Leonid Kanevsky

Biography

Leonid Semyonovich Kanevsky was born on May 2, 1939, in Kyiv, Ukraine, into a Jewish family.

His mother studied piano at the Kyiv Conservatory, completing two years of coursework before marrying at age 19, leaving the conservatory, and relocating with her husband to the Caucasus, where he worked.

In 1933, his elder brother Alexander was born, followed six years later by Leonid himself.

At age 17, Kanevsky moved to Moscow and enrolled in the Shchukin Theatre Institute, studying under Vera Konstantinovna Lvova. From 1960 to 1967, he performed at the Moscow Lenkom Theatre. He later joined the Moscow Malaya Bronnaya Theatre, where he remained until 1991.

Kanevsky made his film debut with a minor role in Forty Minutes Before Dawn (1963). He gained widespread recognition for his portrayal of police major Alexander Tomin in the TV series The Investigation Is Conducted by Experts, as well as for roles such as the smuggler in the comedy The Diamond Arm and the haberdasher Bonacieux in the miniseries D’Artagnan and Three Musketeers.

In 1991, Kanevsky repatriated to Israel, where he co-founded the Gesher Theatre (Hebrew for "bridge") in Tel Aviv with director Yevgeny Arye. The theater’s troupe initially consisted primarily of Russian actors from Moscow and Leningrad theaters.

In 2003, he hosted the game show Ninth Wave on Israel’s Channel 9. Since January 2006, he has served as the presenter of the documentary series The Investigation Continues... on NTV.

2010s

In 2009, Kanevsky appeared in the TV series Semin and its sequel Semin: Retribution He also voiced the character Finn McMissile, a spy, in the Russian dub of the animated film Cars 2.

Over his decades-long career, Kanevsky has acted in over 50 films and TV series. He is a member of the Russian Union of Cinematographers.

Filmography

1963 — Forty Minutes Before Dawn — Store manager in a village general store

1965 — City of Masters — Head of the secret police

1967 — The Life and Ascension of Yuras Bratchik — A henchman of the cardinal, posing as a blind beggar

1967 — Two Hours Earlier — Ensemble administrator

1968 — Spring on the Oder — Intelligence officer Oganesyan

1968 — Smile to Your Neighbor — House Manager

1968 — The Punisher — Mr. Andreas

1968 — The Diamond Arm — Contrabandist, put in plaster

1969 — The Red Tent — Italian Radio Operator

1969 — Every Evening at Eleven — Saxophonist

1969 — Abduction — Director

1969 — Commandant Lauterburg — Collins

1970 — Amazing Boy — Boxer Uppercut

1971 — 2003 — The Investigation Is Conducted by ZnaToKi — Tomin

1972 — Train Stop — Two Minutes — Krasovsky

1972 — So the Summer Has Passed

1974 — Adventures in a City that does not Exist — Captain Bonaventure

1975 — Countermeasure - Smirnov

TV

Kanevsky is the host and main person behind the NTV crime documentary series The investigation led by... (2006–).