Childhood and youth
Ilya Lvovich Klyaver, this is the artist’s real name, was born in July 1947 in Chisinau, into a poor Jewish family. Their home is a rickety old two-room house with a tiny kitchen. The Klyaver family with two children (Ilya had an older sister) huddled in one of the rooms; in the second, an uncle with his family and elderly parents.
Ilya Oleynikov
The father earned a piece of bread for the family by making blinkers (side eyecups) for horses. Mom took care of the children and housework. Children had to work hard to help their parents. The boy could only study at evening school. But he didn’t have enough strength for this, so he lost interest in all the sciences taken together. But the parents managed to introduce their son to the world of beauty. At first, Ilya Oleinikov studied violin, but he failed. But the accordion lessons were a success.
The young artist’s first stage was a wooden chair, on which the father proudly threw his child, who was supposed to amuse the guests. The boy did it well. He sang, recited poems, made hilarious faces, repeating memorized phrases from various films.
Ilya Oleynikov in childhood and youth
After this, the guests approvingly patted the young talent’s cheeks. In his autobiographical book, Oleinikov recalled that fame at that time was associated with rather painful sensations for him. The cheeks turned from pink to blue for several days.
At the age of 18, Ilya Oleinikov collected some simple belongings and went to Moscow. Without much difficulty he entered the circus school. I was able to prepare for admission by working at the Chisinau Puppet Theater. As the artist later admitted with sad humor, he had no other way but acting. After all, he had no prospects in terms of science. But for an artist, literacy is not required.
Memoria. Ilya Oleynikov
On July 10, 1947, Ilya Oleinikov, actor, one of the creators of “Gorodok”, was born.
Private bussiness
Ilya Lvovich Oleynikov (real name - Klyaver, 1947-2012) was born in Chisinau into a Jewish family. His father was a saddler and kept a shop in the market, his mother did housework. In addition to Ilya, the family also had an eldest daughter.
They lived in a small house of two rooms with the family of their father's brother and grandparents.
As a child, Ilya learned to play the violin and accordion. He graduated from evening school and worked for some time in a puppet theater, where he played a crippled wolf in the play “Merry Masquerade.”
In 1965 he entered the Moscow School of Circus and Variety Arts in the department of clownery, speech and musical eccentric genres. He recalled: “It’s amazing that I was accepted. If only you had heard what I said then! It was an explosive mixture of Russian, Moldavian and Odessa dialect. Moreover, I didn’t pronounce some of the letters at all. When I was admitted, I read the fable “The Drunk Hare.” <…> As the fable progressed, the hare became more and more drunk, and consequently, the speech became more and more confusing. It seems to me that they accepted me only so that I would stop this bullying.” While studying, he worked part-time at the Mosconcert as a conversational artist.
After graduating from college in 1969, he was drafted into the army and rose to the rank of “corporal-entertainer.” He said: “I have the only rank of its kind written on my military ID. This happened due to the illiteracy of some officers. We had such a captain Chumakov, he made a request in this way: “I ask you to enlist Private Klyaver in the regimental orchestra as a corporal-entertainer.” Another “smart” person from the office, instead of asking to redo the document, made everything official, and the entry “corporal-entertainer” appeared on my military ID.”
After serving, he returned to Chisinau, where he began performing in the pop ensemble “Zymbet” (“Smile”).
Then he moved to Moscow, worked in Yuri Saulsky’s jazz orchestra “VIO-66” at the Mosconcert, and in 1974-1990 at the Lenconcert, as a conversational artist. I read monologues by Semyon Altov, Mikhail Mishin and others.
In 1990 he starred in the comedy “Anecdotes”. On the set I met actor Yuri Stoyanov.
In 1991, together with Stoyanov, he did a joke section for the television program “Adam’s Apple.”
In 1993, Oleinikov and Stoyanov created their own humorous program “Town,” which was produced by the St. Petersburg studio “Positive.”
