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Biography
Vitaly Solomin (right) with his father and cousin.
Vitaly Solomin was born in 1941 in Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, Soviet Union, to a family of professional musicians. From childhood he was fascinated by music and learned to play the piano. On leaving school he went to Moscow and in 1959 he entered Shchepkin's drama school. He studied in the class of Nikolay Annenkov.
While a student, Vitaly rehearsed and performed at the Maly Theatre. After finishing the school he became an actor at this theater.
In the 1960s Vitaly Solomin began to appear in films. He debuted in 1963 in 1 Newton street. His first big role was as Kirill in the 1966 film Elder sister.
Vitaly Solomin shot to fame after playing the leading role as Cossack Roman in the epic film Dauria (1971) where he worked with his brother Yury Solomin and other Russian stars, such as Yefim Kopelyan, Viktor Pavlov and Vasily Shukshin.
On 4 November 1974, he received the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR, and on 3 February 1992 of People's Artist of the RSFSR.
During the 1980s his performances in films directed by Igor Maslennikov were especially successful. Most famous of these was his role as Dr. Watson in a series of films about Sherlock Holmes (1979—1986). In 1982 Maslennikov invited him to play the role of Count Tomsky in The Queen of Spades, an adaptation of Alexander Pushkin's story. His work in the film series Winter Cherry was very successful.
From 1 September 1986 to September 1989 Solomin worked in the Mossovet Theatre. There he acted in a play based on Viktor Astafyev's Sad Detective. In 1991 he returned to the Maly Theatre and staged Alexander Ostrovsky's Savage, playing the role of Ashmetiev.
Solomin wrote the screenplay for and directed the 1994 film The Hunt.
One of Solomin's last acting jobs was as Lech Krzyzanowski in the multi-part film "Pan or Miss". He participated in the filming of the TV show "Marquise".
Private life
Vitaly Solomin with his daughters and wife
By his first marriage from 1963 to 1968, Vitaly Solomin was married to actress Natalia Rudnaya.
His second wife was actress Maria Solomina (maiden name Leonidova). The future wife was a student of the Textile Institute. Assistant director Todorovsky noticed her on the street and offered to participate in the audition for a role in the film "Urban Romance. Solomin also participated in these auditions, and so they met. October 28, 1970 held their wedding. In 1973 they had a daughter, Anastasia, and in May 1984, their daughter Elizabeth, now an actress, producer, and wife of director Gleb Orlov.
According to the documentary biographical film "...And a Wagon of Unspent Love!", which premiered on Channel One on December 10, 2016 for the actor's 75th birthday, during his second marriage Solomin experienced two lengthy affairs with his partners at the Maly Theater, Yelena Tsyplakova and Svetlana Amanova.
Death
Monument at Vagankovskoye Cemetery
Vitaly Solomin suffered from hypertension. April 24, 2002, he played in the play "Krechinsky′s Wedding"; despite poor health, the actor went on stage. He could only play the first act, from the scene he was carried away in his arms. Solomin taken to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed a stroke.
About a month actor was in the hospital, a long time was in a coma, sometimes leaving it. He died May 27, 2002 in Moscow at 61 years of age at 18 hours 30 minutes.
He was buried in Moscow, in Vagankovsky cemetery (plot number 24).
Filmography
- 1964 The Chairman
- 1965 Beloved
- 1965 I Am Twenty
- 1966 Women
- 1967 Older Sister
- 1967 Tough Nut
- 1967 The Kingdom of Women
- 1969 To the New Shores
- 1971 Hail, Mary!
- 1972 Dauria
- 1972 Here's My Village
- 1979 Die Fledermaus
- 1979 Siberiade
- 1979 Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson 2 episodes
- 1980 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson 3 episodes
- 1981 The Hound of the Baskervilles
- 1982 The Queen of Spades
- 1983 The Treasures of Agra
- 1984 Return from Orbit
- 1985 Winter Cherry
- 1987 The Twentieth Century Approaches
- 1990 Winter Cherry 2
- 1992 Dreams of Russia
- 1993 Uncle Vanya
- 1995 Winter Cherry 3
- 2001 Request Stop
- 2003 All or Nothing
- 2003 Casus belli
