Difficulties in the family of Leonid Bykov
Leonid Bykov is a legendary Soviet actor, he is loved by audiences to this day. He is also People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR and Honored Artist of the RSFSR. A small planet is named after Leonid Bykov.
He has many awards, but his main award is his character and talent. He always knew how to win people over. And for good reason, because he was always soft and shy. He never raised his voice or lost his temper. Often he kept all his experiences to himself, restraining himself from sudden attacks. The audience always liked him, but he was often put under pressure by “higher authorities.” They were dissatisfied with his integrity and dissimilarity from other artists.
There is a lot of information on the Internet about Leonid Bykov’s wife, but it is quite contradictory. They consist mostly of rumors. The young people met at the Kharkov Theater Institute. Bykov has repeatedly admitted that he fell in love with his future wife at first sight. This is not surprising, because she was a beauty with a keen ear for music and outstanding singing talent.
Life promised both a wonderful future in the professional sphere. It was only after graduating from university that Tamara chose to choose the path of a family man - a wife and mother. Moreover, immediately after graduation, she was offered a job in the Kharkov operetta. Some acquaintances claim that Tamara Kravchenko was diagnosed with a serious mental illness at that time - sluggish schizophrenia. They say that this is what made her work in the theater impossible.
After some time, this version was critically rejected by the daughter of Leonid and Tamara, Maryana. She defended the names of her parents, refuting all rumors. She has stated more than once that her parents have always been an example of true, sincere love. They always loved, cared for and protected each other. An example of sincere love is that after the release of each film by Leonid Bykov, his wife took a ticket and went alone to the first showing. And the man eagerly awaited the return of his beloved with an honest assessment.
Maryana repeatedly became the protector of her family. The couple also have a son, whom they named with the unusual name Les. The mother of the family was forced to sit at home without work, fighting off attacks from ill-wishers. The daughter always stubbornly protested against statements about her mother’s mental illness, but did not name the true reasons for her unemployed existence. She also had to protect herself and her brother.
Many claimed that they inherited the disease from their mother. That it was for this reason that the young man had serious problems with the army service, and then with law enforcement agencies. These problems ultimately had to be resolved by a hospital on the territory of the country. After some time, the young man managed to leave the country illegally. His sister claimed that after this he managed to completely recover from his illness with the help of foreign specialists.
The daughter of the family preferred not to dwell on the topic of the living conditions of their family life. But even in this case, the acquaintances did not think of remaining silent. They claimed that poverty, devastation and disorder always reigned in the actor’s apartment. It was said more than once that Leonid often went hungry, and also wore the same clothes for many years. And the reason is that he had to spend all the money he earned on treating his wife, as well as solving his son’s problems.
Numerous unpleasant rumors are swirling around Leonid Bykov’s family. It is difficult to get to the bottom and find out the truth. Maryana always rejects all the arguments of her opponents, but does not try to tell the truth and explain herself. Eyewitnesses have a false understanding of the family's actions after the death of Leonid Bykov. The fact is that the daughter locked her mother at home, went to the morgue to pick up her father’s body, and immediately after the funeral the family left Kyiv. Subsequently they settled in the Moscow region. We lived completely without work and close friends in a new place for almost 12 years.
Leonid Fedorovich Bykov loved his wife and family very much. This fact is confirmed by his will, which he wrote three years before his death.
The document contains unusual words: “Toma, my wife, unfortunately, is disabled: she will not be able to work. Yes, she won’t stay long without me, she will catch up, since we lived a beautiful life with her...” But he was wrong, because Leonid Bykov’s wife managed to outlive her husband by 31 years, no matter what. She died in 2010.
Leonid Bykov – director and screenwriter
Continuing to play, Bykov began to implement his new plans.
In Leningrad, he began filming short humorous stories for the television magazine “Fitil,” and in 1961 he presented viewers with his first short film, “No matter how the rope twists.” This was followed by the full-length comedy “Bunny” (1964), in which Bykov played the main role - a simple make-up artist with the funny surname Bunny, who decided to live brightly and fully, supposedly the last month of his life. The actor’s image turned out to be very touching, and the film itself was life-affirming. Then, unfortunately, there was a decline in the careers of both Bykov the actor and Bykov the director - he did not want to act in passable films, and his ideas and scripts were not to the taste (and, of course, for ideological reasons) of the censors. In 1968, he returned from Leningrad to Ukraine, but there, too, for some time it was difficult to find anything worthwhile. Finally, in 1971, Leonid Bykov filmed his second comedy called “Where are you knights?”, where he played not the main, but still memorable role.
Even before this, for several years, Bykov and his co-writers on the script - Onoprienko and Sekatsky - had to knock on the thresholds of film studios in order to bring to screen a story inspired by the real exploits of Soviet pilots during the war. But for some time the script with very thinly written characters gathered dust on the shelves due to its “unheroicness.”
