Boris Dobronravov

Boris Dobronravov
Dobronravov as Gromov in the film Prisoners, 1936
Born	Борис Георгиевич Добронравов (1896-04-16)April 16, 1896 Moscow, Russian Empire
Died	October 27, 1949(1949-10-27) (aged 53) Moscow, USSR
Occupation	actor
Years active	1915—1949
Awards	Order of Lenin (1938), Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1937)

Boris Georgiyevich Dobronravov (Russian: Борис Георгиевич Добронравов, 16 April 1896, Moscow, Imperial Russia, — 27 October 1949, Moscow, USSR) was a Russian and Soviet actor, associated with the Moscow Art Theatre.

The People's Artist of the USSR (1937), and a recipient of numerous high-profile state awards, including the Order of Lenin (1938) and the Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1837), he is best remembered for his parts in An Ardent Heart and The Storm by Alexander Ostrovsky (Narkis, Tikhon respectively), The Days of the Turbins (Mikhail Bulgakov, Myshlayevsky), Dead Souls (Nikolai Gogol, Nozdryov), The Cherry Orchard (Anton Chekhov, Lopakhin).

"Totally open and delivering instantly profound effect on stage, he was one of the very few, of whom it could be said that their performances were paid by their very heart's own blood," according to the theatre historian Inna Solovyova. Dobronravov, who always said his idea of a perfect death was the death on stage, died of heart failure during the final scene of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, his 166th performance of the leading role, on the day of MAT's 51st anniversary. He is interred in Novodevichye Cemetery in Moscow. In 1920-1949 he was cast in 11 Soviet films, including Aerograd (1935) and The Virgin Land (1939).