The mass media in the USSR were always under the strong control of the party, therefore, they were replete with propaganda themes and other works beneficial to the country's leadership. Television was no exception, and the appearance in the broadcasting network of talented entertainment programs invariably pleased viewers.
Pani Monika - Russian actress Olga Aroseva, regular "Zucchini"
One of the iconic projects that received well-deserved love from the audience of the projects was a comedic sitcom, which received the name “Zucchini 13 Chairs” shortly after the first successes. The best actors of the theater and cinema of that time played roles in humorous sketches, among which were Mrs. Monika, actress of the Moscow Satire Theater Olga Aroseva. It was a high point in the career of the actress, not one of her roles in famous films brought her as much popularity as the 15-year work on the nonchalant and extravagant way that Monica created on TV. The actress, whose biography was full of surprises no less than her own character, from childhood showed a love of reincarnation.
Adventurer character
Famous to the whole Union, Mrs. Monika (actress Olga Aroseva) was born in Moscow in the family of Alexander Yakovlevich Arosev, a revolutionary and diplomat from the former tsarist military. From childhood, Olga showed a mischievous and unbending character, shocking relatives with original antics. She was always distinguished by extraordinary courage for her time and directness of judgments and actions. With age, the apparent simplicity and credulity grew into a tough will, the ability to adapt and practical cunning, and the actress who played Mrs. Monica retained the energy of nature to the very deepest maturity.
Olga Vyacheslavovna Goppen - mother of the actress
The mother of the actress, Olga Goppen, an eccentric and frivolous person, did not have practical life skills, because she was educated as the offspring of a Polish noble family. Sophisticated, eccentric and secular nature hardly got used to the new realities of the twentieth century. Olga Vyacheslavovna never opposed the Soviet government, but she could not take root in a new society for her. In 1930, a windy mother abandoned her husband with her children for her lover and life abroad. Obviously, the novel did not have a serious continuation, and her maternal feelings eventually prevailed over heedlessness. After her husband was arrested in 1937, Goppen found incredible strength in herself to persuade emergency commission officials to leave her children with her, and not to distribute them to orphanages.
Alexander Yakovlevich Arosev - revolutionary and intellectual
Father for the actress all his life remained an idol. A prominent revolutionary and diplomat, he participated in the Great October Revolution, stood at the origins of the formation of the Red Army of the Bolsheviks, and later represented the interests of the young Soviet state in Europe as an ambassador and diplomat. Even under the tsarist regime, persecuted by the authorities, Alexander Yakovlevich fled to Paris, where knowledge of foreign languages ​​allowed him to meet and make friends with significant cultural figures of Europe at that time. This helped in his later work in Moscow, when, after the Prague business trip, he was appointed chairman of the VOKS. He himself joked that he was appointed the “entertainer of the Soviet Union”, which did not prevent him from gladly hosting famous artists and writers of the early twentieth century in his famous “house on the embankment”. Alexander Yakovlevich always bequeathed to his children to be a little braver than himself, not to be afraid of the opinions of others about the creative realization of his talents. He himself occasionally complained that he had not become an actor, and with pleasure spoke with poems by Russian poets before the guests.
Repressed and rehabilitated, the main man in the life of the actress
The arrest was not a surprise for Arosev, he felt the changes for a long time and went to Yezhov himself to talk “like a man”. Unfortunately, his relatives did not see him again. And Ktris, who played Mrs. Oniku in “Zucchini 13 Chairs”, through her whole life carried the image of her father as the brightest and most intelligent person in her life. After the arrest, little Olga wrote a bold letter to Stalin that her father was innocent, and even received an answer that he was convicted without the right to correspondence. In fact, Arosev was shot as early as the beginning of 1938, but much later he was rehabilitated posthumously. The memory of his father prevented him from joining the Komsomol, when she was required to publicly renounce the repressed parent. Her older sister Natalya could not stand the pressure of others and abandoned her father as an enemy of the people, for which Olga almost got into a fight with her. At a mature age, Olga Aroseva received from her aunt the carefully kept diaries of her father and, thanks to his personal notes, became even closer to him.
Baby pranks
From childhood, the future Mrs. Monica showed her acting talents. The name of the actress in connection with her "appearance" appeared in the Prague newspaper already at preschool age. The three-penny opera, which was then taking place, made such a strong impression on the little mischievous woman that she persuaded a Czech friend, and together they cut their dresses in the form of torn clothes and went to beg for alms. The local merchants and workers listened with amazement and interest to the story of children abandoned by their mother, whom the father did not feed, because there were no beggars in Prague at that time. The scandal in connection with this, of course, was hushed up, but the artistic nature in Olga was noticed. Upon arrival in Moscow, she took part in the productions of the school theater and was even invited to the cinema, but her father believed that the filming was detrimental to children's health, and her film career was postponed to adulthood. Thanks to the connections and work activities of her father, Olga, as a small child, met closely with Stalin, met with Romain Rolland in the government house.
