Olga Baclanova | |
|---|---|
 Baclanova in 1930 | |
| Born | Olga Vladimirovna Baklanova (1893-08-19)19 August 1893 Moscow,Russian Empire |
| Died | 6 September 1974(1974-09-06) (aged 81) Vevey, Switzerland |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1914–1925 (Russia), 1925–1955 (U.S.) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Gleb Baklanov (brother) |
Olga Vladimirovna Baklanova (Russian:О́льга Влади́мировна Бакла́нова; 19 August 1893[1] – 6 September 1974), known professionally asOlga Baclanova, was a Russian-born actress who found success inHollywood films, as well as stage roles in the US and the United Kingdom, she was mainly billed as an exotic blonde temptress, who was given the title of the "Russian Tigress".[2][3]
Baclanova spent her early years in her native land appearing in silent films from 1914 until 1918, reducing her age by several years and changing the spelling of her surname Baklanova. She was often billed under her surname only, similar to her fellow countrywomanNazimova.[4][1][5]
She emigrated to the United States in 1925, and started appearing on stage and subsequently inHollywood films, where she was celebrated for theUniversal Pictures silentThe Man Who Laughs as the evil Duchess Josiana and inTod Browning's cult-classic horror filmFreaks (1932) at MGM, as scheming circus trapeze artist, Cleopatra.
Olga Vladimirovna Baklanova was born on 19 August 1893 (other sources state 1883, 1884, 1896 or even 1900, according to her obituary) in Moscow, Russia.[2][1] She was the daughter of Vladimir Baklanov and his wife Alexandra,[1] an actress in early Russian films. She had 6 siblings, including later Soviet general andWorld War II heroGleb Baklanov. Baclanova studied drama at the Cherniavsky Institute[1] before being accepted into theMoscow Art Theatre with contemporaries such asMaria Ouspenskaya in 1912.
Over the next decade she appeared in Russian films, and also performed extensively on stage, touring and performing in many countries of the world. She was a feature actress of plays byIbsen,Chekhov andTurgenev, and the M.A.T productions ofShakespeare,Dickins andBerger.[1]
In the 1930s, Baclanova, who had vocal training at the Moscow Arts Theatre, had a program calledOlga Baclanova's Continental Review, and she often appeared as a guest on radio programs singing songs in her native Russian, often with the F. Zarkerich Orchestra and also made recordings, including an album titled the "Olga Baclanova Album", released in 1946, by Unique Records[6]
In 1925 she was given the award "Merited Artist of the Republic", the highest Soviet artist honour. Baclanova appeared in around 17 films during her career in Russia.
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Baclanova came to New York City with the 1925 touring production of theMoscow Art Theatre'sLysistrata. When the rest of the company returned to Russia the following year, she stayed in America.[1] She appeared in a West Coast production ofThe Miracle, before being cast in a bit part in her debut film,The Dove in 1927. A statuesque blonde, Baclanova quickly established herself as a popular actress in Americansilent movies and achieved success withThe Docks of New York in 1928, directed byJosef von Sternberg. Later that year, she appeared inThe Man Who Laughs as Duchess Josiana, thefemme fatale love interest toConrad Veidt's disfigured hero.
The introduction oftalking films proved difficult for Baclanova due to her heavy Russian accent. She no longer secured leading roles, and was relegated to supporting parts. Her career was in decline when she was offered the role of the cruel circus performer Cleopatra in Tod Browning's filmFreaks[7] (1932). This horror movie, which featured actual carnivalfreaks, was highly controversial and screened only briefly before being withdrawn. It would be 30 years beforeFreaks gained acult following. The movie did not revive Baclanova's film career, which ended in 1943.
Baclanova worked extensively on stage inLondon's West End and in New York, for about 10 years starting in the mid-1930s. In 1943 she appeared inClaudia at the Moore Theatre inSeattle, Washington.
Baclanova's father died of natural causes in 1922. She was married three times. Her first husband was a lawyer named Vladimir Zoppi with whom she had her first son. Her second husband was actorNicholas Soussanin with whom she had her second son. The birth of her second son was front-page news and was covered quite extensively in the press in 1930. Her third marriage was to Russian-born David Judovitch, better known as Richard Davis (1900–1984), who owned the Fine Arts Theatre in New York. In 1931, Baclanova became a naturalized American citizen.
Olga's likeness to the American pop singerMadonna in the 1980s has been mentioned as particularly evident inThe Man Who Laughs.[8]
In Russia, Baclanova's departure from the USSR made room for the success of Soviet movie starLyubov Orlova, a struggling ex-pianist with a certain likeness to Olga. In 1926, Orlova was promoted from a choir after two months in a theatre, by the heart-brokenVladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, a rumored lover or admirer of Baclanova, his favorite student.[9] Fashion historianAlexandre Vassiliev remembered in 2018: "He [Vladimir] loved her [Olga] in letters, he was thinking deeply about her. The only time he cried [publicly], at the piano in theArt Theatre foyer, was when he had found out about Olga Vladimirovna Baclanova [emigration]... He really began to cry. I'm sure of this, not because I was there but because I was a friend ofSophia Pilyavskaya [ru] who was also closely connected to Nemirovich-Danchenko and could have known this from the wife of the famous director... Lyubov Orlova blossomed as Baclanova's substitute."[10]
After her retirement she migrated to Switzerland. She died at a rest home on 6 September 1974 from lung cancer inVevey, aged 81, and apparently hadAlzheimer's disease, although this is unconfirmed.[2] She was interred at Corsier cemetery, inCorsier-sur-Vevey.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1914 | Simfoniya lyubvi i smerti | ||
| 1914 | Kogda zvuchat struny serdtsa | ||
| 1915 | Velikiy Magaraz | ||
| 1915 | Zhenshchina vampir [ru] | Title role | |
| 1915 | Po trupam k schastyu [ru] | ||
| 1915 | Lyubov pod maskoy | ||
| 1916 | Tot, kto poluchaet poshchechiny | L'écuyère Consuella, qu'il tue par amour | |
| 1918 | Khleb |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | The Dove | Minor Role | Uncredited Incomplete film |
| 1928 | The Czarina's Secret | Catherine the Great – The Czarina | Short |
| 1928 | Three Sinners | Baroness Hilda Brings | Lost film |
| 1928 | The Man Who Laughs | Duchess Josiana | |
| 1928 | Street of Sin | Annie | Lost film |
| 1928 | Forgotten Faces | Lilly Harlow | |
| 1928 | The Docks of New York | Mrs. Lou Roberts | [7] |
| 1928 | The Woman Disputed | Countess | (scenes deleted) |
| 1928 | Avalanche | Grace Stillwell | Lost film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | The Wolf of Wall Street | Olga | Lost film |
| 1929 | A Dangerous Woman | Tania Gregory | |
| 1929 | The Man I Love | Sonia Barondoff | |
| 1930 | Cheer Up and Smile | Yvonne | |
| 1931 | Are You There? | Countess Helenka | |
| 1931 | The Great Lover | Mme. Savarova | |
| 1932 | Freaks | Cleopatra | |
| 1932 | Downstairs | Baroness Eloise von Burgen | [7] |
| 1933 | The Billion Dollar Scandal | Anna aka GoGo | |
| 1943 | Claudia | Madame Daruschka | [7] |
