Yuri Yuryev

Biography

Yuri Yuryev was a Russian stage actor best known for his performance with the Aleksandrinsky (Pushkin) Theatre in St. Petersburg. He was born Yuri Mikhailovich Yuryev on January 15, 1872, in Moscow, Russia. His uncle, Sergei Yuryev, was a writer and critic, who played important role in the formation of young Yuryev. In 1880s he took acting under A. Yuzhin, then played at Maly Theatre in Moscow. In 1893, Yuri Yuryev moved to St. Petersburg, and made a career at the Aleksandrinsky Theatre. There, during the 1910s, he worked under directorship of Vsevolod Meyerhold. In 1913 Yuriev made his film debut in German silent movies under directorship of Georg Jacoby. Yuri Yuryev was best known for his stage performances at Aleksandrinsky (Pushkin) Theatre in St. Petersburg during the 1900s - 1940s, such as Makbeth, Othello, and King Lear in the Shakespeare's tragedies. In 1919 Yuriev was among the founders of Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) together with Maxim Gorky and Anatoli Lunacharsky. He was member of the troupe with BDT for three seasons, then he had a stint at the Meyerhold's theatre in Moscow, albeit eventually he returned to Aleksandrinka (Pushkin Theatre) and was permanent member for the rest of his life. During the siege of Leningrad in the Second World War, Yuryev was giving stage performances in Leningrad, he gave his last performance as Othello in January of 1945. He was designated People's Actor of Russia, and received Honorary Doctorship in Art History for his books of memoirs. Yuri Yuryev died on March 13, 1948, in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Russia, and was laid to rest in the Necropolis of Masters of Arts of Tikhvinskoe Cemetery of St. Aleksander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, Russia.