Valentin Smirnitsky: An unsuccessful marriage is both an experience and a mistake

Biography

Valentin Smirnitsky spent his childhood in the legendary Arbat courtyards. His father, a film director by profession, served as editor-in-chief of the Central Documentary Film Studio, and his mother raised their children - Valentin and his sister Maria. “At school I was involved in the drama club. I made a successful debut there in the role of Khlestakov. And a crazy thought crept in: shouldn’t I become an artist? And I began to study in a semi-amateur studio together with Seryozha Shakurov and Vasya Bochkarev. I got ready, went and did it quite easily. Although at that time everyone wanted to go to creative universities, especially to Shchuka. There was a colossal competition there - almost a thousand people for one place,” said Valentin Smirnitsky in an interview. At the Shchukin School he was enrolled in the course of Vera Lvova. Valentin's fellow students were Alexander Kalyagin, Anastasia and Marianna Vertinsky, Valentina Malyavina, Inna Gulaya, Nikita Mikhalkov. Student life completely captured the young man.

How were his childhood years?

The future artist was born in 1944 in Moscow. His father, Georgy Smirnitsky, was a creative person and wrote scripts for documentaries, and his mother worked in film distribution. He also had a sister, Maria, who was eight years younger than him. Valya and his relatives lived on Arbat in an old general’s house; their communal apartment housed several families. The boy did not have a separate room; maternal grandparents also lived with them. They took care of Valentin, cooked him breakfast and walked him to school. His paternal grandmother had German roots, but she adhered to the Orthodox faith, so he had to go to church with her every Sunday for morning service.

Valentin Smirnitsky in childhood with his father

A motley group of courtyards had a great influence on his upbringing; from the boys he learned to swear, fight, smoke and drink. All this affected his behavior and performance at school, and soon there was a fight in which the ninth-grader defended his interests, but its results were disastrous: he was expelled from school. Smirnitsky had to finish his studies at evening school, where he unexpectedly became interested in studying in the drama club. Having played the role of Khlestakov in an amateur production, the young man realized that he was capable of acting. The audience's applause and admiring compliments did their job - Valentin entered the B. Shchukin Theater School.

Studying at the university brought him joy, however, at the same time, a misfortune happened in the family - his father was diagnosed with sarcoma of the brain. It was difficult for his mother, since his grandmother also fell ill at the same time. His father suffered from unbearable pain and in order not to see his suffering, the young man almost never went home. He completely disappeared into student life; After studying, the future artist met with classmates, had affairs with girls, traveled with concert crews to Komsomol construction sites, played in crowd scenes on the stage of the Vakhtangov Theater, and also began his film career.

Theater

After graduating from college in 1965, Valentin Smirnitsky was invited to three Moscow theaters and the Lensovet Theater in St. Petersburg. He accepted the invitation of the famous director Anatoly Efros. This is how his work at Lenkom began. The first role was quite serious - Treplev in “The Seagull”. Then Smirnitsky was Andrei Prozorov in “Three Sisters”, played Molière’s Don Juan, Cassio in “Othello”, Mercutio in “Romeo and Juliet”, Kochkarev in “Marriage”, in many plays by Arbuzov... The list can go on for a long time: the actor’s theatrical destiny is quite rich .

From 1967 to 1999, Smirnitsky served at the theater on Malaya Bronnaya, then at the Moscow Luna Theater. His work record is still there, which does not prevent the actor from taking part in enterprises. “Now there is an opportunity to play in different places - it’s good. It’s good in every sense, it mobilizes and makes it possible to maintain artistic form,” he believes.

Interesting Facts

A rich creative life and complex human destiny make Smirnitsky an excellent conversationalist. He is happy to share interesting facts from life:

1. It turns out that after the release of the film “The Diamond Arm,” Smirnitsky was confused for a long time with Andrei Mironov.
2. On the set of D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers, out of boredom, Valentin came up with a bow for his hero, which then became a mandatory accessory for Porthos.
3. The actor loves animals: he is charged with energy when he watches dogs. A Yorkshire terrier has lived at his home for several years.
4. Friendship with the “musketeers” continues to this day. Valentin recalls with pleasure the incidents from the filming and believes that all four friends themselves created an unforgettable atmosphere that reigned throughout the months on the set.

