Mikheil Gelovani

Mikheil Gelovani
მიხეილ გელოვანი
Formal black-and-white portrait of an older man looking off to the side, wearing a suit and medals.
Gelovani in 1947
Born(1893-01-06)6 January 1893
Lechkhumi, Kutais Governorate, Russian Empire
Died21 December 1956(1956-12-21) (aged 63)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Resting place
Novodevichy Cemetery
OccupationsActor, director
Years active1913–1956
Spouses
  • Irina Eristavi
    ​
    (divorced)​
  • Lyudmila Gelovani
    ​
    (before 1956)​
ChildrenGeorgy Gelovani

Mikheil Giorgis dze Gelovani[a] (6 January [O.S. 25 December 1892] 1893 – 21 December 1956) was a Soviet and Georgian actor, known for his numerous portrayals of Joseph Stalin in cinema, starring in fifteen historic movies mostly about the early Soviet era.[1] He was recognized as People's Artist of the USSR in 1950 and won the four Stalin Prizes of the first degree (1941, 1942, 1947, 1950).

Biography

Early life

Mikheil Gelovani was a descendant of the old Georgian princely house of Gelovani.[2] He made his stage debut in a theater in Batumi during 1913. From 1919 to 1920, he attended the Drama Studio in Tiflis. In the two following years, he was a member of the cast in the city's Rustaveli Theatre. From 1923, he worked as an actor and a director in the Georgian SSR's Goskinprom film studio.[3] In 1924, he first appeared on screen in the film Three Lives.[4] He moved to the Armenian SSR's Armenkino production unit in 1927. In addition to his cinematic work, Gelovani continued to appear in theater, and performed on stages in Kutaisi and Baku. In 1936 he returned to the ensemble of the Rustaveli Theatre, and remained there for three years.[5]

Antebellum

In 1938, Gelovani first portrayed Stalin in Mikheil Chiaureli's The Great Dawn. His performance won him the Order of the Red Banner of Labour on 1 February 1939 and the Stalin Prize during 1941.[3] Afterwards, Gelovani "established a monopoly on the role of Stalin", which he continued to portray in twelve other pictures until the premier's death.[6] Gelovani greatly resembled Stalin physically, except in his stature: he was much taller than the latter.[7] Reportedly, he was not the premier's favorite candidate for depicting himself on screen: since he was Georgian, he mimicked Stalin's accent "to perfection". Therefore, the leader personally preferred Aleksei Dikiy, who used classic Russian pronunciation. However, Gelovani appeared in his role much more than Dikiy.[8] According to The Guinness Book of Movie Facts and Feats, Gelovani had probably portrayed the same historical figure more than any other actor.[9] When the two met, the general secretary told the actor: "you are observing me thoroughly... You do not waste time, do you?"[10]

Soviet cinema played an important part in cultivating Stalin's cult of personality: from 1937 onward, in a gradual process, Stalin's reign was legitimized by depicting him as Vladimir Lenin's most devout follower[11] and by positively presenting historical autocrats - like in Sergei Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible.[12]

Later years

Gelovani as Stalin in The Fall of Berlin (1950)

Due to his identification with Stalin, Gelovani was barred from playing other roles in cinema; he was not allowed to depict "mere mortals".[13] From 1942 to 1948, he was a member of the cast in the Gorky Moscow Art Theatre.[5] During World War II, the personality cult was abandoned in favor of patriotic motifs, but returned already at the war's late stages, and with greater intensity than ever after 1945: Stalin was soon credited as the sole architect of victory.[14] In the postwar films in which he portrayed him – The Vow, The Fall of Berlin and The Unforgettable Year 1919 – Gelovani presented the leader as "a living god".[15]

The actor was awarded three more Stalin Prizes, all of which were granted for his performances of the premier in film: in 1942 for The Defence of Tsaritsyn, in 1947 for The Vow and in 1950 for The Fall of Berlin. On 3 June 1950, he was given the title People's Artist of the USSR.[3]

