Alexander Godunov (R.I.P.), Premier Dancer of the Bolshoi, like a flame, --- ASTOUNDING TO WATCH...

                                           

Alexander, with his height, his Viking god looks, and that intense stare of his blue eyes he could be very intimidating, but those who knew him well said he was a simple, even a bit shy, man. But, he could be very flamboyant and imperial acting. (Perhaps, because Premier Dancers are treated almost like royalty in Russia.) 

   He danced like a tiger... Tybalt in "Romeo & Juliet, was his last role with the Bolshoi. (His mother encouraged him to become a dancer to "keep him from being a hooligan," to keep him off the streets. But, Alexander wanted to join the military.) 

   Hmmm... He DOES look the part of a "hooligan" here. Doesn't he??? (Still, stunning.)

   OH, MY GOD, HOW HE COULD DANCE!!!...

I think leg warmers are very, very sexy, but only serious dancers can get away with wearing them because you KNOW they're used to keep their beautiful, muscular legs warm and, --- supple!

   He was probably about 23 here. Was he a bad boy??? Ummm... YES, --- and, definitely, no... He grew into a mature man; then, he was not a boy. And, REALLY, --- few "bad boys" have such a unique, beautiful and mesmerizing  talent. He TRULY, TRULY DID. 

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   Alexander Borisovich Godunov was born on November 28, 1949, off the east coast of Russia, on Sakhalin Island. (His mother, --- Lidia, brother, --- Oleg, and niece and nephew still live in Russia, in the city of Riga, in Latvia. Alexander said that he couldn't remember his father.)  From the age of nine, Godunov, a chunky child who certainly stretched out to being a leanly muscular man, was trained in ballet, alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov. The two became lifelong friends, but they would later have a serious falling out after Alexander joined Mikhail's ballet company. The falling out partly led to Alexander's career in films.(He was known as "Sasha," by his friends, the usual Russian nickname for Alexander. And, --- when 250 hopefuls tried out for the Bolshoi 13 made it. Alexander was one of that 13.) 

   Godunov was an outspoken admirer of American culture and, actually, all things American and flew in the face of Soviet conservatism. From the very beginning of his professional career, he was at odds with his managers. But, by 1978, Godunov was the lead dancer, the Premier Dancer, in the famous Bolshoi ballet and renowned across the globe.

   In 1979, Godunov and his wife, Lydmila Vlaslova, were performing in New York as part of the Bolshoi. Again, as he usually did, Godunov made several comments to journalists about his admiration for America and its freedoms, rankling both Soviet diplomats and his colleagues in the Bolshoi. However, on August 21st of the same year, he'd take a step further. Godunov and two other ballet dancers contacted the US State Department and asked for political asylum so they could defect from the USSR. The news made international headlines immediately, with Godunov's name and face plastered all over media worldwide.

   The KGB moved quickly to stop further defections from the ballet group and wanted to put Godunov's wife on a jet back to Moscow. However, the US State Department intervened and refused to let the jet takeoff, believing that Lydmila was doing so under great duress from the KGB. It wasn't until President Jimmy Carter and Russian Premier Leonid Brezhnev conferred that Ludmila was allowed leave the States and return home to Russia, --- without Godunov. She simply said she was "too Russian" to ever be an American citizen, or even stay very long in the United States. She badly missed her Russia. 

Lydmila Vlaslova

Lydmila Vlaslova & Alexander. (That's such a sweet and smoochy kiss!!!)

   The two would never see each other again. (Although, he had tried desperately for a long time, while they were still both in Russia, to get Lydmila to see the benefits of living permanently in the United States, he never could.) In 1982 they were finally divorced. Years later, Ludmilla said that Russia "was brutal to him. He was always an independent and proud person, with his beautiful long hair. They wanted him to cut it. That's why he didn't like bureaucrats." 

   Alexander Godunov became a naturalized American citizen in 1987. Living in Hollywood, he achieved fame as an actor, after taking voice lessons at the Julliard School Of Music, then stunningly playing the villain Karl in "Die Hard," with Bruce Willis. --- From "Entertainment I.E.".

   Speaking of the final fight with Bruce Willis... It was carefully worked out and staged, of course, but it's very, very realistic and looks brutally rough. (I can't believe, even with direction from stunt experts, that actors don't get hurt in such fight scenes, Man, --- the way Bruce Willis "slammed" Alexander into the barrels, --- yikes!, It seemed like, --- his neck! And, then, Alexander kicks fiercely at Bruce, using martial arts!) Well... Alexander also played a surprisingly  lovable, but completely self-absorbed orchestra conductor, showing his natural sense of humor, in the comedy hit "The Money Pit," with Tom Hanks and Shelley Long. And, he was an Amish farmer in "Witness," with Harrison Ford and Kelley Mc Gillis. 

 Here he's with the beautiful English actress Jacqueline Bisset, who was 5 years older than Alexander. They met at a Hollywood party and were together for 7 years. In every relationship there's one who loves more than the other. It was her. You could see how much she dearly loved him and was devoted to him, just by looking at them together, --- that soft glow in her eyes, their body language. She said, at times, he was "radiant". 

(Sweet... They look so happy.)

   It's easy to see that he was an unusual person. I think he was definitely one of those people who seem larger than life. And, --- so, I can also see how a woman could get very wrapped up in him, obsessed, wanting to protect him, mostly from himself, which is something practically impossible for anyone to do, and a secret torment for a woman who's very much in love with her man. He lived only 7 more years after they peacefully broke up, --- as friends... If those who have once been passionate lovers can EVER be JUST FRIENDS again, --- still caring about each other, her still loving him very much, and very, very saddened.  (She begged and begged him to go to a hospital to get treatment, while he wasn't to far gone to be cured.) He never called her "Jackie"; it was always "Jacqueline". She called him "Sasha". (After Alexander's death Jacqueline Bisset confessed that the only woman he ever loved was his Russian wife.) 

