Ivan Krasko

Ivan Krasko is a popular Russian actor known for his powerful voice and mastery of Russian language with exceptional delivery. He was born Ivan Ivanovich Krasko on September 23, 1930, in Vartemaki, Leningrad province, USSR. In 1953, he graduated from Navy School in Leningrad, then served as artillery officer in the Soviet Navy. In 1957 he was a member of amateur student theatre of Leningrad University. From 1957-1961 he studied acting with E. Time and B. Zon and graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music, and Cinematography as an actor. Ivan Krasko made his film debut in Baltiyskoe nebo (1960). From 1961-1965 Ivan Krasko worked under Georgi Tovstonogov at Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in Leningrad. There his stage partners were such stars as Kirill Lavrov, Tatyana Doronina, Oleg Basilashvili, Alisa Freyndlikh, Lyudmila Makarova, Zinaida Sharko, Valentina Kovel, Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Oleg Borisov, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Yefim Kopelyan, Evgeniy Lebedev, Vadim Medvedev, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Pavel Luspekayev, Sergey Yurskiy, Nikolay Trofimov, Georgiy Shtil, and many other remarkable Russian actors. Since 1965 Ivan Krasko has been a permanent member of the troupe at the Theatre of Komissarzhevskoi in St. Petersburg. There his stage partners were such actors as Galina Korotkevich, Tamara Abrosimova, Natalya Chetverikova, Natalya Danilova, Valentina Panina, Tatiana Samarina, Elena Simonova, Aleksandr Galibin, Yefim Kamenetsky, Mikhail Khrabrov, Georgi Korolchuk, Stanislav Landgraf, Nikolay Boyarsky, Vladimir Osobik, Boris Sokolov, Pyotr Shelokhonov, and other notable Russian actors. Ivan Krasko was designated People's Artist of Russia and was awarded for his works on stage and in film. He played more than 50 roles in film and television and also played over 100 roles on stage. Ivan Krasko is highly regarded for his memorable readings of Russian classic literature on many radio shows. He son, Andrey Krasko, and grandson, Jan Aleksandrowicz-Krasko, also became actors. Outside of his acting career Ivan Krasko has been enjoying a happy family life with a wife and two young sons, Fedya and Vanya. He is currently residing in St. Petersburg, Russia.