Tamara Makarova: biography of her early years
The future actress was born in 1907 in St. Petersburg. Besides her, there were two more children in the family.
When the revolution broke out, the father of ten-year-old Toma, Fedorov Makarov, was forced to leave his family and go into hiding, since he had previously worked as a doctor in Tsarskoye Selo and was considered unreliable by the standards of that rebellious time. His children and wife never saw him again, and no one knows what his future fate was.
After the disappearance of the father of the family, caring for the children fell entirely on the shoulders of Toma’s fragile mother, who had to work without weekends and holidays to provide for the family.
While the brave woman selflessly tried to earn a living, young Toma took care of her younger brother and sister Lyuda. However, soon the brother fell ill with tuberculosis and died.
The youth of Tamara Makarova
The early years of the actress’s life came at a difficult time: after the Civil War, there was devastation and famine in the country. But, perhaps, it was precisely thanks to the difficulties that she had to endure in childhood that Tamara Fedorovna developed such a persistent and fearless character.
The Makarovs lived in a rather disadvantaged area. However, local hooligans respected young Toma for her frankness and desperate nature. She was the ringleader in her yard and was later able to organize an amateur theater there on her own. Over time, it received official status, and its participants received regular food rations.
Study and first roles
After graduating from school at the age of seventeen, Tamara Makarova entered the acting workshop of Nikolai Fogger (Mastfor). Here she met her future husband, but at that time the beautiful student, who was besieged by crowds of admirers, did not pay any attention to the homely young man wearing someone else’s jacket.
The young actress Tamara Makarova got her first film role quite by accident. Being an avid fashionista, the girl always strived to dress with style, despite the difficult times. Fortunately, she had an excellent figure. And the ability to maintain her posture, which she acquired while practicing ballet as a child, allowed the aspiring actress to look like a queen even in the simplest outfit. One day, when she was walking down the street, dressed up in the latest fashion of the time, she was noticed by an assistant from FEX (Factory of Eccentric Actor). She invited the beauty to play in the film “Someone else’s Jacket.” And although the role of Dudkina, which was assigned to the charming Toma, was very tiny, Makarova played it superbly. However, because of this, the actress was assigned the role of a femme fatale for several years, and she was assigned to play only foreigners or spies.
The first serious film work that Tamara Fedorovna Makarova received was Ivan Pyryev’s film Conveyor of Death, in which the actress played Anna. However, this film lay on the shelf for a long time and, having lost its relevance, was greeted coolly by the audience. Therefore, the picture did not bring much popularity to the actress, but it helped prove to her that she is capable of playing not only frivolous young ladies, but also women with a rich inner world.
“Tamara Fedorovna chose clothes, shoes, and jewelry for the students. And sometimes she paid for it herself.”
“It was a great success to get into VGIK for a course with Gerasimov and Makarova,” recalls People’s Artist of Russia Larisa Luzhina . — I still consider Sergei Apollinarievich and Tamara Fedorovna my second parents. Although, I must admit, when I entered VGIK, I knew practically nothing about Sergei Gerasimov. My admission was generally a matter of chance. Of course, since childhood I dreamed of becoming an actress, but I failed the entrance exams at VGIK. Only two years after this, thanks to a coincidence of circumstances, I got an audition for Gerasimov and Makarova. I was invited to read a monologue at their home - in a large apartment in the very center of Moscow. At first I didn’t pay any attention to Sergei Apollinarievich. He was sitting in a large chair in the corner of the room and seemed to me like some strange little man. But Tamara Fedorovna was an ideal for me, the Mistress of the Copper Mountain. I watched films with her participation and learned the roles by heart. Therefore, I made every effort to please Makarova. Later I learned that in fact the fate of the students was decided by Sergei Apollinarievich. I remember at the end of our first meeting Gerasimov sternly said: “Thank you, baby, you can go...” And the next day I found out that I was enrolled in VGIK.
