Biography
Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin was a Soviet and Russian actor and clown. Born in Demidov, Smolensk Oblast, he trained at the Circus School and began performing as a clown at the Moscow State Circus in 1950. He later became director of the Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard.
Nikulin starred in numerous popular films, most notably the comedies directed by Leonid Gaidai such as Operation Y and Other Shurik's Adventures (1965), Kidnapping, Caucasian Style (1967) and The Diamond Arm (1969). He also appeared in dramatic roles, including Patrikey in Andrei Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev (1966) and in war films such as They Fought for Their Motherland (1975).
He received the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1973 and Hero of Socialist Labour in 1990. Nikulin died in Moscow in 1997.
