Firs Zemtsov

Firs Zemtsev was a juggler, teacher, director, stuntman, and stunt coordinator. He was an Honored Worker of Culture of the RSFSR. He graduated from the State University of Culture and Arts in 1938 and performed as a juggler. In 1941, he volunteered for the front. He served as a reconnaissance spotter, then, after graduating from the infantry school, commanded a machine-gun platoon, a rifle battalion, and an air defense battalion. He was seriously wounded three times and ended the war with the rank of captain. He returned to the arena, performing a duet with his wife, performing the act "Eccentric Jugglers." Since 1961, he has been a teacher and director at the State University of Culture and Arts and also at the All-Russian Creative Workshop of Variety Arts. He trained over 70 circus performers, including world-renowned jugglers E. Bilyauer, S. Ignatov, N. Ermakov, Y. Kukes, and others. He began acting in films as a stunt double and extra as early as 1937. And from the early 1960s, he was one of the stunt coordinators at Mosfilm Studios. The most popular action films of the time could not be completed without the participation of stuntmen under the direction of Firs Zemtsev. It is enough to mention E. Keosayan's trilogy "The Elusive Avengers." Zemtsev also coordinated stunts in the first Soviet film about stuntmen, "Risk is a Noble Cause." While filming "Heritage of the Republic," he suffered a serious injury—a broken leg—and doctors predicted disability, but the front-line soldier found the strength to get back on his feet. He no longer performed stunts, of course, but he continued to work on film sets, developing new and interesting stunts. In total, he appeared in over 50 films.