Valentin Smirnitsky photo

Movie

Valentin Smirnitsky made his film debut in 1965 in the film “The Last Month of Autumn” directed by Vadim Derbenev. Fame came to the actor when he played in several popular films - in the comedy by Yevgeny Karelov “Seven Old Men and One Girl”, in the sports film by Viktor Sadovsky “Strike! Another blow!”, in the military adventure films “Shield and Sword” and “His Excellency’s Adjutant.”

But the most stellar role for the actor was the role of Porthos in the film “D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers.” This serial film created a real sensation. “When I received a call from Odessa and they offered me to come and try out, they didn’t even tell me specifically who. And at that time I broke my leg and was on the ballot for two months. I was happy to fly to Odessa. There it turned out that Khilkevich was trying on Porthos. I was surprised and kind of took it lightly,” recalls Smirnitsky. There was a special atmosphere on the set of The Musketeers, which is still the stuff of legends. “We created this atmosphere ourselves. Our friendship, which has survived to this day, began during filming. And our cheerful, perky relationship with mutual jokes was automatically transferred to the screen. And this was probably what infected the viewer: it was clear that everything was being done very sincerely.” It is worth adding that “D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers” is still popular, although the film is already 35 years old.

Then Smirnitsky received many offers. But there weren’t many leading roles; often the actor brilliantly played supporting roles. Among the most famous films in the biography of Valentin Smirnitsky: “Fathers and Grandfathers”, “Prokhindiada”, “The Lady’s Visit”, “Copper Angel”. Smirnitsky played in many TV series, for example: “On the corner of the Patriarchs-4”, “The Master and Margarita”, “The Red Chapel”.

Smirnitsky’s latest work was the role of Brezhnev in the crime series “Nesterov’s Loop”; in 2020, it is planned to show the historical melodrama “The Secret of the Idol” with his participation.

Film career

Valentin began acting in films in his third year at Shchuka. For students with a stipend of twenty-two rubles, participation in “groups” and “extras” was a significant financial assistance. So Smirnitsky appeared in the film “I Walk Around Moscow” in the role of a young officer buying records. True, his name was not even in the credits, but the opportunity arose to work with Georgy Danelia and appear in the same frame with Nikita Mikhalkov and the charming Galina Polskikh.

Valentin Smirnitsky in the film “I Walk Through Moscow” (far left)

In 1965, the lyrical short film “Two” was released - a touching love story between a deaf-mute girl and a musician. The diploma work of aspiring director Mikhail Bogin was highly noted at the Moscow International Festival and received a prestigious award from the International Federation of Film Press. The aspiring actor Smirnitsky was introduced by Sophia Loren herself and had the opportunity to kiss her hand.

Valentin Smirnitsky and Natalya Kustinskaya on the set of the film “Royal Regatta”

From that moment on, our hero’s film career began to rapidly gain momentum. One after another, films with his participation were released: “The Last Month of Autumn”, “Royal Regatta”, “Seven Old Men and One Girl”, “Shield and Sword”, “His Excellency’s Adjutant”, “The Investigation is Conducted by Experts” and many others. From 1965 to 1975, the actor starred in a dozen films, but the most famous among them is still the cult adventure film “D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers” (1975), in which Smirnitsky played the charming fat man and merry fellow Porthos.

On the set of the cult film "D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers"

Director Georgy Yungvald-Khilkevich was initially attracted not by the actor’s external resemblance to the character, but by his temperament and recklessness, so the make-up artists and costume designers had to work hard to turn the skinny Valentin into the pot-bellied glutton Porthos. M. Boyarsky, V. Smekhov, V. Smirnitsky, I. Starygin - Song of the Musketeers (1994) While working on the picture, Smirnitsky learned to shoot, fencing, ride a horse, but he was not lacking in the ability to drink and have fun, however , like his fellow musketeers. Of all their heroic company, only Mikhail Boyarsky was unfamiliar to Valentin, but the actors very quickly filled this gap, famously celebrated the first day of filming and have since become inseparable friends.

