120 years ago, actor, director, winner of the Lenin and three Stalin Prizes Maxim Shtraukh was born.
He has 5 theatrical productions, 35 roles on stage and the same number in films. Collaboration with famous directors, wonderful roles. However, Strauch is remembered mainly in makeup... the leader of the revolution. The actor was one of those who entered the film and theater “Leniniana” during the Soviet years. And, frankly speaking, not everyone was “accepted” there. More precisely, the chosen ones. And resemblance to Vladimir Ulyanov did not matter much here.
Bald, in a vest, with a beard
Although the first Lenin in feature films was a man who had a striking resemblance to him. They say that Vasily Nikandrov did not even need to apply makeup. At the same time, he had no artistic experience, much less special education: he worked at a metallurgical plant in Lysva and by the time of filming had already retired.
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"Intellectual Orientation".
No one dared to create an artistic image of the leader on the screen before Sergei Eisenstein Yes, and when he started the silent film “October”, at first he thought of cutting footage from the chronicle. However, they were not enough for a full-fledged image of Lenin. And then Maxim Shtraukh, who was one of the five famous assistant directors and who shot with him the films “Battleship Potemkin”, “October”, “Old and New”, miraculously found the worker Nikandrov with a characteristic bald head. He, by the way, was well aware that he looked like a leader, which is why he played up his appearance by wearing the right cap and beard. Only acting in films turned out to be more difficult than in life. Strauch had to put in a lot of effort to make the spectacle worthy of Eisenstein’s lens. Maxim Maksimovich read Lenin’s works aloud to Vasily, commenting on the leader’s gestures and habits. But Strauch and Eisenstein were unable to turn a worker into a professional actor in a short time. Nikandrov played poorly. Lenin's role has generated conflicting opinions. Vladimir Mayakovsky, a friend of Eisenstein and Strauch, did not accept “Ilyich” at all.
Lenin in "October". The first film leader was almost imprisoned for a fight in a restaurant Read more
No one took it upon themselves to experiment anymore with those playing a responsible role. From then on, only strong actors who did not raise doubts either professionally or personally were assigned to “work” with Lenin. For them, in turn, it was a great honor. And the opportunity to receive significant dividends: in addition to high state awards, these could be apartments, dachas, cars, special rations, etc. Provided that the country's leadership approved the film/play and the play of "Lenin".
Ilyich and Co.
, Pavel Olenev, Boris Smirnov, Mikhail Ulyanov, Kirill Lavrov, Andrei Myagkov, Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Rodion Nakhapetov, Alexander Kalyagin, managed to appear on the screen and in the theater . by Viktor Sukhorukov, Evgeny Stychkin, Rim Ayupov, Leonid Mozgovoy, Alexander Filippenko, Evgeny Mironov, even more unexpected for this role The record holder of “Leniniana” is Yuri Kayurov , who played Ilyich on the stage of the Maly Theater and in 18 films .
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“Don’t give Lenin to anyone anymore!”
How Yuri Kayurov played Ilyich 18 times But apart, of course, are Boris Shchukin and Maxim Shtraukh , who became pioneers.
Yes, what time! In 1937-1938! On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the October Revolution, a competition was announced for the best play with the “participation” of Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin - an extremely bold idea at that time! Afinogenov , Vishnevsky and A. Tolstoy did not produce anything decent. Virta presented “Earth” at the Moscow Art Theater, where a peasant who visited the Kremlin talks about Ilyich. In Trenev’s “On the Bank of the Neva” Lenin was silent as a fish. And only Korneychuk and Pogodin coped with the task: on November 5, 1937, the premiere of “Pravda” took place at the Theater of the Revolution with Lenin-Strauch, and a week later “Man with a Gun” was released on the Vakhtangovsky stage, where Shchukin played the leader.
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In the name of revolution.
