Alexander Godunov

Alexander Borisovich Godunov (????????? ????????? ???????, 29 November 1949, Sakhalin ,Russia, (then Soviet Union) - 18 May 1995, New York City, United States) was a Russian ballet dancer and actor, whose defection caused a diplomatic incident between the USA and the USSR. He joined the Bolshoi Ballet in 1971 and rose to become premier dancer before defecting to the US in 1979. After briefly dancing with the American Ballet Theatre, he gave up ballet and turned to film acting, playing roles that included an Amish farmer in Witness in 1985; Karl, a terrorist psychopath, in Die Hard; Max, the husband, in The Money Pit; and Vronsky in Anna Karenina in 1987. He died probably of alcoholism with complications from hepatitis at the age of 45.

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