Ben Nikolayevich Benzianov (real name - Benzion Noyevich Baranchik) was born on 3 October 1918 in Rostov-on-Don. His parents were enthusiastic about the theater and played on the amateur stage themselves. Soon the family moved to Leningrad, where Ben studied at a regular school, but with one special feature - the School Theater Club, formerly run by the famous actor Pavel Yurinov. Ben Bentsianov appeared on stage for the first time when he was 12 years old. Vsevolod Meyerhold, who directed the play "don Juan" from Jean-Baptiste Moliere at the Alexandrinsky Theater, needed boys for the role of "Arapchat". Ben Bentsianov became one of them. In 1934 he moved with his parents to Transbaikalia (the Baley city) and was accepted into the auxiliary staff of the "Workers' Theater" of the "Baleyzoloto" Foundation. When he returned to Leningrad in 1937, he entered the school-studio of the Bolshoi Drama Theater named after Maxim Gorky, where his teacher was the famous actor Boris Babochkin. In 1938, Ben Bentsianov was drafted into the Red Army by the Frunzensky RVK of the city of Leningrad, participated in the Soviet-Finnish war from November 30, 1939 to March 13, 1940. Member of the Great Patriotic War, fought on the Leningrad front. He was seriously wounded and demobilized in 1943, after which he went to the front as an actor in the brigade of the Leningrad Academic Theater named after A.S. Pushkin. He was awarded the medals "for the defense of Leningrad" and "for the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945". Since 1943 he worked in the Concert Office of the Leningrad Academic Philharmonic Orchestra and was also an artist in the Leningrad State Orchestra. Since the end of the 1940s he served in Leningrad in the New Studio Theater (later the Drama and Comedy Theater, today -"Theater on Liteiny"). In 1951 Bentsyanov joined the pop artist ensemble lenkontsert under the direction of Alexander Blechman. Since 1957 he was the artistic director of the stage of the state concert and philharmonic institution "Petersburg Concert". He gave solo concerts as an artist of the conversational genre, as a recognized interpreter of feuilletons, monologs, poems and musical couplets. Laureate of All-Union and All-Russian competitions, laureate of the Golden Ostap and Golden Pelican awards. In 1985 in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Victory in World War 2 he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War II. People's artist of the RSFSR (1989). He died on April 2, 2009. He was buried in the Smolensk cemetery at Saint Petersburg. Awards: Order "For Merits Before the Fatherland" III Grade (December 24, 2008), Order "For Merits Before the Fatherland" IV Grade (November 22, 1999) Order of Friendship of Peoples (May 6, 1994), Order with the Red Banner Order of the Patriotic War II Class (1985) Order "Badge of Honor" Medal "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" Medal "For Labor Valor" Medal "Veteran of Labor" Medal "For Valiant Work. In memory of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin " Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1968) Honored Artist of the Kyrgyz SSR (1974) Honored Artist of the Dagestan ASSR (1971) People's Artist of the RSFSR (1989) Honorary Citizen of Buinaksk.