Actor, Dancer, Choreographer. Born in Moscow, he studied at the Imperial Ballet School, where his fellow students included Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky. After failing to win a place in Sergei Diaghilev's new Ballet Russes in 1909, Kosloff formed his own "Russian Ballet" and took it to London, where he had a four-year engagement at the Coliseum music hall. His most notable accomplishment there was his discovery of the great ballerina Tamara Karsavina, who soon defected to Diaghilev. With the outbreak of World War I, the Kosloff company went to the United States, and after it disbanded in 1916 Kosloff sought refuge in Hollywood. He was quite good playing exotic roles in silent movies, including several directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Among his films are "The Woman God Forgot" (1917), "Why Change Your Wife?" (1920), "The Affairs of Anatol" (1921), "Adam's Rib" (1923), "Beggar on Horseback" (1925), "The Volga Boatman" (1926), and "The King of Kings" (1927). After talkies came in Kosloff devoted himself to private dance instruction and worked in films only occasionally, such as his uncredited bit in "Stage Door" (1937) and his choreography for DeMille's "Samson and Delilah" (1949).
Actor, Dancer, Choreographer. Born in Moscow, he studied at the Imperial Ballet School, where his fellow students included Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky. After failing to win a place in Sergei Diaghilev's new Ballet Russes in 1909, Kosloff formed his own "Russian Ballet" and took it to London, where he had a four-year engagement at the Coliseum music hall. His most notable accomplishment there was his discovery of the great ballerina Tamara Karsavina, who soon defected to Diaghilev. With the outbreak of World War I, the Kosloff company went to the United States, and after it disbanded in 1916 Kosloff sought refuge in Hollywood. He was quite good playing exotic roles in silent movies, including several directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Among his films are "The Woman God Forgot" (1917), "Why Change Your Wife?" (1920), "The Affairs of Anatol" (1921), "Adam's Rib" (1923), "Beggar on Horseback" (1925), "The Volga Boatman" (1926), and "The King of Kings" (1927). After talkies came in Kosloff devoted himself to private dance instruction and worked in films only occasionally, such as his uncredited bit in "Stage Door" (1937) and his choreography for DeMille's "Samson and Delilah" (1949).
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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