The famous theater and film actor, writer, People's Artist of the RSFSR Valentin Gaft celebrates his 84th birthday on September 2. A whole film could probably be made about his love stories. The artist was married 4 times, he spent a long time looking for his refuge not only in his personal life, but also in the theater. In the acting community, Valentin is known for his temper; he writes many caustic epigrams addressed to his colleagues. One way or another, the actor’s life was not easy, a series of ups gave way to downs and vice versa.
Gaft as the bride according to Chekhov
Valya was born in Moscow, into a Jewish family that came from the Chernigov region. My father was a participant in the Great Patriotic War, and was even awarded the medal “For Military Merit.” After the front, he worked as a lawyer in a legal clinic. The mother took care of the housework and is remembered as a responsible, strict and disciplined person.
Valentin’s love for theater was born thanks to Sergei Mikhalkov’s play “Special Assignment.” After going to the play, the boy decided to start performing himself. The future actor was in the 4th grade when he began attending the school amateur theater club. The peculiarity of the school allowed Gaft to try himself in different roles - the students were only boys, so he had to play the female characters. Valentin made his debut as the bride in Anton Chekhov's The Proposal.
After graduating from school, Valentin decided to enter theater school. According to legend, a few days before the exams, Gaft accidentally met actor Sergei Stolyarov on the street. Full of determination, Valentin asked to give him a master class and conduct an audition rehearsal. Sergei reacted to this request with understanding and even invited the future actor to his home. As a result, Gaft successfully passed the exams and entered the Moscow Art Theater School.
Theater
After graduating from the Moscow Art Theater, Gaft for a long time could not find a stage to his liking. First there was the Mossovet Theater, where he first appeared on the big stage. Then there was the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya, the Goncharov Theater, the Theater of Satire... In the end, the artist chose the Sovremennik Theater as his refuge, where he managed to work with director Galina Volchek and get serious roles.
Photo: Alexander Kurov/TASS
“There are actors as clear as a refrigerator - they are useful, but there is no warmth. And there is no mystery in such actors: they are turned on - they work. And there are others - unclear, like day or like night. But you suddenly realize that you are not watching them, but living in the world that they create. This is Valentin Iosifovich Gaft,” - Andrey Maksimov about Gaft.
Personal life
The actress’s personal life cannot be called happy. She first got married while still studying at GITIS. But the marriage fell apart very quickly. After graduation, Olga’s husband was sent to the theater in Ashgabat, and she was sent to the Moscow Youth Theater.
Very quickly Ostroumova got married again. Her husband was the writer and director Mikhail Levitin. The marriage produced two children. But this did not force Levitin to remain faithful to his wife. He did not respect the institution of marriage and always had relationships on the side. Olga idolized her husband.
She thought he was a genius. For 23 years she patiently put up with the fact that her husband did not pay her any attention. And only after she found out about his numerous infidelities, she decided to get a divorce.
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Movie
The actor did not manage to play significant roles in films for quite a long time. Basically, he got episodic, inconspicuous roles. They say that this was due to his non-standard appearance, which did not meet modern requirements. Valentin's debut took place in 1965 in the role of one of the episodic killers in the film "Murder on Dante Street".
“Gaft is not a surname, but a diagnosis!” - Grigory Gorin.
Gaft found success thanks to Eldar Ryazanov. Valentin played many bright roles in his films: Colonel Pokrovsky in the vaudeville “Say a Word for the Poor Hussar”, the official Odinkov in the melodrama-comedy “Forgotten Melody for the Flute”, the president of homeless intellectuals in “Promised Heaven”, the general in “Old Nags” . But we should not forget about the roles in films of other directors, for example, the unforgettable image of a lackey in Titov’s comedy “Hello, I am your aunt!”, the insidious Sataneev in the comedy “Sorcerers”, the retired magician Brumel in the comedy-drama “The Orphan of Kazan”. But one of the main films was “Garage” by Eldar Ryazanov - the actor not only became recognizable, but also met his future wife on the set - Olga Ostroumova. At the time of their acquaintance, both were not free, so the relationship did not begin immediately.