      

   He was so amazingly beautiful, and so tragic, so vulnerable, besides having spectacular talent, dancing with incredible power on stage. There will never be another even remotely like him, in my opinion. Yes, yes, I know about Nureyev and Barysshnikov, --- also great dancers, but I still think Alexander Godunov was better. He had extra height, which gave him more presence, for one thing. He was six foot, three, a half foot taller than both Nureyev and Baryshnikov. And, that size, and naturally the extra muscle, gave him the ability to lift ballerinas completely over his head and walk around the stage with them. It was impressive.

This pic, above, is from the spread of photos taken at Jacqueline Bisset's home by "People" Magazine for their cover story on the romantic couple.

 

It looks to me like Jacqueline Bisset may have freckles. ( I remember her outstanding natural beauty in science fiction action movie, "The Deep".) Even today, at 76, she's still beautiful, totally without plastic surgery, and a very strong woman, but, still the intense sadness in her eyes shows in the photo below. I don't think Alexander would ever have meant to hurt her, especially not so badly, --- but he did.. Love doesn't go away when the person you loved dies. It lasts and lasts.

     The exquisite Alexander had a very, very serious problem, a huge problem with alcohol addiction all his adult life, which became even worse in later life. In interviews, he was soft-spoken, almost appearing shy. Then, he'd show a sudden dazzling smile with a lot of sparkling white teeth, and that slight accent in the slow, deep voice. So charming!... Obviously, he was very, very sensitive, a very, very passionate man, as great artists usually are. They have fabulous talent and sometimes they're afflicted with overwhelming weaknesses. 

Alexander & Jacqueline, he looks very thin here. Alcoholism can rob it's victims of much need nutrients and of their appetites also.

   Alexander drank a bottle of vodka, or two, more likely, per day. And, he smoked. Yet, he had such a magnificently strong, fit body that it took years and years to destroy it. One of his most famous ballerina partners, the gorgeous and almost legendary Prima Ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, once said, --- "Drinking ruins your jumps." However, if you watch his videos you can see he was so strong, even so, that he leaped continuously 5 feet off the ground during a performance.

(Alexander joined the Bolshoi in 1971, as it's youngest principal dancer, and not long after that he was chosen by Maya as her partner. He danced with her in "Carmen," her favorite role, as Don Jose. Maya was much older than Alexander, over 20 years.) 

   This is Maya Plisetskaya, --- I LOVE her look, so dramatic and sophisticated, those sultry long eyes!!!

  

   Alexander Godunov aged rapidly... There's a photo of him with his back to a chain link fence, hanging onto the fence with his arms over it, shirtless; he looks ghastly, --- gaunt, his arms stringy, his ribs can be seen. It's shocking. I'm not going to copy that photo for here. It made me feel awful that he was so sick and that he didn't realize it.  (Such talent, grace, and beauty, --- such a unique life, it was like a sacrilege.)

  The once magnificent Alexander Godunov died, way too soon; it was estimated on May 18, 1995, when he was only 45. His friends noticed that he wasn't making regular phone calls to them, which he very much liked to do to stay in touch, to chat. A nurse checked his apartment. He was found sitting in a chair at a window. He'd been dead a couple of days, at least. Cause of death, --- hepatitis, and complications from alcohol addiction. His ashes were scattered in the Pacific ocean. 

An epitaph for him sadly read: "His future remained in his past." He will never be forgotten. Dancing talent as profound as his was is very, rare, amazes anyone who's lucky enough to see a performance. (How I wish I had seen him dance live! That would have been a treat! He said he loved to perform; he hated the continuous practicing.) 

   Those who want to honor the memory of Alexander can do so at Vedenskoye Cemetery in Moscow where there's a monument to him.

 Lydmila Vlsalova recalled: "It so happened that we met Jacqueline Bisset after Sasha's death. She arrived in Moscow for a film festival and on the first day asked Andris Liepa to help her "meet with Sasha's wife". They hugged and Jacqueline began to sob. Andris translated what she said, --- "Sasha told me so much about you. I know almost everything. He was a terrific person, very good, good..."

Lydmila Vlaslova, --- still attractive 

   I looked for a biography of Alexander Godunov, in the library, but I couldn't find one. (At least, not in English. I don't know. Maybe there IS one in Russian.)  That surprised me. And, --- no, I won't attempt to write one. I didn't know him personally, and, of course. I'm not Russian, so I don't have the audacity to attempt the task. (And, I DO believe it would be a task. Uh, --- mmm... Gathering material is HARD enough for a fictional story!!!) But, years ago I did write a short story called, "The Fading Of A Russian Prince," about an exceptionally talented and fatally flawed ballet dancer. I intend to re-do it as a novelette (a short  novel of about 100 - 175 pages), or leave it as short story. 

   In "King Of Thieves," Duke Alexandre Volkov's lovable oldest brother Nikolai, who I partly patterned after blond and beautiful Alexander Godunov, tragically dies, probably of a stroke brought on by years and years of alcoholism, at 47. Although, he's not actually a character in the novel, Alexandre gets the news of his death from his father, who informs him of it from Russia. Nikolai was also a Premier Dancer of the Bolshoi, Nikolai and Alexandre were very close; his death absolutely tears sensitive Alexandre up.  Alexandre and Theresa Ruhs go to Europe, but they leave the United States mainly to attend Nikolai's memorial held at Alexandre's parent's cottage in Peredelkino, a small artist's village about 25 kilometers southwest of Moscow, where Boris Pasternak once lived in a huge red house that is now a museum, a memorial to him, and where he finished his famous novel "Doctor Zhivago".