*At the Soviet Cinema Week in Iran in 1963, Tamara Makarova and Sergei Gerasimov (right) were with their students. On the left - Larisa Luzhina - Almost all students of Gerasimov and Makarova became famous actors. You studied together with Evgeny Zharikov, Natalya Belokhvostikova, Sergei Nikonenko, Zhanna Bolotova... - At VGIK they called us the children of Gerasimov and Makarova. And it was true. Wherever we were, our “parents” made sure that their students would not be left without work. This concerned not only Soviet students, but also many who came from abroad. If we needed any help, we always knew who to go to. This could concern not only creative issues, but also everyday ones. Tamara Fedorovna used to go shopping with students, choose clothes, shoes, jewelry for them, and sometimes pay for it herself. - She never had children of her own, did she? “I think it was a real tragedy for Tamara Feodorovna. That’s probably why she treated us so warmly. Makarova loved her sister’s daughter, Emmochka, very much. In addition, she had an adopted son, Arthur, whose last name was Makarov. He was the joy and pain of Tamara Fedorovna. His life ended tragically. In the mid-90s, Arthur was killed in his home, and the weapon was a Spanish blade from the collection of Gerasimov and Makarova. Tamara Fedorovna barely survived this grief. By that time, Sergei Apollinarievich was no longer alive... - After all, thanks to Gerasimov, you first appeared on the screen? - Yes. He insisted that Rostotsky take me to the main role in the film “On the Seven Winds.” Stanislav Iosifovich had another contender, but Sergei Apollinarievich used his influence as the head of the creative association to approve my candidacy. At that time, he himself was filming the film “People and Beasts,” in which Tamara Feodorovna and almost all the students of our course played. I was the only one left uninvolved, so Gerasimov tried. In fact, he decided my fate, because the painting “On the Seven Winds” became my calling card. During filming, not everything worked out well, and Rostotsky wanted to replace me with another actress. But Gerasimov intervened again, saying: “Stasik, you are a director and, like a sculptor, you must sculpt her into an actress. It’s your fault that she’s not succeeding yet...” I remember I was in a terribly depressed state and suddenly received a letter from Tamara Makarova. She sent warm words of encouragement from the set of Men and Beasts, knowing how much I needed them. Moreover, she laid out my entire role in detail, explaining how I needed to work on it. After that, I took a thick squared notebook and wrote it all out, using Tamara Makarova’s advice. My heroine was born first on paper, and only then in the cinema.
Union of Tamara Makarova and Sergei Gerasimov
A real breakthrough in the actress’s career came thanks to her husband, the famous Soviet film director and teacher Sergei Gerasimov.
She met him while still studying, but at first she didn’t like the guy, especially since she already had a boyfriend at that time. However, the beauty Tamara Makarova made a stunning impression on Gerasimov, and he made every effort to win her proud heart.
There is a legend that on one of the dates the actress persuaded her hooligan friends to test her boyfriend’s courage. Sergei Apollinarievich passed the test with dignity, and in 1928 the lovers got married.
This union had a huge impact on Soviet cinema, because, according to Gerasimov himself, it was his wife who supported his desire to retrain from an artist to a director. In turn, Tamara Makarova’s husband insisted that she develop her talent and enter the College of Performing Arts.
In the first years of their marriage, the couple practically did not make films together; each focused on their own careers. But they were able to achieve real success only when they began to work together.
The debut collaboration for lovers was the silent film “Do I Love You?” In it, Gerasimov starred his wife in the leading role for the first time. However, this film did not become a special event in the world of Soviet cinema and was not even preserved in the archives. But the next joint work of the spouses made them famous throughout the USSR.
Biography
Tamara Makarova was born on July 31 (August 13), 1907, (according to other sources - in 1902), in St. Petersburg in the family of a military doctor. At the age of 14, who was fond of theater and ballet, Tamara created her own troupe, bringing together neighboring children. The courtyard theater delighted the residents of the surrounding area with performances; he was even registered, and the guys began to receive rations. In 1924, Tamara Makarova, after graduating from school, entered the acting workshop MASTFOR. There she first met Sergei Gerasimov.
Makarova made her film debut in 1927 with the film “Alien Jacket.” She came to the Sovkino factory, which was producing this film, by accident, literally from the street: she was brought by assistant G. M. Kozintseva and L. Z. Trauberg. On the set of this film, she met Gerasimov again. The young people became close and got married. All further creative activity of Makarova was connected with her husband. On his advice, in 1927 she entered the film department of the College of Performing Arts (graduated in 1930).
Makarova first appeared in Gerasimova's film in 1934. It was the painting “Do I Love You?”, which unfortunately has not survived. By that time, Makarova had already worked with such directors as V.I. Pudovkin and I.A. Pyryev, and often acted with her husband. All-Union success came to them in 1936 with the release of the film “Seven Braves”. This was followed by a series of successful collaborations - “Komsomolsk”, “Teacher”, “Masquerade”. The last painting was completed just before the war.
