Biography
People's Artist of Russia Anatoly Vasiliev is known to the older generation from the film “Crew,” and to young people from his role as a grandfather-professor in the comedy series “Matchmakers.”
Anatoly was born on November 6, 1946 in Nizhny Tagil. The father was an influential Soviet official, the mother took care of the house and raising her son. The woman was a fan of theater and music, and taught her son to do so from childhood.
When Anatoly was 9 years old, his parents moved to Bryansk: the move was connected with his father’s career. The boy adapted quickly to the new school and just as quickly gained authority among his classmates. In Bryansk, Anatoly Vasiliev began attending a drama club. It was then that the boy first seriously thought about a professional acting career.
Actor Anatoly Vasiliev
After school, the young man was going to enter a theater university, but his father insisted that his son go to a mechanical engineering college. Vasiliev studied at the technical school regularly for two years, then dropped out and went to Moscow to become an actor.
Anatoly was lucky - the young man entered the Moscow Art Theater on the first try. Naturally, the father did not approve of his son’s choice, and the mother stood up for Vasilyev Jr. The woman always knew that the child had talent. In 1969, Anatoly Vasiliev successfully graduated from the Moscow Art Theater.
Anatoly Vasiliev: biography, family
The hero of this article was born in Nizhny Tagil. This happened in November 1946. From the biography of Anatoly Vasilyev it follows that his parents had nothing to do with the world of dramatic art. My father was an official and held a high position. The mother did housework. When Anatoly turned nine, the family moved to Bryansk. The move was associated with my father's professional activities.
The boy's interest in dramatic art arose thanks to his mother. She was a big fan of the theater and often took her son with her to performances. In Bryansk, the child began studying in a drama club.
Theater
After graduating from the theater institute, Vasiliev got a job at the Satire Theater, where he worked for 4 years. Then he moved to the Soviet Army Theater - the actor devoted 22 years to this stage. In 1995, he got a job at the Mossovet Theater, where he works to this day. On the stage of this theater, the actor played his best roles, among them the role of Anatoly in the play “School for Defaulters”, Anderson in the production of “The Devil’s Disciple”, Adamov in “A Man on Weekends”.
Anatoly Vasiliev in the theater
In 2011, the premiere performance of the play “The Draw” took place, in which Anatoly Vasiliev appeared on stage with his ex-wife and son from his first marriage. The actors didn’t even have to transform - the Vasilievs showed themselves on stage, their ex-husband and wife, connected by a common child.
What's new
At the moment, Anatoly continues to play on the stage of the Mossovet Theater. The last series with his participation was presented to the audience in 2014. It was the TV project “Exclusionary Lane”, in which he played Sergei Ivanovich.
For some time, Vasiliev could not act due to health problems. Fans never stop hoping that one day the talented actor will return to the set.
Movies
Anatoly Vasiliev made his film debut in 1977. Director Sergei Bondarchuk invited the artist to play the role of Dymov in the film “The Steppe” based on the stories of A. Chekhov. The start was successful - the directors paid attention to the actor. A year later, with Vasiliev’s participation, the shooting of two films was completed - the melodrama “Close Distance,” in which Zhanna Prokhorenko became the actor’s partner, and the drama “Ivantsov, Petrov, Sidorov,” in which the actor appeared in a cameo role.
Anatoly Vasiliev in the film “Crew”
In 1979, Anatoly Vasiliev appeared in the main cast of the cult Soviet film “Crew” by Alexander Mitta, which viewers of different generations enjoy watching. Anatoly played the pilot Valentin, who dreams of returning to big aviation. Together with Vasiliev, Georgy Zhzhenov, Leonid Filatov, Alexandra Yakovleva were included in the frame.
Vasiliev’s character turned out to be touching and truthful; the actor managed to convey the hero’s personal drama. With this work, Vasiliev began a new stage in his own creative biography. In 1980, work followed in the war film “General Shubnikov’s Corps,” where Anatoly Vasiliev embodied on the screen the image of a major general participating in a counterattack against fascist tank forces. The drama also stars Marina Yakovleva, Sergei Prokhanov, and Pyotr Shcherbakov.
