Biografia
Oleg Borisovich Vidov was born on June 11, 1943, in the outskirts of Moscow to Varvara Vidova, a teacher, and Boris Nikolaievich Garnevich, an economist. During his childhood, he lived with his mother, who worked for the Soviet government in education in Mongolia and East Germany. When his mother was assigned to China, he stayed with his aunt Anuta in Kazakhstan. Eventually, he reunited with his mother and aunt in Moscow. At 18, he was admitted to the acting department of the state film school VGIK, chosen from hundreds of aspiring actors.
Since 1961, Oleg appeared in 50 films, mostly in leading roles. He became a sex symbol of his generation in Russia, with many of his films still regularly broadcast on Russian television. His notable credits include "Red Heat," "Wild Orchid" (1989), and "Thirteen Days."
In 1985, he defected to the United States, where he continued acting in films and television. In 1992, Oleg and his wife acquired international distribution rights to the award-winning Soyuzmultfilm Studio animation library, helping to popularize Russian animation worldwide. They produced numerous series based on digitally restored animations from the Soyuzmultfilm collection, including "Animated Classic Showcase," Mikhail Baryshnikov's "Stories from My Childhood" (1998), Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book," "Masters of Russian Animation," "The Adventures of Cheburashka and Friends," and "Animated Soviet Propaganda." In 2007, they sold the library to a Russian oligarch.