Themes of the Great Patriotic War and the blockade occupy a large place in Makarova’s work. The couple remained in the city until 1943. Makarova participated in the organization of the defense of Leningrad, worked as an instructor in the Political Directorate of the Front, as a sergeant, and as a nurse. Their joint work during this period was the film “Invincible” about the heroic struggle of the Soviet people. The film was directed by Gerasimov together with Mikhail Kalatozov, and Makarova played one of the main roles in it. In total, Makarova worked at the Lenfilm film studio for 16 years (from 1927 to 1942).
Then the couple went to the rear, to Tashkent. There they had an adopted child - a son, Arthur, who later became a famous writer and film playwright. The couple’s next work, the film “Big Land,” is dedicated to military themes and the home front.
The family did not return from evacuation to Leningrad; they moved to Moscow. Since 1944, Makarova has been teaching at VGIK, which now bears the name of her husband. In 1968, she became a professor at this educational institution. She and her husband taught together and ran a common workshop. Among their students are such famous artists as S. F. Bondarchuk, I. V. Makarova, T. M. Lioznova, L. M. Gurchenko, Z. M. Kiriyenko, N. N. Fateeva, Zh. A. Bolotova, N. N. Gubenko, E. I. Zharikov, L. A. Luzhina, S. P. Nikonenko, G. A. Polskikh, L. N. Fedoseeva-Shukshina, N. U. Arinbasarova, N. N. Belokhvostikova, N. . S. Bondarchuk, N.F. Gvozdikova, N.N. Eremenko Jr., and this list is far from complete.
The Gerasimovs devoted themselves to teaching to the end, were like a family with their students, and loved to involve them in their films. Perhaps the most striking example of this is “Young Guard”. The film brought into orbit a whole galaxy of young actors - students of VGIK:I. V. Makarov, N. V. Mordyukov, S. S. Gurzo, S. F. Bondarchuk, V. V. Tikhonov, K. S. Luchko, V. A. Avdyushko and many others. Students of other cinematographic specialties also worked on the film: cameraman V. M. Shumsky and cameraman and director. V. Shatrov. On the set of the film, directors who later became famous, Yu. P. Egorov, Yu. S. Pobedonostsev and T. M. Lioznova, had internships; artists I. M. Kaplan and B. S. Manevich; cameraman V. A. Ginzburg.
It is also worth noting that Makarova and Gerasimov were not professionally dependent on each other. Tamara Fedorovna was no less successful in films by other directors (“The Stone Flower”, “The Oath”), and Sergei Appolinarievich was an independent creative unit. Despite family ties, his wife appears only in his fourth film, and in the future he often did without her (“Quiet Don”, “By the Lake”, “Red and Black”).
Since the early 50s, Makarova has acted much less frequently, mainly in her husband’s films. She is also a co-author of the script for T. M. Lioznova’s debut film “Memory of the Heart” and the author of the libretto for the film “People and Beasts”.
Tamara Makarova died on January 20, 1997 (according to other sources - January 19), in Moscow. She was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery (site No. 10).
The film “Seven Braves” is the first sound film by Gerasimov and Makarova
In 1935, Sergei Gerasimov and Yuri German wrote a script about the life of seven inhabitants of the Arctic Bay "Radostnaya". Soon, the film “Seven Braves” was shot based on this script. The main female role, Doctor Evgenia Okhrimenko, was played by actress Tamara Makarova.
This film became a real hit. The audience was delighted with her, and Zhenya Okhrimenko, like the performer of this role, became a heroine and an example for millions of Soviet viewers. Photos of Tamara Makarova began to be printed as postcards in millions of copies. Moreover, at the memorable Parisian World Exhibition of 1937, not only the famous sculpture of Vera Mukhina, but also the film “Seven Brave” received awards.
A year later, Gerasimov made another film with his wife in the title role - “Komsomolsk”. Like his previous work, this one was also dedicated to the everyday life and holidays of working youth. Despite the propaganda pathos present in huge quantities in the film, the director managed to make it incredibly realistic, carefully working out the character and motivation of each character. However, the lion's share of the success of "Komsomolsk" was the merit of Tamara Makarova, who played Natasha Solovyova. Despite the very warm reception, this film was slightly inferior to “The Brave Seven.”
In the same year, the actress starred with another director, in the film “The Great Glow.” However, this film was far from the works of Sergei Gerasimov.
The film "Teacher" and the first Stalin Prize
After two successful projects, Gerasimov and Makarova became a kind of brand. Now there was no need to invite viewers to cinemas for films with the participation of Tamara Makarova - her name alone was the best advertising.
