In March 2016, the ninetieth anniversary of the birth of the cult star of the Soviet screen by the name of Georgy Yumatov was celebrated. Films with his participation once gathered millions of viewers from cinemas. In the 1940-1970s, he was incredibly popular. Thanks to his roles in the cinema, the young man became a symbol of the noble and unshakable Soviet officer, whom many military men equaled in the following years.
The early years of George Yumatov
Yumatov Georgy Alexandrovich was born in Moscow. It happened in 1926. From childhood, he literally raved about the sea, although he did not have the opportunity to see him. Preparing himself for the profession of a sailor, the future actor leaned on to study at school, and in his free time he went in for sports. Young Zhora especially liked (so affectionately called Yumatov his friends and relatives) to engage in boxing and running. When the guy turned fifteen, his cherished dream came true - he was enrolled in a naval school. However, it was not necessary to rejoice for a long time - World War II came to the USSR.
Participation in the Great Patriotic War
The first year of the war, the future actor George Yumatov studied at the naval school. And when he was sixteen, the guy was sent to fight with the rank of young man on a torpedo boat with the heroic name “The Brave”. After a year of service, George received a promotion and became the helmsman. Initially, the "Brave" was in the "Azov" flotilla. And later he moved to the Danube. Georgy Yumatov, together with the crew of the boat, participated in the battles for Ishmael, Bucharest, and later for Budapest and Vienna. It seemed that fate itself kept the brisk boy from trouble. For all the years of the war, he not only survived and maintained his health, but also earned the officer order named after Ushakov.
First movie role
After the war, George Yumatov returned to his homeland in Moscow. Here the young sailor with a pleasant appearance was noted by the famous director Grigory Alexandrov, sitting in a cafe with his wife. Type Yumatov he liked. And Alexandrov invited him to shoot in one of the episodes of his new movie - “Spring”. Although the role of the make-up artist, which was given to young George, was very tiny, everyone liked the way he performed and his pleasant voice. So in the same year, Yumatov was again invited to play in the small role of a soldier in Leonid Lukov’s film “Private Alexander Matrosov”.
The film "The Young Guard" (1948)
The manner of the game, and Georgy Yumatov himself, really liked Alexandrov. Therefore, he advised the director Sergei Gerasimov, who taught at VGIK, to take a closer look at the promising young talent. After listening to Georgy Gerasimov refused to take him to study. He explained his action by the fact that the guy already has enough acting skills. Like, there is nothing to lose time at VGIK. Instead, the director gave Yumatov one of the main roles in his new film - Young Guard.
This picture was a resounding success with the audience. Almost all the actors who played in it received all-Union fame, and six of them were even awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree. Among the laureates there was no future "officer Trofimov." But the whole country became known actor Yumatov George.
Further movie career
Despite the lack of acting education, many directors of that time with great pleasure removed the young talent. He had good physical preparation, a universal appearance, which allowed him to play workers, peasants, and military. In addition, the guy had a pleasant voice and a charming smile. It is not surprising that soon numerous films with Yumatov began to appear on the screens. At first, the roles were small: the pilot in The Tale of a Real Man, Kasyanov in Zhukovsky, Balandin in Hostile Vortices, and others. But soon the film "Shipka Heroes" was released, where George was given one of the main roles - Sasha Trump.
In these years, the actor was incredibly in demand. It was a peculiar quality mark of a movie if Yumatov was shot in it. The biography of the actor in these years has many wonderful roles. He starred in the following films: “Pedagogical poem”, “Different fates”, “They were the first”, “Next to us”, “Youth of our fathers”, “First date”, “Two lives”, “Three days after immortality” and others. Sometimes George was assigned a very small role, but the actor knew how to make her bright and unforgettable. In 1969, working on the film “Dangerous Tours,” George Yumatov met with Vladimir Vysotsky. It was he who taught the actor how to dance and sing in the movies.
The film "Officers" (1971)
The end of the sixties and the beginning of the seventies was the best period in the career of an artist - he is constantly starting to be invited to the main roles. He shines in the films "Attention, Tsunami!", "One of Us." And, of course, the painting "Officers" became the hallmark of Yumatov. Being himself a naval seaman in the past, the actor was in many ways close to his character - Alexei Trofimov. Therefore, he was able to convey with extraordinary accuracy the emotions and feelings of his hero.
The partners on the set of the artist were actors Vasily Lanova and Alina Pokrovskaya. After the release of the film, they all became not just popular, but turned into heroes, on which the rising generation was equal. And the film itself became a cult. Since then, constantly on the eve of Victory Day, the film "Officers" has been shown on television. Yumatov after this movie for all spectators forever remained a fighter, a warrior without fear and reproach.
Career in the 70-90s
After the phenomenal success of the film “Officers”, the audience was ready to go to any tape if Yumatov was shot in it. However, because of the image of an officer assigned to him, the directors were in no hurry to give him the main roles. But a lot of minor characters were beaten during this period by a lot of Georgy Yumatov. The biography of the artist would be incomplete, if not to mention the film in which he was supposed to play, but it did not work out. We are talking about the legendary "White Desert Sun". Initially, the role of Comrade Sukhov was intended for Yumatov. Costumes were made for him, he studied the text, invented jokes and stage moves. But due to family circumstances, the artist was forced to abandon the role. And in his place they took Kuznetsov, for whom this film was the most successful in his career.
