There are many Livanov actors in our country. They are known, loved and many consider them all relatives. However, we have not one, but two of the most famous dynasties with this surname - the family of “Sherlock Holmes” Vasily Livanov, led by his great father Boris Livanov, and Aristarkh and Igor Livanov with their no less talented father Evgeniy, to whom this book is dedicated article.
All these actors crossed paths in life several times. Vasily has long been friends with Aristarkh Livanov, whose younger brother Igor even helped to move from Rostov to Moscow, inviting him to his theater.
Moreover, to match his most famous movie character, Vasily unearthed interesting facts about their families. It turns out that their great-grandfathers were from the same village. It is difficult to say whether they were relatives, because in those distant times everyone in this village bore the same surname.
Aristarkh and Vasily Livanov with their wives
Evgeny Livanov - father of Aristarkh and Igor
It is curious that the older representatives of these dynasties also overlapped. In 1941, the Moscow Art Theater was evacuated to Saratov, where the talented actor Evgeniy Livanov was already playing at the local drama theater. When Boris, then already famous throughout the country, was told that there was his namesake in the theater, he replied:
Every decent theater should have its own Livanov
Evgeny and Boris Livanov
Unfortunately, Evgeny was not able to fully realize his talent on the big stage. Perhaps he would later become no less famous than Boris. But Evgeniy was one of those whose fate was under the rink of repression of the 30s.
Livanov Sr. came from a family of priests for several generations. His father Aristarkh Pavlovich was an archpriest. In 1938, following a denunciation, he was arrested, his family never saw him again... Evgeniy overnight became the son of an “enemy of the people.” Of course, in the theater they began to treat him differently.
Aristarkh Pavlovich Livanov, father of Evgeniy Livanov
When the war began, Livanov went to the front. Then he was no longer allowed to return to the theater; the talented actor had to go into amateur performances. Evgeniy led children's clubs and subsequently began working in a puppet theater.
In the 50s, his father was rehabilitated. But what did it matter anymore? He himself could not be returned, and Evgeniy was already busy with his life’s work - he directed the Kyiv Puppet Theater. They say the children simply adored him.
Igor Livanov now
Now Igor Livanov has taken a short creative break and appears only on the theater stage.
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Igor Livanov
In 2020, the actor participated as a presenter in the gala concert of the VIII Trans-Baikal International Film Festival “Children. Summer. Stories”, which took place in Chita on Children’s Day. Livanov’s co-host was his colleague Alena Babenko.
Evgeny and Nina Livanov
Before the war, Evgeny Livanov was already married and had a son, Oleg. But he met the main woman in his life later, at the front - in 1943 near Kiev. She became a girl named Nina, a lieutenant in the medical service. She literally dug him out from under the snow and carried him to the camp, and then nursed him in the hospital.
Nina gave birth to two sons for Livanov - Aristarkh and Igor, and became a faithful assistant in their family “doll” business.
Nina and Evgeny Livanov with their eldest son Aristarkh. Photo: Moscow 24
Nina and Evgeny Livanov lived together for about 70 (!) years, setting an example for their sons. Their parents are no longer alive, but Aristarchus and Igor worthily continue the acting dynasty.
Evgeny Livanov in the film “The Garden” (1983)
Childhood and young years
Often in interviews, Honored Artist of Russia Igor Evgenievich tells the amazing story of how his parents met in the war. His mother, a medical lieutenant, discovered her future husband, a shell-shocked special forces soldier, on a field in the snow after a battle. She pulled it out and went out. In 1945, the eldest son Aristarkh was born, in 1953 the youngest son, Igorek, was born.
Igor Livanov in childhood
After the war, Livanov’s parents ran a puppet theater, enthusiastically prepared performances and managed to interest their eldest son in his work.
But Igor did not even think about an acting career: he was fond of boxing and martial arts and wanted to become a professional athlete. When the time came to think about getting a higher education, Igor chose a sports university, but his parents managed to convince him.
