Khenkin, Vladimir

Born Dec. 8 (20), 1883, in Kharkov; died Apr. 17, 1953, in Moscow. Soviet actor. People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1946).

Khenkin began his stage career in 1902 in Feodosiia and later worked in Tashkent, Baku, Kiev, and Rostov-on-Don. Khenkin played dramatic roles, for example, that of Alesha Karamazov in the dramatization of Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov staged by P. N. Orlenev’s company. He was especially successful in comedy and operetta. He joined the Moscow Theater Bouffe in 1908, the Moscow Operetta Theater in 1928, and the Moscow Theater of Satire in 1934. His best roles included Truffaldino in Goldoni’s A Servant of Two Masters, Sinichkin in Lenskii’s Lev Gurych Sinichkin, and Zaichik in The Misalliance by Sheinin and the brothers Tur. Beginning in 1911, Khenkin also performed frequently on the variety stage.

Khenkin was a masterful actor who enriched his roles with folk humor and improvisational wit.