Vladimir Zeldin - biography

Vladimir Mikhailovich Zeldin (Russian: Влади́мир Миха́йлович Зе́льдин; born February 10, 1915) is a Russian theatre and cinema actor.

Zeldin was born in the town of Kozlov (now Michurinsk). In 1935 he graduated from the theatre college at the Mossovet Theatre and became its actor. For over 60 years he has been working in the Russian Army Theatre, Moscow.

Zeldin became an all-Union celebrity in 1941 starring in the comedy Svinarka i pastukh. His other most famous works as a film actor include Skazanie o zemle sibirskoy (1947), Uchitel’ tantsev (1952), Karnavalnaya noch (1956), Dyadya Vanya (1970) and Desyat negrityat (1987).

In February 2005 Zeldin celebrated his 90th birthday with the premiere of the musical Man of La Mancha (translated into Russian) where he still stars both as Don Quixote and Miguel de Cervantes.