Eugenie Leontovich

Eugenie Leontovich (born Evgenia Konstantinovna Leontovich; , tr. ; March 21 or April 3 – April 3, 1993) was a Russian-born United States actress with a distinguished career in theatre, film and television, as well as a dramatist and acting teacher. In an obituary, she was described as "[o]ne of the most colourful figures of the 20th-century theatre, a successful actress, producer, playwright and teacher." She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Play for William Saroyan's The Cave Dwellers. Early life Born in Podolsk, she studied at Moscow's Imperial School of Dramatic Art, and then under Meyerhold at the Moscow Art Theatre, which she subsequently joined. The daughter of Konstantin Leontovich, an officer in the Russian Imperial Army, she suffered greatly during the Revolution. Her three brothers (who were Army officers like their father) were murdered by the Bolsheviks. In 1922, she "found her way to New York City and set about mastering the English language". That year, she joined a touring company of the musical Blossom Time in 1922 and traveled throughout much of the U.S. Her success led to Broadway stardom. Career