Valentin Smirnitsky and Mikhail Boyarsky

In order to participate in “The Musketeers,” Smirnitsky had to give up a foreign business trip, but he never regretted it, because the film made him a real star. Almost half a century has passed since the film was released, and it is still loved by millions of viewers. The same cannot be said about the following parts of the film epic “The Musketeers Twenty Years Later” (1992), “The Secret of Queen Anne, or The Musketeers Thirty Years Later” (1993) and its final part “The Return of the Musketeers, or The Treasures of Cardinal Mazarin” (2007). The aging actors were initially against participating in the sequel to The Musketeers, but in the 90s work was tight, so they had to be tempted by a significant fee. Valentin Smirnitsky. My hero At that hard time, Smirnitsky was also helped out by dubbing - during perestroika, an avalanche of video products poured from the West, which required high-quality acting dubbing. Valentin Georgievich managed to quickly get used to this new field of activity, which helped him survive difficult times.

Personal life

Valentin Smirnitsky entered into his first marriage at the age of 19, and into his fourth at 59. All three divorces followed the same scenario: the actor left the keys to the apartment on the table and took with him only a suitcase with things. An addiction to alcohol cost Smirnitsky not only family scandals, but also dismissal from the theater, but with age he managed to overcome his addiction.

Valentin's first wife was his classmate at the Shchukin School Lyudmila Pashkova, the daughter of the director of Lenkom. Their marriage broke up after 4 years.

In 1974, Smirnitsky married translator Irina Kovalenko, and in the same year their son Ivan was born. In 1980, the couple divorced. The son became addicted to drugs, long-term treatment did not produce results, and the young man died at the age of 26.

Smirnitsky entered into his third marriage with Elena Shaporina, an art critic by training. She was 7 years older and had an adult daughter. Martha, Elena's granddaughter, became Smirnitsky's adopted daughter, he paid a lot of attention to her upbringing and education. But this marriage also ended in divorce.

At the Moon Theater, Valentin Georgievich met his fourth wife, deputy director Lydia Ryabtseva. She is almost 30 years younger than Smirnitsky. In 2004, the couple officially registered their marriage.

Valentin Smirnitsky is still passionate about football and swimming. He admits that in addition to work, the nature of the Moscow region warms his soul and loves to relax with friends in nature. He also likes to visit Spain, where he bought a house near the sea.

The actor spoke about the details of his personal life in the program “The Fate of a Man with Boris Korchevnikov.”

Based on materials from the sites: kino-teatr.ru, kinopoisk.ru, vokrug.tv, glamour.ru, 7 Days, Uznayvse.ru, Sobesednik.ru, Ok-magazine.ru, Evening Moscow

Happy husband status

The screen star met his fourth wife, Lydia Ryabtseva, in the early 2000s. Then he played at the Moon Theater, where a young woman served as deputy director. Over time, they began to communicate, learning during the conversation that they had a lot in common in their destinies. After the third divorce, 54-year-old Smirnitsky was again left without his own home, and then in the 90s it was impossible not only to get an apartment, but work was tight.

Valentin Smirnitsky with his wife Lydia Ryabtseva. Photo https://www.instagram.com/lidok_valek/

Lidia Nikolaevna was married and raised two teenage daughters: Elvira and Marina. When a love affair broke out between the future spouses, they had to hide from prying eyes, so no one knew about their relationship for almost six months. But then everything was revealed, and the lovers decided to make radical changes in their personal lives. Over time, the actor established friendly relations with his wife’s daughters, who understood that their mother had the right to happiness and love. In the early years, the family rented an apartment, and over time they managed to buy a one-room apartment on the outskirts of the city. Only in 2012 did they purchase housing in the center of Moscow, on Krasnaya Presnya.

At first, the couple lived in a civil marriage, and then in 2004, on the initiative of Lydia Nikolaevna, they went to the registry office. The wedding was held on Valentine's Day, inviting their family, close friends and colleagues to the restaurant. It took his wife a long time to get used to Valentin Georgievich’s hot-tempered character. They are both emotional people, so in the early years there were quarrels and misunderstandings in the family. For a long time, Lidia Nikolaevna could not get used to the attention of the actor’s fans and at first she was very irritated because of this. Smirnitsky himself was never jealous of his wife, who is 17 years younger than him; he did not interfere with her communication with her friends and did not create scandals because of the attention of men.