Photo: Nikolay Malyshev/TASS
Philip, son of Innocent Smoktunovsky
Philip Smoktunovsky, the son of the world famous performer of the role of Hamlet Innokenty Smoktunovsky, tried his hand at cinema in his youth, playing a role in the film “Little Tragedies”. However, in his acting and career, he was unable to come close to the success of his legendary father, considered himself mediocre and broke down.
Philip Smoktunovsky starred as the Duke in Little Tragedies
While his father was still alive, Philip became addicted to alcohol, and later to hard drugs. In 2007, he was first detained by Moscow police with a dose of heroin in his pocket, and subsequently was detained several times for drug possession.
Philip Smoktunovsky failed to cope with drug addiction
They tried to treat him, but in vain. In recent years, 60-year-old Philip Innokentievich has been living with his sister, who supports him and looks after him like a small child.
Unbearable Inna
The second wife was the same beauty, ballerina Inna Eliseeva. As they say, her beautiful appearance was the direct opposite of Inna’s character - despotic, domineering, she constantly demanded attention to herself, and loved to cause scandals. Pregnancy could not change his wife’s behavior, and after the birth of their daughter, she and Valentin lived only a few difficult years.
Gaft managed to free himself from the pressure of his wife, which their common daughter Olga failed to do. She followed in her mother’s footsteps and graduated from a choreographic school and danced at the Kremlin Ballet, but Inna reproached and tormented her daughter in every possible way and did not let her go home. Olga made several suicide attempts and, in the end, the mother found her daughter in a noose.
Before her death, Olya kept a diary, from which the terrible details of her relationship with her mother became known: she humiliated, beat her daughter and even handed her over to Kashchenko.
Gaft left not only his wife, but also his daughter, leaving her alone to cope with her mother’s humiliation. After Olga’s death, he blamed himself for a long time, was sick and did not talk to anyone except his loved ones.
“I still talk to her often. I'm to blame for her. I don’t blame anyone else for what happened, only myself. This is my cargo. I don’t call anyone to be my partner, I will bear this responsibility myself,” Valentin Gaft about his daughter.
For what reason did Valentin Gaft's daughter die?
The famous Russian actress Olga Ostroumova, who became Gaft’s wife, does not part with him. According to Valentin’s recollections, when they met, the actor could not take his eyes off her for hours, although at the time of the meeting both were not free. Olga supported her husband at the moment when his daughter died. As you know, she committed suicide.
The first attempt to voluntarily leave this life for Olga Eliseeva, Gaft’s daughter, failed. She tried to jump from the balcony. After this, Olga ended up in a psychiatric clinic. Despite the efforts of doctors, the young woman’s mental disorder could not be eliminated. She repeated her suicide attempt: she hanged herself in the hallway, dressed in a red robe and leaving two suicide notes. In the first, Olga described her relationship with her mother in unflattering terms. It was Gaft's ex-wife, Inna, who the suicide blamed for many of his problems. Olga also reproached her father for not paying enough attention to her upbringing.
The second message was addressed to her lover. Olga wrote about her love for him, but despite this, she did not want to live anymore.
Gaft learned that his 29-year-old daughter had died on his birthday. By that time, he had long been separated from Olga's mother. The actor created another family and was passionate about work. And his daughter remained to live with her mother in a 2-room apartment in the capital’s famous high-rise building. The reason for the divorce was the scandalous behavior of Inna Eliseeva, who kept throwing tantrums at her husband.
LEFT TO RIGHT: BRIDE-IN-LAW LIA, VALENTIN GAFT, OLGA OSTROUMOVA WITH GRANDDAUGHTER FAINA, SON MIKHAIL. PHOTO: SERGEY MILANSKY
Her screams were periodically heard by the neighbors of the famous actor. After the divorce, Gaft did not see his daughter too often, not wanting to meet his ex-wife again. Olga's mother took up entrepreneurial activity. According to neighbors, she was too strict with her daughter and limited her freedom. She could even leave her locked in the apartment.
