Influential Comic Voice

Actor Anatoly Papanov (1922-1987) would have turned 80 on October 31. Generations of Russian children associate his voice with that of the Wolf in the popular cartoon Nu Pogodi!  (“You just wait!”). His wife, Nadezhda Karataeva, later recalled: “In fact, he was a bit upset when people recognized him as the Wolf. He said: ‘As if I did nothing else, only Nu Pogodi!’”

But he did. One of the most talented actors of the past century, Papanov excelled in the role of Gorodnichy in Nikolai Gogol’s play “The Inspector General” at his beloved Satire Theater, which he joined in 1948. His other major role there was Kisa Vorobyaninov, in “Twelve Chairs.”

In point of fact, the fame of the Satire Theater in the 1970s-1980s largely hinged on the talents of Papanov and his somewhat younger colleague Andrei Mironov. In 1955, director Eldar Ryazanov invited Papanov to act in Ryazanov’s first comedy film, Carnival Night. Yet Papanov’s screen test did not impress Ryazanov and, for the next few years, Papanov thought he was not “videogenic” and stayed away from cinema.

In the 1960s Papanov starred in the comedy film Come Tomorrow, and in 1964 he stepped out of comedic character and won kudos from critics and fans alike for his serious role as General Fyodor Serpilin in the film Dead and Alive. Based on a WWII novel of the same name by Konstantin Simonov, it showcased Papanov’s broad talent. War roles were especially dear to Papanov, who had fought in the war from its beginning until 1942, when he was seriously wounded in the leg and given a third category of disability by the medical commission.

In 1965, Ryazanov thought better of Papanov’s talents and invited him to act in his comedy Watch Out for the Automobile. In 1969, Papanov shined as the smuggler Lelik in Leonid Gaidai’s mega-hit, Diamond Arm, and won nationwide fame.

In 1970, another successful war movie tapped Papanov’s talent. It was the poignant Belorussky Vokzal. In it, director Andrei Smirnov tells the story of one day in the life of four war veterans who have gathered for the funeral of one of their wartime comrade-in-arms. The final scene, when the four heroes sing Bulat Okudzhava’s “Birds Don’t Sing Here,”moves even the most hard-hearted viewers to tears.      

Papanov’s final film was also serious. In 1986 he starred in the perestroika-era classic Cold Summer of 1953, which focuses on the gloomy period in Russia following Stalin’s death, when Lavrenty Beria was ostensibly in charge of the country. The film was shot in Karelia, 180 km from Petrozavodsk. Papanov had nearly completed shooting of the film in August 1987 when he unexpectedly died. His death was triggered by one of the most unpleasant Russian realities–the summertime switching off of hot water. Tired and weary from the summer heat, he took an ice cold shower and suffered a fatal heart attack.