Anatoly Vasiliev in the film "Ladies' Tango"
The image of a military man, but now of our days, is embodied by Vasiliev in the drama “The Cry of a Loon.” In the same year, with the participation of Anatoly Vasilyev, the production drama “Extraordinary Circumstances” about the construction of a new oil refinery starts.
A year later, the artist appeared in the comedy melodrama by Pyotr Todorovsky “The Beloved Woman of the Mechanic Gavrilov” with Sergei Shakurov and Lyudmila Gurchenko in the lead roles, and played the main character - the archaeologist Levashov in the film “An Apple in the Palm”. In 1982, he again turned to the military theme in the films “If the enemy does not surrender...” and “Gateway to Heaven.” Anatoly Vasiliev also played the first secretary Fomin in “Hope and Support”, and in the melodrama “Ladies’ Tango” he appeared as the married worker Fyodor, who began an affair with Ekaterina (Valentina Fedotova).
In the television film “Mikhailo Lomonosov” Anatoly Vasiliev appeared before the audience in the image of the father of the future scientist and public figure. The film received positive reviews from film critics and the love of the audience. In the mid-80s, the popular actor also starred in the films “Still Waters Are Deep,” “Rough Landing,” “Undisclosed,” and “Without a Uniform.”
Anatoly Vasiliev in the film "Boris Godunov"
In the joint Soviet-German project - the drama "Boris Godunov" he played Pyotr Basmanov. In the film adaptation of Valery Bryusov’s novel “If I want, I will love!” the actor appeared in the role of freelance artist Elersky, the lover of the main character Natalia Polonskaya (Vera Sotnikova).
In the 90s, when Soviet cinema was going through a difficult period, the actor continued to act, although in a different role. Viewers saw Vasiliev in the role of an aristocrat in the film “Your Fingers Smell of Incense” and in the image of the head of the criminal investigation department in the film “Why does an honest man need an alibi?” In the 2000s, Anatoly Vasiliev starred in the TV series “You Can’t Choose Times,” “New Year’s Men,” “Tatiana’s Day,” “Short Breath,” “Major Vetrov,” “All Men Are Theirs...”.
Anatoly Vasiliev in the TV series “Matchmakers”
In 2008, the actor was invited to play the main role in the comedy series “Matchmakers.” The actor played the grandfather-professor Yura, the husband of Olga Kovaleva (Lyudmila Artemyeva). Anatoly Vasiliev recalls that he was completely immersed in his work, imbued with the hero’s lifestyle, and tried to convey the character’s character as believably as possible.
This continued until the fourth season of “Matchmakers,” but then a conflict broke out between Vasiliev and the artist Fyodor Dobronravov. The reason for this was the script in which Dobronravov’s hero constantly made fun of Vasiliev’s hero. Then Anatoly Alexandrovich stated that “Matchmakers” was no longer interesting to him, because any film, even a comedy, should not humiliate human dignity, but elevate it. After which the actor left the project.
Later, Vasiliev played the main character in the series “Family Detective”. In 2013, the actor appeared in the drama “The Cry of an Owl,” where he played a thief in law. The film was about the events of 1957, unfolding in one provincial town. A year later, Anatoly Vasiliev appeared in the melodrama “Exclusion Lane,” where he played the role of the father of the hero Pavel Dunaev (Nikita Zverev).
Anatoly Vasiliev:My wife Iya Savvina
Photo: Gella Slabko The annual training camp in Dorofeev is a special state of the body: soul and body. This condition lasts for about a month. Something is bought, packed, compacted, things that can break are rearranged with old newspapers, things that can spill are sealed, and so on... The understandable fatigue from these works, however, is absolutely compensated by the singing state of mind.
The anticipation of a quick trip to paradise excites the imagination; at night I dream of the forests there and beautiful mushrooms in them, and sound hallucinations occur: the singing of a nightingale, the piercing cries of a kite, a distant cuckoo. A pleasant anxiety grows: “Hurry, hurry, go. Hurry up in the car and go!”
It was like this for twenty-five years. This time everything was different. No, the body performed its duties quite conscientiously and sensibly: it carried, loaded, laid down, but there was NO soul! In its place there was a hole, a cavity, which there was nothing to patch up. There was a draft whistling there.
