Well, what kind of citizen of our country does not know the image of Samokhvalov from "Office Romance", Andrei Buzykin from the "Autumn Marathon", Woland from the series "Master and Margarita" or Fedor Elistratov from the movie "Promised Heaven"? All these and many other roles were played by the actor Oleg Basilashvili, beloved by most people, whose biography is considered in this article.
On the screens, he is always gallant, beautiful and incredibly charming. In real life, he is modest, unpretentious and shy. I can’t even believe that this wonderful man turned 82 not so long ago. During his life, he played a huge number of diverse roles, voiced many movie heroes, received an incredibly large number of various awards and titles and achieved such success and recognition that would be more than enough for five artists.
Childhood, study and marriage
Oleg Valerianovich Basilashvili was born on September 26, 1934. His family was Moscow intellectuals in the person of father Valerian Nikolaevich, who served as director of the Moscow Polytechnic of Communications, and his mother, Irina Sergeevna Ilyinskaya, doctor of philological sciences. Oleg Basilashvili, whose biography is given in the review, spent all his childhood in Moscow. Nothing unusual happened in the boy’s life during this period. He did everything that ordinary children did in the pre-war and wartime periods. The only thing Oleg knew for sure was that by all means he would become an actor. The theater was his dream from an early age. And he did not want to play anywhere, but only at the Moscow Art Theater. According to the star, he was even ready to wash the floors there, if only to have at least the slightest relation to this Temple of the Arts.
The future actor Oleg Basilashvili still became a student at the Moscow Art Theater School. He ended up on a course led by Pavel Massalsky. This was one of the most powerful courses, because Mikhail Kozakov, Tatyana Doronina and Evgeny Evstigneev studied at it. Beauty Doronin immediately liked all the males. But because of her pride and inaccessibility, she refused offers of marriage. Only Basilashvili managed to conquer Tatyana, who after a while became her husband. The young people got married in 1955, having played a modest wedding in the groom's apartment.
Theatrical life during the 50-80s of the last century
Oleg Basilashvili (whose biography is described in this material) and Doronin graduated in 1956. The girl received job invitations from several theaters at the same time. And Oleg, since he was then completely unknown, got the opportunity to serve only in the Stalingrad Drama Theater. The couple left Moscow and went to Stalingrad. But in this Temple of Melpomene there were no prospects for talented artists, and soon they moved to St. Petersburg. There they served in one of the theaters, but Tatiana was soon noticed and invited along with her husband to serve in the BDT. After eight years, the family broke up.
Since 1967, Oleg Basilashvili, whose biography is the topic of our article, plays mainly comedic roles. The main touches of his works from the end of 1960-1980 are plastic mastery, sarcasticity and some indifference to the image. Oleg Valerianovich is a master of transformations. Among the best theatrical works of this time, I would like to single out Khlestakov (The Inspector General), Serpukhovsky (The History of the Horse), Jingle (The Pickwick Club) and Basov (The Summer Residents).
Film career
Oleg Basilashvili, whose films are always watched with pleasure by the audience, began his career in cinema in 1956. It was the tape "Bride", where he played Andrei Andreyevich. The artist, on his account, has many diverse roles that perfectly reflected his extensive creative spectrum. Basilashvili worked with such popular directors as Semyon Aranovich, Anatoly Bobrovsky, Valery Uskov, Karen Shakhnazarov and Vladimir Krasnopolsky.
But the greatest recognition to the actor was brought by the paintings staged by Ryazanov and Danelia. The roles played in these tapes are the best in Basilashvili’s film career. This and Samokhvalov in the “Office Romance”, and Count Merzlyaev in the film “On the poor hussar put in a word”, and Gromov in the “Station for two”, and Goryunov in the “Prediction”.
The most stellar time in cinema for Oleg Valerianovich is the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s. It was after the "Office Romance", filmed in 1977, that the actor woke up truly famous. Basilashvili could become popular before. In 1975, Ryazanov offered him the role of Hippolytus in The Irony of Fate. But because of the death of his father, the man refused the offer.
