Galina Talva

Galina Talva (born Galina Tzvetckoff; died 1968),[1][2] was a Russian-American ballet dancer and actress. She was reportedly born in the Bronx to a Russian émigré. She had a sister, Natasha Seeleman (1921-2021).[3] She appeared in Crime and Punishment on Broadway with John Gielgud.[4] Talva most notably played Princess Maria in Irving Berlin's Call Me Madam, a Broadway musical comedy (1950) starring Ethel Merman, and sang on the original cast recording.[5]

In 1953, she married Leon Volkov, a Soviet Russian Air Force colonel, who defected to the USA. They had two children and she retired. Talva died in 1968.[6] Volkov went on to become Newsweek magazine's Soviet affairs specialist. Leon Volkov died on January 21, 1974.[7]

  1. ^ Obituary Index, newyorkfamilyhistory.org. Accessed May 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Leon Volkov obituary, nytimes.com. January 23, 1974. Accessed May 8, 2023.
  3. ^ Biodata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 27, 1952.
  4. ^ "Crime and Punishment". Cast & Crew. Theatricalia. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  5. ^ "Call Me Madam (1950 Musical Cast Recording)". Music Review. reviewgraveyard.com. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  6. ^ Biodata, St Petersburg Times, October 23 1955.
  7. ^ SAXON, WOLFGANG. "Leon Volkov of Newsweek Dies; Soviet Expert Defected in 1945; Escapes in Crash". The New York Times. Retrieved June 13, 2013.