Valentin Smirnitsky with his daughter Marina. Photo https://www.instagram.com/lidok_valek/

Now there are no major disagreements between the spouses; they value, respect and take care of each other. Valentin Georgievich not only knows how to work, but also finds time to relax. He and his wife usually spend the summer months in Spain, where they have a holiday home on the Mediterranean Sea. They bought a house, although it was small, but very cozy. His wife’s daughters became family to him and are called nothing more than “Papa Valya.” They chose a creative path for themselves: Elvira worked as a make-up artist in cinema, and then got a job on television in the “Comedy Woman” program. Marina was educated as a theater producer and works at STS Media.

Filmography: Actor

• Nine Lives (2019), TV series
• Love for Hire (2018)
• The Mystery of the Idol (2016), TV series
• Love is beyond competition (2016)
• Spring flare-up (2016)
• The Perfect Victim (2015), TV series
• Nesterov's Loop (2015), TV series
• Clean water at the source (2014)
• Princess Lyagushkina (2014)
• Search for evidence (2014), TV series
• Resort police (2014), TV series
• Courage (2014), TV series
• Little House by the River (2014)
• I will repay (2014)
• Neformat (2013 - 2014), TV series
• Three in Komi (2013), TV series
• Understatement Syndrome (2013)
• Twists of Fate (2013), TV series
• Mom Detective (2013), TV series
• Legend No. 17 (2013)
• Neighbors (2013)
• We are from Jazz-2 (2013)
• Gentlemen. Good luck! (2012)
• Daddies (2011)
• Kamenskaya-6 (2011)
• Pregnant (2011)
• The best movie 3-D (2011)
• City Zero-2 (2011)
• Travel card (2010)
• The Last Meeting (2010)
• Passenger from San Francisco (2010)
• My personal enemy-2 (2010)
• A very Russian action movie (2010)
• Zemsky Doctor (2010), TV series
• Gold of the Scythians (2010)
• Daddy's Daughters (2009-2010), TV series
• Bullet fool-3 (2009)
• Love is not what it seems (2009)
• Return of the Musketeers (2009)
• The life that never happened... (2008), TV series
• Two sisters (2008), TV series
• Payback for sins (2006)
• Wayfarers (2007), TV series
• Scream in the Night (2007)
• W.E. (2006), TV series
• Film Passion (2006), TV series
• Hunter (2006)
• Infidelity (2006)
• Urban Romance (2006)
• My Personal Enemy (2005)
• Operational Alias-2 (2005), TV series
• The Master and Margarita (2005)
• Fraudsters (2005)
• Mad Money (2006)
• Multiplying Sorrow (2005), TV series
• On the corner of the Patriarchs-4 (2004), TV series
• Return of the Titanic 2 (2004), TV series
• Healing with Love (2004), TV series
• Secrets of palace coups. Russia, XVIII century. Film 6. Death of the Young Emperor (2003)
• Secrets of palace coups. Russia, XVIII century. Film 5. The Emperor's Second Bride (2003)
• I love you (2004), TV series
• Red Chapel (2004), TV series
• Unlicensed Detective (2004)
• Pan or Missing (2003), TV series
• Theatrical Romance (2003)
• On the corner near the Patriarchs-3 (2001), TV series
• Mail order bride (2003)
• Groom for Barbie (2003)
• Station (2003), TV series
• Provincials (2002), TV series
• Everything You Love... (2002)
• Drongo (2002), TV series
• Friendly Family (2002), TV series
• Code of Honor-2 (2002), TV series
• On the corner of the Patriarchs-2 (2001), TV series
• A Person of French Nationality (2000)
• Love is Evil (1999)
• Don Quixote Returns (1997)
• Scams, Music, Love (1997)
• Magic Chair (1996)
• The Queen Anne Mystery, or The Musketeers Thirty Years Later (1993)
• Scandal in our Clochetown (1993)
• Provincial benefit performance (1993)
• Children of the Cast Iron Gods (1993)
• The Musketeers Twenty Years Later (1992)
• Puppy from the constellation Canes Venatici (1991)
• Recruiter (1991)
• Nipple System (1990)
• Last Autumn (1990)
• I'm Just Fine (1989)
• A Lady's Visit (1989)
• Incident in Utinoozersk (1988)
• Aelita, don't pester men (1988)
• Artist from Gribov (1988)
• Broken Circle (1987)
• Overhead somersault (1987)
• A Visit to the Minotaur (1987)
• Old ABC (1987)
• Quiet Consequence (1986)
• Alarm at Dawn (1985)
• Bad Trouble Beginning (1985)
• Prokhindiada, or Running in Place (1984)
• The Limit of Possibility (1984)
• Copper Angel (1984)
• Comet (1983)
• Study for dominoes with piano (1982)
• Shurochka (1982)
• Fathers and Grandfathers (1982)
• Personal Life of a Director (1981)
• Where will he go! (1981)
• One Day, Twenty Years Later (1980)
• D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers (1979)
• Nuka's Adventure (1977)
• The investigation is carried out by experts (1971)
• The Premature Man (1971)
• A Quiet Day at the End of the War (1970)
• Deniska's stories (1970)
• Road to Rübezahl (1970)
• His Excellency's Aide-de-Camp (1969)
• Shield and Sword (1968)
• Hit! Another blow! (1968)
• Seven Old Men and One Girl (1968)
• Royal Regatta (1966)
• Two (1966)
• The Last Month of Autumn (1965)
• I'm walking around Moscow (1963)

