Aleksandr Viktorovich Dedyushko (May 20, 1962, Volkovysk, Byelorussian SSR — November 3, 2007) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, best known for his roles in the "special forces" TV series of the 2000s, as well as a television presenter. He studied at the Evstigneev Nizhny Novgorod Theater School.[1]

Biography and education

Dedyushko was born in Volkovysk, Belarus. From his school years he took part in amateur performance — he danced in ensembles and performed in kapustniks (informal amateur comedy revues). After finishing school he missed the deadline to apply to a theater institute and spent a year working as an auto mechanic; he was then drafted into the navy and served three years in the Baltic Fleet. On his return he again missed the entrance exams and took a job at the ZIL plant. The following summer he went to Nizhny Novgorod and enrolled in the theater school, which he completed three years later.[1] After that he worked three seasons at a theater in Minsk and six seasons at the Lunacharsky Theater in Vladimir, where he worked from 1989 to 1995.[2]

Career in Moscow

At the age of 33, Dedyushko moved to Moscow and joined the company of the Moscow Art Academic Theater under Oleg Efremov, but he received no significant roles there. He began with commercials and extra work. In 1990 he made his film debut in a small role as a revolutionary worker in Gleb Panfilov's adaptation of "Mother," starring Inna Churikova. Only in the late 1990s, with the wave of "gangster" TV series, did he get his first serious job — a key role in the film "Directory of Death."[1]

This breakthrough role opened a flood of offers. In the much-talked-about comedy "DMB" Dedyushko played a patrol commander; roles followed in the series "Turetsky's March" and "At the Corner of Patriarch's Ponds 2," and in 2002 he played an intelligence service officer in "Brigada." In 2003 the lead role — Sergey Lapin in the series "Operational Alias" — became the actor's signature work. Other notable projects include "The Assassination Attempt," "Sarmat," "Guys of Steel," "Alias: Albanian," "I Am a Detective," "The Thief," and "The Barber of Siberia."[1]

In 2006 Dedyushko took part in the TV show "Dancing with the Stars," partnered with Liana Shakurova, and became host of the program "The Street of Your Fate" on the channel TV Center — a show about unknown heroes in need of help.[1]

Death

On November 3, 2007, at about 11 p.m., at the 109th kilometer of the Moscow–Ufa highway near Petushki in Vladimir Region, a Toyota Picnic driven by Dedyushko crossed into the oncoming lane and collided with a Scania truck. The actor was driving from Nizhny Novgorod toward Moscow. His wife Svetlana and eight-year-old son Dima died with him; the truck driver survived. The bodies were taken to the morgue in Petushki.[2] According to his colleagues at the Vladimir theater, Dedyushko met Svetlana during one of his visits to Vladimir after he had already moved to Moscow, and proposed to her, after which she moved to the capital to live with him.[2]

External links

  • Wikidata (Q485529 — an entry in the free knowledge base)

Sources

  1. rus.team — Dedyushko Aleksandr Viktorovich — Dramatic Actor — Biography
  2. vladimir.kp.ru — Actor Aleksandr Dedyushko, His Wife, and 8-Year-Old Son Dima Killed Near Petushki
  3. pomnim-skorbim.ru — Dedyushko Aleksandr Viktorovich (1962–2007) — We Remember, We Mourn