If you were to stop people on the streets of New York, London, Paris, or any other major metropolitan area and ask them to list some famous Russian people, I bet you’d never hear these names. Some of these names may even surprise a Russian citizen – they did me :-).

Abraham Zapruder

Whether or not you’ve ever heard of Abraham Zapruder, you likely have seen his short film shot near Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. His footage of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination is among the most famous and most watched films of all time. Although he helped make patterns for women’s clothing, he is certainly best known for the footage that has caused so many conspiracy theories and controversies to pop up relating to this horrible event. I would dare say that there are more than a few people that wished this film never existed. Here is a link to his famous film:

Meyer Lansky

He was born in Grodno, Belarus, formerly part of Russia, to a Polish-Jewish family. Meyer Lansky was known as “Mob’s Accountant.” Along with his associate, Charles “Lucky” Luciano, he helped to orchestrate the National Crime Syndicate in the United States during the early 1920’s onward. Unlike many of his colleagues, he was only ever found guilty of gambling – not murder, racketeering, tax evasion, extortion, or any other typical crimes that landed many of his peers in prison. He owned percentages of casinos in Las Vegas, Cuba, the Bahamas, and London. Here is a documentary about him:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of5GSgued7I

Yul Brynner

Born in Vladivostok, Russian in 1920, Yul Brynner is best known for his acting prowess – especially for playing the King of Siam in The King and I. He played this role over 4,000 times on stage during his illustrious career. He also played the evil Rameses II in Cecil B. DeMille’s amazing movie The Ten Commandments. He also went on to play in Anastasia, and The Magnificent Seven and many more. Here is a short interview with him:

Lee Strasberg

Lee Strasberg was born in what is now, Budanov, Ukraine in 1901. He began his career acting in theater in New York City. He did a bit of acting, directing, coaching, and most every job related to acting professionally. Eventually, in 1948 he would join the Actors Studio as a teacher. There he taught some of Hollywood’s best and most famous actors and actresses including: James Dean, Joanne Woodward, Julie Harris, Al Pacino, Paul Newman, and so many others. Here is a short clip with him:

In all fairness, these people all left Russia at relatively early periods in their lives but they were at one time Russian citizens. Hope you learned a few interesting things about these very well-known people with not so well-known birth origins :-).