Leonid Semenovich Kanevsky was a renowned Soviet, Russian, and Israeli theater, film, and dubbing actor, as well as a TV presenter. He was awarded the honorary title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR in 1984.
Born on May 2, 1939, in Kiev, Ukraine, to a Jewish family, Kanevsky's mother studied piano at the Kiev Conservatory, graduating from the second year before getting married and moving to the Caucasus with her husband.
Kanevsky's early life was marked by the birth of his elder brother Alexander in 1933, followed by his own birth six years later.
At the age of 17, he left Kiev for Moscow and enrolled in the Shchukin College under the guidance of Vera Konstantinovna Lvova.
From 1960 to 1967, he worked as an actor at the Moscow Lenin Komsomol Theater, and from 1967 to 1991, he was an actor at the Moscow Theater on Malaya Bronnaya.
Kanevsky's film debut was a cameo role in the 1963 film "Forty Minutes before Dawn."
He gained widespread recognition for his roles as police major Alexander Tomin in the TV series "The Investigation is Conducted by Experts," smuggler in the comedy "Diamond Hand," and haberdasher Bonacieux in the mini-series "D'Artagnan and Three Musketeers."
In 1991, Kanevsky repatriated to Israel, where he co-founded the Gesher Drama Theater in Tel Aviv with director Eugene Arie. The theater's troupe consisted of Russian actors who had previously performed on the stages of Moscow and Leningrad theaters.
Kanevsky went on to host the TV game show "The Ninth Shaft" on Israeli Channel 9 in 2003 and presented the documentary TV show "The Investigation was Conducted..." on NTV from January 2006 to the present.
He also starred in the TV series "Semin" and "Semin. Retribution" in 2009 and lent his voice to the character of scout Finn Mcmistle in the cartoon "Cars 2."
Throughout his illustrious career, Kanevsky has appeared in over fifty films and television series.
In addition to his artistic pursuits, Kanevsky was a member of the Public Council of the Russian Jewish Congress and the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation.
