Svetlana Svetlichnaya, 1940 – 2024

Russian actress Svetlana Svetlichnaya, 84, died on Nov. 16. An Army brat, she grew up all over the world, eventually going to acting school and beginning her career onstage, in such serious fare as Salem’s Process, Resurrection, and Cossacks. She entered films as a blonde bombshell in 1960, and had her star-making role in the crime caper The Diamond Arm in 1969 (Wikipedia claims her catchphrase was “It’s not my fault! He came by himself!,” which sounds like one of those “as the actress said to the bishop” lines). Svetlichnaya aged gracefully into character roles, in both films and TV, her most recent being a small role in the sci-fi mini-series Belovodye. She was married twice, including to actor Vladimir Ivashov.