To'lqin Tojiyev

To'lqin Jo'rayevich Tojiyev (Tulkin Tadzhiev in Russian sources) was born on 13 April 1936 in Tashkent. He grew up in an acting family: his father was People's Artist of Uzbekistan Jura Tojiyev. In 1959 he graduated from the acting department of the Ostrovsky Tashkent Theatre and Art Institute.

From 1959 to 1996 he worked at the Hamza Uzbek State Academic Drama Theatre (now the Uzbek National Academic Drama Theatre). On stage he played Khlestakov and Bobchinsky in Gogol's The Government Inspector, Edgar in King Lear and Iago in Othello; his other roles included Mansur and Jomiy in Alisher Navoiy, Orif in Imon, Abdullatif in Mirzo Ulugbek and Jontoy in Aitmatov's Sarvqomat dilbarim.

He appeared in films from the mid-1950s. Among his early works is the role of Juzjani in the film Avicenna; in Plamennye gody (1958) he played the lead, Haydar. Later he acted in Hayot sening qo'lingda, Ikkinchi bahor, Mahallada duv-duv gap, Sayyod qo'ng'irog'i, Bu yerdan chegara o'tadi, Zapovednyi kholm, Siz kimsiz? and Code of Silence 2, among other films.

He was also a leading master of Uzbek-language dubbing: at the Uzbekfilm studio he took part in dubbing films into Uzbek — sources give a figure from over 500 to more than a thousand. The films he voiced include The Shield and the Sword, Afonya, Ivan Vasilievich Changes His Profession, Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures, Arshin Mal Alan, Where Are You, Ahmed?, Beware of the Car and The Caucasian Captive.

In 1988 he was named People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR, having earlier been made Honoured Artist of the Uzbek SSR. In 1997 he received the Order of Friendship (Do'stlik). He died in Tashkent on 13 December 2024, aged 88. In May 2026 a presidential decree posthumously awarded him the Order of Labour Glory (Mehnat shuhrati) as part of a group of late figures of culture and the arts.