I Wondered What Happened To Alexander Godunov (May Remember Him From Die Hard, Money Pit)

He had good screen presence. I noticed that he made a string of solid, memorable performances in the late 80s.

Witness





The Money Pit





Die Hard





He was good as a terrorist, he could play comedy, he could play reserved devotion. He had an earnest quality about him, a charisma factor that came through the screen. I wondered why he disappeared and we didn’t see more of him.

He was Russian and one of the best ballet dancers in the world. He became lead performer at the Bolshoi in Moscow after Mikhail Baryshnikov defected to the US. Godunov would eventually follow Baryshnikov with his own defection. He found his way to Hollywood and several movies. He began a long term relationship with actress Jacqueline Bisset.





Sadly, he was a heavy drinker. Indeed, he became an alcoholic by some accounts. The heavy drinking took a toll on his liver and eventually killed him at the age of 45 in 1995. He was found dead in his CA home after friends had not heard from him for some time. His ashes were scattered off the CA coast. A marker memorializes him in a LA cemetery.