Biography
Arkady Isaakovich Raikin (Russian: Аркадий Исаакович Райкин; 24 October [O.S. 11 October] 1911 – 17 December 1987) was a Soviet stand-up comedian, theater and film actor, and stage director. For nearly fifty years, he led the school of Soviet and Russian humorists. Born into a Jewish family in Riga, then part of the Governorate of Livonia in the Russian Empire (now Latvia), Raikin graduated from the Leningrad Theatrical Technicum in 1935. He worked in state theatres and variety shows before founding his own theatre in Leningrad in 1939. There, he used skits and impersonations to satirize the inefficiency of Communist bureaucracy and Soviet life. Operating under Stalin's regime, this was risky, as people were often purged not only for telling jokes but also for failing to report them. Raikin also appeared in several comedies during and after World War II.
He developed numerous popular satirical characters, some of which appeared in the TV series People and Mannequins. Raikin helped launch the careers of notable stand-up comedians like Mikhail Zhvanetsky and Roman Kartsev.
Often likened to Charlie Chaplin, Raikin was widely celebrated across the Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe. His renown led to an invitation to perform at the BBC Two television opening night in 1964, although the broadcast was delayed by a day due to a power outage. This visit to London, where he reunited with his British cousin, pianist Bruno Raikin, was one of only two occasions the Soviet government allowed him to perform in the West. He also maintained good professional relationships with foreign actors such as Marcel Marceau.
Three years before his death, Raikin relocated to Moscow and established the Satyricon Theatre, which is now managed by his son Konstantin Raikin, an acclaimed actor himself. His wife, Roma, played a significant role in managing his career, and his daughter, Ekaterina, became a successful Moscow actress. In the summer of 1987, Raikin hosted his American cousin, Washington D.C. attorney Steven Raikin, in his Moscow apartment. In September of that year, the Soviet Ministry of Culture finally allowed him to visit the United States, where he, along with his son and daughter, performed farewell shows to enthusiastic audiences of Russian émigrés in several cities.
