The famous actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov was born on February 8, 1928 in Pavlovsky Posad. Parents wanted the boy to become a turner or an agronomist. But a thirteen-year-old teenager, enrolling in a local school, dreamed of an acting career. During the youth of the Soviet Stirlitz, tattoos with the names of lovers were popular. Then the future actor did not have a girl, so he filled his own name on his hand - Glory. Perhaps this became a prophecy, because the artist gained popular popularity. But he managed to find personal happiness only in his second marriage with the French teacher Tamara Tikhonova (and even his wife tormented him with jealousy).
Early biography of a Soviet artist
Vyacheslav Tikhonov was born in 1928 in the suburbs. His father worked as a mechanic at a local weaving factory, and his mother worked as a teacher in a kindergarten. Tikhonov spent his childhood years among the children of ordinary workers. He was absolutely no different from other yard boys who spent most of their free time on the street. After the outbreak of war in 1941, Vyacheslav, then still a schoolboy, went to study at the school. His school housed a military hospital. Training for the profession was not difficult for Vyacheslav. He was inquisitive, from childhood he loved to do something around the house or tinkering. Like many teenagers of the time, after graduation he got a job as a metal turner at a military factory. He worked instead of the men who went to the front.
After shifts, Vyacheslav Tikhonov, along with other teenagers, ran to the Vulkan cinema for heroic paintings. His favorite movie heroes were Alexander Nevsky performed by N. Cherkasov, Chapaev performed by B. Babochkin, as well as universal favorites Petr Aleinikov and Mikhail Zharov. Later Tikhonov recalled that it was precisely these people who eventually led him to art. Then he began to dream of such a job, but the father saw his son exclusively as a mechanic, and his mother wanted him to go to the agricultural academy. At the insistence of the elders, Vyacheslav entered the Automechanical Institute, but closer to the victorious 1945 he decided to try his hand at the entrance exams at VGIK.
The beginning of an acting career
At first he was not accepted, but then by the will of fate, he still became a student at VGIK. Boris Bibikov enrolled Vyacheslav Tikhonov to his course. Parents were immensely indignant at the act of obedient Glory, but grandmother stood up for her grandson. She did not let Tikhonov just say goodbye to her dream. So Vyacheslav Tikhonov became a student at VGIKA and got into the workshop of teachers Olga Pyzhova and Boris Bibikov. The young man’s acting debut took place during his studies. The first work of Tikhonov was the role of Osmukhin in the film "Young Guard". The work was not typical for Soviet cinema: the directors thoroughly recreated the artistic environment, there was a long period of preparation before the shooting of the film, the actors got used to the characters' images, and the characters were carefully developed. The film could be considered a successful debut for a whole generation of domestic actors.
First love of Vyacheslav Tikhonov
The young man, whom censorship did not miss on the screens for “some non-Soviet” and “noble” appearance, met his first love in dance. In the tenth grade, he invited a friend of the girl, Julia of Russia, to a slow dance. A romantic relationship began, but the young people did not have time to legalize them, because Tikhonov left for the capital to study. Journalists often mentioned that he came to Yulia even during marriage, but later these meetings ceased. Fifty years later, when Vyacheslav Vasilievich had already had two marriages, he again found his first love. According to some reports, stealthily from Tamara Tikhonova, he talked with Julia on the phone when he lived in the country. They did not manage to meet in person.
Hasty marriage with Nonna Mordyukova
On the set of The Young Guard, fate brought the young man to Nonna Mordyukova. Vyacheslav was nineteen years old, and Nonna was twenty-two. At first, the young man did not pay attention to the stately beauty, so she needed considerable effort to turn his head. They quickly got married. First they lived in the hostel of VGIK, then they moved to a nine-meter room, in which Tikhonov did not particularly like the floors. Both actors received Stalin Prizes for the Young Guard, and young Vyacheslav was outraged that the state was trying to leave the award-winning artists without a good living space. Fighting friend gotten busy, so soon the young spouses were allocated a little more living space.
Suspicious rumors
There were rumors that young people were married not out of great love. A close friend of Tikhonov and People’s Artist I. Yoshka recalled that Mordyukova had an affair with S. Gerasimov in his student days, who was the head of her course and shot The Young Guard. The director asked Vyacheslav Tikhonov to marry a fellow student to ward off suspicions (a jealous wife suspected Gerasimov of infidelity). Deny his teacher and eminent director Vyacheslav could not. Even then, it was clear that calm Tikhonov and expressive Nonna are unlikely to get married.
Relationship disorder
Vyacheslav Tikhonov liked the directors very much, but censorship considered his appearance too “noble” for Soviet cinema. Therefore, Nonna earned money in the family. A lot of men tried to look after a young and beautiful girl, she never faced a lack of attention. She talked with one of the fans in the room when Tikhonov returned home. The couple did not explain. Nonna did not consider herself guilty, so she did not make excuses. Tikhonov was sure that he had found his wife and lover. He did not ask questions, but simply left, hastily collecting his suitcase.
Fifty years, Vyacheslav Tikhonov and Nonna Mordyukova did not communicate. At the bedside of a dying son (Vladimir Tikhonov died at the age of forty due to a passion for drugs) they did not say a single word to each other. When journalists made a biographical film about her, they asked the actress if she wanted to call Tikhonov. The woman said that she would have contacted for a long time, but there is no phone. The number was immediately found. They phoned, forgave each other. In the same year, Nonna Mordyukova passed away.
