Jyrki Kovaleff, Jan. 2, 1954 – Nov. 3, 2009, Finnish actor of comedy, voice and numerous dramatic roles, has died in Helsinki of prostate cancer. He was 55.
Animators will know Kovaleff as the voice of Riitasointu in the 1992 animated fantasy film known in English as “Quest For a Heart.” Billed as one of the most expensive films ever made in Finland, it was co-produced by British, German, Russian and Finnish studios with over 100 animators working on the project. The effort paid off and it won the Children's Jury Award for Animated Feature Film or Video at last year's Chicago International Children's Film Festival.
He also provided the voice of Sniff of the Japanese-Dutch anime feature film “Cornet in Moominland.”
Jyrki Kovaleff's career encompassed over 30 screen comedies, many appearances in film - often starring with Seppo Laine - on stage and on television. The IMDB database shows no less than 58 entries going back as far as 1968.
