Soviet film actor and dubbing master. In 1943 he graduated from VGIK and began working at the Soyuzdetfilm film studio (from 1948 the Maxim Gorky Film Studio). From 1967 he worked as an actor at the Theatre-Studio of the Film Actor. Nikolay Grabbe made his film debut in 1943 as Pavka Drozdov in the film "We Are from the Urals". The actor was a master of episodic roles, one of the most frequently filmed actors of the 1950s-1970s. Grabbe's characters were courageous, strong, principled people, whether police officers or bandits. For the most part, the actor played representatives of various professions: fishermen, officers, coaches, workers, and all kinds of bosses.

He worked at a dubbing studio. Many foreign actors and cartoon characters spoke in his voice. Nikolay Karlovich was married to the actress of the Taganka Theatre Margarita Doktorova (1921-2003). His son and daughter followed in their parents' footsteps - Aleksey Grabbe (born 02.07.1947) and Ekaterina Grabbe (07.09.1954-11.07.1998) tied their fates to the Taganka Theatre and appeared in films.