Following the example of his brother Aristarkh, Livanov Jr. leaves for Leningrad to enter the theater school. Studying is easy for Igor, but soon after graduation he has to forget about acting for a while. He is drafted into the army, into the Marines.
Brothers Aristarkh and Igor Livanov
The age difference between the brothers is 6 years. They both took a lot from their father - kindness, a positive attitude to life, but most importantly, their masculine character. Responsibility for the family is the main feature of the Livanovs. And they played their first roles at the Kiev Puppet Theater under the direction of Father Evgeniy Livanov.
Unfortunately, life beat them, and sometimes very hard. Both experienced disappointments and betrayals and found their happiness only in their third marriages. The younger Igor faced such trials that one wonders how a person can even survive this. But Igor could do it, he has that masculine core that his father and older brother Aristarchus once laid in him.
Now Igor and Aristarchus have their own stories, they rarely see each other, rarely call each other, but the internal connection, of course, remains. If something happens, they are the first to come to each other's aid. And, of course, the brothers always had many fans among the spectators. There is something special, “Lebanese” about them.
Aristarkh and Igor Livanov
Personal life
While still studying at LGITMiK, Igor Livanov met his first love Tatyana Piskunova, his future wife and mother of his beautiful daughter. He liked her at first sight. The girl was very attractive and cheerful. Their relationship developed very rapidly. Every day the loving couple became closer and dearer to each other. Therefore, without waiting to graduate from university, the guys decided to get married.
Tatiana Piskunova
After serious changes took place in their personal life, Igor Livanov took up the issue of employment, and here he was greatly disappointed. Together with his wife, he tried to find work in several theaters. But it always turned out that Igor was unconditionally accepted into the troupe, but Tatyana was always rejected. Livanov, like a true gentleman and loving husband, also refused offers.
After numerous attempts and searches, the couple still managed to get a job at the drama theater, which was located in Ulyanovsk. And, despite the fact that the city did not make the best impression: lack of food in stores, poor living conditions, these difficulties only brought them closer together.
The main problem came at the moment when a new director appeared in the theater. Igor immediately developed a dislike for the new leadership. And it was mutual. Therefore, after some time, the actor was no longer attracted to new productions, and with him Tatyana was left without work.
The new director left Igor Livanov without work
Igor tried to resolve this issue by turning to the Moscow Ministry of Culture for help. He asked for the opportunity to work on assignment in another theater. But the only possible option was military service. Literally a week later, the guy was sent to a military base located in the far east of Russia. Despite this, everything was in order in the personal life of Igor Livanov and his wife: neither time nor kilometers could break the strong feelings for each other. This made their love grow stronger every day.
Aristarkh Livanov
Aristarchus was a very serious guy from childhood and took responsibility for his family early. It was he who took his younger brother to kindergarten and school, and did his homework with him. Livanov also got married for the first time very early - at the age of 19. They met their chosen one Olga Kalmykova at LGITMiK, and after both were assigned to the Volgograd Youth Theater.
Livanov and Kalmykova played the main roles together in their first film, “These Innocent Fun” (1969), but very soon their paths diverged forever. By the way, Olga is now a fairly popular episode actress. It so happened that fame came to her already in adulthood.
Still from the film “These Innocent Fun” (1969) / actress Olga Kalmykova now
Aristarchus received his recognition much earlier - on the stage of the Rostov Drama Theater he played Grigory Melekhov in “Quiet Don” and received the State Prize for this role. They say that even the all-Union “Aksinya” Elina Bystritskaya herself highly appreciated his work.
Aristarkh Livanov as Grigory Melekhov
On the birthday of the famous actor!
He was born on July 19, 1935 in the family of a folk artist and a painter, so the decision to connect his life with art was not only logical, but almost predetermined. Frequent guests of the Livanovs were Alexander Dovzhenko, Boris Pasternak, Pyotr Konchalovsky and other actors, directors and writers, so Vasily Livanov grew up among the creative elite of the USSR. At first he dreamed of a career as a military man or a doctor, but his genes won... He graduated from art school and entered the Theater School. Shchukin.
