Sergei Gerasimov, Leading Soviet Movie Director

Sergei Gerasimov, an actor who became one of the Soviet Union’s best-known directors, has died at age 79, the official news agency Tass said Friday.

The director of the widely praised 1957-58 epic “And Quiet Flows the Don,” a two-part picture based on the novel by Mikhail Sholokhov, died Thursday, Tass said. No cause of death was reported.

Last year he was awarded the Lenin Prize, one of the Soviet Union’s top honors, for his final film, “Leo Tolstoy,” in which he also played the part of the Russian author.

Gerasimov began his career in Leningrad, playing in eccentric comedies in the 1920s. When he became a director, he continued to play cameo roles in some of his productions.

His first film to attract attention was “Komsomolsk/City of Youth” in 1938. Like most of Gerasimov’s output, it glorified the spirit of the Soviet worker. His next picture, “The New Teacher,” attacked what he saw as shortcomings in the Soviet educational system.

In 1944 Gerasimov joined the Communist Party; he remained close to the official party line for most of his career.

His other better-known works include a two-part film about Peter the Great.