Youth and the beginning of the war
Olga's youth passed under the seal of a child of the enemy of the people, at school she and her sisters were constantly attacked by ideological pioneers and Komsomol members. However, Olga could stand up for herself, and she was not touched, besides, she was confident in the innocence of her father, this protected her from evil languages ​​better than the most durable armor. Later the war began, and petty grievances were set aside. Olga and her sister went to the Oryol region to build military fortifications, where the girls fell under real bombardment. While they were returning to Moscow with crowds of peaceful people fleeing the war, their mother and little daughter went to evacuate. She left them the basic necessities to leave Moscow after her, but the girls decided to enter the theater. Olga, by virtue of her age, was not allowed to exams and went to the circus, where she was admitted from the 8th grade. At the same time, Olga studied at the landing courses, however, she was afraid of heights before the panic and she was expelled long before graduation. What is surprising: in the circus school, the height did not present any problems for the deft actress. Having received a certificate of maturity, Aroseva threw a circus and entered the theater for her sister. Apparently, the dream of becoming a rider in the circus at that time could not come true, since all the horses were sent to the front or mobilized for other purposes.
The beginning of professional acting in Leningrad
The restless nature and spirit of adventurism did not greatly contribute to a systematic and persistent training, and in the 3rd year Olga fled to Leningrad with a troupe of comedy theater passing from the evacuation under the direction of Nikolai Akimov. She deceived the leadership of the theater by providing a diploma in the name of her sister, who had graduated from college by that time, however, the director immediately appreciated the talent and innate data, so they didn’t pay much attention to the formalities. The lack of education on Olga affected later, when at 25 she was introduced to the title of Honored Artist of the Republic at the age of 25, but for a quarter of a century she was unfairly delayed due to the lack of a confirmed diploma.
Return to Moscow
Regalia and titles didn’t really care about Olga Alexandrovna, once in the theater, she realized where she could prove herself best. Along with the performances, the future actress Mrs. Monica took part in the filming of "Lenfilm", where each episode with her participation was transformed, became more lively and harmonious. Unfortunately, the work in Leningrad did not last long, the director Akimov fell out of favor with the authorities, and the frightened theater actors were forced to sign a treacherous letter. The desperate and devoted Aroseva refused to participate in this forgery, and she had to return to Moscow.
Satire Theater and social activities
Since 1950, it was time for the Satire Theater in Moscow, with which she did not part until the last years of her life, despite various circumstances and vicissitudes. She had a rather difficult and independent character, because of which she sometimes fell out of favor with the artistic leadership, and, moreover, her tendency to various adventures and intrigues affected her relations with those around her. However, during the Soviet era, Olga Alexandrovna was responsible for providing housing to theater workers as a member of the trade union committee, and many of her colleagues warmly note her efforts in this field.
Personal and family life
Work in the theater occupied a significant place in life, but the family always remained in first place for such a hardworking and extraordinary person as Mrs. Monica. The actress, whose personal life did not go very well, was very sorry that she could not have children due to health problems discovered in Leningrad. She gladly directed her unspent maternal love to loved ones in the family and at work. Olga Alexandrovna does not like to spread about relations with the opposite sex, recognizing only 4 official marriages. Such a windy and impulsive nature as Olga, it is very difficult to create relationships for life, and about all her novels, you could probably write a separate book.
Filming work
The 60s of the twentieth century were marked for Olga Alexandrovna by successful work on TV and in cinema. In the theater of those years, the actress was not too occupied in roles, and sometimes they did not notice at all, and Olga Aroseva could give herself completely to the shootings. She received serious roles in the cinema in the 1950s in such films as the lyrical comedy “The Girl Without an Address” and the comedy film with the first main role of Arkady Raikin “We met somewhere ...”, but a real popular recognition came to her after the film “Watch out for the car” by Ryazanov and performances in a television series called “Zucchini 13 Chairs”. Secular and impressive lady Monika - actress Olga Aroseva - with her restless and entrepreneurial character sunk into the soul of many Soviet television viewers. Polish colleagues also spoke warmly about the characters of Zucchini.
It was she who was heavily obliged to introduce into the fashion in the USSR various breathtaking women's hats a la "Mrs. Monica". The actress, whose photos, like herself, became recognizable throughout the Union, was always coquettishly upset that her work in the theater was much less appreciated.
Later, Olga Alexandrovna starred in several films, including the comedy "The Old Robbers", which became a classic of Soviet cinema. At the end of her life, the actress was seriously ill, but did not inform anyone about it and played in the theater as if nothing had happened. Even before her death, Olga Aroseva was full of creative plans and enthusiasm, and most importantly - she managed to finish writing a book devoted to the idol of her whole life to her father.