After college, Vasily Livanov was taken to the Theater. Vakhtangov, where he worked for exactly a year - before his first big film role. Mikhail Kalatozov called him to play the role of a geologist in the drama “An Unsent Letter.” Livanov was very dissatisfied with his hero from the very beginning. The fact is that he was accustomed to good literature, to carefully written theatrical plays, but here he found himself in a situation where the hero, who was sparingly and boringly described in the script, had to be “revitalized” himself. Livanov enriched his Andrey as best he could, but he still didn’t like the result. But after this film, viewers noticed an intelligent young man, and Livanov himself acquired his own unique timbre of voice. For authenticity, Mikhail Kalatozov invited the actors to voice their geologists on the street in 40-degree frost. Trying to shout out the strong wind in the cold, Livanov caught a cold and tore his ligaments...
The young man did not have time to be disappointed in the cinema - he was offered the main role in the film adaptation of Vladimir Korolenko’s drama “The Blind Musician”. Here Livanov turned around - a beautifully drawn character, a good literary basis, a catchy plot... In the film he played together with his father Boris Livanov - it is clear that the audience compared their performance, but here Livanov Jr. did not lose at all.
In 1958, Vasily Livanov married chemist Alina Engelhardt - they met in a dacha group of young people. He had been in love with her since the tenth grade, but the girl, who had already graduated from school by that time, first married someone else and gave birth to two children. After Livanov became a famous actor, she drew attention to him and left her husband. Parents on both sides were not delighted, but Vasily and Alina got married. Relations with relatives did not go well, Livanov often came home drunk, the couple argued... They had a daughter, Anastasia, but this did not save the marriage, and in 1970 the couple divorced.
By this time, the actor had completed directing courses and not only acted in films, but also worked at the Soyuzmultfilm film studio. He wrote several scripts, directed four cartoons and voiced dozens of characters. Carlson, the crocodile Gena and Shapoklyak, Boa Constrictor in “38 Parrots,” Gromozeka, Uncle Au and many other cartoon characters spoke in his voice.
Vasily Livanov came up with the idea for the film “Andrei Rublev”. He dreamed of playing this role and generally imagined what a film about the famous icon painter should look like. He shared his thoughts with his friend Andron Konchalovsky, who, in turn, relayed them to Andrei Tarkovsky. The director was inspired by the idea and together with Konchalovsky they wrote the script. Vasily Livanov never got the coveted role... Tarkovsky’s friends condemned him - if he promised, he took advantage of the idea, then shoot him! — but the director didn’t want to listen to anyone. This situation offended Livanov so much that he and Tarkovsky had a fight in the Central House of Writers restaurant, and not a trace of friendship remained.
In 1972, Livanov married for the second time, his chosen one was the animator Elena Balabanova. Two years later their son Boris was born, and ten years later Nikolai. In 2009, the actor’s eldest son hit the front pages of all newspapers - he was convicted of murdering a drinking companion, and then many family secrets were revealed... The youngest son Nikolai became an animator, worked on the popular cartoons “Masha and the Bear”, “Fixies” and others .
In 1979, Vasily Livanov received a landmark role, which became his calling card for the rest of his life - he played Sherlock Holmes. When director Igor Maslennikov was just planning to make the first film in the series “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson,” he did not consider anyone other than Livanov. He had already worked with the actor in the film “Yaroslavna, Queen of France,” and was sure that Livanov was ideal for the role of an intelligent and smart Englishman. Over the seven years of filming films about Holmes and Watson, the actor became friends with his partner Vitaly Solomin, but by the end of the project the relationship with the director had gone wrong. So much so that they still can’t talk calmly about each other...
