Vyacheslav Sumsky

Vyacheslav Hnatovych Sumsky was born on 6 September 1934 in the village of Verblyuzhka (now village of Pogrebnyakovo) in Kirovohrad Oblast.[1][2] According to a neighbor of Sumsky's family, he dreamed of studying at a conservatoire.[3] However, he would had to study for a year and pass exams.[3] Instead of pursuing music, he turned to theater acting.[3] He graduated from the Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University in 1956.[2]

From 1957 to 1967, Sumsky acted at the Maria Zankovetska Theatre.[1] From 1967 to 1980, he was part of the Zaporizhzhya Musical and Drama Theatre.[1] From 1980 to 1990, he was part of the Regional Musical-Dramatic Theatre Nikolai Gogol.[1] From 1990 to 1993, he was part of the "Budmo!" theater in Kyiv.[1] Since 1993, he was part of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater.[1]

He died from cancer on 12 September 2007 in Kyiv.[2][1] His funeral was held on September 15 at the Ivan Franko Theater.[3] He is buried at the Baikove Cemetery.[2] The area in Verblyuzhka which used to have a house where he and his family lived is now a local landmark.[4]

Sumsky was married with Hanna Sumska.[5] They lived with each other for 50 years.[5] He had two daughters: Natalya and Olha.[3]

Mykhailo Kramar, an actor who knew Sumsky, said that he painted frequently.[3] He copied landscape paintings of Ivan Shishkin and painted the city of Poltava.[3] Anatolii Khostikoiev, who is a husband of Sumsky's daughter Natalya, said that he was an avid fisherman.[3]

Sumsky suffered from poor health. Kramar said that he was a heavy smoker.[3] Sumsky's daughter Olha said that he suffered from alcohol addiction even up until his death.[3] She said that he would become depressed when he was rejected for roles that he wanted to play.[3]

During the 1970s, he was offered the title of People's Artist of the USSR, which he declined.[6] His daughter Olha said that he was principled and she recalled him saying: "I refuse this title, because I am a People's Artist of Ukraine and that is enough for me."[6] In 1981, he was named People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR.[1]