Elya Baskin (; born 11 August 1950) is a
Latvian actor.
Baskin was born in
Riga, the son of Frieda and Zalman Baskin.
[Elya Baskin Biography (1951-)] He attended
Moscow's prestigious Theatre and Variety Arts College and won a Festival of Young Actors Award at the Moscow Comedy Theatre. Baskin immigrated to the United States in 1976.
He has built a considerable career in
TV and movies, and is often cast as a Russian, due to his
ancestry and
accent. He has ultimately become one of the most popular choices whenever a Russian is needed in a TV-episode or a major
movie production.
He is also a regular on the long-running Internet program "Outlaw Radio" hosted by Matt Alan, where he makes amusing commentary on contemporary topics, and does comedic interaction with fellow actor Richard Tyson and author Burl Barer, among many others.
