People: May 12, 1986

When an actor plays a real person, the subject is not always thrilled. On the day Yelena Bonner arrived in Italy for medical treatment last December, the HBO film Sakharov was on TV, and she watched. “I liked it so much that I cried in two places,” said Bonner. Last week she sought out Jason Robards, who portrayed her dissident husband, to tell him how moved she had been. Bonner was in Washington to address the National Academy of Sciences, and she went over to the National Theater, where Robards was participating in the Helen Hayes Awards. The actor kissed her on both cheeks, and she told him through a translator how grateful she was for the work he had put into the movie. Bonner wondered if Actress Glenda Jackson, who played her in the film, was there. Told no, Bonner offered the ultimate compliment. “I like her very much,” said Bonner. “She’s a thousand times better than I am.”