Film actor. People's Artist of the Kirghiz SSR (1977). Member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union since 1974. Born on December 7, 1933, in the town of Rybachy to a peasant family. After finishing 4 grades of secondary school, he worked as a shepherd and a postman. From 1947 to 1949, he was a student at a vocational school in Przhevalsk, and from 1949 to 1951, he worked as a locksmith and motorist at a factory. In 1951-1952, he was a motorist and senior worker in the Arsin geological exploration party in Kochkorka. From 1952 to 1954, he was a student at the M. Kursunkeev Musical and Choreographic School. From 1954 to 1957, he completed an accelerated full course at the acting faculty of GITIS named after A. V. Lunacharsky in Moscow. Since July 1957, he has been an artist at the Kirghiz Academic Drama Theater. Over two decades of work on stage, A. Umuraliyev created many interesting characters: Juma ("Kanibek" by K. Jantošev), Adyl ("The Case of Adyl" by K. Malikov), Tendik ("Matured" by M. Baidyshev), Barat ("Love and Hope" by T. Abdumunov), Semyonov Tian-Shansky ("Grain of Immortality" by A. Tokombaev). Roles such as Arstan ("The Gray Hair of My Mother" by A. Mirgazitov), Nurdin ("Conscience Does Not Sleep" by T. Abdumunov), Edmund ("King Lear" by W. Shakespeare), Chatsky ("Woe from Wit" by A. Griboedov), Ismail ("Face to Face" by Ch. Aitmatov), Atambaev ("Who Laughs Last" by T. Abdumunov), Charyn ("The Gray Horse" by Sh. Sadibakassov), Olzhobaev ("Contemporary" by E. Tursunov), Dadyn ("Atsirbay" by T. Abdumunov) became landmark events in the development of the Kirghiz theater.
A. Umuraliyev, as a film actor, also gained wide recognition. He appeared in more than 20 films. He began to master the specifics of acting in cinema with episodic roles in the films "The Forty-First" by G. Chukhrai (1956, role of Imankul) and "Partisan Spark" by A. Maslyukov and M. Maevskaya (1957, role of Iskander). He then played Meerkan—the central character in the film "Legend of the Ice Heart" (1957) by directors E. Shengelei and A. Sakharov.
Professionalism and mastery accumulated by A. Umuraliyev year after year in the films "Far in the Mountains" by A. Karpov (1958, role of Nazar Kul), "The Girl of Tian Shan" by A. Ochkina (1961, role of a geologist), "The Pass" by A. Sakharov (1961, role of Sadik), "Andrei Rublev" by A. Tarkovsky (1969, role of the groom). Experience, hard work, and a passionate enthusiasm for cinema led the actor to significant successes by the late 1960s. Millions of viewers remembered his Baurzhan Momyshuly ("Behind Us, Moscow," 1967; award for Best Male Role at the VII Review-Competition of Cinematographers of Central Asia and Kazakhstan in Frunze in 1968)—an honest, strong-willed officer from the heroic division of General I. V. Panfilov. The role of Gamza ("The Last Hijack," 1969)—a cunning, treacherous rich man collaborating with the White Guards—was also noted by audiences and critics. Following this, another major success came with the image of the legendary commander of the Mongolian revolution of the early 1920s—Khatan-batar van Maksarzhav ("The Wandering Front," 1971). This work was awarded a diploma for Best Male Role at the festival of Soviet-Mongolian films in Ulaanbaatar in 1972.
In the 1970s, A. Umuraliyev was a mature master actor. He created small but colorful images of a blacksmith in the film "At the Old Mill" (1972, "Kyrgyztelefilm"), Mambetov in the film "The Road to Kara-Kiyik" by U. Ibragimov (1976, "Kyrgyzfilm"), Nurtai in "Ulan" by T. Okeeva (1977, "Kyrgyzfilm"), Tayake in "Early Cranes" by B. Shamshiev ("Lenfilm," "Kyrgyzfilm," 1979), Masaliyev in "The Process" by D. Sodanbek (1978, "Kyrgyzfilm").
Awards—Medal for Labor Distinction (1958).
Member of the USSR Union of Cinematographers since 1959.
BOOKS, ARTICLES, REVIEWS
The Word of the Artist.— "Soviet Kyrgyzstan," October 17, 1957. Spiritual Riches—To Rural Workers.— "Soviet Kyrgyzstan," December 16, 1971.
WORKS ON THE ACTOR'S CREATIVITY
Ashimov K. The Birth of Kyrgyz Cinema. Frunze, "Ilim," 1969, pp. 91-93. Borov A. The Fate of the Actor.— "Soviet Kyrgyzstan," November 7, 1966. Jumabek B. Life on Stage. Frunze, "Kyrgyzstan," 1976, p. 42. Our Actor in the Film about Mongolia.— "Soviet Kyrgyzstan," June 12, 1971. Fedorov S. Arsen Umuraliyev in a New Role.— "Komsomolets of Kyrgyzstan," July 1, 1960. Yuzhnaya R. and Chernova E. Fidelity to the Oath.— "Komsomolets of Kyrgyzstan," February 9, 1966.