In addition to working on television, he starred in films and TV series, including “Carnival Night-2” (1996), “Thin Little Thing” (1999), “Stepanych’s Thai Voyage” (2005), “Stepanych’s Spanish Voyage” (2006), “Kingdom Crooked Mirrors" (2007), "Adventurers" (2009), "Newlyweds" (2011) and others.
In 2008, he produced the musical “The Prophet”, in which he played the main role. In 2010, together with actress Olga Aroseva, he played in the play “A Perfect Murder” at the Moscow Satire Theater.
In the summer of 2012, Oleinikov was diagnosed with lung cancer. After a course of chemotherapy at the end of October, he was hospitalized from the set with a diagnosis of pneumonia. The actor was put into an induced coma, and on November 11, 2012, he died without regaining consciousness. He was buried at the Kazan cemetery in the city of Pushkin (belongs to St. Petersburg).
Ilya Oleynikov was married three times. Twice - fictitiously, since Moscow registration was needed. Once - for love. Married to a candidate of chemical sciences, Irina Klyaver (before marriage - Oleynikova, the artist took her last name as a pseudonym), a son was born, Denis Klyaver, singer of the group “Tea for Two”.
What is he famous for?
For 19 years, Ilya Oleinikov, together with Yuri Stoyanov, made the “Town” program. A total of 284 episodes of the comedy show were filmed. "Gorodok" twice - in 1999 and 2002 - received the TEFI award. In 1996, both presenters received TEFI statuettes in the “Best Entertainment Program Presenter” category. In 2001, both actors became People's Artists of Russia.
What you need to know
Oleynikov spent about seven years preparing the musical “The Prophet”. He himself acted as a producer and even sold an apartment in St. Petersburg for the sake of this project. The production cost him almost $2.5 million. At the end of 2011, he closed the musical due to weak audience interest. According to relatives, the actor had a hard time with the failure of his brainchild.
Direct speech
About his wife (Woman Hit): “She’s a smart woman, so she’s not jealous. She understands - well, who needs me, besides her, so handsome! There was such a story once. I was in Minsk on tour. Before the concert started, Irina called from home, asked how things were, complained about the St. Petersburg weather, we had a nice conversation and said goodbye. After the performance, I return to the hotel and find a note, the content was something like this: “I am your fan. Fascinated by you. I dream of getting to know you better. I live in the same hotel." I bought a bottle of wine and came to the number indicated in the note, and there... my wife! He says: “Gotcha, you scoundrel!” And I answered her: “What are you talking about, Irochka, I came in out of curiosity, and this is wine for myself, to drink at night, to make it easier to fall asleep!”
About idols (ibid.): “Evaluation of the work done. Previously, a very, very long time ago, the standard of popularity for me was Lev Leshchenko. One day after a St. Petersburg concert, Volodya Vinokur and Leva came to visit us. Naturally, we not only talked loudly, but also sang songs. Or rather, I screamed, and those who had a voice sang. It was late, and one of the neighbors called the police. At that time, law enforcement agencies responded to all calls, and soon guys in caps appeared in our apartment. Seeing Leshchenko, they were confused, apologized and left. (This happened long before the appearance of “Gorodok”, so my face was not particularly familiar to them.) And I hear them on the landing telling their neighbors: “Shame on you, people buy tickets to listen to songs performed by Leshchenko, but here you are a free concert, and you’re still unhappy. Call again, we’ll consider it a false call!”
About his hobby (“To be remembered”): “There is such a place - where my piano stands. There is simply no better place for me in the house, I spend a lot of time there: playing, relaxing, composing... In general, over the years, my passion for music and composition has intensified. I never gave up these activities, but recently they began to take up almost all my free time. Moreover, modern technology now makes it possible not to pore over music notebooks. With the help of a computer, I can immediately write down what comes into my head. So expect hits."