Of course, this was the text for the finally released film “Only Old Men Go to Battle” (1973), which instantly became a classic and was widely quoted. There was quite enough heroism here – real heroism. And also - worldly wisdom, lyricism, humor and, of course, aching sadness - where would you be without it in a war?
In Bykov’s film, Soviet pilots not only heroically perform their most difficult work in a war that has become commonplace, but also senior commanders think about the younger generation, guys fall in love with female pilots and sing songs, and everyone tries to preserve their humanity in inhuman situations. In 2009, the immortal picture was shown to Russian viewers in color.
Bykov’s last directorial work was the film “Aty-Bati Soldiers Came” (1977) about the everyday life of Komsomol members from a platoon that stopped a column of German tanks. The main roles were played by Leonid Bykov himself and Vladimir Konkin.
Monument to actor Leonid Bykov in Moscow
Son of Leonid Bykov - Alexander Bykov
It is worth noting that the son of Leonid Bykov, Alexander Bykov, was a problem boy and often made life difficult for his parents.
Leonid had another heart attack when he learned that his beloved Les (as Alexander’s relatives called him) got involved with a gang of thieves and became an accomplice in the robbery of a jewelry store. The young man was threatened with a prison sentence, but in the end he was declared insane and sent for compulsory treatment to a psychiatric hospital, where he was given a very disappointing diagnosis - schizophrenia.
Soon after leaving the hospital, Alexander got married and had children, but because of this diagnosis he could not find a permanent job. For this reason, he decided to take a risk and in 1991 he moved his entire family to Canada, where he currently works as a builder.
The beginning of a creative career
Leonid did not despair. He remembered that while still at school he was interested in theater, and decided to try himself in this field. He applied to the theater school in Kyiv, but was not accepted. There is a version that Bykov received a refusal due to his short stature, which was only 1 meter 63 centimeters. The guy did not give up his dream of enrolling in a theater school; he was accepted to study at a theater institute in Kharkov. After finishing his studies, Leonid played on the stage of the Kharkov theater for another 9 years. His debut role - the role of a dude in one of the comedies - was immediately remembered by frequent visitors to the theater. This role was bright and quite extraordinary.
In 1960, there was a breakthrough in the career of Leonid Bykov. The Leningrad studio "Lenfilm" invited the actor and director to its team. Bykov agreed without hesitation. It was in this film studio that he became known throughout the Soviet Union. However, after nine years of work in Leningrad, Bykov left for Kyiv. In Dovzhenko's studio he became a leading actor. The actor combined his work in the theater with writing scripts for the magazine “Fitil,” which was famous among film fans for its satirical character. However, the actor’s daughter said that Leonid later considered the move to Kyiv a mistake. In the new studio he was never given his own office. After completing work on the film “Only Old Men Go to Battle,” the actor was finally allocated a small closet, which could hardly be called an office.
Biography of Leonid Bykov
The future star of Russian cinema was born on December 12, 1928, in the Ukrainian village of Znamenka. At the age of ten, the Bykov family moved to Kramatorsk. Father - Fyodor Bykov - was an ordinary Soviet worker. Mom - Zinaida Bykova - took care of the house and raising children. Leni also had a sister, Louise, only a year younger than him.
The biography of Leonid Bykov is equally filled with good luck and bad luck. Leni's talent as a screenwriter emerged in elementary school - the boy created scripts for theatrical productions, which he then acted out with friends. The little actors created everything necessary for the productions themselves.
Over time, Leonid became an actor in the Kramatorsk House of Culture, playing mainly soldiers.
Young Bykov wanted to become a military pilot, so he applied to the appropriate school in 1943, but he was kicked out in disgrace for lying about his age, adding a couple of years. Leonid returned there in 1945, but never finished it - with the end of the war, combat pilots were no longer needed.
Then, remembering his acting childhood, Leonid decided to enter a theater university. The guy was not accepted for a long time due to his short stature, but, thanks to perseverance, he nevertheless entered the Kharkov university.
The next few years after graduating from the institute, Bykov got a job at the Shevchenko Theater.
Leonid Bykov's wife - Tamara Bykova
Leonid Bykov's wife - Tamara Bykova (maiden name Kravchenko) - is the woman whom Leonid loved all his life. They met at a theater university in Kharkov. The young student was amazed by the girl’s musicality and amazing voice. After marriage, Tamara chose a career not as an actress, but as a wife and mother.
When her husband's new film came out in the cinema, she eagerly went to watch and evaluate it. For Leonid, there was no critic more severe and important than his beloved.
Tamara Bykova died about seven years ago. She outlived her Lenechka by 31 years. Article found on alabanza
