Sergei Aleksandrovich Martinson

Born Jan. 25 (Feb. 6), 1899, in St. Petersburg. Soviet Russian actor. People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1964).

In 1923, Martinson graduated from the Institute of Theater Art in Leningrad and appeared in various variety stage troupes. Since 1924 he has performed in Moscow at the Meyerhold Theater (Valerian in Erdman’s The Warrant) and at the Theater of the Revolution (Mister Pickle in Toller’s Hoppla!, Karandyshev in Ostrovskii’s The Dowerless Bride). Martinson has also appeared at the Moscow Music Hall, where his roles included Skameikina in Under the Church’s Cupola. In 1945 he joined the troupe of the Film Actors’ Theater-Studio (now the Central Film Actors’ Studio). Among the roles he played there were Zhivnovskii in Saltykov-Shchedrin’s Death of Pazukhin, Prince Kostromskoi in Dostoevsky’s Uncle’s Dream, and Harrison in Porter’s Kiss Me. Kate.

Since 1924, Martinson has appeared in motion pictures; his first role was Poincare in Adventures of Oktiabrina. His best roles have included the barber Sol’ in Marionettes (1934), the composer Kerosinov in Anton Ivanovich Is Angry (1941), the telegraph worker lat’ in Wedding (1944), and Prince Kostromskoi in Uncle’s Dream (1967). In the films New Adventures of Schweik (1943) and The Third Blow (1948), he created a satirical portrayal of Hitler. Martinson’s acting, which is mainly satirical, is marked by variety stage and music hall techniques, exaggeration, expressiveness, and some elements of pantomime.