Personal tragedy of Nadezhda Krupskaya Lenin's widow Nadezhda Krupskaya later wrote in Pravda that both actors played excellently, and “Comrade Strauch even sometimes had notes of Ilyich in his voice.” Later, she recognized the Tbilisi theater actor Konstantin Myufke , who turned into the leader in “The Great Glow” by Mikheil Chiaureli, as “the most similar. However, it was the performance of the role of Lenin by Shchukin and Strauch that became a kind of standard for both their fellow actors and the audience.
Despite the fact that the first professional on the screen was Boris Shchukin, who played Mikhail Romm in “Lenin in October” and “Lenin in 1918”. Unfortunately, the role of leader became fatal for Shchukin. He had to simultaneously rehearse in the theater and film. And the heart of the 45-year-old actor could not stand it.
Talents and fans
In the play with this name based on Ostrovsky's play, Ekaterina Gradova played the main role, which brought her first public recognition while still a student. After graduating from university, the biography of actress Ekaterina Gradova is closely connected with the theater. Theatergoers of the 70-80s of the last century remember her on the stage of the Moscow Academic Drama Theater.
Still from the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring”
Gradova was invited to her first film role while still a student in the melodrama “Autumn Weddings.” The debut turned out to be successful, but still, Ekaterina was more attracted to the live performance on stage.
Of the eleven films from her filmography, seven were shot in the film-play genre: “Talents and Admirers”, “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, “The Convent”, “Ciao!”, “A Tablet Under the Tongue”, etc. Gradova’s heroines are unlike any other fates, or characters, but the actress’s talent was enough to play diverse roles sincerely and charmingly.
Still from the film “The Hound of the Baskervilles”
Radio operator Kat is the case, in the biography of actress Ekaterina Gradova, about which it is customary to say “woke up famous.” The release of the film put the popularity of Ekaterina Gradova on par with her famous colleagues in the film. But Ekaterina Georgievna doesn’t like to remember the role of the sweet swindler Svetlana Volokushina, the partner of the swindler Evstigneev’s character in the film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed.” She doesn’t like herself there, even though she came to the hearts of many viewers.
Actress on theater stage
Rave? A prank?
But the fate of Maxim Strauch was such that he played Ilyich from 1937 to 1965 three times on stage and six times in films. Including four films by Sergei Yutkevich. But at the very beginning, when it came to talking about who would play Lenin in Korneichuk’s , he didn’t even think that he could apply for this role.
“This proposal seemed fantastic,” Maxim Maksimovich recalled years later. - What is this - a joke, a prank? ...I even looked at myself in the mirror... I don’t look like him at all!.. To say: I am Lenin! Well, try it, gather up the courage to have the right - civil, professional, ethical, moral, whatever you want - to say such a thing! ...It was desperately difficult. It seemed like everything was against me!..”
In his work, Strauch tried to achieve maximum similarity with Lenin. “In each photograph we managed to unravel and find... a new valuable detail: in one - the line of the mouth, in another - the manner of trimming the mustache, in the third - a smile and a squinted eye, in the fourth - the folds on a vest. I was tormented for a long time by the fact that Lenin in the photographs had strong, large hands... I tried to hold some object all the time, which made the hand seem larger.”
The actor was considered very painstaking and conscientious. Strauch invariably collected materials for roles in folders. He successfully transformed into both Vyacheslav Molotov and Doctor Aibolit. But sometimes I was unlucky. The 1936 film by Abram Room “A Strict Young Man” based on the script by Yuri Olesha was banned for several decades. Then it is quietly shown in the year of Strauch's death, when he had already left this world, and again put on the shelf.
People's Artist of the USSR Maxim Shtraukh. 1963 Photo: RIA Novosti/Boris Vilenkin
What was the fate of Andrei Mironov’s first wife, actress Ekaterina Gradova?
More than three decades have passed since the untimely death of the iconic Soviet actor Andrei Mironov. More than one generation of viewers has grown up watching his films, and his works themselves have become immortal classics of Russian cinema.