Tragedies and love in the life of Valentin Smirnitsky

Valentin Smirnitsky does not hide the fact that he was not the best son, an inattentive father, and he became a good husband only on the fourth try. It’s too late to make amends to loved ones: many of them are no longer alive.

Father

Two (1965) When asked how he became an actor, Smirnitsky laughs it off: he studied poorly, there were no other talents, and the Shchukin Theater School was located next to his house - very convenient. This is partly true - the actor’s school certificate is really not the most brilliant. But his acting talent showed up in school theater productions, so he entered “Pike” without any problems. During the day, studying, in the evening, gatherings with friends or performances in Moscow theaters, where students of theater universities were admitted for free. Smirnitsky visited them all, and more than once, just to avoid going home. At home, my father was seriously ill. Georgy Smirnitsky was the chief editor of the Central Documentary Film Studio. One day he fell and hit his head hard: a large lump grew, to which no one attached much importance. The lump gradually resolved, but the headaches did not stop.

Seven Old Men and One Girl (1968) The man did not want to go to the doctors without “serious reasons,” which ultimately ended in loss of consciousness and forced hospitalization. Doctors pronounced a death sentence: brain sarcoma.

It was too late to perform the operation; Georgy Smirnitsky was already dying. They refused to keep him in the hospital: they discharged him with a minimal set of painkillers. To provide her husband with medicine, Valentina’s mother went to work as a cinema administrator. She did not blame her son for running away from home - and alone she watched at her husband’s bedside. “Youth is selfish, I did not want to hear my father’s groans, to see his torment. In addition, the tumor came out, disfiguring his once beautiful face, the skin on it simply rotted,” the actor said about those days. The feeling of guilt came when my father was no longer there. But Smirnitsky was young, and life was taking its toll. Soon the events of his personal life crowded out all regrets.

Luda, Ira, Lena

Stop Potapov! (1973) His first marriage was early and as a student. Lyudmila Pashkova, the daughter of Lenkom director Anatoly Kolevatov, fell in love with Smirnitsky. General company, parties, walks... Valentin did not lose his head over her at all - rather, he allowed himself to be loved. And Lyuda had everything planned: they would get married, live with her parents first, then get a small apartment in a cooperative (her father would help), and Smirnitsky would be accepted into Lenkom without any problems.

The plan sounded tempting, and the girl’s feelings pleasantly flattered his vanity. There was no delay with the registry office. Only Lyudmila’s mother was against this marriage. Also an actress, she understood well what the family life of two touring artists was like. But the young people did not listen to her. The marriage lasted two years. Once, when Luda was on tour, Valentin threw a noisy party in their apartment. One of the neighbors informed the mother-in-law, and she immediately came with an inspection. They did not make peace after that quarrel: Smirnitsky left Lyudmila an apartment, and he moved into a theater hostel.

Comet (1983) The divorce was not a tragedy for him. At this time he was already a sought-after actor, played a lot in the theater and had already begun acting in films. “Two”, “Seven Old Men and One Girl”, “His Excellency’s Adjutant” - films with Smirnitsky were released one after another. Having given his all on stage or set, he relieved stress in the old proven way: drinking vodka in the company of friends. Sometimes such gatherings ended in drunken fights, but his second wife Irina patiently endured all the antics.