Olga, who studied at a school at the Bolshoi Theater, did not become a ballerina and decided to try herself as a choreographer by entering the Russian Academy of Theater Arts.
After another quarrel with her mother, Gaft’s daughter made not her first attempt to die. In September 2002, Inna Eliseeva, returning from her dacha, found Olga hanging in the hallway on a rope attached to a wall cabinet. In the spring of the same year, Gaft's daughter already tried to jump from the balcony, but her mother then managed to prevent this suicide attempt
“I cried like a cow.” Illegitimate son of Gaft.
A few years after the death of his daughter Olga, Valentin learned about his illegitimate son. Before marrying Alla, the actor had a short-term affair with an artist; she later gave birth to a son and went with him to Brazil. Son Vadim wanted to act, in a sense, as an angel: having learned about the death of his half-sister, Vadim was the first to go to Moscow in order to support his father. But then the father rejected his son and did not want to see him.
“I cried in despair like a cow,” Vadim said.
Returning to Sao Paulo, Vadim got into trouble - he was beaten on the street. His face was injured and his jaw was broken. Then Gaft finally called his son and gave him money.
The first meeting took place when Vadim was already 42 years old. Together with their father, they took part in one of the television programs, and continue to maintain a relationship.
Olga Ostroumova: “Living with Gaft is a feat!”
Olga Ostroumova: “Living with Gaft is a feat!”
A beautiful actress - a certain picture is already emerging. Gaft's wife sounds like a death sentence. But – away with stereotypes! Olga Ostroumova is an atypical actress. It seems that she is not a typical woman either. “Or maybe typical,” she sighs. - Typical Russian woman...
-Yes, I’m not a typical actress, I’ll tell you right away. I’m not eager to play, I don’t call directors, I don’t establish any kind of domestic relationships with them. I don’t expect praise from anyone - I know everything about myself... - says Ostroumova.
– If you’re not a typical actress, does that mean your work doesn’t come first?
– I am not a fanatically devoted actress. No, it’s not work that comes first—life. Life itself: children, family...
– For a woman, her personal life is very important. Are you happy with it?
“It wasn’t cloudless, it wasn’t very easy. But she is who she is. And if I have two beautiful children from this personal life - the most important thing for a woman, believe me - then it was a success. And the grandchildren are already wonderful!
– Have you forgiven your husbands everything? I mean the previous two.
– What are the previous two? Well, one marriage was back in my student years: he had nothing to forgive, he had to forgive me, but I left him. True, I left Levitin (a famous theater director, Ostroumova’s second husband. - Ed. ) myself. But... But, you know, God will be his judge - I’m talking about Levitin. I can’t say that I’ve forgiven you, that I’ve let go of everything like that. Somehow... I calmed down, or something.
– You lived with Levitin for 22 years, he is probably still close to you...
- No. This is the character - I cut it off, and that’s it.
“He wrote a whole book where he asks for your forgiveness.” Haven't you forgiven?
- Well, why, I said that I have no complaints... You see, I was completely given to him, I subordinated my whole life to him. If not completely, but in part. And I had nothing personal - just everything from him. And it was very scary to cut it... But I lived, survived, you know. Yes, he is the father of my children. And I never forbade the children from seeing their father. Even when we separated, I tried to explain everything to them: he is forever your father, no matter what happens between us, and there cannot be another father...
– Does Levitin still love you?
– I don’t know, this is his personal business.
“I AM MUCH MORE TERRIBLE IN ANGER”
- Then tell me, please, what is it like to be the wife of Valentin Gaft?
– As Durov put it, once congratulating me on my birthday: “Living with Gaft is a feat” (laughs). And I feel it every day.
- That is?
- No, no, I don’t want to decipher it.