During his short, but bright and very eventful life, the talented actor gained the love of the audience, national fame, as well as the adoration of women and the undisguised envy of his colleagues. This state of affairs, of course, could not but affect his personal life.
Photo: tvcenter.ru Andrey Mironov and Ekaterina Gradova
In this article we will tell you about how the fate of Mironov’s first wife, actress Ekaterina Gradova, the mother of his only child, turned out after their separation, and what the woman regrets so much in her declining years.
Andrei Mironov and Ekaterina Gradova before they met
The future actor was born in Moscow, in a family of famous pop artists, in 1941, on March 7th. However, his parents: Maria Mironova and Alexander Menaker, who created the rather successful comedy duet “Mironova and Menaker,” indicated the eighth of March as their son’s birthday, writing a humorous reprise on this topic entitled “Andrey is a gift to all women, on Women’s Day the eighth Martha". The reprise turned out to be prophetic: women simply adored the handsome actor, and he reciprocated their feelings.
During the war, Andrei’s family was evacuated along with the theater to Tashkent, where the first years of the boy’s life passed. After the end of hostilities, the family returned to the capital, and the future actor went to one of the Moscow schools.
Photo: 24smi.org Andrei Mironov as a child
Andrei never had any problems choosing a future profession, and after school he entered the famous Shchukin School without much effort, and the members of the admissions committee did not even know whose son came to them for the entrance exam. In 1960, the 19-year-old actor made his film debut, playing a small role in the dramatic film “Could This Be Love?”
Andrei, even before the all-Union fame that befell him, enjoyed great success with the opposite sex. The girls literally hungered for him, and he did not miss the chance to have an affair with another attractive young lady. Even before his first marriage, the actor dated his theater colleague Tatyana Egorova. Many years later, she spoke in detail about their romance in the acclaimed autobiographical book “Andrei Mironov and Me.” Also among his lovers was actress Natalya Fateeva, whom he almost married.
Mironov’s first legal wife, actress Ekaterina Gradova, was also from Moscow. Her father was a famous Soviet architect and mountaineer, and her mother was a theater actress. Ekaterina was a very interesting and educated girl, she graduated from the capital’s Institute of Foreign Languages, as well as the Moscow Art Theater School, began acting in films and played brilliantly on the theater stage.
Photo: vokrug.tv Ekaterina Gradova
Andrei Mironov and Ekaterina Gradova: a love story
When Andrei first saw Ekaterina, she was an unknown theater actress, a graduate of the Moscow Art Theater, in a creative search, and he was already a star on an all-Union scale.
That day, the girl took part in the graduation production of “The Marriage of Figaro,” which was attended by Andrei. The young actor was literally mesmerized by Catherine’s performance and immediately declared to Valentin Gaft, sitting next to him, that “this beauty” would certainly become his wife. And a few days later, Mironov appeared in front of the girl he liked with a huge bouquet of fragrant lilacs - these were Katya’s favorite flowers.
According to Andrei himself, he was then guided by a prophetic dream that he saw at the age of 14. He dreamed that his wife’s name would be Ekaterina and they would have a daughter, Masha. The boy, upon waking up, told his mother about this; the woman did not pay much attention to this, but for some reason she remembered her son’s words. Many years later, she confirmed that the incident with the prophetic dream took place, and the son indeed, even in childhood, knew the name of his future wife and that they would have a daughter.
Photo: rustars.tv Andrey Mironov and Ekaterina Gradova
But most of all, the actor was worried about how his mother would react to the fact that he and Katya were going to get married. Only after submitting an application to the registry office, they went to Maria Vladimirovna to inform her. According to Gradova, it was the most exciting and frightening moment in her life. The woman adored her only son and was very jealous of his daughter-in-law, which could not but affect the family life of the young couple.
Andrei Mironov and Ekaterina Gradova: family life
In 1971, the actors officially legalized their relationship, however, their married life was not easy, largely due to the difference in the characters of the young people, which was obvious to everyone. In addition, the number one woman for Andrei was still his mother, who openly disliked Ekaterina.
