Biography
If Vasily Livanov’s filmography consisted only of a detective series based on the works of Arthur Conan Doyle about the famous detective, the actor would forever occupy a star niche in Russian cinema. But the artist’s collection includes dozens of interesting roles that reveal the versatility of Livanov’s talent.
Vasily Borisovich appeared on screen with the legends of Soviet cinema Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Tatyana Samoilova, Irina Skobtseva, Yuri Yakovlev. But Livanov did not get lost in their radiance, but also became a legend.
Actor Vasily Livanov
The artist also paid attention to children, voicing his favorite cartoon characters Carlson and the crocodile Gena.
Vasily Livanov was born in the middle of summer 1935, into a creative Moscow family. His grandfather is actor Nikolai Livanov, known under the creative pseudonym Izvolsky, his father is the star of the Moscow Art Theater, People's Artist of the Soviet Union Boris Livanov. Mom is an artist, devoted herself to home and raising her son. Evgenia Kazimirovna is Polish by nationality.
The roots of the Livanov family are in the Siberian Cossacks. The artist’s great-grandfather maintained a manufactory for the production of sails, but his son (Vasily Borisovich’s grandfather) did not continue the family business. At the age of 18, he saw an enterprise and joined the theater, giving rise to a glorious acting dynasty.
Vasily Livanov in his youth
The creative elite gathered in the Livanovs' house; Alexander Dovzhenko, Boris Pasternak and Pyotr Konchalovsky were regulars in the hospitable home. The Moscow Art Theater legend Vasily Kachalov stopped by. Since childhood, the boy heard conversations and heated debates about art that died down deep after midnight. Nobody sent Vasily to bed - parents and guests respected the teenager’s freedom. This is how the foundation for my future profession appeared.
Vasily Livanov studied at the art school at the USSR Academy of Arts, from whose doors more than a dozen talents emerged. Among its graduates are Edward Radzinsky and Andrei Mironov. Classmates adored Livanov for his antics, epigrams and caricatures of teachers. The teachers forgave pranks, because the boy was an excellent student.
As a child, Livanov dreamed of being a military man and winning bloody battles. Then he wanted to become a doctor, a trainer or a traveler - the irrepressible temperament of his grandfather and father manifested itself.
Vasily Livanov
In 1954, Vasily Livanov became a student at the Shchukin Theater School - the genes of his grandfather and father won. He mastered the basics of acting and was interested in directing.
Livanov staged his graduation performance “Three Fat Men” on his own, and was in charge of its artistic design.
In 1966, interest in directing brought Livanov a second diploma: he learned the skill of making films from Mikhail Romm, in courses at the USSR State Committee for Cinematography.
Height, weight, age. How old is Vasily Livanov
Having first appeared on the movie screens of the Soviet Union, Vasily Borisovich Livanov became incredibly famous. Many film connoisseurs were interested in everything that was connected with this artist. At frequent meetings with connoisseurs of his talent, the celestial himself tried to talk in detail about everything, including his height, weight, and age. How old Vasily Livanov is can be found out from a variety of sources, including the Internet or encyclopedia.
In the middle of last year, the famous Sherlock Holmes of Russia celebrated his 82nd birthday in a quiet family circle. Despite his venerable age, he still sometimes agrees to speak to his fans and tell them about himself and his generation.
Vasily Livanov, whose photos in his youth and now can bewitch, has a height of 177 cm. The artist weighs about 76 kg.
Movies
The creative biography of Vasily Livanov began on the stage of the Yevgeny Vakhtangov Theater, where he worked for a year, giving preference to cinema.
Vasily Livanov in the film “An Unsent Letter”
Vasily Livanov’s screen debut was successful: the young actor starred in the drama “An Unsent Letter” by Mikhail Kalatozov, in the title role. Partners on the set were Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Evgeny Urbansky and Tatyana Samoilova.
Vasily Livanov left the theater on the advice of the famous film director Yuli Raizman, who predicted a great future for the aspiring artist in cinema. Livanov moved to the Theater-Studio of the Film Actor, but did not stay there long.
Vasily Livanov played episodic and leading roles, but each turned out to be bright and piercing. The artist starred in the films “The Blind Musician”, “Colleagues”, “Green Light”.
Vasily Livanov in the film “The Blue Notebook”
In 1963, the actor played Felix Dzerzhinsky in the drama “The Blue Notebook” and did it so reliably that he subsequently received similar offers more than once, but refused because he did not like to repeat himself.
In 1966, Vasily Livanov, who received a diploma in directing, filmed his graduation work - the cartoon “The Most, the Best, the Best,” which was watched with pleasure by millions of Soviet children. Later, the artist worked on dubbing cartoons and fairy tales. Carlson and Crocodile Gena speak in Livanov’s voice.
The trademark hoarseness appeared on the set of “The Unsent Letter,” when the director, trying to achieve the actor’s full penetration into the role, started filming in a winter field at night, in frost and blizzard. Vasily Livanov caught a cold and lost his voice for a month. When he spoke, the audience heard hoarseness. She remained with the actor forever.
