Arkadiy Raykin

Arkady Isaakovich Raikin Russian Аркадий Исаакович Райкин 24 October OS 11 October 1911 17 December 1987 was a Soviet standup comedian theater and film actor and stage director He led the school of Soviet and Russian humorists for about half a century Raikin was born into a Jewish family in Riga in the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire presentday Latvia He graduated from the Leningrad Theatrical Technicum in 1935 and worked in both state theatres and variety shows In 1939 he founded his own theatre in Leningrad where he used skits and impersonations to ridicule the inefficiency of Communist bureaucracy and the Soviet way of life In the Stalinist police state this was prone to danger as it was not uncommon to get purged not only for telling a casual joke but even for not reporting it to the authorities He also appeared in several comedies during and after the Great Patriotic War Raikin created an array of popular satirical characters some of which were featured in the TV serial People and Mannequins He launched careers of several other prominent standup comedians such as Mikhail Zhvanetsky and Roman Kartsev Raikin is often compared with Charlie Chaplin His fame in the Soviet Union and throughout Central and Eastern Europe was such that he was invited to participate in the opening night of BBC Two television in 1964 although the broadcast had to be postponed for one day due to a power failure His trip to London for the BBC broadcastduring which he was reunited with his British cousin distinguished pianist Bruno Raikinmarked the first of only two times when the Soviet government permitted him to perform in the West Arkady Raikin also maintained good working relationships with Marcel Marceau and some other foreign actors Three years before his death Raikin finally moved to Moscow where he opened the Satyricon Theatre now run by his son Konstantin Raikin also an acclaimed actor His wife Roma played a major role in guiding his career and his daughter Ekaterina also had a successful career as a Moscow actress For a month during the summer of 1987 Raikin hosted his American cousin Washington DC attorney Steven Raikin as a guest in his Moscow flat3 In September 1987 the Soviet Ministry of Culture finally permitted Raikin to visit the United States where with his son and daughter he gave emotional farewell performances in several cities to adoring audiences of Russian émigrés Wiki