Olga Baclanova

Olga Baclanova
Baclanova in 1930
Born
Olga Vladimirovna Baklanova

(1893-08-19)19 August 1893
Died6 September 1974(1974-09-06) (aged 81)
Vevey, Switzerland
Occupations
  • Actress
  • radio host
  • singer
Years active1914–1925 (Russia), 1925–1955 (U.S.)
Spouses
Vladimir Zoppi
(m. 1922; div. 1929)
(m. 1929; div. 1935)
Richard Davis
(m. 1937)
Children2
RelativesGleb Baklanov (brother)

Olga Vladimirovna Baklanova (Russian: О́льга Влади́мировна Бакла́нова; 19 August 1893[1] – 6 September 1974), known professionally as Olga Baclanova, was a Russian-born actress who found success in Hollywood films, as well as stage roles in the US and the United Kingdom, she was mainly billed as an exotic blonde temptress, who was given the title of the "Russian Tigress".[2][3]

Baclanova spent her early years in her native land appearing in silent films from 1914 until 1918, reducing her age by several years and changing the spelling of her surname Baklanova. She was often billed under her surname only, similar to her fellow countrywoman Nazimova.[4][1][5]

She emigrated to the United States in 1925, and started appearing on stage and subsequently in Hollywood films, where she was celebrated for the Universal Pictures silent The Man Who Laughs as the evil Duchess Josiana and in Tod Browning's cult-classic horror film Freaks (1932) at MGM, as scheming circus trapeze artist, Cleopatra.

  1. ^ a b Meienberg, L. Paul. "Olga Baclanova biography". Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference obit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Peter Rollberg (2016). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. US: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-4422-6842-5.
  4. ^ Mank, Gregory W. (1999). Women in horror films, 1930s, p. 118. McFarland; ISBN 978-0-7864-0553-4
  5. ^ Vazzana, Eugene Michael (2001). Silent film necrology, p. 25. McFarland; ISBN 978-0-7864-1059-0