The successfully operated (so it seemed) melanoma, which had been silent for three years (!), woke up, which was facilitated (I am absolutely convinced of this) by the tragic events that preceded it, which created this black drama: the death of Seva and then a micro-stroke. Iya determined her future fate herself, categorically refusing chemotherapy. She didn’t explain why. The decision was final.
Iya's state of health caused hopeless anxiety. We both understood that this was her last trip to Dorofeevo, and this determined the obligatory visit to the “house”. On the other hand, we made a completely natural appearance (we tried to do it) that everything was fine, everything was in order, and we managed to achieve this appearance, thank God!
Photo from personal archive
We leave, as always, early - around four in the morning. Empty Moscow, no cars in our alleys, sunny, quiet morning. We drive slowly along Gagarinsky, and I see a couple of pigeons running across the lane a little ahead. We are getting closer and closer, but they are not going to take off, damn them! I make the only possible maneuver - I let them pass between the wheels and at the same moment I hear the disgusting, sickening sound of a ball bursting. I look in the rearview mirror and see a column of bird feathers soaring above the asphalt. I am absolutely not subject to mysticism and any superstitions; moreover, I always stopped my friends when they tried to initiate me into their visions and foresights. But this incident did something to me that caused a feeling of terrible melancholy. There was a nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach, a coldness settled inside, and a nervous insistent desire arose - not to go! Nevertheless, I calmed myself down with “effective” words and decided not to initiate Iya into my otherworldly passions.
The radio was playing, sandwiches were being made for Seryozha's son, coffee was being drank from a thermos - everything was as usual. But, damn it, I couldn't help but expect something unexpected. And - it happened!
So once Annushka spilled oil. The workers repairing something by the road decided to send their boyfriend for beer. He jumped into a GAZelle standing on the side of the road, as if he had deliberately waited for us to arrive, and, without looking, without warning, he pulled into a U-turn, that is, into us. It was like a dream. The huge muzzle of the GAZelle flew into the right side of our car, throwing it to the opposite side of the road with a terrible roar. In a three-second pause that hung in the broken car, covered with broken glass, Iya said in a calm voice: “We’ll buy another one.”
Then I ran along the road, shouted at the culprit of the accident, called the police, an ambulance and a tow truck on 112. We were taken to Suzdal for a medical examination. And finally, we were taken by tow truck (three hundred kilometers!) to Dorofeevo, where we ended up late at night.
Sketch for the film “Lady with a Dog”
Household chores are a beneficial activity that greatly distracts you from gloomy thoughts. Set up water supply, electricity, gas, mow the area, little things like that. So a week passed. Iya, as a rule, spent time in her room, occasionally going out to the terrace, which was becoming increasingly difficult for her. Moreover, for some reason, it was precisely this summer that a countless number of all sorts of flying creatures appeared, which pretty much pestered us, especially the sedentary Iya. And yet she found the opportunity to joke about this and quote Pushkin with pleasure: “Oh, red summer! I would love you if it weren’t for the heat, the dust, the mosquitoes, and the flies.”
We had to visit Kineshma, buy synthetic mesh and cover half the house with it, including the terrace and gazebo, which we solemnly called “bungalow”. Iya loved to sit there with her morning coffee and the obligatory crossword puzzle. Old books and magazines were brought to Dorofeevo from Moscow, which over the years formed a kind of secondary library, which Iya now began to re-read. This process was careful and leisurely. Often I found her with an open book lying on her knees and her gaze directed into herself. She reviewed something, changed her mind about something. What?
The pace of her life slowed down greatly, and in general our existence, subordinate to other well-being, slowed down naturally, without requiring special efforts and efforts: from breakfast to lunch, from injection to injection, from measuring pressure to measuring temperature. Hidden in this regularity was a nagging, melancholy anxiety: it was as if we were waiting for something and it was precisely by slowness that we seemed to be delaying this “something.” And “it” completely unexpectedly manifested itself as an unforeseen, mysterious, frightening incident. Early in the morning, leaving the house, I almost stepped on a snow-white dove that came from out of nowhere! Without even trying to take off, she calmly took a few steps to the side and began to look for and find something in the grass. There was a green mark on her head, indicating that she was from someone’s dovecote. From whose? Here in the whole district we have never heard of pigeon coops, they simply are not here and never were! The only place from where she could fly was Zavolzhsk, but it was twenty-five kilometers away. Mysticism, which I don’t believe in, was being introduced into our lives in a material way.