The next joint work of the spouses was the painting “Teacher”. In it, the actress played the Ural villager Agrafena Shumilina, who is in love with a young teacher who came to their village. This role worked out so well for Tamara Fedorovna Makarova that she, along with her husband, was awarded the Stalin Prize.
The last joint work of the spouses in pre-war cinema was the film “Masquerade” based on the drama by Mikhail Lermontov. Despite the fact that it was not awarded any awards, this film became a turning point in the fate of the actress.
Previously, Tamara Makarova’s filmography consisted of films dedicated to contemporary events. Therefore, no one except Gerasimov believed that the actress was capable of believably playing a 19th-century aristocrat. Moreover, earlier Tamara Fedorovna superbly created on the screen the images of collective farmers and Komsomol members.
However, in “Masquerade” a completely different Makarova appeared before the audience - few could recognize in this true lady with impeccable posture and secular manners the Komsomol member Solovyova or the peasant woman Shumilina.
Friends of the star couple say that Tamara Makarova’s miraculous transformation occurred thanks to the influence of her husband. By the way, after Masquerade, throughout her life, the actress maintained the image of a lady, which she formed while working on this project.
War years
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Makarova and Gerasimov were offered to evacuate, but the couple refused and remained in Leningrad until 1943, having experienced the most difficult times in the blockaded city. In addition to working at Lenfilm, during these years Tamara Makarova worked in the hospital and the sanitary squad, for which she was subsequently awarded three medals and the Order of the Patriotic War.
During this difficult time, the actress starred in Gerasimov’s film about the war “Invincible”. This film was Makarova’s last collaboration with Lenfilm. After its completion, the spouses were evacuated from Tashkent, and never returned to Leningrad, later moving to Moscow.
In 1944, Gerasimov’s new film about the war, “Big Land,” was released in the capitals. As in the director’s previous works, his wife played the main role in it.
It is worth noting that the films with Tamara Makarova, shot during the war years, were also so realistic due to the fact that the actress, on the advice of her husband, refused to wear makeup during filming. Wrinkles not disguised under layers of makeup added naturalness and believability to her heroines.
While still in evacuation, Tamara Makarova learned about the sad fate of her younger sister Lyudmila. The poor woman's personal life was not very successful. Lyudmila Feodorovna's husband was German by birth, and with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War he was arrested for treason. His wife, as a relative of an enemy of the people, was exiled to Siberia for a settlement.
Their son Arthur faced an unenviable future in an orphanage for the offspring of enemies of the people. To protect their nephew, Makarova and Gerasimov used all their connections and formalized guardianship, adopting and raising the boy as their son.
Subsequently, Arthur became a famous writer and screenwriter. Among his works are film scripts for the films “New Adventures of the Elusive”, “Golden Mine” and “Three Days Outside the Law”.
Romances on the side
At first they lived modestly, studied: Gerasimov directed, Makarova - acting. Then he made films, and she played in them. In 1943, they evacuated to Central Asia, and there they adopted a boy, Arthur, Makarova’s nephew. His parents were arrested: his father was in Smolny on the day of Kirov’s murder, and everyone who was there was arrested. Then they “took” my mother. Artutr was raised like his own son, but over time he became the only thing that kept Gerasimov and Makarova together. By the way, Arthur later became a famous screenwriter; for example, the film “New Adventures of the Elusive” was filmed based on his script. But this will be much later, but for now Gerasimov is going through a series of whirlwind romances and is not particularly hiding. And Makarova is trying to “save face”, pretending that she doesn’t notice anything.
“She did not have terrible nasolabial folds, a predatory expression in her eyes, lips, or the imprint of devoured people on her face. Because she didn’t fight for her own husband,” Anastasia Vertinskaya said about Makarova.
Teaching activities
With the move to the capital of the USSR, the first lady of Soviet cinema tried herself in a new role - as a teacher. Together with her husband, she began to train young artists at VGIK.
Since the actress did not have her own children (which she later very much regretted), the woman gave all her unspent maternal love to her students. Tamara Makarova not only became an excellent teacher for them, but also financially supported many of them in the difficult post-war times.
Everyone at VGIK knew that the lucky ones who ended up in the workshop of Makarova and Gerasimov would always be provided with work. After all, even after graduation, the star spouses cared about the careers of their favorite students.
The most famous VGIK “children” of Tamara Makarova and Sergei Gerasimov are Sergei Bondarchuk, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Zinaida Kiriyenko, Natalya Fateeva, Galina Polskikh, Lidiya Fedoseeva-Shukshina, Natalya Belokhvostikova, Nikolai Eremenko Jr. and many, many others. All of them remember their teacher with sincere warmth and gratitude, who was for them not only a strict teacher, capable of telling the whole truth to their face, but also an example to follow.
