The daughter of a prime minister, an actor from a family of athletes, a failed doctor. Black actors of Russia and their fates

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Blacks in Russia have appeared and were born since the eighteenth century, when the fashion for lackeys and maids, musicians and artists of African descent came from Europe. In the USSR, a new wave of African genes was brought by the novels of girls with students from friendly hot countries, and in Russia they have already begun to conclude marriages - the question of citizenship was not so acute. Black Russians live an ordinary, in general, life, master different professions, including acting in films.

Tito Romalio, father and son

In 2010, news sites reported the murder of black actor Tito Romalio. He was killed by a store guard, who was walking by Romalio; judging by the exact words he addressed to the actor, demanding that he share his mobile phone, Romalio attracted his attention with his southern appearance and the passer-by was looking for an excuse to beat the elderly man. The killer knocked the middle-aged actor to the ground and began to kick him in the head. Romalio died of severe head injury.

The murdered man's obituaries listed films, and it was clear from the list that the journalists were confusing two different Tito Romalio, father and son. Tito Romalio Sr. was also a film actor. He came to Europe from Brazil in the early thirties. First he performed in Germany, then, during the Second World War, he fled to Lithuania. During the occupation he hid in a Lithuanian village.

After the war, he received Soviet citizenship, married and settled in Leningrad. He mainly performed on the stage, but also appeared in cameo roles in films like "The Adventures of Artyomka", "Black Sun", "Head of Chukotka". In the drama about the love of a white girl and a black man in South Africa, "The Path of Thunder", Romalio played the main character.

The drama was an adaptation of the novel by Peter Abrahams. Critics and audiences found the film adaptation brilliant - excellent acting, good directorial and cinematography, soul-moving music. But, unfortunately, by our time the picture, which became stellar for Romalio the elder, has been lost.

Younger Romalio starred from an early age, both with his father and separately. He got one of the main roles in the film "Hello, Children!" - an African-American boy who came by invitation to a Soviet international camp and again faced racist antics from his peer, a white American. All Soviet children sympathized with Paul and his sister (played, I must say, by Tito's brother Misha). Another notable role for Romalio was the farmer Charlie, a friend of the protagonist in the comedy Jack Eight - American. Like his father, between filming in films, the actor performed on stage with dance numbers - Romalio Jr. had a choreographic training.

Starting in the nineties, Romalio Jr. was, like many of the old generation of actors, unclaimed and switched to teaching. He taught modern and ballroom dancing to children. His murder proved to be a great grief for the family and young students.

Elena Hanga

The famous presenter carries in her veins both African (Zanzibar and American) and Indian and Jewish blood. Helen's father Abdullah Kasim Hanga was the prime minister of Zanzibar. He died in prison after a political coup. Mother, Leah Golden, was born in Tashkent. Leah's father was a black American migrated to the USSR, Oliver Golden, the son of a freed slave Hillard Golden and a woman of half Indian blood named Catherine. Elena's maternal grandmother, Berta Bialik, was a Polish Jewish woman living in the United States.

In her youth, Khangi's mother defended the sporting honor of the Republic of Uzbekistan as a tennis player, but ultimately made a career as a historian. She is now a professor at the University of Chicago. Elena also played tennis in her youth, played for CSKA, but preferred to study at the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University.

Elena has been acting in films since the age of eight, mostly in cameo roles. The first film was the same "Black Sun", where the president of the African country was played by Tito Romalio Sr. She appeared in Russian TV series. Many people remembered her role with just a few words in the Soviet film "New Scheherazade's Tales". Hanga played there one of the female warriors, of whom the personal guard of the princess of a distant country consisted. In general, I want to see such a striking appearance as Hang's in the cinema more often, but Elena still makes her career on television. Has the right to.

As a Halachic Jewess (that is, a direct female descendant of a Jewess), Elena is a member of the public council of the Russian Jewish Congress.

Grigory Siyatvinda

This actor has had a chance to "wake up famous" several times. The viewer noticed him already in the first, not the largest role - in the comedy "Don't play the fool" Grigory played the black son of the protagonist, an ordinary Russian peasant Filimonov. After a chain of American adventures in Russia, one of them, a black war veteran, discovers that he saw his grandson in Filimonov's house.

Siyatvinda was born in Tyumen, from the marriage of a Russian woman and a citizen of Zambia. From two to five years old, he lived with his family in his father's homeland, but then his parents divorced, and Grigory returned with his mother to Tyumen. In his youth he served in the tank forces, then graduated from the Shchukin Higher Theater School. For many years he has been playing in the theater "Satyricon" and from time to time acts in films and serials.

One of his starring roles was a hitman nicknamed Eggplant in the crime comedy "Zhmurki". For this role, Siyatvinda was made up for a long time - the skin was too light compared to the character - and they wore a funny wig. And now Siyatvinda has become for many a person who voiced Maui in the Russian version of the cartoon "Moana". A large casting was carried out for this role, they were looking for a person with a timbre of voice ideally similar to the original voice actor.

Victoria Pierre-Marie

The daughter of two surgeons, a Cameroonian and a Russian woman, Victoria, nevertheless, did not follow in the footsteps of her parents. Even as a child, it became noticeable that Victoria had a wonderful voice, and she completely devoted herself to music. Her styles are blues, jazz, rock and soul. Victoria plays more in musicals, but sometimes appears in Russian TV shows.

As a child, oddly enough, Pierre-Marie performed in a children's brass band, playing the tuba. Among thirty boys, she was the only girl. She ended up in the orchestra thanks to a tragic incident: both of her parents died, and the girl was placed in a boarding school with a musical bias. And before that, she thought of becoming, like mom and dad, a doctor.

Ola Keiro

If the actors from the list above get roles in the series from time to time, then Keiru specializes in playing in the series. There are already about forty works in his portfolio. In 2018, he starred in the film based on the famous 1997 British comedy Male Striptease. The Russian remake is called "Night Shift", and the plot has been significantly changed compared to the original, although the plot itself and some details remain very recognizable.

Keiru was born in Rostov-on-Don, his brother is a rather famous basketball player Viktor Keiru, his sister Katerina is also a basketball player. They play in the men's and women's national teams of Russia. Another brother, Willie is a boxer. Ola stands out very much against their background. Keiro's father, a native of Sierra Leone, came to Russia to study at a civil engineering institute and started a family. Now he lives at home again.

Ola is not only an actor, but also a designer, he maintains an instagram, where he talks about family life and sometimes shows bags and backpacks of his design.

Andrey Suberu

Andrei Suberu is remembered by many for his participation in the humorous show "Town", where he constantly appeared in episodic roles. Like many other black actors in Russia, he is in some way a hostage to his appearance and in the series, where he often appears, he plays only occasional short roles. An exception was the comedy series The Legend of Tampuk, where Suber got the lead role.

According to the plot, an innocent and not very successful resident of Morocco named Mananga finds himself in the center of Russian criminal showdowns and eventually becomes a criminal authority and a millionaire. In the series, Suber had a chance to work with such stars as Dzhigarkhanyan and Vasilyeva.

Suberu's real name is Adinoy. He is a doctor by education, graduated from the Mechnikov University. Suberu is of Nigerian origin.

And, of course, it is impossible not to remember which the dark-skinned "Maksimka" had a dramatic fate Tolya Bovykina, the favorite of Soviet children.