Son Denis Klyaver about how “Gorodok” began (Tele.ru, November 2013): “I met Yura [Stoyanov] on New Year’s Day, he came to visit us on the night from 1991 to 1992. And that night turned out to be historic. Dad, Stoyanov and dad's friend and partner Seryozha Serebryansky, having drunk and being in a wonderful mood, began to play skits. Seryozha’s mother sent a video camera from Canada, and so they filmed their tomfoolery with it. I remember well how I returned from a party at about five in the morning, and my dad played a recording for me: “Look how much fun we had.” After getting some sleep, dad looked at the shooting again and saw in Yura a potential partner, and in fooling around - a potential TV show. Soon he and Yura were already filming the “Anecdotes” section for Kirill Nabutov’s “Adam’s Apple” program, from which “Town” grew.”
5 facts about Ilya Oleynikov
- Born on the same day as Yuri Stoyanov (b. 1957) - July 10, ten years apart.
- While still studying at the variety and circus school, I met actor-comedian Roman Kazakov, and together they came up with a duet called “Klyaver and Kazakov.” After Kazakov's death in 1986, Oleinikov was looking for a new partner on stage until he found Stoyanov.
- He took a pseudonym on the advice of Vladimir Vinokur - at that time, a Jewish surname was an obstacle for a public person.
- In 1997, co-authored with Yuri Stoyanov, he wrote the book “See you in Gorodok.” In 1999 he published an autobiographical book “Life as a Song”.
- He wrote music for the film “Spanish Voyage of Stepanych” and for the musical “The Prophet”. Also, his songs were in the repertoire of Edita Piekha, Nadezhda Babkina and the duet “Tea for Two”. Together with his wife he recorded the album “My Chanson”.
Materials about Ilya Oleynikov:
Biography on Wikipedia
RIA Novosti Help
Biography 24SMI
Page about the actor on the “Find out everything” website
Creation
The creative biography of Ilya Oleinikov began in his student years. He worked part-time on the stage of the Mosconcert. Monologues and humorous sketches performed by the young artist enjoyed constant success. Oleinikov took texts by Semyon Altov, Mikhail Mishin and others as a basis, but always added something of his own to them.
Having received a diploma from a circus school, Oleinikov went to serve in the army. After demobilization, he briefly returned to his native Chisinau and for some time performed in the pop group “Smile”. But soon he returns to Russia, to Leningrad. Here, since 1974, he continues to perform on stage with humorous monologues. But after 3 years, Ilya Lvovich has a wonderful partner - Roman Kazakov. Their dialogues and skits are very popular with the audience.
Ilya Oleynikov and Roman Kazakov
The duet is increasingly invited to St. Petersburg theaters. And at the end of the 1970s, Oleynikov and Kazakov appeared on the screens. The catchphrase of this cheerful couple, which is repeated in many issues, is “The question, of course, is interesting.” It becomes a kind of trademark of the duo. At the same time, Ilya Oleinikov acted in films. His debut comedies are Stepanych's Thai Voyage and Collective Farm Entertainment.
In 1986, Ilya Oleinikov began looking for a new partner: Roman Kazakov died. For 4 years, the artist collaborated with several colleagues in the genre, but without much success. Everything changed after the comedy film “Anecdotes”. On the set, Oleynikov met with Yuri Stoyanov. This meeting turned out to be fateful: the artists never parted again. After a short period of time, this creative tandem began to be perceived as a single whole.
Ilya Oleynikov and Yuri Stoyanov
In 1993, Oleynikov and Stoyanov started their own project called “Town”. The program instantly turns into one of the highest rated. Over the 19 years of Gorodok’s existence, 284 issues were published. The program was twice awarded the TEFI prize. In 2001, Oleinikov and Stoyanov received the title of People's Artists of Russia.
A few years before his death, Ilya Oleynikov staged a grandiose musical called “The Prophet.” He invested a lot of effort, soul and money into this project. The performance was based on musical numbers by Oleinikov himself.
Ilya Oleynikov
The director of the project was Janusz Yuzefovich, director of Metro. To create the scenery, Ilya Lvovich involved specialists who worked on the special effects of the film “The Lord of the Rings”. Oleinikov himself played the False Prophet.
