Evgeny Pavlovich Leonov (1926-1994) was an outstanding Soviet and Russian actor of theater and cinema, a master of dubbing. He became a People's Artist of the USSR in 1978 and was awarded numerous state awards, including the State Prizes of the RSFSR named after the Vasiliev Brothers, the Lenin Komsomol and the USSR, as well as the Prize of the Russian Federation. Leonov was also a recipient of the Order of Lenin.
Evgeny Leonov was born in Moscow into the family of Pavel Vasilyevich and Anna Ilyinichna Leonov. His older brother Nikolai Leonov (1924-2017) worked as an aircraft engineer in the Tupolev bureau, and his father worked at an aircraft factory. His mother was a housewife, and the family lived in a communal apartment on Vasilyevskaya Street.
From the fourth grade, Evgeny was noticed by a director who was looking for "the funniest, plumpest boy" for filming. He was invited to the studio, but he couldn't take part because of his parents or because of his own fear and embarrassment. In the fifth grade, he joined the school drama club.
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Evgeny graduated from the seventh grade and, on the advice of his parents, got a job as an apprentice turner at an aircraft factory where his whole family worked.
In the autumn of 1943, he entered the S. Ordzhonikidze Aviation Instrument Engineering College, where he participated in amateur performances. In his third year, he left the college and entered the drama department of the Moscow Experimental Theater Studio at the Moscow Regional Philharmonic, which was headed by R. V. Zakharov, the choreographer of the Bolshoi Theater.
In 1947, Evgeny graduated from the studio and was accepted into the Moscow Theater of the Dzerzhinsky district. Since 1948, he began performing on the stage of the Stanislavsky Moscow Drama Theater and acting in films. Popularity came to him after the release of the film "Striped Flight" in 1961.
Since 1968, Leonov worked at the Moscow V. Mayakovsky Theater, where he performed one of his best roles — Vanyushin's father in S. A. Naydenov's play "Vanyushin's Children".
In the early 1970s, he had a conflict with the artistic director of the theater, A. A. Goncharov, due to frequent filming and participation in advertising. This conflict led to the actor's departure from the theater.
Since 1974, Leonov has been an actor at the Lenin Komsomol Theater (since 1990 — Lenkom Theater), which was headed by M. A. Zakharov.
Evgeny participated in the radio play Ivanhoe (1967) and played the role of Wamba. He also starred in the TV show "Alarm Clock" (1983). His recognizable thick, hoarse voice became his calling card. He is also known for his work on dubbing cartoons, in particular, the role of Winnie the Pooh in a series of films from 1969 to 1972.
Leonov was a member of the CPSU since 1955 and the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR. He was fond of football and supported Dynamo Moscow.
In 1988, Leonov suffered a clinical death during a tour in Germany due to a massive heart attack. He was in a coma for 16 days and returned to acting after four months.
Evgeny Pavlovich Leonov died on January 29, 1994 from a blood clot rupture before the performance of The Memorial Prayer. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow (plot No. 10).
