Yursky was born on 16 March 1935 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). His father, Yuri Yursky, was a theatre actor and director and a circus director, and his mother, Yevgenia Yurskaya, was a music teacher. The stage name Yursky actually belonged to Sergei's father — their real surname was Zhikharev. Although Sergei showed a passion for the arts as a child, his parents tried to steer him away from this path, but they were unable to. Sergei Yursky's desire to become an actor arose when he was about fourteen years old. But at his parents' wish, he studied at the law faculty of Leningrad State University, named after A. A. Zhdanov. While studying law at Leningrad State University, S. Yursky also found time to take part in the university's drama club. His father, meanwhile, tried to keep him away from the theatre stage. But in productions staged at the university, Sergei was given one role after another. In 1959 he graduated from the Leningrad Theatre Institute named after A. N. Ostrovsky. In 1961 Sergei Yursky married the actress Zinaida Sharko, with whom he lived for just 7 years before they divorced. He later married for a second time, to Natalya Tenyakova. From a young age Yursky played various roles in film and theatre and soon became famous. Sergei Yursky also has ties to Azerbaijan — he appeared in films made in Azerbaijan and won great popularity there. His friendship with the famous dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn cost him dearly: as a result, the USSR Ministry of Culture banned Sergei Yursky from appearing on television screens for a time, and directors were instructed not to give him roles. It was at such a time that Azerbaijanfilm invited him to work in Azerbaijan. In particular, the character of Monsieur Jordan that he created in the film "Dervish Blows Up Paris" is watched with great affection to this day. In this screen work the actor gave a natural and colourful performance as the French naturalist Monsieur Jordan, and also skilfully performed the voicing of the character's speech. The actor also played the hunter in "The Lion Left Home", the director in "A Country House for One Family", and the police officer in "Don't Be Afraid, I'm With You!". Besides being an actor, Yursky was also a director and screenwriter. Since 1957 he has been an actor at the Maxim Gorky Bolshoi Drama Theatre in Leningrad. Since 1979 Yursky has performed at the Mossovet Theatre in Moscow and worked at the "School of Modern Plays". He has directed a number of theatre productions. At the end of December 2018 the actor was rushed to hospital in serious condition. He died on 8 February 2019 in Moscow at the age of 83.