The popularity of the project was enormous! It was watched all over the world, including in the homeland of Sherlock Holmes. The British claimed that Soviet artists were the spitting image of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson from the drawings of Sidney Paget, who illustrated Conan Doyle’s book. By the way, it was precisely them that director Igor Maslennikov was guided by when selecting actors for his film... In 2006, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain awarded Vasily Livanov the Order of the British Empire “for creating the most faithful image of the legendary detective.”
“The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson” became Vasily Livanov’s last big project. In 1997, he filmed the film “Don Quixote Returns” based on his script, where he played the main role, but after that he appeared on screen only a few times, completely immersing himself in dubbing cartoons, films and computer games. Recently, he has published several collections of short stories and novellas, and this year he presented his documentary film about the creation of the famous Bronze Horseman.
“The Unhealing Wound” by Aristarkh Livanov
However, this point was still several years away. After the divorce, Livanov moved to Ryazan, and from there he went to Rostov with his new wife, actress Tatyana Anishchenko. The couple already had a son, Evgeniy.
Aristarchus remained a provincial actor, played in several theaters at once, and worked as Santa Claus at Christmas trees. His wife found a replacement for him - she started an affair with another actor of the Rostov Theater. Livanov did not forgive the betrayal. But Tatyana did not forgive him for the success that came and the invitation to the capital.
By that time, Livanov had married for the third time to a girl named Larisa; she worked as an assistant director in the same theater and was in love with him in absentia, having seen him in the very first film.
Larisa and Aristarkh Livanov. Photo: Moscow 24
The relationship with Larisa turned out to be ideal, the couple is together to this day. They had a daughter, Nina, and for some time they communicated well with their son Eugene from Aristarchus’s second marriage. And then everything changed.
Moving to Moscow, Livanov’s success in cinema... Perhaps Anishchenko began to be jealous of all this. How else to explain the fact that she suddenly decided to change their son’s surname? Eugene was trained as a director, but communicates very rarely with his famous father; Aristarchus has never even seen his grandson. And all this became an “unhealing wound” for him.
First and second marriage
The first serious feeling came to Livanov during his student years while studying at LGITMiK. He fell in love with fellow student Tatyana Piskunova. The girl attracted him with her liveliness of character, honesty, and temperament. Seeing how many fans were seeking her attention, Igor did not dare to take the first step for a long time. However, those around him, and Tatyana herself, soon guessed about his feelings.
In their third year, the lovers finally became close and very soon decided to get married. Another student couple, Mikhail Boyarsky and Larisa Luppian, with whom Piskunova was friends and rented an apartment, became witnesses at the wedding. The newlyweds settled in this rental housing, since Tatiana’s neighbor also moved in with her future husband.
After graduating from the institute, the couple was assigned to Ulyanovsk, then they were called to work in Rostov. In 1979, the couple had a daughter, Olga. Igor’s career took off, he began to be invited to the movies. Fans filled him with letters and sought the attention of the handsome young man, but he truly valued his family, never allowing himself to succumb to temptation.
In August 1987, his wife and daughter wanted to go to Tatyana’s small homeland. Alas, their train did not reach its destination. At night, while parked, a freight train crashed into it, its brakes failing. Livanov’s relatives were also among the victims of the disaster.
His acquaintance with theater school student Irina Bakhtura helped him return to life. She was 12 years younger than the actor, but she was the first to show him signs of attention and even left the young man with whom she was in a long-term relationship. After the death of his daughter, Livanov dreamed of becoming a father again, and his new lover warmly supported his desire. Shortly before the birth of their son Andrei, the couple legalized their relationship.
Igor and Irina moved to Moscow, overcame everyday difficulties together, and raised their son. Their marriage was not ideal, but Livanov tried to save the family for the sake of the child. When he began to have serious health problems that threatened to cause disability, the actor unexpectedly learned that his wife was having an affair with a rising movie star, Sergei Bezrukov. Divorce was inevitable.
