Trivia

His problems with alcohol were the reason why his second wife, Natalya Fateeva, had to leave him after five years of their hectic marriage.

In a drunken rage in Moscow he scared his third wife, Valentina Titova, so that she left him to marry his cameraman.

He was awarded the Medal "For Battle Merit" in 1943 and the Order of the Red Star in 1945 for displaying outstanding heroism during the capture of a Nazi military base. He was wounded in action, but continued serving until the war ended.

In 1941 Vladimir Basov joined the Great Patriotic War. He served in the Red Army as an artillery officer, mortar battery commander, then, as a staff officer in the 28th Special Artillery Division in the rank of Kapitan.

He usually portrayed episodic, but distinguishing characters running some shady businesses, such as the lonely official in Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1980).

He is credited with writing screenplays to most of his movies.

In 1963 his friend Georgiy Daneliya offered a small part in the upcoming film Walking the Streets of Moscow (1964). Basov quickly turned into one of the most beloved Soviet comedy actors.

His busy schedule mixed with heavy drinking resulted in serious health problems during the 1980s.

Among his significant roles is Viktor Myshlaevskiy in Dni Turbinykh (1976), Huck Finn's father in Sovsem propashchiy (1973), Duremar in The Adventures of Buratino (1976), Pyotr Luzhin in Crime and Punishment (1970), Artur Arturovich in Beg (1971), Stamp in The Adventures of the Electronic (1980).

In 1947 Basov entered VGIK. He studied direction under Sergei Yutkevich and Mikhail Romm and graduated in 1952 to work on the Mosfilm studio.

Among his most acclaimed pictures is the TV adaption of Mikhail A. Bulgakov's play Dni Turbinykh (1976) and a big-screen spy thriller The Shield and the Sword (1968) which he also co-wrote.

He voiced a number of popular animated cartoons.

In 1983 he survived a stroke that led to complete paralysis of half of his body, yet he continued working. Basov died after the second stroke in 1987.

As a director Basov made 18 films, and one teleplay.