After Stalin's death in 1953, Gelovani was denied new roles in films, since he was completely identified with the character of the late ruler.[16][17] From 1953 until his death in 1956, he acted in Moscow's State Theater for Film Actors.[5] Andreas Kilb wrote that he ended his life "a pitiful kagemusha" of Stalin.[18]

Gelovani died on 21 December 1956 of Myocardial infarction in Moscow, and was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery, alongside his wife Ludmila.[19]

Following Nikita Khrushchev's Secret Speech in 1956, most of the pictures he appeared in as Stalin were either banned or had the relevant scenes removed.[16]

Filmography

As actor
YearFilm Role Notes
1924Three Lives Bakhva
1925Rider from the Wild West N/A
1926The Ninth Wave Avalov
1927Two Hunters Turiko
1927Evil Spirit Crazy Danel
1931Out of the Way! N/A
1934Good-bye Spiridon Lomidze
1934The Last Masquerade Rostomi
1937The Return of Maxim N/A
1937Orange Valley Kirile
1938The Man with the Gun Joseph Stalin
1938The Great Dawn
1939Lenin in 1918 Scenes deleted
1939The Vyborg Side Platon Vassilievich Dymba
1940Siberians Joseph Stalin
1941Valery Chkalov Scenes deleted
1942The Defense of Tsaritsyn
1946The Vow Banned
1949The Fall of Berlin Banned
1950The Lights of Baku
1953The Fires of Baku Scenes deleted
1952The Miners of Donetsk
1952The Unforgettable Year 1919 Banned
1953Jambyl Jabayev
1953Hostile Whirlwinds Scenes deleted
As director
YearFilm
1927Evil Spirit
1929Youth Wins
1931Deed of Valour
1931True Caucasian

Awards

Notes

  1. ↑
    • Georgian: მიხეილ გიორგის ძე გელოვანი
    • Russian: Михаил Георгиевич Геловани, romanized: Mikhail Georgiyevich Gelovani

References

  1. ↑ Peter Rollberg (2009). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. US: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 246–248. ISBN 978-0-8108-6072-8.
  2. ↑ Dumin, Grebelsky & Lapin 1994, p. 80.
  3. 1 2 3 Torchinov & Leontiuk 2000, p. 146.
  4. ↑ Yutkevich & Afanaseev 1987, p. 92.
  5. 1 2 3 Prokhorov 1982, p. 160.
  6. ↑ Rappaport 1999, p. 40.
  7. ↑ Beumers 2009, p. 96.
  8. ↑ Taylor 1999, p. 228.
  9. ↑ Robertsons 1991, p. 105.
  10. ↑ Montefiore 2004, p. 517.
  11. ↑ Heller & Plamper 2004, p. 228-229.
  12. ↑ Dobrenko 2003, p. 59.
  13. ↑ Taylor & Spring 1993, p. 164.
  14. ↑ Youngblood 2007, p. 95.
  15. ↑ Boobbyer 2000, p. 113.
  16. 1 2 A. Bernstein (September 1989). "Mikhail Gelovani: One-Role Actor". Soviet Film. 9: 16–17. ISSN 0201-8373.
  17. ↑ Zalesky 2000, p. 146.
  18. ↑ Andreas Kilb (20 September 1991). "Die Meister des Abgesangs" [The Masters of the Swan Song]. zeit.de (in German). Die Zeit. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  19. ↑ Mikheil Gelovani Archived 2015-07-05 at the Wayback Machine. novodevichiynecropol.ru.
  20. ↑ "Указ Президиума Верховного Совета Грузинской ССР О присвоении почетного званий работникам искусств" (PDF). Zarya Vostoka (in Russian). No. 50. 7 March 1946. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 May 2024.
  21. ↑ "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДИУМА ВЕРХОВНОГО СОВЕТА СССР О ПРИСВОЕНИИ ПОЧЕТНОГО ЗВАНИЯ НАРОДНОГО АРТИСТА СССР РАБОТНИКАМ СОВЕТСКОЙ КИНЕМАТОГРАФИИ" (PDF). Zarya Vostoka. No. 51. 8 March 1950. p. 1.
  22. ↑ "Постановление Совета Народных Комиссаров Союза ССР О присуждении Сталинских премий за выдающиеся работы в области искусства и литературы". Izvestiya. No. 63. 16 March 1941. p. 2.
  23. ↑ "Постановление Совета Народных Комиссаров Союза ССР О присуждении Сталинских премий за выдающиеся работы в области искусства и литературы за 1941 год" (PDF). Izvestiya. No. 86. 12 April 1942. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2024.
  24. ↑ "В Совете Министров СССР О присуждении Сталинских премий за выдающиеся работы в области искусства и литературы за 1946 год" (PDF). Sovetskoe iskusstvo. No. 24. 13 June 1947. p. 1.
  25. ↑ "В СОВЕТЕ МИНИСТРОВ СОЮЗА ССР ПРИСУЖДЕНИИ СТАЛИНСКИХ ПРЕМИЙ ЗА ВЫДАЮЩИЕСЯ РАБОТЫ В ОБЛАСТИ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ И ИСКУССТВА ЗА 1949 ГОД" (PDF). Sovetskoe iskusstvo. 12 March 1950. p. 3.
  26. ↑ "Указ Президиума Верховного Совета СССР «О награждении особо отличившихся работников кинематографии»". Pravda. No. 16. 2 February 1939. p. 3. Archived from the original on 4 October 2021.

