FILE In this file photo taken on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, gives a medal to artistic director of the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater Oleg Tabakov during an award ceremony in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. Oleg Tabakov, a Russian actor and theater director who has been one of the most revered figures in the Russian theater community and film industries for decades, has died. He was 82. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
Republished March 12, 2018 - 9:58 AM
Original Publication Date March 12, 2018 - 8:21 AM
MOSCOW - Oleg Tabakov, a Russian actor and theatre director who for decades was one of the most revered figures in Russia's theatre and film communities, has died. He was 82.
The Moscow Art Theater said Tabakov died Monday of an unspecified illness at a Moscow hospital. Tabakov led the theatre for the last 18 years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended condolences to Tabakov's family.
Born in the Volga River city of Saratov, Tabakov joined the Sovremennik theatre after graduating from a Moscow theatre school in 1957. He performed in both classic and modern productions and also became widely popular as a film actor, starring in many Soviet films and lending his voice to cartoon characters.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018