"All! There will be no cinema!”: how Savely Kramarov’s life turned out in the USA

Savely Kramarov left the USSR on October 31 1981 with documents for leaving the USSR to Israel, but only reached Vienna - at that time there was no direct communication between the USSR and Israel, since the USSR broke off diplomatic relations with him after the Six-Day War in 1967. In Vienna, he was met by the impresario Viktor Shulman, who organized Kramarov’s tours in Europe, America, Australia, Israel, and Japan. In Los Angeles, Kramarov began shooting first in commercials, then in movies.

In the USA, Savely settled in Los Angeles with his old acquaintance, the actor Ilya Baskin, with whom he also starred in Big Change. For some time he lived with him, then rented an apartment nearby. And a year later, they together starred in the drama "Moscow on the Hudson." Kramarov played the role of Boris KGBshnik. In the final, Boris appeared on the screen behind a tray with hot dogs. This scene allowed the artist’s homeland to say that Kramarov in America began selling sausages.

Soon, Kramarov starred in the film "2010: the year of entry into contact", where he played the Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Rudenko. From the actor they demanded a greater cartoonity of the image, and he resisted, arguing that in the USSR only courageous and educated people could become astronauts, but not idiots.

Then there were the films "Armed and Dangerous", "The Return of Morgan Stewart", "Red Heat".

Photo: video frame

Kramarov joined the Screen Actors Guild of the USA, which is a great success for emigrants, he has his own agent. As in Russia, his appearance on the set met a kind smile. People who worked with Kramarov treated him with interest and respect.

After moving to the US, in 1986, he married a second time, his wife Marina gave birth to a daughter, named after Kramarov’s mother, Benedict, a year later, Basia, at home.

A year after her birth, Marina left with her daughter in Las Vegas. After the divorce from Marina, relations with Kramarov were tense.

Photos from personal archive

Natalia Siradze became the last wife, 21 was a year younger than him, they got married in October 1994, Kramarov lived with her for half a year until her death.

Photos from personal archive

In 1992, Savely Kramarov came to Russia as an honorary guest of the Kinotavr film festival. For the second time, he came to Russia a year before his death, in 1994.

Illness and death

Kramarov was ready to play serious roles in America and would soon have had such an opportunity: he was approved for the role without a screen test, but he had cancer. Kramarov was afraid of death, and most of all he was afraid to get sick with cancer. He paid much attention to his health - he went on hunger strikes and was engaged in cleansing the body. In his diet there was only healthy food, he did regular jogging and was engaged in swimming, did not drink alcohol.

In January 1995, Kramarov felt pain in the left side of the abdomen. For several days the actor endured, and then went to the doctor. He was diagnosed with rectal cancer. 2 February 1995, Kramarova removed the tumor, he also received a course of chemotherapy. He had a complication: abdominal surgery led to endocarditis. A thrombosis followed, then a stroke, the struggle for his life began, but medicine was powerless..

Savely Kramarov died on June 6 of the year 1995, on the 61 year of life, in a San Francisco clinic from a second stroke. He was buried at the “Hills of Eternity” Jewish Memorial Cemetery in Colma (San Mateo) near San Francisco.