– Is it hard for him to be Olga Ostroumova’s husband?
- I think yes. Of course, it’s better when the wife says all the time: “Wonderful! Amazing! You are a genius!" I do not do this. I will say: yes, it worked; yes, good – these are my highest praises.
– Actor Mikhail Kozakov, as you know, was married five times. At first his wife admired him. Then I got used to it. And when she stopped raising him to heaven every day, he became bored, he looked for a new admirer of his talent.
- Well, yes, that’s how men are, they want to subjugate a woman. Konchalovsky said very frankly: “I wanted to find myself a comfortable wife.” To make it convenient for him, he didn’t say a word about her in this case. What should she do in this situation? No, I don't agree with this.
– How are household responsibilities divided in the family? It seems that everything is on you - Valentin Iosifovich is a big child.
– They don’t share, that’s the point (laughs). And when I start to rebel a little, absolute discontent appears.
– Is Gaft’s dissatisfaction something terrible?
- Differently. It must be said that he is not as scary as he seems. How he is painted. When I'm angry, I'm much scarier.
– What qualities of his can you not come to terms with?
- No, let's not talk about that. I can tell you which ones I like. He is a magnificent artist, a most talented person. In many ways. And in his poems, which he continuously writes. Although she declares everywhere, they say: I stopped writing poetry under Olya - she forbids it. This is all bullshit, I don’t forbid anyone anything. It’s just that when he brings me what he wrote, I say: I like this, but I don’t like that. And that’s all - immediately dissatisfaction, I immediately “forbid” - the others said: brilliant! But there are some poems that are simply wonderful. I'm not even talking about epigrams, this is generally a very complex genre.
– I don’t remember something about Gaft’s epigram about you.
- Did not have.
- Fears?
- No, I don’t think she’s grown up enough. Not such a bright personality to write an epigram about me. And as for “afraid” - he’s not afraid of anyone, he sometimes plays that he’s afraid of me.
- Of course, he’s a great actor. But does he do something on the sly, knowing that it can cause a thunderstorm?
- Well I do not know. For example, he goes somewhere alone. And in passing: well, I’ll buy myself a T-shirt. Yes, I say, you already have 20 T-shirts, buy yourself more. "No no! They are all bad already! I have nothing!" He arrives, having bought himself T-shirts, something else, something else. And he anticipates my reaction: “It’s inexpensive, it’s inexpensive!” It's like I'm swearing, you know. And I don’t say anything anymore: well, I bought it and bought it.
“GAFT DID NOT KNOW WHAT CHILDREN WERE”
– Who is the main breadwinner in the family?
- He. I believe that we still do not have equal pay for women’s and men’s work. But I try not to take money from him for the children - despite the fact that he helps the children a lot - not to beat it out of him, these are my children...
– How did Valentin Iosifovich get along with your children?
- Amazing. He simply adores the bear as if it were his own. And now I’ve returned from a trip and brought some little things for my grandchildren. And every time he called: how are the little ones doing? So touching.
– It turns out that he also feels like a grandfather?
“I don’t know who he feels like, maybe he doesn’t really feel like he is, he doesn’t want to feel like a grandfather.” But whether he wants it or not, these little creatures penetrate his soul.
- Is Gaft generally the breed of man who loves children?
- Valentin Iosifovich? I don't think he ever knew what children were. You need to raise children, then you understand what it is. And the first child in his life is Mishka, he was ten years old when Valya appeared in our family. And at first, because Mishka did not behave like a child who does not accept someone else’s uncle, but behaved very delicately and well, Valya did not believe him terribly. He said: he is a hypocrite, he is like that with me, but without me, he probably says nasty things about me. I assured him: he doesn’t say anything about you, he has a father, he doesn’t perceive you as another father, he perceives you as my friend. Valya didn’t believe it. And then, realizing that Mishka was who he was, he fell madly in love with him.
– Gaft once played Woland. You are Margarita...
