Durdyev, Ata

Born Jan. 1, 1910, in the village of Keshi, present-day Ashkhabad Raion. Soviet Turkmenian actor. People’s Artist of the USSR (1971). Member of the CPSU since 1935.

In 1929, Durdyev graduated from the Turkmenian Drama Studio and joined the troupe of the Mollanepes Turkmenian Theater of Drama (in Ashkhabad). His roles have included Aba Serdar (in Amanov’s and Burunov’s Keimir-Ker); Muradov (in Seitliev’s and Mukhtarov’s The Shepherd’s Son); Salikhov, Ata, and Kuikibai (in Mukhtarov’s The Merry Guest, Allan’s Family, and The Nineteen-thirties); the Khan of Khorezm (in Kerbabaev’s Makhtumkuli); Vostrosablin (in Atadzhanov’s Kushka Fortress); Pir (in Amanov’s Kemine); Prokhor (in Gorky’s Vassa Zheleznova); Peklevanov (in Vs. Ivanov’s Armored Train 14-69); and Kent (in Shakespeare’s King Lear). Durdyev’s art is full of folk character and vivid, realistic imagery. He has acted in motion pictures (Dursun, 1940; The Shepherd’s Son, 1955; and A Special Mission, 1958). Durdyev received the State Prize of the USSR in 1951. He has been awarded two orders as well as medals.