Daughter and grandchildren of Aristarkh Livanov
Things are also not easy for Aristarchus with his daughter Nina. She received a good psychological education, but at one point she flew away with her grandchildren to live in Southeast Asia. However, she lives there for her own pleasure and does what she loves, and doesn’t dream of much. Nowadays such people are called downshifters.
However, Livanov, accustomed to working hard since childhood, does not understand this way of life at all. Fortunately, the relationship with his daughter is normal and he and his wife Larisa see their grandchildren regularly, despite the distance.
Daughter Nina Livanova / Aristarkh with his wife Larisa and granddaughter Katya
Trying to be happy
Igor continued to play in the theater, but he had to endure another small loss. His good friend, and part-time director-producer Yu. Eremin, went to Moscow and left his position. Their paths diverged forever. A new director, Alexey Malyshev, came to the theater. He not only directed theatrical activities, but was a teacher at one of the theater schools. Irina Bakhtura, a girl with a difficult fate, studied in his course. Very often Livanov met her loving gaze. Irina was a very purposeful person and if she wanted something, she always achieved it. This happened in the case of Igor. Despite the fact that at that moment the girl was engaged to someone else, she very quickly solved this problem and soon canceled the wedding.
Irina Bakhtura
Some time later, Livanov invited the girl to celebrate his birthday. She was very pleased that she would spend this day with him and his family. After this, serious changes occurred in Igor Livanov’s personal life. The actor realized that he wants Irina to become his wife and give birth to wonderful children. Soon they got married.
Due to minor disagreements between Livanov and the director, he had to leave the theater and move with his family to Moscow. In December, Livanov’s son Andrei was born. It was very difficult for them - they lived in a communal apartment with a neighbor who had tuberculosis. Every day Igor did everything possible to provide his family with new housing, because their health was in serious danger.
And at this time, Ira began to be actively invited to film various films, and she completely immersed herself in this atmosphere. The son often stayed with his father, they went on vacation together and spent a lot of time together. After some time, it became known that Irina met a new love - Sergei Bezrukov. In order to arrange her personal life, she needed to move to Prague. Despite the great resentment, Livanov was still able to say goodbye to his wife with dignity and gave her a divorce.
The sad love story of Igor Livanov and Tatyana Piskunova
The younger brother Igor, up to a certain point, repeated the fate of Aristarchus. In his youth, he also practiced boxing and was even more successful in the sport than his brother. He was going to the Institute of Physical Education, but then he still chose the acting profession.
Aristarchus prepared his brother for admission to LGITMiK, which he himself graduated from several years earlier. Igor also met there his first wife, actress Tatyana Piskunova, known from the film “Ivan da Marya” (1974). Together the couple left for Ulyanovsk, and then ended up in Rostov. By that time, Aristarchus had already moved from there to Moscow.
Unfortunately this is a very sad love story...
Igor Livanov with Tatyana Piskunova and their daughter Olga
Tatyana gave birth to Igor's daughter Olga. In 1987, he lost both of them in a train accident. In an interview, he said that he tried to drink then to numb the pain, but for some reason his body did not allow him to do this.
A year later, he left Rostov for Moscow at the invitation of Vasily Livanov, who then supported his namesake in a difficult situation and got him into his theater. What can I say, Igor simply ran away from that place where everything reminded him of his wife and daughter.
Igor Livanov's ex-wife - Tatyana Livanova (Piskunova)
Igor Livanov's ex-wife Tatyana Livanova (Piskunova) became his beloved wife while he was studying. He was fascinated by a sweet, kind girl, and although at first they were friends, after a while the friendship grew into love. They got married, and soon their daughter Olya was born. It seemed that happiness was guaranteed, because the girl grew up healthy, cheerful, studied well, and Tanya provided comfort at home. But at some point, their happiness was cut short by the fact that their wife and daughter died at the Kamenskaya station when a freight train collided with a train carrying passengers. This tragedy claimed many lives, including the young woman Tanya and the girl Olya.