Acquaintance with Tamara Ivanovna
Forty-year-old Tikhonov in 1967 finally met a woman who fully understood and accepted him. French language teacher Tamara Tikhonova worked with a Soviet actor on the set. She helped the crew with the translation. Tamara and Vyacheslav worked on the film “Man and Woman”. The partner was the exact opposite of Mordyukova. Twenty-five-year-old Tamara was quiet and silent. The girl was married, but divorced with her husband in order to marry Tikhonov. He greatly appreciated the institution of marriage. But the passion was so strong that he took the woman out of the family.
Tamara's life before meeting with Vyacheslav
Little is known of the facts from the biography of Tamara Tikhonova before her meeting with the Soviet artist. It is known that the girl learned to be a teacher of French and taught at the Institute of International Relations. She was married, had no children in her first marriage. Vyacheslav Tikhonov's beloved woman and his wife became after working together on the film. By the way, Anna Tikhonov’s daughter said that at the time of her acquaintance her mother was not married, she had a French groom, but she was in no hurry to shackle herself by marriage. Everything went to the wedding, but Tamara's relatives were against it, because at that time it was not welcomed in the USSR.
Happy unhappy marriage
The inconspicuous Tamara Tikhonova, the wife of Vyacheslav Tikhonov, managed to keep her husband under total control. The handsome man in ordinary life was completely helpless and too gentle. Vyacheslav Tikhonov had to report to his wife about each scene with a hint of love relationships, coordinate his roles. It soon became clear that Tamara was simply obsessed with jealousy. Perhaps it was precisely because of the strained relations with his wife that Vyacheslav almost stopped acting after the film “Man and Woman” and several other works. He could not stand the constant tantrums, packed his bags and moved to a country house in Nikolina Gora.
Tamara did not calm down, she tortured her husband so much that until the end of their life they actually divided the house in half. Vyacheslav himself was in one half, and Tamara in the other. Vyacheslav Tikhonov stopped wearing the ring, and Tamara Ivanovna did not forget to mention that her husband ruined her life. Rumor had it that even with his son from his first marriage, the actor had to meet secretly in the garage. He did not appear at the funeral of the first wife. However, Anna Tikhonov’s daughter, joint with Tamara, spoke very warmly about the atmosphere that reigned at home. She calls the actor a loving father and a happy family man, says that the father and mother were in love and inseparable from each other until old age. It’s also known that Tamara Ivanovna (in order to somehow calm her nerves) became addicted to alcohol when her daughter grew up, and even tried several times to commit suicide.
The last years of Vyacheslav Tikhonovoa
The actor’s personal life was formed in his second marriage, although his wife tormented him with unreasonable jealousy and arranged tantrums. However, they also had a happy period. For example, when their joint daughter Anna was born, Tikhonov simply glowed with happiness and tried to spend every free minute with the girl. Vyacheslav Ivanovich also loved his grandchildren - the twins Vyacheslav and George, whom Anna often brought to visit her parents. In those years, there was a need to monitor a mother who drank alcohol, but Tikhonov was glad that his grandchildren often visited him.
Since 2000, the actor led a secluded life. He had no friends left: his beloved director S. Rostotsky, close colleagues Yu. Nikulin and N. Kryuchkov had already departed to another world. Then the daughter of Vyacheslav Tikhonov, actress Anna Tikhonova organized a film studio, where her husband began to shoot pictures with the participation of the Soviet Stirlitz. She led all the affairs of her father, and by his birthday organized an interview for a fee of fifteen thousand dollars. Vyacheslav Tikhonov did not receive this money. The sponsors of the evening at the Cinema House presented the actor with a car that he had never driven. But Anna Tikhonova built herself a business on behalf of the famous father.
The death of a Soviet artist
At the same time, the Soviet actor began to hurt. In 2002, he suffered a heart attack, in 2007 he was hospitalized after an injury with complaints of heart pain, in the spring of next year he underwent surgery, and in the fall of 2009 he was placed in the Central Clinical Hospital. Another vascular operation followed a week after hospitalization. Surgery Vyacheslav Tikhonov suffered very hard, but the doctors still hoped that the actor would recover. Alas, the next day he died. The last hours of his life, the Soviet Stirlitz was in intensive care, was connected to a ventilator and hemodialysis. The attending physician, Vyacheslav Tikhonov, said that loneliness and the lack of good care for the patient from relatives played a role in this death.
Difficult family relationships
After the death of Vyacheslav Vasilyevich, addiction to alcohol almost killed the widow of Tikhonov, Tamara Ivanovna. Anna had to identify her mother in the hospital so that qualified doctors would monitor her condition around the clock. Even when Tamara Tikhonova coped with alcoholism, it turned out that everything in the family was not as smooth as it could be. Tamara Ivanovna did not get along with her son-in-law, complained that her daughter was trying to deprive her of her apartment and cottage. At one time, the widow even said that her daughter’s husband beats her, drinks, does not want to work. Anna Tikhonova declined to comment on these allegations.
What actually was the relationship in this family is unknown. Anna spoke of her parents with love, said that they had a great conversation with her husband. At the same time, Tamara Ivanovna herself mentioned that Vyacheslav Tikhonov did not like son-in-law, and that they had no harmony in the family.