Actors of Soviet films are still loved and revered by many fans of domestic cinema. At one time they became real sex symbols. The images that they created on the screens, admired by millions. The roles they played were so vivid that I want to return to them again and again. In this article we will talk about some of the most outstanding artists of Soviet cinema, which still remain in the memory of the audience.
Comedy King
It is worth recognizing that this unofficial title was called more than one actor of Soviet films. Comedy was one of the most successful genres in the cinema of the USSR. There were enough bright and outstanding artists in this role.
One of them was precisely Mikhail Pugovkin. He was born in Kostroma province in 1923. The family lived poorly. He graduated from only three classes of a rural school. In 1938, he moved to Moscow with his relatives. First, he got a job as an apprentice electrician, and after work went to a drama club at a local club. At the age of 16, the director of the theater on Sretenka drew attention to him, inviting him to the professional stage.
In the movie, Mikhail Pugovkin made his debut in the family drama by Grigory Roshal, The Artamonov Case. He got the small role of the merchant Barsky, who is trying to dance the main character at the wedding. Filming of this episode ended on June 22, 1941. Two days later, Pugovkin went to the front. He was seriously injured, suffered gangrene, then was commissioned.
By 1947 he managed to graduate from the Moscow Art Theater. In the 50s he was already actively acting in films. The popularity of this actor in Soviet films was brought by the comedy of Ivan Lukinsky "Soldier Ivan Brovkin", the dramatic detective Nikolai Dostal "The Case of the Motley", the musical comedy by Alexander Faynzimer "Girl with a Guitar".
Just starred in about a hundred films, most of which were comedies. In 1988 he received the title of People's Artist of the USSR. In 2008, he died at the age of 85 from diabetes.
Vasily Lanovoi
Colleagues called this artist the last aristocrat of Soviet cinema. Actor Vasily Lanovoi was born in Moscow in 1934. He is now 84 years old.
Received a creative education at the Shchukin school. In his student years he made his film debut in the title role in the drama of Tatyana Lukashevich "Certificate of Maturity". The following work brought him all-Union popularity - the role of Pavel Korchagin in the film about the revolution of the same name.
He was made a favorite by the public, one of the most famous actors of Soviet films in the melodrama of Alexander Ptushko "Scarlet Sails", the drama of Vladimir Rogovoy "Officers", the melodrama of Yevgeny Khrinyuk "Anna and the Commander", the drama of Vladimir Basov "Days of the Turbins". In 1985 he received the title of "People's Artist of the USSR."
Sex symbol of Soviet cinema
The sex symbol of films during the Soviet era, no doubt, was Vyacheslav Tikhonov. In 1928, he was born in the suburbs. After the war he graduated from VGIK. He made his debut in the role of Volodya Osmukhin in the historical drama Sergei Gerasimov's Young Guard, which was released in 1948.
After that, a decade went into oblivion. The directors assigned him roles, paying attention to his outstanding external data, but not to acting potential. Therefore, during this period he did not have interesting works.
Audience came to him only in 1957 after the role of the tractor driver Matvey Morozov in Stanislav Rostotsky’s melodrama “It Was in Penkov”. Starring was the role of Andrei Bolkonsky performed by him in the film adaptation of Tolstoy’s epic “War and Peace”. Tikhonov played his most famous role in the political detective, Tatyana Lioznova, “Seventeen Moments of Spring,” creating the image of the reconnaissance Stirlitz working in the German rear.
Creative union
The audience watched with interest not only the actor’s film works, but also his personal life. In 1950, the marriage of Vyacheslav Tikhonov and Nonna Mordyukova became a real sensation. The relationship of the star couple was watched by their fans.
In the first year after the wedding, their son Vladimir was born, who followed in the footsteps of his parents, becoming a film actor. The marital union lasted 13 years. In 1963, the artists divorced. And the translator Tamara Ivanova became the new darling of Tikhonov. Together they lived 42 years until the death of the actor in 2009. They had a daughter, Anna, who became a producer and actress.