Igor Livanov and Irina Bakhtura (Livanova, now Bezrukova)
Then a new woman appeared in Igor’s life - his student Irina Bakhtura from the Rostov School of Arts, where Livanov led an acting workshop in those years. Everything happened quickly and, probably, we should have taken a closer look at each other. But Igor then really needed a family, he wanted children, without whom he saw no meaning in his life.
Irina and Igor Livanov
The couple had a son, Andrei. A few years later, Igor became famous throughout the country and, by the way, also thanks to his brother. It was Aristarchus who proposed his candidacy for the film “Destroy the Thirtieth!” (1992), where they both starred.
All of Livanov’s worries were about his new family, which, at first glance, did not need anything.
Igor and Aristarkh Livanov on the set of “Destroy the Thirtieth!” (1992)
Alas, this marriage was destroyed by betrayal. Irina left Igor for the young actor Sergei Bezrukov, who was then gaining popularity. For Andrey Livanov became a “Sunday dad”. However, they saw each other often. The son then made his first successes in cinema, starring in the films “I Am a Doll” (2001) and “The Rescuers. Eclipse" (2006).
Andrei communicated well with Igor’s new family - his wife Olga, who is a quarter of a century younger than her husband, and his younger brother Timofey. He was about to have another brother, Ilya, when under strange circumstances in 2020 he himself passed away. Andrei Livanov was only 25 years old.
Igor Livanov with his son Andrey
Son of Igor Livanov - name unknown
The son of Igor Livanov - name unknown - was born on October 18, 2015, the same year when his son Andrei died from his second marriage. Some fans of Livanov see some symbolism in this, that, they say, Andrei’s soul could end up in the new child. Whether this is true or not, for Livanov this became a real salvation from grief, from the losses that he experienced throughout his life. Nothing is known about the new child; it is impossible to even say what his name is, because there is only one mention of him on the Internet on Wikipedia. Maybe this is because Livanov does not want to talk about him, so as not to cause trouble again.
New life of Igor Livanov
It is difficult to say whether Igor would have survived this blow if not for the strong family that he finally acquired in the second half of his life. Where and what he and Irina missed in Andrei at one time is unknown. The reasons for the misfortune are various - from diabetes to participation in a sect.
Nevertheless, life goes on.
And, according to Igor, it continues in children. Now he has his own big house and two sons who need to be put on their feet. And he simply has no right to give up. Igor Livanov with his wife Olga and sons Timofey and Ilya. Photo: 7 days
Igor Livanov's common-law wife - Olga Livanova
Igor Livanov’s common-law wife Olga Livanova became his third wife, with whom he still lives and raises two sons. After he was unlucky to build a marriage with an actress, he decided that for personal happiness, he no longer needed to connect his life with creative people. As a result, his chosen one was a simple woman, Olya, who works in a securities law office. She is always there, supports her husband, gave birth to two sons who help the actor rehabilitate his emotional wounds. The actor has repeatedly said that he is happy with his family, and that it took a long time to find a woman like Olya.
Children and tragedy
Igor Evgenievich lost his first child, daughter Olga Livanova, in 1987 as a result of a train accident. The girl, born in 1979, was 8 years old. He also had to survive his son Andrei: he was raised by Irina Bakhtura and Sergei Bezrukov, although Igor Livanov always tried to maintain family relations with him. He took him on trips and weekends, and even maintained a close friendship with the adult. At the age of 25, his son died suddenly.
Important! The circumstances of the death were never clarified. Returning with his mother from a trip, the guy felt unwell, just like Irina Vladimirovna Bakhtura, at that time already Bezrukova. However, after a short time she flew to Irkutsk on tour, and Andrei remained at home with a high fever and died without seeking medical help. The mother flew to her deceased son, and the stepfather remained in Irkutsk.
Children from his third marriage, Timofey, born in 2007, and Ilya, born in 2020, made Igor Livanov a happy father, for whom no one prevents him from spending as much time as he wants with his sons. The press paid a lot of attention to these events and published numerous photos and reports.
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