Personal life of celebrities.
The name of actress Tamara Makarova, of course, belongs to the list of legends of Russian cinema, those pioneers who were followed by new generations of artists they trained. Although there are not so many film works in Tamara Makarova’s biography, they are all stellar and have not lost their relevance over the years. Endowed with external beauty, the actress was not deprived of high spiritual qualities, which she generously shared with friends and students. The personal life of Tamara Makarova seemed like a wonderful fairy tale to many, although in fact this outstanding personality went through many hardships before gaining the status and privileges that appeared after public recognition.
The biography of Tamara Makarova began long before the war and even before the revolution, in 1907 in the family of a military doctor. Unfortunately, the girl had to grow up early. When she was 10 years old, her father died, so she had to take on all the responsibilities of an older sister. By that time, by the way, she was already provided with small earnings in the form of bread rations, since she was playing in plays with all her might. This career development was facilitated by a childhood passion for imitating his favorite singer and the creation of his own children's theater on his native street in Leningrad (after all, organizational skills were evident from childhood). Tamara Makarova received her education at a labor school, and then honed her acting skills in Foreger's workshop. The actress got into cinema quite by accident - she was offered to film directly on the street by assistant directors.
The debut film “Alien Jacket” turned out to be not only the beginning of a brilliant career, but also the beginning of a life-long romance, since it was on this set that fate brought two actors together – Tamara Makarova and Sergei Gerasimov. Having shown the necessary willpower and firmness during the check, which the actress organized with the help of familiar hooligans, a month later he became her legal husband. Their marriage and creative union lasted about six decades. Having retrained as a director, Sergei Gerasimov also found his Muse in the person of his own wife. Together they survived all the vicissitudes of the war and the difficult Stalinist times, when they were, of course, recognized stars, but they still had to live with caution. Of course, there were also scenes of jealousy in the star family, since the director himself was quite amorous, and Tamara Makarova was so attractive that they fell in love with her, but creative unity and real feeling always prevailed in these small family skirmishes. The couple did not have their own children, but this circumstance did not weigh heavily on them, since they considered their children to be the graduates of all 10 courses at VGIK who studied under their guidance. In 1985, the legendary husband of Tamara Makarova passed away. She herself outlived him by 12 years. True, life without him became more boring and gray, since the actress no longer began acting and teaching eventually had to be stopped completely, since the pension made the cost of a driver unbearable for Tamara Makarova.
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Other films with Tamara Makarova
With the end of the war, the “film romance” of Gerasimov and his wife began to fade. The fact is that Makarova was getting old and was no longer suitable for the roles of young heroines about whom her husband made films.
And although she played an excellent role in “The Stone Flower” by Alexander Ptushko, and was again awarded the Stalin Prize for “The Oath” by Mikhail Chiaureli, in Gerasimov’s cult film “The Young Guard” the actress only got a minor role as Oleg Koshevoy’s mother.
Despite the fact that her husband began to cast other, younger actresses in the main roles, Tamara Fedorovna did not despair. In the film “Three Meetings” she played Olympiada Samoseeva perfectly, thanks to which her husband invited her to play the main role in the new film “The Country Doctor”. After this work, Makarova and Gerasimov did not work together on the set for almost a decade.
During these years, the actress practically does not appear on the silver screen, concentrating on teaching. Meanwhile, her husband is filming “Quiet Don” with Elina Bystritskaya in the title role. The saddest thing is that the idea to film the fundamental novel by Mikhail Sholokhov came to Gerasimov back in the late thirties. At that time, he planned to invite his wife to play the role of the fatal Cossack girl Aksinya. However, the war then prevented the implementation of this plan, and in the sixties Makarova, despite her excellent form, was no longer suitable due to her age for the role of Grigory Melekhov’s beloved.
In 1962, Sergei Gerasimov shot the rather controversial film “People and Beasts” at that time. His wife not only played in this project, but also became the author of the libretto for it.
After this picture, with the exception of the film “By the Lake” with Vasily Shukshin and Natalya Belokhvostikova, as well as “Red and Black” with Sergei Eremenko Jr., Tamara Makarova starred in all the other films of Sergei Gerasimov.
The last joint work of Gerasimov and Makarova was the 1984 film “Lev Tolstoy”, in which they played the spouses Lev Nikolaevich and Sofya Andreevna. Soon after this, Sergei Gerasimov was hospitalized and died of heart problems.