When I told Iya about this, she was silent for a while, as if pondering what she had heard, then she leaned back on the pillow and quietly said: “It’s my death that has arrived.”
Once upon a time, excerpts from the play “Petersburg Dreams” were shown on television, where Iya played Sonya Marmeladova. Then she, looking at herself on the screen, told me: “Look how white the eyes are.” And indeed, there were moments when, depending on her mood, her eyes acquired extraordinary transparency, in which their color and pupils disappeared. And now, looking at me with these eyes, she, slightly stretching out the main word, just as quietly said: “I am CENSORSHED.”
I began to utter some useless nonsense in routine words, trying to change my mood. She waited for a pause in my chatter and repeated: “I am CENSORED.” She knew and understood everything about herself and her situation.
Masha, a woman from a neighboring village who helped Iya with the housework, told me that Iya, leaving Dorofeev forever, ordered a wake to be held for her, and then to celebrate nine days and forties, and asked that everyone she knew. And Vovka Korovkin, a neighbor who often visited us, said goodbye: “You will be bored without me,” which is now confirmed: Vovka (a man over forty) misses Iya to the point of tears.
...If this is the dove of the Lord Flew to say: You are ready!
- Why is he so different from the pigeons of our gardens? N. Gumilyov
This volume of N. Gumilyov still contains the bookmarks made by Iya. There are three of them. One noted this poem - “Bird”!
The other is the famous “Giraffe”.
…You are crying? Listen... far away, on Lake Chad Exquisite, a giraffe wanders.
The third lurked near a poem that was once unnoticed and missed by me - “I Dreamed”:
I dreamed: we both died, We lay with a calm look. Two white, white coffins placed side by side...
The bookmarks indicate (it’s easy to guess) that Iya re-read these poems from time to time. Meanwhile, the dove wandered around the yard without the slightest fear, even like a master. While I was doing things, I forgot about the bird, and when my gaze suddenly came across it, making me flinch in real fear, an eerie vision burst out from the subcortex - a column of pigeon feathers over the asphalt. I was begging for a chance for her to fly away. But she did not fly away, on the contrary, it seemed that with her leisurely movements she was taking up more and more space. And one day I found her almost in the hut, sitting on the window sash. It seemed like I could try to drive her away, but something stopped me. I imagined some kind of possible revenge from her. She flew away and disappeared the day before we left. As she commanded: “It’s time!”
I don’t remember why we decided to leave Dorofeev together, leaving (for now!) Seryozhka and Masha in the village. This July and the coming August, such decisions (and many others) were made not based on the logic of everyday events, but according to the vague dictates of the state of mind - mine and Ia. We walked this path together with her and therefore carefully and carefully listened to the signals coming to us from the outside. We did not discuss what to do with Seryozha at this time. Everything worked out somehow by itself. Anticipating a possible difficult conversation with him in the near future, before leaving, I asked him: “Seryozha, why don’t you ask where dad is?” - “Where is dad?” - "He died". - "Yes? - there is no excitement either in the voice or in the eyes. “Well, I’ll light a candle.” He has a tradition: every Saturday he attends church and lights many candles for all his relatives and friends. They perceive this action as a small holiday, a beautiful performance. Then they explained to me that “they” do not have the concept of “death.” Perhaps this ignorance is saving, probably so. But it soon became clear to me that “they” have their own understanding of this, which is not clear to us—it’s different.
Photo from personal archive
In Moscow, an “Iya corner” was gradually built. Corner of memory. Its basis is an old gramophone with a huge brass metal pipe, with a huge bell and a small porcelain medallion on the body, indicating the author of this beauty: “Robert Kents”. Somehow, not thoroughly and not really thought out (yet, for a while), a large color photograph of Iya stood up on the disk and leaned against the bell. Next to it is a small icon and a lamp, which I occasionally light. So it exists to this day, for six years now. Sergei, passing nearby, sometimes stops, crosses himself finely and, very specifically addressing Iya, says: “Sleep well, dear mommy.”