Bibliography

  • Beumers, Birgit (2009). A History of Russian Cinema. Berg Publishers. ISBN 978-1-84520-215-6.
  • Boobbyer, Philip (2000). The Stalin Era. Springer Verlag. ISBN 978-0-415-18298-0.
  • Dobrenko, Evgeni (2003). Stalinist Cinema and the Production of History: Museum of the Revolution. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-3445-3.
  • Dumin, S.; Grebelsky, P. Kh; Lapin., V. V. (1994). Дворянские Роды Российской Империи: Князья Царства Грузинского. IPK Vesti. ISBN 978-5-86153-005-7.
  • Heller, Klaus; Plamper, Jan (2004). Personality Cults in Stalinism. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 978-3-89971-191-2.
  • Montefiore, Simon Sebag (2004). Stalin - The Court of the Red Tsar. Phoenix London. ISBN 0-7538-1766-7.
  • Prokhorov, Aleksandr, ed. (1982). "Gelovani, Mikhail Georgievich". Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Vol. 6 (3rd ed.). Collier Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-0-02-880110-0.
  • Rappaport, Helen (1999). Joseph Stalin: A Biographical Companion. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-57607-084-0.
  • Robertsons, Patrick (1991). The Guinness Book of Movie Facts & Feats. Abbeville Press. ISBN 978-0-85112-706-4.
  • Taylor, Richard (1999). Film propaganda: Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-86064-167-1.
  • Taylor, Richard; Spring, Derek, eds. (1993). Stalinism and Soviet Cinema. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-07285-4.
  • Torchinov, Valeri; Leontiuk, Alexei (2000). Вокруг Сталина. Историко-биографический справочник. Filologicheskii Fakultet Sankt-Peterburgskogo Universitet. ISBN 5-8465-0005-6.
  • Youngblood, Denise J. (2007). Russian War Films: On the Cinema Front, 1914-2005. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-1489-3.
  • Yutkevich, Sergei; Afanaseev, Yuri, eds. (1987). Кино. Энциклопедический словарь. Soviet Encyclopedia. ISBN 5-900070-03-4.
  • Zalesky, Konstantin (2000). Империя Сталина: Биографический энциклопедический словар. Veche. ISBN 5-7838-0716-8.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.