They met at a party. The intelligent, educated, independent translator made a strong impression on Smirnitsky. She was already raising her daughter Dasha, and the girl began to gravitate towards Valentin more than towards her own father.

Having lived with Irina in a civil marriage, he realized that he did not want to end this relationship - and proposed. This marriage produced the actor’s only son, Ivan. “I had a job, friends, plans, a beloved woman. The son fit quite harmoniously into the picture of a great holiday and a successful life, which, as it seemed to me then, would never end,” Smirnitsky later said bitterly. First, his marriage to Irina broke up: she could not calmly endure the annoying attention of fans, from whom there was no end after the release of the film “D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers.”

D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers (1979) Porthos was played by Smirnitsky so brilliantly that he forever remained the actor's calling card. During the divorce, Dasha, Irina’s daughter from a previous relationship, had the hardest time of all. Vanya was still too young to understand why his parents were fighting, and his older sister begged them to make peace.

But both were adamant. Valentin left the family, after some time Irina began to arrange her personal life, and Vanya was raised by her grandmothers. Whether this played a key role in his sad fate is unknown. But when the boy turned 16, an alarm bell rang. Irina, in a panic, reported that Vanya was taken away in an ambulance; he had a drug overdose. Valentin’s first reaction was anger: how could she hide why she didn’t tell earlier?! But one way or another, my son had to be saved.

Shield and Sword (1968) All fees and savings of Smirnitsky went towards Ivan’s treatment. But as soon as he left the next clinic, the son returned to his old ways. Finally, they found a specialized scout camp in France, where they conducted rehabilitation courses for drug addicts. Vanya spent six months there and returned a different person: he began to study and got married. Smirnitsky exhaled: the worst was behind us. He was on a long tour in the USA when he received a call and was informed about the death of his son. The reason is still the same - overdose. Their son died alone: ​​Irina died three years earlier, and Smirnitsky did not even have time for the funeral. “He lived without me and died without me.” All of Smirnitsky’s paternal feelings went to the granddaughter of his third wife Elena, Martha. The girl grew up before his eyes, he walked with her in the yard, raised her, listened to her. Valentin is already divorced from Elena, but he is still close to Marfa.

In addition to her, his fourth wife, Lida, became a truly close person to the actor.

Late love

Turkish March (season 2) (2001−2002) They met at the Luna Theater, where Smirnitsky played in the early 2000s. Lydia was the deputy director - a strict business woman, whom the actor was initially afraid of. But once they got to talking, it turned out that they had a lot in common.

Both were going through hard times: Lydia’s marriage to her husband was coming apart at the seams, Valentin was having a hard time with the death of his son. And both turned out to be the reliable support for each other that they had been looking for for so long. “I am still grateful to Lydia. She had her own problems after all. I have my own. But we didn't pile them on top of each other. But they just swam out together,” says Smirnitsky. They have been married for 16 years. The actor jokes that in this marriage he finally found happiness, because his wife obeys him as an elder. Their age difference is 17 years.

Smirnitsky left the theater and now plays only in enterprises. A few years ago, he fulfilled his old dream - and bought a small house on the coast in Spain.

All the passions in his life are behind him: now he lives a calm life with his beloved woman and even speaks calmly about the tragedies he experienced: “I will leave with this guilt.”

Big Girls (2006)

Deniska's stories (1970)

Lyubov Yarovaya (1977)

The Master and Margarita (2005)

First Person Narrative (1977)

Hit! Another blow! (1968)

I missed my son

But a drama occurred with the artist’s only son. Ivan Smirnitsky was born in 1974 from the actor’s second marriage with translator Irina , who already had a daughter from her first marriage. The couple separated because after filming the film “D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers,” the artist had thousands of fans. He could not avoid temptations. Having learned about Smirnitsky’s amorous adventures, Irina took her daughter and left her husband. And their common son Ivan began to live alternately with his two grandmothers.

The son grew up away from his father, so it was a shock for the actor when it turned out that Vanya began to use drugs. The boy’s mother tried to hide this entire illness from everyone, but they still found out about Smirnitsky Jr.’s drug addiction at one point: at the age of 16, he was taken in an ambulance after an overdose.

Valentin Smirnitsky in the play “Tales of Old Arbat”. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Valentin Smirnitsky paid for the best clinics for his son; all the artist’s fees were spent on this. Vanya did not argue with his father and received treatment. But, as soon as he left the hospital, he went for drugs again.

