Grigori Abrikosov was a notable Russian actor of the 1950s - 1980s, who
starred as Gritsian in a popular musical comedy
Die Hochzeit in Malinowka (1967).
He was born Grigori Lvovich Abrikosov on August 30, 1932, in Moscow,
Russia, USSR. His father, Lev Abrikosov, was a notable Russian actor.
Young Grigori Abrikosov was brought up in the artistic environment of
his father's circle; he was so impressed with the personality of his
father, that no other influences could change his choice to follow his
father's steps. From 1949 - 1954 he studied acting at the Shchukin
Theatrical School of the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow, where his father
was artistic director. In 1954, he graduated as an actor, and joined
his father on stage and in film.
From 1954 - 1993 Grigori Abrikosov was a permanent member of the troupe
at Vakhtangov Theatre. There he played leading and supporting roles in
stage productions of such classic plays as 'Talanty i poklonniki'
(aka.. Talents and admirers) by
'Aleksandr Ostrovsky', a production
that was later made into a film adaptation by director Isidor Annensky
with the music by Tikhon Khrennikov.
Abrikosov's best known role in film was Gritsian in
Die Hochzeit in Malinowka (1967) a
popular musical comedy by director
Andrey Tutyshkin.
During the peak of their acting career, in the 1950s and 1960s,
Abrikosov's success brought the attendant pressure, and he developed
addiction to alcohol. Both father and son Abrikosovs were notorious in
Moscow for their frequent stage appearances after and between their
routine drinks, and acting under the influence. However, their
performances were usually so good that both were able to get away with
alcohol abuse at work. Some performances by the father and son
Abrikosovs under the influence were described in famous jokes about
their ability to improvise on stage when they were drunk and completely
forgot their lines, so they borrowed random phrases from several other
plays and were able to get away with it brilliantly, often leaving the
public amazed with their improvisations.
After the death of his famous father, Grigori Abrikosov fell into
depression and became an alcoholic. Although he was largely ignored by
the new generation of filmmakers, he continued working with the
Vakhtangov Theatre, and his stage acting remained strong, albeit he
played only one role, appearing as doctor in a popular comedy 'Be
well'. He was designated People's Actor of Russia (1983). He died of a
heart failure on April 13, 1993, and was laid to rest in Novodevichy
Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.
