Zolotukhin Valery Sergeyevich, an actor of the theater of the Soviet period, was born in 1941 in the Altai village of Bystry Istok. Parents, Sergey and Matrena Zolotukhina, led the measured life of an average prosperous peasant family. Valera grew up in the company of his older brother Vladimir, who was both his friend and mentor. After studying at school, the young Zolotukhin moved to Moscow, driven by a thirst for new experiences and a desire to devote himself to theatrical art.
In 1958, the entrant Valery Zolotukhin, whose biography began in Moscow from scratch, was admitted to the acting department of GITIS, where he studied for five years. In the fifth year, a fun student life ended, Valery married his classmate Ninel Shatskaya. The marriage was untimely, the newlyweds had to prepare for final exams. Friends helped as best they could, and as a result, a happy married couple successfully passed the exams and embarked on an independent voyage through life. The first place of work of the graduate was
the Moscow City Council Theater, and a year later the actor Valery Zolotukhin, whose biography developed rapidly, transferred to the troupe of the
theater on Taganka. Actress Shatskaya was also accepted into the theater of Yuri Lyubimov, and thus, the Zolotukhina couple became inseparable.
For Valery, a period of creative successes began, he was given interesting significant roles, and he gradually became a characteristic actor with his own role. In 1968, the actor Valery Zolotukhin starred in the detective film "The Master of the Taiga", playing the role of the local policeman Vasya Snezhkin. A friend of Valery and his theater colleague Vladimir Vysotsky also played in the film. The picture turned out spectacular thanks to good directing, a talented game of the cast, as well as the author’s songs of the popular Vysotsky. However, a truly stellar movie work for Valery Zolotukhin took place three years later. It was the role of Bumbarash, a character from the works of Arkady Gaidar.
Valery Zolotukhin, whose biography began to replenish with new pages, after the release of "Bumbarasha" became even more popular. The audience went to the Taganka Theater on Bumbarash. On the street, the actor was not allowed to pass. But in Zolotukhin’s personal life, everything was not so rosy: the marriage with actress Shatskaya cracked and soon fell apart. Ninel went to actor
Leonid Filatov, who also worked in the troupe of Yuri Lyubimov. Shatskaya took Denis, the young son, born in 1969, with her. Valery Zolotukhin lived alone for some time, and then on the set of the film "The One" directed by Joseph Heifits, he met Tamara, who was involved in the musical accompaniment of the picture. Valery soon made his new friend an offer, and they got married.
In 1987, at the height of perestroika, Valery Zolotukhin, whose biography could serve as an example of a successful theatrical career, became the People's Artist of Russia. Work in the theater went on as usual, some roles were replaced by others, the main director Lyubimov left or returned. Finally, with the beginning of the 2000s, Valery Zolotukhin had a creative upsurge. Several roles were played in series and blockbusters: "Plot", "Master and Margarita", "Night Watch" and others. Then Zolotukhin appeared another (civilian) wife
Irina Lindt, from whom the son Ivan was born. Valeria was tormented by nostalgia for his native places, he tried to visit the Quick Source as often as possible. With his own money, Zolotukhin built an Orthodox church in the village. In 2011, the actor, after the theater left Yuri Lyubimov, was appointed to the post of director of the theater on Taganka. But a few months later he became seriously ill and soon died. After farewell ceremonies, the People’s Artist of Russia Valery Zolotukhin, whose death date was March 30, 2013, was buried in his native village on the territory of the church he built.