Station for two people
In 1982, Oleg Basilashvili was again removed from the genius Ryazanov. It was the melodrama Station for Two, where he embodied the image of Plato Gromov. This picture differs from other Ryazanov projects in that tears, not laughter, occupy the main place in it. The troubles occurring with Gromov, who fell behind the train, are quite funny. But when it comes to the fact that Plato is a victim of another's lawlessness, the audience’s laughter is sharply replaced by bitterness. The musician Gromov will have to answer for a crime to which he is not involved.
Basilashvili before filming the tape “Station for Two” for two months he lived in one of the Russian colonies. In the film, the artist played with the great Lyudmila Gurchenko, who after that he called his favorite artist.
Works at the end of the past - beginning of this century
Due to the crisis of domestic cinema, Oleg Basilashvili, whose films many people know by heart, returned to the screens only in the late 1990s. So, he appeared in the film “The Judge in the Trap” in 1998. It was the first Russian cinema to shoot which involved computer technology. In 2001, the maestro immediately embodied two roles in Shakhnazarov’s film “Poisons, or World History of Poisoning”. Then he appeared in the images of a pensioner and pope.
In 2003, Basilashvili played General Yepanchin in the ten-episode series Idiot. Well, two years later, Oleg Valerianovich turned into Woland in "The Master and Margarita." Until 2010, the actor starred in quite a lot, now, according to his own decision, he plays in one picture a year.
Personal life
Oleg Basilashvili, whose personal life is not full of scandals, was married twice. The first marriage with Tatyana Doronina lasted eight years. The second alliance with journalist Galina Mshanskaya continues to this day and totals 50 years. According to Mshanskaya, her husband is a dearest person. She says that he never rolls up scandals related to everyday life. This is an intelligent person who remains so in any situation.
Oleg Valerianovich at one time led a dynamic social life. So, he was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR at the end of the 80s of the past century. Being always honest and sincere in his actions, he has never compromised himself during the civil service.
Children and grandchildren
The approximate father is Oleg Basilashvili. Children simply idolize him. The artist has two daughters from his second marriage. The older one is Olga, she works on television in St. Petersburg. The youngest, Ksenia, was once a correspondent for the radio company Echo of Moscow. A man loves his daughters very much, he always liked to mess with them. Once, when the girls needed to learn English, Basilashvili himself undertook to study the subject.
Daughters gave the father of wonderful grandchildren - Timothy and Marinik. The actor admits that he does not dwell on babies.
Interesting facts about the artist
The wives of Oleg Basilashvili never spoke badly of him. Even Doronin is not angry with her ex-husband. And the current wife simply loves Oleg. And how not to love such a man: once he spent all his fabulous fee received while working in Japan, spent on shoes for his beloved. In one of the stores, he purchased Mshanskaya six pairs of different shoes.
Nationality of Oleg Basilashvili is Georgian. And he belongs to the eminent family. In ancient times, his family was the owner of a large land allotment located on the border of Georgia and South Ossetia. The land was donated to the Basilashvili family by the king of Georgia. These possessions exist in reality, and one day Basilashvili set off to examine them. He was told that he has all rights to them and can build houses on lands, set up gardens or engage in other activities. But the proposal so far remains only a proposal.
Fair awarded
Oleg Basilashvili received many awards and titles for his activities. Listing them all is quite difficult. But some of the most important ones are worth mentioning:
- In 1969, the actor received the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
- In 1977, he was awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR.
- In 1984, Oleg Valerianovich became People's Artist of the USSR.
- In 1979, for performing the role of Samokhvalov, Basilashvili was awarded the State Prize of the RSFSR im. Vasiliev brothers.
- Since 2010, the artist is an honorary doctor of St. Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise.
- Basilashvili has the Order of Peace in his arsenal of awards.
- In 2009, Oleg Valerianovich received the Golden Mask Award for the best male role in the production of Uncle's Dream.
- In 2014, the artist was again awarded this prize, but this time for "outstanding contribution to the development of theatrical art."
These are not all actor awards. On his track record there are many more. And all of them testify that we were lucky to live in the same era with a genius, an outstanding person who has no equal, with someone who has become an idol for many generations.