphibian man', and later appeared in various supporting roles in film and on television. He was highly regarded for his works on stage having created over 50 roles in stage productions. Sergei Boyarsky also made memorable readings of Russian classic literature for various cultural events and radio shows. Outside of his acting career Sergei Boyarsky enjoyed a happy family life with his wife, Tatiana Melentieva, and the couple's son, Mikhail Boyarskiy, made a career as one of the leading stars of Russian cinema.

Sergei Boyarsky's last work was the leading role as Ivan the Terrible in the eponymous play by A. Tolstoy; he created the character of the legendary Russian Tsar in the period costume on the famous stage at the Theatre of Komissarzhevskoi in St. Petersburg. However, Sergei Boyarsky did not make it to the premiere. He died after a long and exhausting stage rehearsal on 1 March 1976, and was laid to rest in Komarovo cemetery near St. Petersburg, Russia.

- IMDb mini biography by: Steve Shelokhonov