...When Sergei and I were leaving Dorofeevsky summer (or already autumn) six years ago, he suddenly leaned over the back of the seat and quietly asked almost in my ear: “Where is she?” - "Who?" - "Mommy". - “On Novodevichy.” - “Shall we go to her?” - "Let's go to". No, “they” know something about “death”.
On the day Iya and I left Dorofeev, the village residents (the same “dacha residents”) decided as a team to take on the task of repairing the road, which had been washed away by regular rains. When we approached them, as if on command, they stuck their shovels into the ground and watched the car slowly crawling up the hill with sad eyes for an endlessly long time. Masha was crying. Iya waved goodbye to them through the window glass. In response, there was an indistinct gesture from the Dorofeevites. The heaviness of the moment crushed and froze emotions: everyone knew that Iya was leaving FOREVER. Ɔ.
Personal life
Anatoly Vasiliev was married twice. The young man met his first wife Tatyana Itsykovich at the age of 20. Later, the actor admitted that he did not have any special feelings for the girl, but Tatyana persistently won over the actor. The young people got married and lived together for 17 years. When Tatyana and Anatoly decided to divorce, their son Philip was 5 years old. Tatyana Vasilyeva became famous in theater and cinema under her husband's name.
Anatoly Vasiliev and Tatyana Itsykovich
The divorce was not easy for the spouses, the Vasilyevas do not support the relationship, they do not talk about that period of their lives. It is known that the reason for the breakup was Tatyana’s departure for actor Georgy Martirosyan.
In 1991, the actor’s personal life improved again - Anatoly Vasiliev married for the second time. This time the chosen one was television employee Vera. A year later, a daughter, Varvara, was born into this marriage. Anatoly helped his wife after the birth of their daughter, refusing some roles so that his wife would not quit her job.
The actor says that it was hard, but the efforts and sacrifices were worth it, because family happiness is priceless. Family photos of the artist and information about his private life rarely appear in the media, since Vasiliev values the peace of mind of his family.
Anatoly Vasiliev with his wife and daughter
Anatoly Vasiliev participated in the play with his ex-wife and son only for the fee, because finances were difficult at that time. Shortly before the production, the actor suffered a heart attack, so the artist was not invited to roles in theater and cinema. This relationship did not go further than the theater stage.
Other interesting personnel changes
When Vasiliev announced his departure, the writers had to rewrite the script at an accelerated pace. To avoid tarnishing Anatoly’s image, they abandoned the idea of his long-term business trip or divorce. According to the film, the Kovalev family is strong and exemplary, raising their son Maxim to be an intelligent young man. If Olga and Yuri had divorced, this would have left an imprint on his bright image. Therefore, in the first episodes of season 5 they announced that he had died - his heart could not stand it.
His place was taken by Alexander Feklistov, who was his friend and colleague Berkovich. He won the widow’s heart and firmly entered the Kovalev-Budko family. According to many fans, such a loss became noticeable for the series.
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In the first season, Maxim Kovalev was played by Denis Rodnyansky. In part 2 he was removed, and the role was given to Daniil Belykh. Although Zhenechka’s parents often do not appear on screens, fans noticed the substitution.
After the outbreak of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, the series was “frozen” for several years. Later, filming of the sixth season began, but it took place in Belarus.
Recently there was a rumor that a continuation about the life of the Budko and Kovalev families in their youth was possible. Anatoly Vasiliev also spoke about this. When asked if he would return, he replied that it could very well be. But Vasiliev calls the main condition for continuing work on the series the return of the first director Yuri Morozov. According to the actor, it was he who brought such fame to the television series, thanks to his love and dedication to the work.
Filmography
- 1978 — “Steppe”
- 1979 — “Crew”
- 1980 — “General Shubnikov’s Corps”
- 1981 - “The beloved woman of mechanic Gavrilov”
- 1983 — “Gateway to Heaven”
- 1985 — “Rough Landing”
- 1986 — “Mikhailo Lomonosov”
- 1990 - “If I want, I will love!”
- 1993 - “Your fingers smell like incense”
- 2004-2007 - “Balzac’s age, or All men are their own...”
- 2007 — “Tatiana’s Day”
- 2008 — “Matchmakers”
- 2012 — “Family Detective”
- 2014 — “Right of Way”
