May 27: Memorial Day for Vitaly Solomin, the Soviet Watson
Vitaly Solomin died on May 27, 2002, in Moscow. He was 60 years old. An actor at the Maly Theater, director, and screenwriter, he entered the history of Soviet cinema primarily as Dr. Watson—reliable, lively, and humane—in the legendary Sherlock Holmes television series.
Chita roots and the Moscow scene
Vitaly Solomin was born in December 1941 in Chita, into a family of music teachers. His grandfather was a Socialist Revolutionary and served a prison sentence in the city. After finishing school, Vitaly followed his older brother, the future actor Yuri Solomin, to Moscow, to the Shchepkin Higher Theatre School. After graduating, he joined the Maly Theatre as a student and remained there for the rest of his life. He played Chatsky in "Woe from Wit," Khlestakov in "The Government Inspector," and Astrov in "Uncle Vanya."
The path to fame
Solomin made his film debut at age 20, in a cameo in Marlen Khutsiev's "Ilyicha Outpost," which was only released in 1964 due to censorship. True fame came in 1966: at 25, he played the lead character's son in the melodrama "Women," which was seen by 36 million viewers. Solomin auditioned for the role of Gosha in "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears," but Vladimir Menshov preferred the older Alexei Batalov.
Dr. Watson
In 1979, at age 38, Solomin began filming a Soviet television series about Sherlock Holmes. Oleg Basilashvili, Yuri Bogatyrev, and Leonid Kuravlyov auditioned for the role of Dr. Watson. But director Igor Maslennikov was drawn to a photograph of Solomin with a fake moustache: in it, the actor resembled not just an Englishman but also Conan Doyle himself.
The fundamental flaw in the two hundred films based on Sherlock Holmes stories worldwide is that they all feature only Holmes. And he's impossible to play—he's mechanical, monotonous. Watson was barely noticed. What I liked about Dunsky and Frid's adaptation was the strikingly precise and ironic way the relationship between the two men was depicted. Watson became interesting and alive. (Igor Maslennikov)
The very first episode caused such a sensation that viewers flooded the channel with letters asking for a sequel. Solomin became lifelong friends with Vasily Livanov.
You can fake love on screen, but you can't fake friendship. You have to be friends (Vasily Livanov)
Director and teacher
Since the 1970s, Solomin has been involved in theater directing. At the Maly Theater, he staged Leo Tolstoy's "The Living Corpse," Alexander Ostrovsky's "The Wild Woman," Chekhov's "Ivanov," and "My Favorite Clown" based on Vasily Livanov's play. He played leading roles in almost all of his productions. He taught at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK).
In 1985, he appeared in the melodrama "Winter Cherry," playing the married and indecisive Vadim (Sergey Shakurov was originally cast). He appeared in over 40 films. One of his last acting roles was as Lech Krzyżanowski in the TV series "Sink or Swim" (TEFI Award for Best Actor).
The last performance
In 1997, Solomin directed Kolker's musical based on Sukhovo-Kobylin's comedy "Krechinsky's Wedding." In 2002, right in the first act of this production, he suffered a stroke. After a month in a coma, Vitaly Solomin died on May 27. He said he envied Andrei Mironov, who ended his earthly life on stage.
