In 1959, a son was born to the director George Danelia and actress Lyubov Sokolova. From childhood, the boy showed rare creative abilities. Nikolai Danelia could become an outstanding actor, director, artist. He really was extremely gifted. But fate decreed otherwise. In 1985, a tragedy occurred in the famous family: Nikolai Danelia passed away. The cause of death has not yet been clarified.
The official version of the death of Nikolai Danelia is not named today. There are only speculations. In order to understand which one is closer to the truth, a few words should be said about the family of this bright personality.
"All-Union Mother"
Lyubov Sokolova played a record number of roles in the movie. Her heroines are faithful wives, loving mothers. When the actress met with George Danelia, she was thirty-six years old. Behind - the death of the first husband, the besieged Leningrad. After the tragedy, the actress was not in a hurry to get married again.
Sokolova and Danelia
George was a student at VGIK when he met an actress of extraordinary, original Russian beauty. He looked after, gave flowers and sweets, accompanied her everywhere. In less than a year, Sokolova married him and moved to an apartment on Chistye Prudy.
Late child
In 1959, Nikolai was born. His mother by that time was thirty-eight years old. After the birth of her son, the actress completely immersed herself in family life. She starred in a lot of movies, but her roles were extremely episodic.
Sokolova was an ingenious actress. In numerous interviews, she repeatedly said that small roles do not exist. Each of them is a fragment of a huge life. But the meaning of existence for the "All-Union Mother" was still not cinema, but the son, future artist and director Nikolai Danelia. The biography of this young and gifted person is tragically short.
Nikolay
He became the meaning of life for Sokolova. From an early age, Nicholas showed the ability to draw, which was passed on to him from his father. The fact that he wrote poetry became known only after the tragic death.
George Danelia, as, indeed, the majority of creative personalities, was an addicted person. Love was his permanent state. Sokolov paid no attention to her husband’s love affairs. Her energy was directed towards raising her son. Nikolay grew up in an atmosphere of affection, tenderness, boundless love. According to some colleagues of the actress, the death of her son was the result of permissiveness, the absence of any prohibitions.
Nikolay Danelia was married immediately after graduation. His chosen one was a classmate. The mother not only did not impede this decision, but even connected her ties in order to speed up the process of the marriage procedure.
Artist, poet, director
Nicholas could become a great painter. Colleagues and friends of George Danelia claim that his abilities, both artistic and literary, were unique. But Nicholas decided to follow in the footsteps of his parents and entered the VGIK, the directing department.
In 1965, he played with his mother in his father's film "Thirty-Three." Six years later, a cameo role in the famous film “Gentlemen of Fortune” appeared in the filmography of the young artist. The last work in the cinema for Nicholas was the participation in the filming of the film “Karl Marx”. It was in 1980. Five years later, a graduate of VGIK, a young, promising director and artist, died in his father’s apartment. The medical report said: "The cause of death has not been established."
Versions
There is an assumption that Nikolai Danelia was killed. The second version is more believable - an overdose of drugs. None of them has official confirmation. In an interview with relatives, the topic of the cause of Nicholas’s death is avoided. For thirty years, neither parents nor wife have said a word in defense of this or that version.
Not so long ago, a collection of poems by a young poet was published. The family of Nikolai Danelia - spouse Maria and daughters Margarita and Alena.