Vasily Livanov in the film “Star of Captivating Happiness”
Livanov wrote dozens of scripts for cartoons and feature films. “The Town Musicians of Bremen” was filmed according to the script by Vasily Borisovich. In the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, taken as a basis, there are no characters who appeared in the cartoon. Screenwriter Livanov came up with a new enchanting work.
In the 70s, Vasily Livanov continued to actively act in film. Bright films of this period are “The Gambler” based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Star of Captivating Happiness”, in which he played Emperor Nicholas I.
In 1978, Igor Maslennikov’s film “Yaroslavna, Queen of France” was released, where Livanov got the role of the knight Benedictus.
Vasily Livanov in the film “Yaroslavna, Queen of France”
The following year, having taken up the film adaptation of a detective film about the British detective Holmes, Maslennikov invited Vasily Livanov to play the role.
Fame fell on the artist in 1979, after the release of the detective story “Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.” Vitaly Solomin played Sherlock's friend Watson. The brilliant duet of Livanov and Solomin was appreciated in the USSR and Great Britain. The British claimed that Soviet artists were the spitting image of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson from the drawings of Sidney Paget.
In 1980, 1981, 1983 and 1986, Maslennikov filmed a continuation of the Sherlock Holmes saga without changing the actors of the two key roles.
Vasily Livanov as Sherlock Holmes
In 1988, Vasily Livanov and Yulian Semenov organized the Detective Theater, which became the first enterprise in the USSR. But 4 years later the theater was closed due to funding problems.
Vasily Livanov surprised the audience by appearing in the guise of Don Quixote. But he gives the eccentric knight a different character - a shepherd who dreams of power. The farce parody was released in the late 1990s. Livanov acted as both the director and the main character of the project.
At the beginning of the new century, the actor played Doctor Stravinsky in the serial film “The Master and Margarita” by Vladimir Bortko.
Vasily Livanov in the film “The Master and Margarita”
In 2006, Vasily Livanov was awarded the Order of Queen Elizabeth II of England. In 2007, on the Smolenskaya embankment of the capital, near the British embassy, a monument to Holmes and Dr. Watson appeared. The sculptor Andrei Orlov gave the detective and his faithful friend the faces of Vasily Livanov and Vitaly Solomin.
Since 2008, Vasily Livanov has not acted in films, although he receives offers from directors. The artist is disgusted by scenarios involving sex and blood.
Vasily Borisovich published memoirs that contain memories of his father and the great people of the era with whom he was lucky enough to communicate.
Animation
Vasily Livanov graduated from directing courses at Goskino in 1966. The diploma work was a cartoon beloved by millions of children - “The Most, The Most, The Most.” Later, the actor began to actively work in this fascinating genre. Many will unmistakably recognize his unique voice, with a slight hoarseness, which, it would seem, was created in order to voice fairy-tale characters. But not everyone knows that he was not always like this. On the set of “The Unsent Letter,” the actor lost his voice, which then acquired an extraordinary timbre. Boa Constrictor, Carlson, Crocodile Gena - they all spoke in the voice of their favorite actor. But this is a classic of Russian animation. Several generations of children have grown up with these heroes.
However, work in this genre was not limited to dubbing. Livanov’s scripts were used to produce such popular cartoons as “Phaeton – Son of the Sun”, “Blue Bird”, “Zhu-zhu-zhu”. What about The Bremen Town Musicians? Few people know that this popular film was shot according to Livanov’s script. The basis was taken from the famous fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm, which in the original was very short and did not contain such characters as the Princess and the Troubadour. We can say that Vasily Borisovich created a completely new work. If you consider that the film featured songs by Gennady Gladkov performed by Oleg Anofriev, it becomes clear why, after decades, this film is still loved not only by children, but also by adults.
Personal life
The actor’s first wife is Alina Engelhardt, a professor’s daughter. In his first marriage, Vasily Livanov had a daughter, Anastasia. After 7 years, the couple separated. The actor explains the breakup by the fact that he and Alina turned out to be too different people. But the ex-wife gives a different reason for the divorce: fatigue from Livanov’s drunkenness and the fact that he raised his hand to her.
Vasily Livanov with his wife
The actor’s second wife is Elena, an animator. Vasily Livanov has lived with her for more than forty years. In the year of the silver wedding, the couple got married. Elena works as an animator.
They met in 1969 at Soyuzmultfilm. Seeing the girl, Livanov predicted that she would become his wife and give birth to two sons. And so it happened. In 1974, a son, Boris, was born into the Livanov family, and ten years later a second son, Nikolai, appeared. The eldest became a writer and artist. In 2009, Boris was accused of murder and sentenced to 9 years in prison.
In Nikolai’s marriage to a woman named Elena Khrustaleva, a girl was born, who was given the name Eva. The baby was diagnosed with deafness. Vasily Livanov won custody of his granddaughter from a mother who abused alcohol.
Vasily Livanov with his wife, son and granddaughter
In 2014, the Livanovs and Eva met Boris from prison: he was released early.