At some point, the artist began to hope that he had cured his son: after six months in a French specialized scout camp, where a special program for the treatment of young drug addicts was developed, Ivan returned to normal life. He entered the Timiryazev Academy and got married.

But after some time he returned to his terrible addiction. Overdose again. Valentin Georgievich was informed of the death of his 26-year-old son when the artist was on tour in America. Then Smirnitsky said more than once in interviews that he considered himself guilty of his son’s death, since all his life he lived separately from Ivan and did not pay enough attention to him.

Scoring for movies and cartoons

• 1940 - The Adventures of Woody and His Friends - Wally the Walrus, Buzz Buzzard, all male roles
  (Selena International, commissioned by ORT, 1996)
• 1958 - Light in the Forest - Wiles Owens
• 1959 - Shaggy Dog - FBI Director Hackett
• 1972 - Run to be caught - Tokazhi Attila
• 1972-1973 - 80 days around the world - Phileas Fogg
  (ORT dubbing)
• 1973 - Bore
• 1974 - Air Bridge - Gegi
• 1977 - Candleshoe Manor
• 1978 - Rally - intermediary
• 1978-1979 - The Great Journey of Bolek and Lelek - half of all characters (together with Vladimir Ferapontov)
• 1979 - On the way - all roles
  (single-voice voice-over translation by the Soyuzmultfilm film studio, 1980)
• 1979 - Double - Kancho Beer
• 1985 - Great Generation
• 1986 - Ruthless People - Police Chief Henry Banton
• 1987-1990 - Beauty and the Beast - Sam Denton
• 1987 - Return of the Shaggy Dog - Karl
• 1989-1990 - Beetlejuice - Beetlejuice
  (NTV)
• 1989 - Innocent - Peter Feldman
• 1990 - Beautiful Life - Spencer Barnes
• 1990 - Residence permit - Gorsky
• 1990 - Highlander 2: Revival - monitor technician
• 1991 - Run - Marv
• 1991 - Oscar - Luigi Finucci
• 1991 - Solitary Justice - Steve Diroma
• 1991 - What about Bob? — Carswell Fensterwald
• 1991 - Billy Bathgate - Dixie Davis
• 1992 - Tom and Jerry: The Movie - Tom
  (ORT)
• 1993—1994 — Thresholds of time
• 1993 - Heartbeat - Stephen Tower
• 1993 - Within striking distance - Detective Eddie Iler
• 1994-1995 - Aladdin - Sand Monster ("The Sand Attacks"), Hamed ("Founder's Day"), various characters
• 1994-1995 - Albert - fifth musketeer - Captain de Treville, Porthos
• 1995-1996 - Man from Nowhere
• 1995 - Tilly the Dragon - Uncle George
  (ORT dub)
• 1996 - Forever
• 1996-1999 - The Incredible Adventures of Jonny Quest - Roger T.
  Bannon (Selena International)
• 1996 - The People vs. Larry Flynt - Chester
• 1997 - Anaconda - Paul Saron
• 1997 - The Fifth Element - General Munro
• 1997 - Gattaca - Antonio Freeman
  ,
  German
• 1997 - Devil's Advocate - Eddie Barzun
• 1997 - Jackal - FBI Director Carter Preston
• 1998 - The Big Lebowski - Dude Lebowski
• 1998 - The Man in the Iron Mask - Porthos
• 1998-2005 - Kotopes - Cat
• 1998 - The X-Files: Fight for the Future - Stronghold
• 1998 - Meet Joe Black - Queens
• 1998 - Babe: Pig in the City - Thelonius the Monkey
• 1999-2000 - New Woody Woodpecker Show - Captain Redbird
  ,
  Buzz Buzzard
• 1999 - Double Miscalculation
• 1999 - Sleepy Hollow - Reverend Steenwyck
• 2000 - Best Friend - Vernon
• 2000 - Chicken Run - Fowler
  (dubbed by Pythagoras studio)
• 2000 - Gladiator - Marcus Aurelius
• 2000 - Malena - lawyer Tsentorbi
• 2001 - Bridget Jones's Diary - Bridget's father
• 2001 - Down House - General Ivolgin
• 2003 - Single - Ty Frost
• 2003 - Fanfan-tulip
• 2004 - Troy - Nestor