User:Mr.Liam.Darcy/Ari Leschnikoff

Asparuch Leschnikoff (Аспарух Лешников) known as "Ari" (Born 16 Jun e, 1897 in Haskovo, Bulgaria; Died 31 Jul y 1978 in Sofia, Bulgaria) was the first Tenor of the Berlin ensemble the Comedian Harmonists.

Life and Work
Leschnikoff grew up in Haskovo and in 1916 attended a cadet school in Sofia. By the end of the First World War, he reached the rank of Lieutenant.

In 1922 Leschnikoff emigrated to Germany in order to study music. To financially support himself, he worked as a waiter. In 1926, he was contracted as a choir singer for the Großes Schauspielhaus. Through the choir, he met Robert Biberti and Roman Cycowski. In 1927 through the initiative of Harry Frommermann, the Comedian Harmonists were formed in Berlin. Leschnikoff become a member of the group after the recommendation by Robert Biberti. When the Comedian Harmonists separated in 1935 because the three Jewish members were forced to emigrate by the National Socialists, Leschnikoff initially participated in the successor group Meistersextett  with Biberti and Erwin Bootz as well as the new members Herbert Imlau, Alfred Grunert and Fred Kassen. When Bootz left the group in 1938 and Leschnikoff, after a dispute, denounced Biberti to the Gestapo for statements critical of the regime, this group also fell apart. Because he was in debt to Biberti, Leschnikoff gave his share of the group’s royalties to Biberti.

In 1939 he tried his luck for the last time in Germany as a solo singer, but returned to Sofia in 1940. There he recorded a few records with the company Mikrophon. In 1941 he was conscripted as a Captain. From his saving, he bought a 4 story residence in Sofia, which was completely destroying in 1944 with the Bombing of Sofia.

In 1947 his wife divorced him and took their son, Simon, with her. Leschnikoff married for a second time in 1952. He worked as a gardener and in a factory in order to provide for his family. He died at the age of 81 in 1978 completely in poverty. In the last years of his life, he asked Biberti in numerous letters to be re-issued a share of the royalty rights to the Comedian Harmonists.

In Joseph Vilsmaier's film Comedian Harmonists, Leschnikoff portrayed by Max Tidof t.