Andrei Andreyevich Fait - theater actor, Honored Artist of the RSFSR, the national "villain" of Soviet cinema. On his account there are many popular films, including âKingdom of Crooked Mirrorsâ, âDiamond Handâ, âTale of how Tsar Peter Arapa marriedâ. He is an incredible workaholic - Andrei Andreyevich worked almost until the last day of his life. He also has a textured appearance, great talent and a very complicated biography.
Faith Family Story
Andrei Fait was born at the beginning of the last century - in August 1903 - in Nizhny Novgorod. His ancestors were Germans of merchant descent, who immigrated to Russia in 1812. It is believed that they fled at the beginning of the 19th century from the Napoleonic War.
Initially, Andrei Andreyevich bore the name Faith, because this is how
German names and names are transformed in Russian speech. However, after a time when the future actor was fascinated by art, he changed the vowel in the name and became Andrey Fight.
Andrei Fight's father - Andrei Yulievich Faith - was a doctor. He actively participated in the political life of Russia, as a result of which he was repeatedly arrested. Several times he was exiled to Eastern Siberia. Veit Sr. was the founder of the organization âGroup of Peopleâs Volunteersâ, he worked in the Committee for Assistance to Exiled and Prisoners on political issues.
Andrei Veitâs mother, Anna Nikolaevna, was also persecuted by the authorities, because she was a faithful assistant to her husband. In addition to Andrei, there was another boy in the family - the brother of the future actor.
Children and teenagers
In 1905, Andrei Andreyevich's father was in another exile. His patients helped the man organize an escape abroad - to France. The wife and children followed the head of the family. At first, the Veit family settled in a Russian colony near Paris, little Andryusha went there to the Lyceum. For some time they lived in France, but after the First World War they returned to Russia.
At the age of 15, Fight seriously realized that he was attracted by the world of the sublime. He began to attend the Chamber of Free Arts with a very extravagant name "Ke-Ke-Si." Andrey liked these classes. There he talked with young people who comprehended the basics of painting and theatrical skill, made music, were fond of poetry. The young man himself made his first attempts to compose poetry, even released a small collection entitled âCascades of Passion,â which was distributed at a school evening in a small circulation of several dozen copies. The Ke-Ke-Si circle periodically organized creative meetings to which experienced artists were invited to exchange experiences with young people. By the way, Sergey Yesenin attended one of these meetings.
GIK student
Having matured, Andrei Fait entered the Institute of Engineers of the Red Air Fleet. But in fairness, I must say that the young Andrei Andreyevich did not like studying, and his patience was enough for exactly two courses. Since 1922, Andrei Andreevich Fait began attending a private Preobrazhenskaya studio, while studying at which he passed exams at the State Institute of Cinematography (GIC).
A rather interesting story is connected with the institute. At that time, the university was located in an ordinary apartment and was in a privileged position. A potential student had the right to take an exam in the middle of the school year, and in the case of successful completion of all tests could easily be enrolled in the course. Exactly this story happened to Andrei Veit.
The future theater and film actor turned out to be lucky - he got on a course to Lev Kuleshov, who to this day is considered to be the founder of domestic cinema. In addition, here, at the GIK, Andrei Andreevich met his future wife - actress Galina Kravchenko. True, their family life lasted only a few years. Later, the young people broke up.
Kracherfight
Learning from Lev Kuleshov was very exciting. In the workshop of the maestro, students developed in many areas - they were involved in sports, acting, and worked on the plot of game etudes. The principle of teaching Kuleshov was very curious - the students were divided into groups, each of which consisted of several actors, a director and a cameraman. The team with Andrei Fight included future director Yuri Leontiev and actors Yevgeny Chervyakov and Galina Kravchenko. The guys became so friends that their âgangâ was called by others only âKracherfightâ. It was with them that the tradition of the GIK "skits" began.
