Mark Naumovich Bernes (born 8 October 1911 in Nizhyn, Ukraine) was a Soviet actor and chansonnier whose career spanned from the pre-war 1930s into the late 1960s. After early theatrical work, Bernes entered the film industry in the late 1930s, appearing in Chelovek s ruzhyom (Man With a Rifle) and Istrebiteli (The Fighter Planes), where his performances of “Clouds Rose over the City” and “Beloved Town” gained nationwide attention. His breakthrough came in 1943 with the wartime film Two Soldiers, in which he sang the poignant ballads “Dark Is the Night” and “Scows Full of Mullet”, songs that became emblematic of Soviet wartime sentiment. Bernes performed many notable songs including “Muscovites”, “Enemies Burned the Native Hut Down”, and “I Dreamed of You Three Years”. In 1951 he received the Stalin Prize first degree, and in 1965 he was named People’s Artist of the RSFSR. Bernes recorded his final song, “Cranes”, in 1969, and died of lung cancer on 16 August 1969; the track was played at his funeral. Posthumously, his legacy was honored with a star on Moscow’s Star Square (1993) and the naming of minor planet 3038 Bernes.
