The popular Soviet actor of the 60-70s, who became famous for his roles of decisive, but mostly silent and courageous people, Nikolai Kryukov played in many films devoted to the war, later he began to play mainly foreigners. The fate of the actor himself is more sophisticated than any adventure novel. During the war, he played in the territory occupied by the Germans, then in France, after which he managed to return to the Soviet Union.
early years
Nikolay Kryukov was born on July 8, 1915 in the small village of Zamytye, Tver Province. After graduating from high school for some time he worked at the Leningrad plant "Sevcable." In the 30s, a young worker was seriously interested in theater and began to engage in an amateur factory studio. An amateur actor was noticed, and he was accepted to study at the theater studio of the Leningrad Bolshoi Drama Theater, which he graduated in 1935.
Starting next year, he began to serve in the theater studio, which was directed by director and playwright S.E. Radlov, the former Young Theater, and now the Lensovet Theater. After the first roles, he was recognized by the Leningrad audience, he soon became one of the leading actors of the troupe. In 1938, he got a small role in the film "Sea Post". In 1940, he got a job in the film "Politruk Kolyvanov", which was not completed due to the fact that the script considered the Propaganda and Agitation Directorate to be bad. However, the actor Nikolai Kryukov always mentioned this work in his creative biography. And soon the war began.
In besieged Leningrad
The Germans approached the city, the theater went into martial law, the troupe was divided into front-line brigades. Actors performed patriotic songs and poems at assembly points, warships and in front of rear workers, digging anti-tank ditches. After the on-site concerts, everyone was in a hurry to return to the theater at the rehearsal of the play "Emilia Galotti," which was premiered on October 17, 1941. And in early October, actor Nikolai Kryukov was busy in the play "Honeymoon Trip" by the playwright Dykhovichny. In it, he played the role of Bones.
At the premiere of Lesing's drama, which was held according to plan, everyone remembered the game of Nikolai Kryukov in the role of Prince Gonzago. Together with everyone experiencing a difficult time, the actors tried to entertain with their game the inhabitants, who even in this difficult wartime filled the theater hall.
In December 1941, the actor last appeared on the scene in the besieged city. Cheerful Kostya played, already losing strength from hunger, after which he was sent to the hospital. In January, the performances ceased, there was neither electricity nor heat, the actors were exhausted. In February, the troupe of the theater was evacuated, the most barely moving Kryukov was brought on a sled to Finland Station.
In evacuation
In March 1942, the theater arrived in Pyatigorsk, two months later the first premiere took place in a new place. Nicholas’s game aroused universal sympathy, by this time he had already recovered a little and got stronger. In the summer, the director resumed the plays “The Ideal Husband” and “Hamlet”, which gathered full halls. The front was quickly approaching, but the theater was not evacuated, the city authorities did not want to panic. Only on August 8, part of the troupe was sent by passing cars to Nalchik.
The next day, Nikolai Kryukov, along with his colleagues, was waiting for a car near the service entrance to the theater when German units broke into the city. The main director of the theater Sergey Radlov suggested that everyone return to the hostel and try to behave calmly.
In occupation
When counting the population, the occupying German authorities discovered the actors of two theaters - Radlovsky and operetta and ordered to start working. They pulled as much as they could, being discouraged by the incomplete composition of the troupe. Then they began to give performances, mainly locals went, the Germans in the Russian language were of little interest to performances. Soon, Nikolai Kryukov played the usual roles in "Dowry" and "Perfect husband." Then he got the main role in Hamlet. The Red Army was already very close and everyone hoped for a speedy liberation.
However, the Germans in October 1943 took the theater to Berlin. At this time, the city was bombed by the Allies, the troupe split. Some went to the north of France, others to the south (Kryukov also joined her). They reached the small town of La Fossett. They spoke to local residents and in the camps of Soviet prisoners of war.
After the liberation, the Allies of France worked in Marseille, then in Paris, from where the Soviet command sent the remains of the troupe to Moscow. Director Radlov and his wife were convicted of cooperation with the occupiers.
Homecoming
He managed to avoid imprisonment, but for more than 10 years he was not allowed into the capital's theaters. He managed to work in the theaters of Tver, Tbilisi and Rostov-on-Don. In these years of wandering, personal life with Nikolai Kryukov did not work out. In 1956, Radlov, who was released in 1953, invited him to work in Riga. He began to be invited to the cinema, for small roles: the paintings “Ships storm the bastions” (1953) and “Unusual Summer” (1957). For two years of work in the Latvian capital, he became a sought-after and popular actor.
In 1958, after the death of the director, he returned to his hometown, where he entered work for Lenfilm. At 43, he actually had to start his acting career anew. He played more than a hundred diverse roles, mostly episodic. In many films, Nikolai Kryukov played Soviet commanders, police officers and pilots. The audience remembered his foreign heroes: the English officer Sebastian Moran (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, 1980), the Swedish admiral (Young Russia, 1982), and the English admiral (Lefty, 1986).
Last years
Perhaps the work in the theater in the occupied territory affected, because only in 1991 did the popular Soviet actor, who played many memorable roles, be awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
Little is known about the personal life of actor Nikolai Kryukov. In 1960, he married for the second time the actress of the "Lenfilm" Gurova Lilia Ivanovna (nee Leah Ionovna Gurova). Her name and patronymic were changed during the German occupation in order to protect her from reprisals. They met at the dubbing of the film and lived together for 33 years, until the actor’s death.
Nikolay Nikolaevich Kryukov died on April 17, 1993. He was buried at the Serafimovsky cemetery in St. Petersburg, on a modest monument there is only one inscription: "Truly popular."