The wolf runs, falls, gets angry and shouts again: “Well, wait!“. Behind this hoarse, recognizable voice stands Anatoly Papanov – an actor with a wide range, for whom the animated character becomes both the greatest popularity and a role from which he can hardly escape.
Anatoly Dmitrievich Papanov was born on October 31, 1922 in Vyazma, Smolensk Region. He graduated from the Moscow State Institute of Theater Arts in 1946, and two years later became part of the troupe of the Moscow Theater of Satire. He remained in the theater until the end of his life.
From the stage and cinema to the voice of the Wolf
Papanov is among the actors who equally convincingly play comedic and dramatic characters. The audience remembers him as Lyolik from “The Diamond Hand“, as General Serpilin from “The Living and the Dead“, as well as his roles in “Beware of the Automobile“, “12 Chairs“ and “The Cold Summer of 1953“.
In animation, his voice takes on a separate life. Papanov voiced characters in nearly a hundred films, but it is the Wolf from “No, wait!“ that remains his most recognizable work. According to the portal “Culture.RF“ he voiced the character from 1969 to 1994, and recordings with his participation continue to sound after his death.
The authors of the project use not only the voice, but also his acting ability to change intonation. The Wolf can be simultaneously threatening, funny, self-confident and pitiful. Thus, the pursuer of the Bunny gradually turns from a hooligan into a hero for whom the viewer feels sympathy.
A role that overshadows the others
However, the popularity of the Wolf was not entirely convenient for Papanov. In an interview with “Arguments and Facts“ his widow Nadezhda Karataeva says that when people recognized him on the street, he got angry: “Enough with this Wolf! He gnawed at my entire biography.“
This irritation explains the difference between the actor's personal attitude and the way the audience remembers him. For the audience, Papanov is not only the Wolf, but his voice remains the first sign by which generations of children recognize him. Among his other animated roles are the Waterman from “The Flying Ship“, the tiger Sherekhan from “Mowgli“ and the characters from “A Sack of Apples“.
Papanov died on August 5, 1987 in Moscow, at the age of 64. In 1973, he was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR. Today, his name continues to be associated with his entire theatrical and film heritage, but also with that voice that invariably warns the Bunny: the chase is not over yet.
Sources: aif.ru, spec.tass.ru, rbc.ru