Man of the Neanderstal era
People’s Artist of the USSR Alexei Batalov spoke so ironically about himself. He was born in Vladimir in 1928. A graduate of the Moscow Art Theater School. He made his film debut back in 1944 as a schoolboy Alexei in the drama Leo Arnstam "Zoya". Since the mid-50s, he turned into one of the most recognizable and beloved Soviet artists.
Glory came to him after the main role in the detective melodrama of Joseph Kheifits "The Case of Rumyantsev." This was followed by stellar work in the drama by Mark Donskoy “Mother”, the military film by Mikhail Kalatozov “Cranes Are Flying”, the drama by Mikhail Romm “Nine Days of One Year”, the tape by Vladimir Vengerov “The Living Corpse”, the movie novel by Vladimir Naumov and Alexander Alov “Running,” the historical drama of Vladimir Motyl "Star of captivating happiness."
The cult and popularly beloved image of Gosha Batalov created in the melodrama of Vladimir Menshov “Moscow does not believe in tears”. In the 2000s, he was president of the Russian Academy of Motion Picture Arts, secretary of the board of the Union of Cinematographers. In 2017, he died at the age of 88 due to problems with blood vessels.
Evgeny Leonov
This People’s Artist of the USSR succeeded in stunning comedic and dramatic roles, which amazed critics and spectators. Leonov was born in Moscow in 1926.
He hit the theatrical stage in the late 40s. Has acted in films since 1948. He came to popularity after the role of barman Gleb Savelyevich in the comedy of Vladimir Fetin "Striped Flight". All noted his ingenuous openness and spontaneity, an original dramatic talent. He easily turned into original heroes who always possessed a charming cunning. Moreover, they remained so, even if they were negative characters. Here you can recall the films with Evgeny Leonov - “An Ordinary Miracle”, “Kin-dza-dza”, “Passport”.
Among his most famous movie roles are the comedy of Georgy Danelia “Thirty Three,” the tragicomedy Eldar Ryazanov's “Zigzag of Fortune”, the detective comedy by Alexander Sery “Gentlemen of Fortune,” the funky melodrama by Alexei Korenev “The Big Change”, the psychological drama by Vitaly Melnikov “The Elder Son”, "sad comedy" by George Danelia "Autumn Marathon".
Leonov died at the age of 67, intending to go to the theater to play in the play "Memorial Prayer." The reason was a detached blood clot. It happened in 1994.
Coward, Dunce, Experienced
A trio of comedic anti-heroes, familiar to every Soviet viewer by the nicknames Trus, Dunce and Experienced, subdued the domestic film buff in the 60s and 70s.
They gained the greatest fame in the comedies of Leonid Gaidai, where their roles were performed by George Vitsin, Yuri Nikulin and Evgeny Morgunov, respectively. For the first time, a trinity of petty violators of the law, which always gets into unpleasant alterations, appeared in two short films of the early 60s - “Dog Watchdog and Unusual Cross” and “Moonshiners”. The tapes were shown as part of the film almanac, "Seriously."
Heroes became so popular that they began to be regularly used in these images. The most famous appearance of the trinity Vitsin, Nikulin and Morgunov took place in the comedies of Gaidai "Operation" Y "and other adventures of Shurik", "Prisoner of the Caucasus." They also played in the tapes “Give a plaintive book”, “Seven old men and one girl”. The last appearance took place in the "Comedy of Bygone Days", and already without Nikulin, who considered the image too blurred.
Yury Nikulin
Of course, in this trinity of bright actors, it was Nikulin who was the most famous. In 1921, he was born in Smolensk province. He began his career as a clown, since he could not enter either GITIS or VGIK. The selection committee considered that he had no acting data.
He performed in a circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, and made his film debut only in 1958 in the musical comedy by Alexander Faynzimer "Girl with a Guitar".
But it was the movie that brought him all-Union popularity. In 1973 he received the title of People's Artist of the USSR. In addition to comedic, he had many dramatic roles. He died in 1997 at the age of 75.