Зиновий Гердт

Though never considered a star in the handsome-leading-man sense of the word, Zinoviy Gerdt was among Russia's most beloved and respected character actors. Over his nearly five-decade-long career, Gerdt appeared in puppet theater, in dozens of feature films, and on various television shows. The respect accorded him by peers and fans was as much a product of his personal integrity as it was of his talent. He was not an overtly political man, though most of his films spanned the Communist era