Biography

Baskin was born in Riga, the son of Frieda and Zalman Baskin. He attended Moscow's prestigious Theatre and Variety Arts College and won a Festival of Young Actors Award at the Moscow Comedy Theatre. Baskin immigrated to the United States in 1976. He has built a considerable career in TV and movies, and is often cast as a Russian, due to his ancestry and accent. He has ultimately become one of the most popular choices whenever a Russian is needed in a TV-episode or a major movie production.