Yevgeny Leonov

Yevgeny Pavlovich Leonov (Russian: Евгений Павлович Леонов; 2 September 1926 – 29 January 1994) was a famous Russian/Soviet actor who played main parts in several of the most famous Soviet films. Called "one of Russia's best-loved actors", he also provided the voice for many Soviet cartoon characters, including Vinny Puch (Winnie the Pooh). While growing up in a typical Moscow family, he dreamed of becoming a war-plane pilot, which was a very com... more

Yevgeny Pavlovich Leonov (Russian: Евгений Павлович Леонов; 2 September 1926 – 29 January 1994) was a famous Russian/Soviet actor who played main parts in several of the most famous Soviet films. Called "one of Russia's best-loved actors", he also provided the voice for many Soviet cartoon characters, including Vinny Puch (Winnie the Pooh). While growing up in a typical Moscow family, he dreamed of becoming a war-plane pilot, which was a very common desire of many boys of the World War II period. This is also often attributed to the fact that his father worked in an airplane factory. During the Great Patriotic War he and his whole family worked in a weapon manufacturing/aviation factory. After the war, he joined the Moscow Art Theatre school, where he studied under Mikhail Yanshin. In his first film, Leonov was cast as an extra and did not receive any recognition. He later became a Georgi Daneliya regular, appearing in all of his features, including Gentlemen of Fortune, Autumn... less