Todor Kolev Тодор Колев |
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Born |
Todor Petrov Kolev 26 August 1939 Shumen, Bulgaria |
Died | 15 February 2013 Sofia, Bulgaria |
(aged 73)
Occupation | Film and Theatre Actor Singer and Showman |
Years active | 1965–2013 |
Political party |
Union of Democratic Forces (1989-1991) Independent (1991-2013) |
Todor Petrov Kolev (Bulgarian: Тодор Колев; 26 August 1939 – 15 February 2013) was a leading Bulgarian film and stage actor, singer, comedian and TV presenter.
Born in Shumen, his first major film was Tsar i General (Tsar and General) in 1966. He has appeared in more than 30 films. He is best known to the Bulgarian audience by his roles in comedies such as Gospodin za edin den (King for a day), Dvoynikat (The Double), Prebroyavane na Divite Zaytsi (The Hare Census), Tsarska Piesa (Royal Play), Posledniyat Ergen (The Last Bachelor), Opasen Char (Dangerous Charm).
During the Communist rule, he was temporarily exiled from Sofia to Sliven for a joke he made in public that there were three Toshkos who made Bulgarians laugh ("Toshko" is the diminutive form of the name Todor in Bulgarian): the Communist leader Todor Zhivkov, the clown Toshko Kozarev and himself. However in his biography Varnenskoto Sofianche Ot Shumen, Todor Kolev denies having ever said this.
He died on 15 February 2013 in Sofia, after serious illness of lung cancer.