Gradually, the young wife’s career took off, and after the role of radio operator Kat in the cult TV series “Seventeen Moments of Spring”, all-Union fame and people’s love came to her. But Andrei didn’t like this at all, because he saw his wife exclusively as a housewife and the mother of his children, who would be waiting for him at home, and not going on filming. In May 1973, the actors had a common heir - daughter Maria, however, even the birth of a child did not seal that union.
Photo: 24smi.org Ekaterina Gradova
This marriage lasted only five years, and at the time of the divorce, little Masha was only three years old. The actor, being a married man, continued to court the young ladies he liked, and his numerous infidelities were not much of a secret. Catherine tolerated his adventures for some time, but in the end she filed for divorce. Andrei tried to save the marriage, but it never worked out for him.
Many years later, Gradova admitted that she bitterly regretted leaving her husband. According to the actress, if she had not then insisted on a divorce and stayed with her husband, Mironov would have lived much longer. It is noteworthy that this point of view was also shared by her former mother-in-law, Andrei’s mother.
Andrei Mironov and Ekaterina Gradova: after the divorce
After the official divorce, Ekaterina and Andrei maintained friendly relations and continued to regularly communicate warmly. According to the actress, her ex-husband even had the key to her apartment, where the man could visit at any time, without warning.
Photo: starhit.ru Andrei Mironov with his mother
My father never lost touch with his only heir, his beloved daughter Masha. At a time when the girl was still very young, her father regularly took her with him to filming, to the theater backstage, and also to visit his friends. The actor was already married for the second time to his colleague Larisa Golubkina and was raising his stepdaughter Maria, who was also the same age as his daughter.
Ekaterina Gradova and eleven-year-old Masha attended Mironov’s last performance in his life - the production of “The Marriage of Figaro”, held in Riga. Then Andrei suddenly felt ill during the performance, right on stage. He lost consciousness, after which his colleagues carried him backstage and called an ambulance. The actor was diagnosed with a massive cerebral hemorrhage, and doctors desperately fought for his life for almost two days.
Photo: domkino.tv Andrey Mironov
All this time, Catherine prayed for the health of her ex-husband, however, the doctors were unable to save him. It is noteworthy that several years before this tragedy, it was Gradova who went with her husband to see a doctor and together with him heard a disappointing diagnosis - an aneurysm. Then the doctor told the actor that he had no more than twelve years to live. Andrei, hearing this, calmly replied: “It’s good!”
Ekaterina Gradova: life after divorce from Mironov
Having separated from her husband, the actress devoted herself entirely to raising her only daughter. The woman continued to play in the theater for some time, and appeared in films from time to time, but mainly her life revolved around the growing Masha. Catherine forgot about her personal life for many years, and, despite the fact that she and Andrei divorced a long time ago, she decided to get married a second time only after the death of her ex-husband.
For the actress, the sudden death of her once beloved man was a serious shock. Later in an interview, she admitted that during those two days she and her daughter practically did not sleep and prayed all this time. And on the evening before the tragedy, little Masha said: “Mom, if you fall asleep, dad will die.” And so it happened. On August 16, in the morning, exhausted Ekaterina dozed off, and at five o’clock in the morning she received a call from the hospital with condolences and was told that Andrei was no longer there.
Photo: stuki-druki.com Ekaterina Gradova now
Only in 1991, four years after the death of her ex-husband, did Gradova again decide to tie the knot. In addition, during that period the woman’s biography changed dramatically. Catherine wished to leave the stage and film sets forever and became seriously interested in religion. According to some reports, the actress became a deeply religious person after surviving a serious illness when even doctors did not give her any chance of recovery.
Gradova’s second husband was a former nuclear physicist named Igor Timofeev, who was also involved in information technology and was an employee. The couple met on a pilgrimage to one of the famous monasteries. After the wedding, the couple took the boy Alexei from the orphanage.