But the musical failed. Its budget was about $2.5 million. Investors from Belarus agreed to give 2 of them. But at the last moment they changed their minds. Ilya Oleynikov sold his apartment and got into considerable debt. The artist took the failure of his project very hard.
Ilya Oleinikov's path to the stage
At eighteen, Ilya moved to Moscow and entered the Moscow State School of Circus and Variety Arts.
As the actor himself admitted: “I had no prospects either in the exact sciences or in the humanities. That's why I decided to become an artist. After all, an artist does not have to be literate.” It was in this strange way that Ilya’s acting career began. While still a student, Ilya worked part-time at the Mosconcert, performing short humorous monologues and sketches. In 1969, after graduating from college, Klyaver joined the army, where he became famous as an actor in a local ensemble and... “corporal corporal” (that’s right, in one word). A similar entry is even contained in his military ID.
Ilya Oleynikov. 2006 After graduation, he returned to Chisinau, where he began performing in the pop ensemble “Zymbet” (in Russian - “Smile”). In 1974, Ilya moved to Russia again, this time to Leningrad. In the same year, he began performing at Lenconcert and again delighted the audience with his humorous sketches. During this period, he became famous for performing famous monologues by popular Soviet playwrights at that time - Mikhail Mishin, Semyon Altov, Maryan Belenky, etc. However, when performed by Ilya Klyaver they always sounded a little different. Without hesitation, correcting famous texts, the young artist each time added something of his own to them, thus creating something fundamentally new.
Personal life
Despite his outward awkwardness, Oleinikov enjoyed enormous success with the opposite sex. It is known that he had two marriages, which the actor’s friends consider fictitious. But Ilya Lvovich met true love when he served in the army and returned to Chisinau. During the tour of the pop group in which the young artist performed, he met Irina Oleinikova. Thanks to her, I ended up in Leningrad.
Ilya Oleynikov and his wife Irina
In this marriage, the couple’s only son, Denis Klyaver, was born. The family hearth was very dear to Ilya Oleinikov. Love and harmony reigned in their home. Irina Klyaver (after marriage she took her husband’s last name, and he “borrowed” her last name for his stage name) was a real homemaker. Irina was a chemist by profession. It is safe to say that Ilya Oleinikov’s personal life was happy. The couple lived together until the actor’s death.
Oleynikov
As time passed, the cheerful and friendly couple had a son, Denis Klyaver, today known for the vocal duet “Tea for Two”... He is the only one in the family who now bears his father’s surname. After all, Ilya Oleinikov, having lived with his wife for several years, took her last name.
He will tell you that at that time it was much more difficult for a Jew to get on television than for someone of any other nationality. And under the name of his wife, they began to take him for a Ukrainian and gave him the opportunity to perform. It is television that will make a real star out of the actor: the whole country will be watching their “Town” with Yuri Stoyanov for 19 years.
Death
After the failure of the musical, Oleinikov plunged into a prolonged depression. Relatives later recalled that it was then that he started talking about his imminent death. In the summer of 2012, the actor was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was forced to undergo chemotherapy. Aggressive treatment weakened the already unhealthy heart. In the fall of the same year, the actor fell ill with pneumonia.
Grave of Ilya Oleinikov
Doctors put the artist into a state of artificial sleep. But it was not possible to save the artist. On November 11, 2012, he passed away. Oleinikov died at the age of 66.
Filmography
- 1968 — “Trembita”
- 1988 — “Primorsky Boulevard”
- 1990 — “Anecdotes”
- 1996 — “Carnival Night 2”
- 1999 — “Thin Little Thing”
- 2003 — “Collective Farm Entertainment”
- 2004 — “Upside down”
- 2005 — “Twelve Chairs”
- 2005 — “Stepanych’s Thai voyage”
- 2005 — “The Master and Margarita”
- 2006 — “Spanish Voyage of Stepanych”
- 2007 — “Law of the Hare”
- 2008 - “Hitler is kaput!”
- 2010 — “Unbreakable Union”
- 2012 — “Rzhevsky against Napoleon”
- 2012 — “Stepanych’s Mexican Voyage”