Andrei Veit's debut in the cinema was marked by his role in the film âThe Pigeons Mansionâ, which was shot at the film studio âMezhrabpom-Rusâ by film director Vladimir Gardin in 1924. I must say that the aspiring actor did very well with the first task, so he soon received another proposal for the shooting from the same Vladimir Gardin, but already in the title role in the film "Gold Reserve". The cinema of those years was completely different from the one that its modern man knows and represents. Pictures of the 20s of the last century were shot without rehearsals, the actors worked in their own costumes. The only exceptions were shooting in historical paintings (which is natural). For everyone, the situation was absolutely normal and familiar, when the actors borrowed shoes and clothes from each other.
In 1927, Andrei Fait graduated from the State Institute of Cinematography.
War time
Andrei Andreyevich Fait was a very sought-after artist. Before the war, he managed to star in many films, including âSwamp Soldiersâ, âBy the Pike Commandâ, âHigh Awardâ, âMinin and Pozharskyâ, âSalavat Yulaevâ and others. In addition to filming, Andrei Andreevich served in the theater, and it was a Theater Studio film actor.
The Great Patriotic War began in 1941, and Andrei Fight was evacuated with the Soyuzdetfilm studio to Stalinabad. The actor was not given an easy evacuation, he had to endure a lot and endure during these terrible years of the war. However, without wasting time, Andrei Fait continued to develop in his profession. Films in which the actor was engaged, just narrated about wartime.
Andrei Andreyevich worked in the heroic drama Iron Angel, which was shot based on the story of Nikolai Bogdanov; played Major Pfulya in the combat cinematography âForest Brothersâ and âDeath Batiâ by film director Schneider. The actor worked on the role of Uncle Stepan in the film about partisan children "Teacher Kartashova" Lev Kuleshov. At the same time, he took part in the filming of the biographical film "Lermontov", which tells about the life of the great poet.
In the post-war period, Andrei Andreyevich played the fascist Schrenk in the drama âMeeting on the Elbeâ by Grigory Alexandrov. By the way, in this picture, the debut negative role of Lyubov Orlova took place - she was an American intelligence agent.
Children's movie
A special place in the work of Andrei Fight is occupied by the roles played by him in films designed for a teenage audience. Of course, this is an unforgettable role of the chief minister of the kingdom of Nushrok in the film-tale of Alexander Rowe âThe Kingdom of Crooked Mirrorsâ - a beautifully created image, the purest acting work.
By the way, Andrei Andreyevich Fait was a man of tremendous organization, determination and training. When the fairy tale was shot, the actor was about sixty, but this did not stop him from independently performing all the tricks planned in accordance with the role (for example, riding a horse). Theater and film actor Veit was in great shape.
A very characteristic feature of Andrei Andreyevich on the set was the ability to bring into the image of the hero, on which the acting work was carried out, something new, individual. He could argue with the director about the ideas expressed and defend his opinion. So it was, for example, on the set of the movie âAladdin's Magic Lampâ. After much debate and discussion, the image of the evil sorcerer with the name Magribinets combined the character traits that were offered by the director Boris Ritsarev and the artist Fait Andrey.
Actor and man
The appearance of the actor Andrei Fight can be described by selecting intricate epithets. However, it is easier and more correct to reduce the descriptions to one capacious word - "texture". This person could portray any emotion without uttering a word - the facial expression all spoke for him.
Andrei Andreyevich was a brilliant actor, watching which is a great pleasure. In his life there were many roles - more than eighty. He began his career as a student at the Geek magazine and continued to work almost until the last days of his life.
The list of his works does not contain all the roles of the first plan, but this is far from the main thing. The episodes masterfully played by Feight tightly fell into the soul of the viewer worse than any main role of another artist. Among such episodes, one can single out the work in the films âThe Diamond Armâ, âThe Idiotâ, âThe Crown of the Russian Empire, or The Elusive Againâ, âThe Tale of How Tsar Peter the Arap Marriedâ.
In life, Andrei Fight was often credited with novels with actresses of Soviet cinema. And the actor was married to Maria Briling, who was not related to the movie. In marriage, they had a son - Julius Veit, who later followed in the footsteps of his star father and connected his life with cinema. Julius Fight graduated from VGIK and became a director. His colleagues and friends are Andrei Tarkovsky,
Alexander Mitta, Vasily Shukshin.
Fait Andrey Andreevich died on January 17, 1976. He is buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.