Aleksandr Abdulov

Aleksandr Gavrilovich Abdúlov ("Russian:" Алекса́ндр Гаври́лович Абду́лов; May 29, 1953 – January 3, 2008) was a Soviet and Russian actor. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1991).
Biography.
Aleksandr Abdulov went to school from 1960 to 1970 and upon graduating wanted to become a sportsman. However, Abdulov's father encouraged his son to act, and, in 1974 Aleksandr Abdulov starred in "About Vitya, about Masha and the Sea Force". In 1975 he graduated from the GITIS and was hired by Lenkom Theater director Mark Zakharov.
Aleksandr Abdulov appeared in several films in the 1970s. In 1977 he appeared in the TV version of the film "The Twelve Chairs" by Mark Zakharov. In 1978 he became a celebrity after he appeared in "An Ordinary Miracle" and in 1979 Abdulov appeared in "The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed" with Vladimir Vysotskiy. That year he also appeared in "Do not part with the Loved Ones" and in "The Very Same Munchhausen".
During the early 1980s, he was considered a sex symbol and in 1982 he appeared in "Look for a Woman", "Magicians" and "The Woman in White". In 1983, he appeared in the film "The House that Swift Built" (about Jonathan Swift) as Dr. Simpson. In 1984 Abdulov appeared in "The Formula of Love". The following year he appeared in "In Search for Captain Grant". He also appeared in "The Most Charming and Attractive" and "Naval Cadets, Charge!".
Aleksandr Abdulov then went on to appear in "Desyat Negrityat" (based on Agatha Christie's mystery novel "Ten Little Indians") in 1987 and "To Kill a Dragon" in 1988. The next year he appeared in "Black Rose Is an Emblem of Sorrow, Red Rose Is an Emblem of Love".
In 1991, Abdulov appeared in "Genius" and "The House under the Starry Sky". In 1992 he appeared in the film "Gold". During the 1990s he mostly worked in the Lenkom Theatre. In 2000 he appeared in "Still Waters", and in "The Christmas Miracle" with Chulpan Khamatova. In 2002 he appeared in the TV series "Next" (the title being the actual English word) playing a Russian oligarch. In 2003 he appeared in the sequel "Next 2"; the following year he was in "About Love".
In 2005, Abdulov appeared in the TV series "Anna Karenina" and "The Master and Margarita". In 2006 he directed the play "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" at the Lenkom and played the lead character of Randall P. McMurphy (played by Jack Nicholson in the American film). Abdulov has also appeared in the film "Leningrad".
In 1991, Abdulov was awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR.
Attitude to the mass media.
Abdulov had extremely tense relations with the mass media, especially tabloids, in the last years of his life. He fervently resented all false information about him and hated those unscrupulous journalists who tried to pry into his personal life. Once on "Man and Law" aired on Russia's Channel One Abdulov said that he owned a licensed gun and he would not hesitate to shoot any trespasser that dared to enter the territory of his dacha during his forthcoming birthday party.
Marriages.
Aleksandr Abdulov was married three times. His first marriage was to Irina Alfyorova, by whom he has a stepdaughter, Ksenia Alfyorova. His second wife was a theatre administrator named Galina. In 2006 he married Julia Miloslavskaya, who gave birth to their daughter Eugenia in early 2007.
Health problems and death.
Abdulov was a smoker throughout his adult life. In August 2007, the actor experienced health problems, supposedly an ulcer. However, in September of the same year he was diagnosed with lung cancer in an Israeli clinic. .
He was last seen in public in mid-December 2007 at an awards ceremony at the Kremlin, where Vladimir Putin awarded the actor with the Order of National Merit (4th degree).
He died on January 3, 2008, aged 54.