Photo: Photo: 24smi.org Ekaterina Gradova with children
In the fall, Catherine will celebrate her 73rd birthday. She has not acted in films or played on stage for a long time; instead, the woman is developing her own charitable foundation that helps orphans and lonely old people. In rare interviews given by the former actress, she speaks with great warmth about her first husband, and also admits that she feels responsible for his early departure, believing that if she had not left him, Andrei could have lived longer.
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Judith, Maka and the Old Man
Professorial glasses, a strong chin, a serious look... Strauch's appearance was deceptive. Contemporaries spoke of him as a witty, kind and even affectionate person.
A descendant of a famous Moscow doctor with a German surname, Maxim Maksimovich was friends with the son of the writer Teleshov, in whose house Fyodor Chaliapin, Alexander Kuprin, and Maxim Gorky visited. Strauch was on good terms with everyone and talked with pleasure. But the friendship with Sergei Eisenstein began in early childhood and continued until the end of the director’s days, who died at the age of 50 from a heart attack.
As little boys, they tried to stage “The Blue Bird,” which Maxim had seen in Moscow, on the Riga seaside. And after the civil service they met - in shabby overcoats - and decided that they would go to study with Meyerhold.
...And not only began working together, but also living in the same communal apartment. Strauch had two rooms: the director lived in the large one, and the actor and his wife Judith Glieser lived in the small one. An excellent tragic actress, she played with Meyerhold and at the Theater of the Revolution, including Mother Courage in Strauch's successful production. Eisenstein even called her the best actress he knew. The couple Strauch and Glieser looked after their friend like a child. Eisenstein called Strauch “Mack,” Strauch Eisenstein called “Old Man.”
Judith Glieser as Mother Courage in the play of the same name based on the play by Bertolt Brecht. Moscow Mayakovsky Theater. Left » Pyotr Arzhanov as cook Lamb. 1960 Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexander Gladstein
Actress Ekaterina Gradova: childhood years
The future “radio operator Kat” was born in the capital of the Russian Federation, this happened in October 1946. Actress Ekaterina Gradova is the daughter of the Soviet-era star Raisa Gradova, whose performances were once extremely popular. Her father's name was George, a professor of architecture was the victim of an accident. Fascinated by mountaineering, he participated in the conquest of the Pamir Mountains, but died during the ascent.
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It is interesting that actress Ekaterina Gradova, unlike many of her colleagues, could not decide on her future profession for a long time. The girl's teenage years literally passed behind the scenes, where she watched her mother's performances. However, Katya herself did not play in the theater during her school years.
The Mystery of Catherine Keene
Judith was the only official wife of Maxim Strauch. Unfortunately, in the 1960s she became seriously ill and took ill. Strauch was helped by a student at the Moscow Art Theater School-Studio Ekaterina Gradova , who had already played in the Mayakovsky Theater. After the death of Judith, Katya moved in with Maxim Maksimovich. He was 68 years old, she was 22. But they were not destined to live happily ever after. They say that Gradova soon became interested in another actor. Moved to the Satire Theater. And on November 30, 1971, she married Andrei Mironov six months after they met. Strauch was shocked. As if he even dissuaded Katya from getting married...
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“Radio Operator Kat” Ekaterina Gradova: “An intelligent heart should lead through life”
Two years later, Maxim Maksimovich passed away. In theater circles they gossiped that before his death he left Catherine a note, the contents of which only she could tell. But actress Gradova never mentioned Maxim Shtraukh anywhere...
Ekaterina Gradova in cinema
The filmography of Ekaterina Gradova is not as impressive as it could be. The actress played in only 11 films , seven of which were teleplays. Despite this, she was still able to leave her noticeable mark on Soviet cinema.
Of course, the actress entered the annals of Russian cinema after her extremely touching and heartfelt performance as radio operator Kat in the TV series “Seventeen Moments of Spring.” Viewers also remember the actress for her role as Svetlana Petrovna in the film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed.” Although the actress herself stated that she hated this experience and did not even remember the name of her character.
