Vitaly Mefodievich Solomin (; 12 December 194127 May 2002) was a Soviet and Russian actor, director and screenwriter, best remembered for playing Dr. Watson in a series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations for Soviet television. He was the younger brother of Yury Solomin.
Biography Vitaly Solomin was born in 1941 in Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, Soviet Union, to a family of professional musicians.Официальный сайт Малого театра From childhood he was fascinated by music and learned to play the piano. On leaving school he went to Moscow and in 1959 he entered Shchepkin's drama school. He studied in the class of Nikolay Annenkov.
While a student, Vitaly rehearsed and performed at the Maly Theatre. After finishing the school he became an actor at this theater.
In the 1960s Vitaly Solomin began to appear in films. He debuted in 1963 in 1 Newton street. His first big role was as Kirill in the 1966 film Elder sister.
Vitaly Solomin shot to fame after playing the leading role as Cossack Roman in the epic film Dauria (1971) where he worked with his brother Yury Solomin and other Russian stars, such as Yefim Kopelyan, Viktor Pavlov and Vasily Shukshin.Биография на RuData.ru
During the 1980s his performances in films directed by Igor Maslennikov were especially successful. Most famous of these was his role as Dr. Watson in a series of films about Sherlock Holmes (1979—1986). In 1982 Maslennikov invited him to play the role of Count Tomsky in The Queen of Spades, an adaptation of Alexander Pushkin's story. His work in the film series Winter Cherry was very successful.
From 1 September 1986 to September 1989 Solomin worked in the Mossovet Theatre. There he acted in a play based on Viktor Astafyev's Sad Detective. In 1991 he returned to the Maly Theatre and staged Alexander Ostrovsky's Savage, playing the role of Ashmetiev.
Solomin wrote the screenplay for and directed the 1994 film The Hunt.
On 4 November 1974, he received the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR, and on 3 February 1992 of People's Artist of the RSFSR. In April 2002, Vitaly Solomin suffered a stroke which proved to be fatal; he died on 27 May 2002 and is interred in Vagankovo Cemetery.
Personal life Vitaly Solomin's first wife was the actress Natalia Rudnaya. The marriage soon fell apart. On 28 October 1970, he married the actress Maria Solomina (née Leonidova). In 1974 they had a daughter Anastasia, and in May 1984 a daughter Yelizaveta.
Filmography Year English Title Original Title Role Notes 1964 The Chairman Председатель Valyozhin, surgeon1965 Beloved Любимая Volodya Levadov I Am Twenty Мне двадцать лет Uncredited 1966 Women Женщины Zhenya Bednov1967 Older Sister Старшая сестра Kirill Tough Nut Крепкий орешек Lieutenant Ivan Groznykh The Kingdom of Women Бабье царство Kostya Lubentsov 1969 To the New Shores К новым берегам Modest Mussorgsky TV movie 1971 Hail, Mary! Салют, Мария! Seva Chudreev1972 Dauria Даурия Roman Ulybin Here's My Village Вот моя деревня Dmitri Nikolaevich, school principal mini-series1979 Die Fledermaus Летучая мышь Falke TV movie Siberiade Сибириада Nikolai Ustyuzhanin Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson Шерлок Холмс и доктор Ватсон Dr. Watson 2 episodes 1980 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson Приключения Шерлока Холмса и доктора Ватсона Dr. Watson 3 episodes1981 The Hound of the Baskervilles Собака Баскервилей Dr. Watson TV movie1982 The Queen of Spades Пиковая дама Count Tomsky1983 The Treasures of Agra Сокровища Агры Dr. Watson 2 episodes 1984 Return from Orbit Возвращение с орбиты Vyacheslav Mukhin1985 Winter Cherry Зимняя вишня Vadim Dashkov 1987 The Twentieth Century Approaches Двадцатый век начинается Dr. Watson 2 episodes1990 Winter Cherry 2 Зимняя вишня 2 Vadim Dashkov 1992 Dreams of Russia Сны о России Alexander Bezborodko 1993 Uncle Vanya Дядя Ваня Mikhail Lvovich Astrov 1995 Winter Cherry 3 Зимняя вишня 3 Vadim Dashkov 1998 Tests for Real Men Тесты для настоящих мужчин 2001 Request Stop Остановка по требованию Investigator Itcenko TV series2003 All or Nothing Пан или пропал Leszek Krzyżanowski TV series Casus belliКазус беллиMikhail final film role
References
External links
Biography Biography online peoples.ru To Be Remembered. Vitaly Solomin by Leonid Filatov (2003)