Anatoly Dmitrievich Papanov was born on October 31, 1922, in Vyasma, Smolensk region, USSR. His father, named Dmitri Filippovich Papanov, was a Russian industrial worker. His mother, named Elena Bronislavovna Roskovskaya, was of Polish ancestry. Young Papanov moved to Moscow with his parents in 1929. After graduation from a secondary school in 1939, he worked as a metal worker at the 2nd Moscow Ball-bearing Factory. There Papanov was an amateur actor at the Worker's Club Theatre-studio named "Kauchuk". In 1941 Papanov was drafted in the Red Army and served as an Artillery Sergeant. He was severely wounded in his legs in 1942, and spent six months in hospitals. At age 21, he became permanently disabled and used a cane for the rest of his life. Papanov was admitted to the acting class of the Moscow Theatre Institute . Anatoli Papanov's death caused a considerable mourning among his fans in the Soviet Union, he was laid to rest in the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.
In his last role as Kopalych he said "I want so much to live some more... And to work some more...". He died before the movie was released.
Anatoliy Papanov is often remembered as part of a cinematic comic duo with Andrey Mironov. They acted together in "12 stulyev" , Beregis avtomobilya , Brilliantovaya ruka , and others. They died within one day of each other in August of 1987, on the 15th and 16th.