– I didn’t play Margarita. And I hardly even rehearsed. Levitin immediately went to the hospital, and the rehearsals stopped there. I was Margarita in another. That's when I told you that I gave Levitin my whole life - this is Margarita.
– That is, Levitin was a Master for you. Didn't Gaft become Woland?
- No, I don’t think so. He’s definitely not Woland - no need, he’s a normal person!
– It seems to me that you are so different.
- He is a Virgo, I am a Virgo. He is a Pig and I am a Pig...
– You are a bundle of energy, and Valentin Iosifovich...
- Well, yes, he’s so imposing. And what? He tells me: calm down, I tell him: let’s live it up. She said: I’m a simple Russian woman, but who if not me? If no one does it, I go and do it.
– Probably, even a Russian woman would like a Russian, or not so Russian, man...
– A Russian woman doesn’t think about this... No, well, of course, I would like to. And the most offensive thing in my life happens when you come home in the evening, fall off your feet and say: God, how tired I am! And in response: why are you tired? This “why are you tired”, such a misunderstanding, offends terribly...
- Then the last thing. What kind of messages were there a few years ago that Valentin Gaft was leaving for a monastery?
- Oh! Misha joked on the phone. We went to some monastery, and at home the bell rang: “Where is Valentin Iosifovich?” - “He went to the monastery.” This is so much Averchenko, Zoshchenko reminds. Say anything, it’s absurd, and they’ll immediately pick it up and blow it up. It’s funny like this: Gaft - and to the monastery! Well, can you imagine?..
HUSBAND ABOUT WIFE
Valentin Gaft:
– For me, these 17 years (Gaft and Ostroumova got married in 1996. – Ed. ) are like one day. And Olenka, in my perception, gets better, gets better, and only gets better. We don't have a mutual admiration society. We feel each other without unnecessary unimportant and unnecessary words. Olya is a pure, holy person. She supports the whole family. The whole house is on it. She has two children, three grandchildren. And I. And she is always in great shape. And no one hears a groan or a sigh from her...
Photo by ITAR-TASS
Olga
Gaft was able to achieve harmony in his personal life only after his marriage to Olga Ostroumova. The actor himself admitted that he noticed his future wife on the joint set. They managed to communicate only a few years later, when Olga freed herself from her past relationship. To meet Ostroumova, Valentin asked the organizers of the private party at which he was to speak to invite Olga. As a result, their relationship lasted several years, after which Gaft invited Olga to get married. Ostroumova gave Valentin a new big family.
Photo: Mikhail Guterman/TASS
In 2011, Gaft suffered a heart attack, and later the actor developed a neurological disease - Parkinson's disease. At the end of July, Valentin Gaft was hospitalized in one of the Moscow hospitals with a diagnosis of stroke. The artist felt unwell and went to the hospital himself. At the moment, the actor is undergoing rehabilitation in a neurology department near Moscow, with his wife constantly by his side. According to her, the doctors are very attentive to Valentin, he is slowly recovering, but it is too early to give any forecasts.
Did Gaft Valentin Iosifovich and Olga Ostroumova get divorced?
To know the official news, it’s worth talking to the actors personally. Media representatives made a serious decision - they initiated the procedure of sending an official request to Valentin Gaft. It is now known that Olga Ostroumova has been living happily with Valentin for 20 years. But is everything okay with the star couple?
After Valentin Gaft was asked this question, he chose not to answer it directly. Journalists asked whether Olga really raised her hand against her husband? The actor explained that in the fall of this year he and his beloved will celebrate the anniversary. Gaft also noted that work comes first for him now, so he doesn’t pay the slightest attention to the rumors that are spreading online.
In order to still get some information about a possible divorce, reporters called Olga Ostroumova’s ex-husband, Mikhail Levitin. He works as a director and does not live with the actress for quite a long time. Levitin explained that there is a very serious emotional connection between Olya and Valentin Gaft. They also have a fairly strong marriage, although the actress cannot always restrain negative emotions at any critical moments observed in family life.