In the late seventies and eighties, George Yumatov began to be forgotten. The public has new heroes and favorite actors. Despite participating in the films “Petrovka 38” and “Ogaryova 6,” years of success were already behind. An interesting fact: in 1979, the actor played a cameo role of himself in the Oscar-winning film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears." His wife also played a small role in this film.
Problems in society, restructuring, changing the value system and much more have hit pretty hard not only the morale of the actor, but also his wallet. In the nineties, after the collapse of the USSR, the artist struggled to find a job, but, like most of his colleagues in the workshop, Georgy Yumatov literally had to survive by selling valuable items from home and agreeing to all the roles offered, indiscriminately, so that to feed a family.
Georgy Yumatov and the Muse of Krepkogorsk
Even on the set of the film "Young Guard" Yumatov met with the mischievous soul of the company, a student at VGIK Muse Krepkogorskaya. She in this picture got the role of a traitor to young underground workers. The guy almost immediately fell in love with a girl. And before the picture was released, George Yumatov and Muse Krepkogorskaya got married.
Despite his phenomenal popularity with women, the actor spent his whole life with his wife. Although evil tongues claim that their life together developed very dysfunctionally. This is due to the fact that after the “Young Guard” the promising career of Krepkogorskaya did not work out. This beautiful woman was not offered major roles, but was often invited to episodes. Dreaming of success, like that of Larionova or Mordyukova, Muse was still waiting for her breakthrough. Therefore, she refused to give birth to children, breaking down due to failures on her successful husband.
Although their marriage was problematic, the couple continued to live together. To help her beloved, George Yumatov agreed with the directors: in all the films with his participation, the spouse also received roles, even if episodic ones. Thus, in the majority of films of the artist, their entire acting family starred: Muse Krepkogorskaya and George Yumatov. The personal life of the actor, despite all efforts, continued to upset him. Over the years, it became clear that the great actress Muse did not become. In addition, with the beginning of perestroika and the collapse of the USSR, the financial situation of the family worsened significantly. Yumatov and Krepkogorskaya often began to drink a lot. They did not have children. And the actor transferred all his unspent love to a pet - a dog Frosyu.
Crime and punishment of Yumatov
In March 1994, the actor’s favorite dog passed away. She lived in his family for eleven years. He was very attached to her. Calling the local janitor to help bury the pet, Yumatov later invited the man to go to their apartment and “remember” the unfortunate Frosya. After numerous charms, an argument ensued between the artist and his guest, in the heat of which Georgy Alexandrovich took out his gun and shot the janitor. Soon, the actor was arrested. The investigation began. There were no witnesses. His wife was at home. But the investigation failed to find out exactly what happened on that terrible day.
According to the artist himself, his guest regretted the victory of the USSR in World War II, which offended the tipsy Yumatov, who himself participated in the hostilities and saw the horrors of war with his own eyes. Flaming up, the artist shot the guest. Some acquaintances and neighbors put forward theories that in fact the murderer of the stupid janitor was Muse. And the husband, like a true man, took the blame. Which version is true - no one will ever know.
For the murder, the commission of which the actor confessed, he was tried. He was threatened with a term of three to ten years in prison. However, Georgy Yumatov served only two months in prison. The biography of the artist, his merits and numerous awards, as well as the love of millions of spectators forced the judges to commute the sentence. Through the efforts of a lawyer, the man was soon released on a subscription basis. And later, a happy incident contributed to the fact that the case was closed. And again George Yumatov became a free man. Amnesty for the war veterans on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the victory was what helped the artist finally settle the situation. As a participant in the hostilities, awarded the officer’s order, the actor received a full justification. The murder case was closed.
Recent years of George Yumatov
Long-term consumption of alcohol in large quantities, nervous shocks during the investigation and a two-month stay behind bars strongly affected the already young artist. His health condition was catastrophically worsening. Once again in the hospital, Yumatov heard a disappointing diagnosis: abdominal aortic aneurysm. Soon, a very complicated operation was done to eliminate it. But after a while she reappeared. This time, George Yumatov refused to lie down on the surgical table.
This famous actor died in October 1997. And two years later his wife, Muse of Krepkogorskaya, also died. Their graves are nearby at the Vagankovsky cemetery. His mother’s mother is also buried here. Through the efforts of friends and admirers of the actor’s talent, a monument was erected on the grave. In 2013, in memory of the heroes of the film “Officers”, a sculptural composition was opened displaying one of the episodes of the film. Two main characters of the picture are captured here: Alexei Trofimov (Georgy Yumatov) and Ivan Varavva (Vasily Lanovoi), as well as the loyal officer wife Alexei (Alina Pokrovskaya) and their grandson Ivan.
Georgy Yumatov: films and a book about his work
Sadly, films about the work of this great artist began to be removed only after his death. The first of them was released in 2007 on the channel "Russia". It was a picture under a symbolic name - "The Last Role of George Yumatov." In 2010, a small print run of a book by Natalia Tendora. It was simply called: "George Yumatov." The biography of the artist, memories of him and his work, attempts to figure out what made this simple Moscow guy such a popular actor - this is what this work is about.
The following year, Channel One presented its own film about the artist: “George Yumatov. The tragedy of the officer. " And in 2015, the TVC released a documentary entitled “George Yumatov. About the hero of bygone days. "
As you can see, the artist lived a long and rather difficult life. Not everything in it went as he planned. However, after himself, he left many films that were, are and will always be relevant. It is a pity that in today's cinema there are practically no artists of such a level as Georgy Yumatov. The biography of this actor, his constant work on himself, mistakes and attempts to correct them - this should be not only a lesson, but also an example for modern artists and for all other people.