Mihai Volontir

Mihai Volontir (9 March 1934 – 15 September 2015) was a Soviet and Moldovan actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1984).

Mihai Volontir
Mihai Volontir in a 1960s film
Born(1934-03-09)9 March 1934
Glinjeni, Kingdom of Romania
Died15 September 2015(2015-09-15) (aged 81)
Chișinău, Moldova
OccupationActor
Years active1957-2015

Biography

Volontir was born on 9 March 1934 in the village of Glinjeni, Moldova. He attended the Pedagogical Institution in Orhei from 1952 to 1955.

After over a decade of working in theatre, Volontir began appearing in films made at the Moldova-Film studio in 1967. He became famous in the late 1970s after his roles in In the Zone of Special Attention and The Gypsy film series. The films were so popular that he is still strongly associated with his character, Budulai, a wise lone gypsy. His performance resulted in increased tolerance towards gypsy communities in the Soviet Union. The film series was revived fifteen years later with a new production as well as a TV series.

The "Vasile Alecsandri Theatre" in Bălţi

Volontir worked at the Vasile Alecsandri Theatre in Bălţi, where he was employed as an actor from 1957 until his death in 2015.

17 September 2015, the day of his funeral, was declared a day of National Mourning in Moldova.[1]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1968Se cauta un paznicIvan Turbinca
1968Eto mgnovenieMihai Adam
1972That Sweet Word: Liberty!Carlos Caro
1973Dmitriy KantemirDmitri Kantemir
1973Chetvyortyy
1974Muzhchiny sedeyut ranoAndrey Rezlog
1975Tütak säsiCabrayil
1977Koren zhizniLukyan Batyr
1978In the Zone of Special AttentionPraporshchik Volentir
1978Agent sekretnoy sluzhby
1979CentaursEvaristo
1979Bezotvetnaya lyubovPasserby
1981Ot Buga do VislyVershigora, commander of guerrilla connection
1981Hit BackPraporshchik Volentir
1982Olenya okhotaGolovin
1982Incident at Map Grid 36-80Skiba
1982Eta muzhskaya druzhbaAnton Greku
1983Bud schastliva, YuliyaRadu
1984Obvineniye
1985Ya za tebya otvechayu
1986Vilkolakio pedsakai
1989Vernymi ostanemsya
1990Stuk v dver
1992Vinovata li ya...(final film role)

Awards

See also

References
  1. "17 сентября объявили днем национального траура: страна простится с Михаем Волонтиром". publika.md. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.


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