The youngest son followed in his father’s footsteps, graduated from VGIK and became an actor.
Boris Livanov and the star of “Destroy the Thirtieth!” Igor Livanov are not relatives; the actors are connected only by their surname.
Family and children of Vasily Livanov
The family and children of Vasily Livanov are known to many. The popular artist was born into an artistic family. Many of its representatives were engaged in art. Livanov's father and grandfather were actors, his mother was a very famous artist.
Since childhood, the world cinema star dreamed of a big family. He regretted that he had no brothers and sisters, so he decided that he would have several children. In two marriages, the famous Sherlock Holmes of Russian and Soviet cinema had three children. But one of his sons caused him a lot of trouble, which Vasily Livanov himself and his beloved wife prefer not to tell outsiders about.
Vasily Livanov now
The last time the artist starred in a new film was in 2008: the 4-episode action film “Bear Hunt” was released, in which Vasily Livanov played international relations adviser Korsakov. He appeared in the film project in the company of star colleagues - Valery Nikolaev, Emmanuel Vitorgan and Nikolai Olyalin.
Livanov did not act in films anymore, devoting his time to his favorite activities - family, friends, pets.
In April 2020, Vasily Livanov visited Yulia Menshova in the “Alone with Everyone” project, telling many interesting biographical facts.
In July of the same year, Livanov celebrated his 81st birthday and received the Order of Honor from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Putin and Vasily Livanov
In St. Petersburg, Vasily Livanov was awarded the national acting award named after Andrei Mironov “Figaro”. The artist received it in the “Knight of Art” nomination.
Awards
- Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree (December 1, 2005) - for his great contribution to the development of domestic cinema and many years of creative activity
[10][11]; - Order of Honor (October 27, 2016) - for great services in the development of national culture and art, many years of fruitful activity
[12][13]; - Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire (20 February 2006) - for services to theater and the performing arts
[1][14]
Departmental awards:
- Medal “In Memory of the Heroes of the Fatherland” - for the implementation of projects in historical and patriotic areas
(Order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation dated December 19, 2016 No. 870)[15].[
significance of the fact?
]
Awards:
- Laureate of the State Prize of the GDR (1969)[16];
- Commemorative gold medal of Sergei Mikhalkov (December 22, 2020, Russian Cultural Foundation); [ source not specified 986 days
] - Special award “Golden Eagle” 2020 - “For contribution to cinema” (based on the results of 2020)
[17].
Filmography
- 1959 — “The Unsent Letter”
- 1960 — “The Blind Musician”
- 1962 - “Colleagues”
- 1962 — “Court of Madmen”
- 1963 - “Blue Notebook”
- 1963 — “Big and Small”
- 1964 — “The Return of Veronica”
- 1965 — “A Year Like Life”
- 1972 — “The Player”
- 1975 — “Star of Captivating Happiness”
- 1978 — “Yaroslavna, Queen of France”
- 1979 — “Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson”
- 1997 — “Don Quixote Returns”
- 2005 — “The Master and Margarita”
- 2006 — “Men’s season. Velvet Revolution"
- 2008 — “Bear Hunt”
Son of Vasily Livanov - Boris
The boy was born in the spring of 1974. They decided to name him Boris in honor of the popular actor’s father. During his childhood, the boy did not cause trouble for his parents. As a teenager, Boris disrupted classes and snapped at teachers, so teachers often called his parents to school.
After school, Vasily Livanov’s son, Boris, did not want to work. He drank with his partner. Even the birth of a daughter, who was named Eva, did not save the situation. The girl suffers from cerebral palsy.
In 2009, due to drunkenness, Boris killed a man and was convicted. he was released before his term. In 2020, he settled down, marrying the popular actress Maria Golubkina, who even divorced her husband Nikolai Fomenko for this.
Ex-wife of Vasily Livanov - Alina Vladimirovna Engelgardt
Our hero met the girl in 1957. The young man sought the girl’s attention for quite a long time. Finally, the fortress fell and the young people got married. The wedding was big and noisy. It was attended by many celebrities of that era.
In 1963, after the birth of their daughter, scandals began to arise in the family with or without reason. But for the sake of his daughter, Vasily Livanov endured. But when she entered 1st grade, the famous actor left the family.
The ex-wife of Vasily Livanov, Alina Vladimirovna Engelgardt, in every possible way incited her daughter against her father. Yes, she herself did not want to communicate with her ex-husband.
Vasily Livanov's wife - Elena Artemyevna Livanova
The famous artist and his future wife met at one of the evenings of meetings between film artists and their fans. The girl was 14 years younger. But this did not stop Vasily. He began to court. Soon he confessed his love to his chosen one. She was very happy about this because she loved him too.
The wedding was modest. Only the closest people were present at the wedding.
Vasily Livanov’s wife, Elena Artemyevna Livanova, leaves work for a while, devoting herself to caring for her husband and sons. When the children grew up, she returned to the profession, becoming a cartoonist.
