Vaso Godziashvili

• Name — Vaso Godziashvili • Native Name — ვასო გოძიაშვილი • Birth Name — Vasil Godziashvili • Birthplace — Tbilisi, Tiflis Governorate, Russian Empire • Died — 30 January 1976 • Place of death — Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union • Resting Place — Didube Pantheon, Tbilisi • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1924–1976 • Spouse — Sesilia Takaishvili (divorced)

Godziashvili was born on in Tbilisi. From 1922 to 1924 he studied at the Tbilisi drama studio under Akaki Pagava, and was a pupil of Kote Marjanishvili and Sandro Akhmeteli. He was an actor of the Rustaveli Theatre from 1924 to 1930, and from 1930 until his death he worked at the Marjanishvili Theatre, where he became one of the company's leading actors. He was also a prominent figure in Georgian variety theatre and a laureate of the first All-Union competition of variety artists. Equally at home in dramatic, comic and grotesque roles, Godziashvili created what is regarded as a landmark of the Georgian acting tradition in his portrayal of Luarsab Tatkaridze in Is This a Man?!, based on the story by Ilia Chavchavadze. His other roles included Khlestakov in Gogol's The Government Inspector, Arbenin in Lermontov's Masquerade, the title role in Shakespeare's Richard III, Caesar in Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra, and Zandukeli in Ietim Mosashvili's His Star, the role for which he received the Stalin Prize.

Godziashvili was married to the actress Sesilia Takaishvili (1906–1984), with whom he had a son, Davit; the couple later divorced. He died in Tbilisi on 30 January 1976 and was buried at the Didube Pantheon.