Born in Riga in 1949, Godunov first studied ballet in his native city where he was a classmate of Mikhail Baryshnikov. In a review in The New York Times, Vincent Canby described Mr. Godunov, who played an Amish farmer, as the film's "most riveting presence." He studied acting with Stella Adler and took voice lessons at the Juilliard School of Music in preparation, it was said, for a film career.His other films included "Money Pit" (1986) and "North" (1994).TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers.This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996.

There were times when acting a character seemed to bore him. Your preference has been recorded Login His defection was front-page news around the world, and became even bigger news a few days later when Lyudmila Vlasova, a Bolshoi soloist to whom he was married, tried to return to the Soviet Union. On his graduation, Mr. Godunov joined Igor Moiseyev's Young Ballet and toured with that company.He talked his way into the Bolshoi by appealing to Yuri Grigorovich, its director, and soon after he joined, he danced Prince Siegfried, the lead male role of "Swan Lake," and won many rave reviews. Search Britannica Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov had defected before him, but Mr. Godunov was the first from the Bolshoi. She was dubbed t… provides an overview of the year’s most-notable people and events. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Alexander Godunov, (ALEKSANDR BORISOVICH GODUNOV), Russian ballet dancer and actor (born November 25/28, 1949, Sakhalin Island, U.S.S.R.—died May 18?, 1995, Los Angeles, California), had a successful career with Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet before defecting to the U.S. during the company’s 1979 engagement in New York City. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. And after his success in "Witness," he failed to have a similar impact in his other films, which included "Die Hard" (1989).Boris Alexander Godunov was born on Sakhalin Island, and began studying dance at 9 at the Riga State Ballet School, where his mother enrolled him to prevent him from becoming "a hooligan," as he later put it. History at your fingertips One ballet dancer that appears to have been forgotten with the passage of time is Alexander “Sasha” Godunov. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. After a 1974 tour with Miss Plisetskaya, he was not allowed to leave the Soviet Union again until 1979 and rarely danced during that period.Mr. Mr. Godunov was discovered by a nurse who had not heard from him since May 8 and decided to investigate.Tall and dramatic, with long blond hair that flared behind him during his soaring jumps and whiplash turns, Mr. Godunov was an instant star wherever he danced. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.Alexander Godunov, Dancer And Film Actor, Dies at 45 He performed with it until 1982, when he was let go by Mikhail Baryshnikov, artistic director of the company. Cynthia Gregory, a leading ballerina of American Ballet Theater, said later that she wished he would defect from the Soviet Union and become her partner.In August 1979, Mr. Godunov did defect while on tour with the Bolshoi in New York. A former colleague at Ballet Theater described him yesterday as an innocent in an unfamiliar world. It was not immediately known when he had died.

Presented as archival content. Godunov joined the Bolshoi Ballet in 1971, as its youngest principal dancer, and was chosen by the legendary prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya to be her partner soon after. Unlike most articles on Britannica.com, Book of the Year articles are not reviewed and revised after their initial publication.

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