From Wikipedia
Ólga Vladímirovna Baclanova, (19 August 1896 – 6 September
1974) was a Russian-born actress and operatic singer, who achieved prominence
during the silent film era and was often billed under her last name only, as
Baclanova, similarly to the surname only nomenclature assigned to fellow
countryman Nazimova.
She was billed as the "Russian Tigress" and
remains most noted by modern audiences for portraying Cleopatra in Tod
Browning's horror movie Freaks (1932), which features a cast of actual carnival
sideshow freaks.
Baclanova first came to New York City with the 1925 touring
production of the Moscow Art Theatre's Lysistrata. Though the rest of the
company returned to Russia in 1926, she stayed to pursue career in the United
States. A statuesque blonde, Baclanova quickly established herself as a popular
actress in American silent movies and achieved a notable success with The Docks
of New York (1928), directed by Josef von Sternberg. Later that year, she also appeared
in The Man Who Laughs as Duchess Josiana, the femme fatale love interest to
Conrad Veidt's disfigured hero.
The introduction of talking films proved difficult for
Baclanova, as audiences did not respond to her heavy Russian accent. She no
longer secured leading roles, and was relegated to supporting parts. Her career
was in decline when she was offered the role of the cruel circus performer
Cleopatra in Tod Browning's film Freaks (1932) This horror movie, which
featured actual carnival freaks, was highly controversial and screened only
briefly before being withdrawn. It would be 30 years before Freaks gained a
cult following. The movie did not revive Baclanova's film career, which ended
in 1943.
Baclanova worked extensively on stage in London's West End
and in New York, for about 10 years starting in the mid-1930s. In 1943 she
appeared in "Claudia" at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington.
Baclanova was married three times and bore two sons with her
first and second husbands. The birth of her second son with actor Nicholas
Soussanin was front page news and covered quite extensively in the press in
1930.
After her retirement she settled in Vevey, Switzerland,
where she died in 1974.
