Actor. He was a very popular 20th-century Russian film star whose last name has also been spelled as Cherkassov. He earned international fame for playing the title roles in director Sergei Eisenstein's classics "Alexander Nevsky" in 1938 and "Ivan the Terrible Parts I and II" in 1944 and 1946. His rugged charisma led Western critics to dub him "The Russian Gary Cooper." Born Nikolai Konstantinovich Cherkasov, he started working at the Mariinsky Theatre as a stagehand in 1918 and made his acting debut there in 1926. A year later, he began appearing in films. Cherkasov's commanding presence typed him in heroic roles, usually in bio-pics and historical epics. He played writer Maxim Gorky in "Lenin in 1918" in 1939 and "Ivan Pavlov" in 1949, Franklin D. Roosevelt in "The Battle of Stalingrad" in 1949, and the title roles in "Alexander Popov" in 1950, "Rimsky-Korsakov" in 1953, "They Knew Mayakovsky" in 1955, and "Don Quixote" in 1956. Reputedly dictator Josef Stalin's favorite actor, Cherkasov was elected to the Supreme Soviet in 1937, awarded the Order of Lenin in 1939, and named People's Artist of the USSR in 1947. His autobiography, "Notes of a Soviet Actor," was published in 1951. He died from complications of heart disease and emphysema.
Actor. He was a very popular 20th-century Russian film star whose last name has also been spelled as Cherkassov. He earned international fame for playing the title roles in director Sergei Eisenstein's classics "Alexander Nevsky" in 1938 and "Ivan the Terrible Parts I and II" in 1944 and 1946. His rugged charisma led Western critics to dub him "The Russian Gary Cooper." Born Nikolai Konstantinovich Cherkasov, he started working at the Mariinsky Theatre as a stagehand in 1918 and made his acting debut there in 1926. A year later, he began appearing in films. Cherkasov's commanding presence typed him in heroic roles, usually in bio-pics and historical epics. He played writer Maxim Gorky in "Lenin in 1918" in 1939 and "Ivan Pavlov" in 1949, Franklin D. Roosevelt in "The Battle of Stalingrad" in 1949, and the title roles in "Alexander Popov" in 1950, "Rimsky-Korsakov" in 1953, "They Knew Mayakovsky" in 1955, and "Don Quixote" in 1956. Reputedly dictator Josef Stalin's favorite actor, Cherkasov was elected to the Supreme Soviet in 1937, awarded the Order of Lenin in 1939, and named People's Artist of the USSR in 1947. His autobiography, "Notes of a Soviet Actor," was published in 1951. He died from complications of heart disease and emphysema.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
Gravesite Details
His grave site has large seated bronze statue of Cherkasov erected atop a block of granite
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