Biography of Oleg Tabakov
Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov is a Soviet and Russian actor, director and teacher, voice actor, one of the founders of the Sovremennik Theater, director of the Tabakerka Theater and the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov, rector of the Moscow Art Theater School (1986 – 2000). Most of the films with his participation have become classics of Russian cinema: “The Living and the Dead”, “War and Peace”, “Shine, Shine, My Star”, “Seventeen Moments of Spring”, “12 Chairs”, “Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano”, “D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers”, “A Few Days in the Life of Oblomov”, “The Man from the Boulevard des Capuchins”... This list can be continued for a very long time, but he has many equally outstanding theatrical works under his belt.
Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov
Height, weight, age. How old is Oleg Tabakov
As mentioned above, Oleg Tabakov is already at a respectable age, which, however, does not diminish his greatness and talent. Today, he is already 81 years old, that is, the actor is already in his ninth decade. There were many interesting moments in his life that arouse admiration and white envy. Tabakov’s height is 176 centimeters, weight 83 kilograms. Even now, the elderly man remains in good shape, he does not forget to love life, smile, and give positive emotions to others. He charges with positivity not only on screen, but also in life, because he understands that if you love life, it will definitely reciprocate. Height, weight, age. How old is Oleg Tabakov? - all this can be easily found on the Internet in the public domain, because Tabakov is a famous actor about whom there is a lot of information. In his youth, Oleg Tabakov impressed with his charm and charisma, which did not diminish with age.
Childhood and adolescence
Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov was born on August 18, 1935 in the family of doctors Pavel Kondratievich Tabakov and Maria Andreevna Berezovskaya. The future actor and artistic director spent his childhood in a communal apartment and from childhood he knew the value of a ruble earned by adults, how the honesty, kindness and hard work of loved ones coexist with the hypocrisy, hypocrisy and opportunism of society.
Oleg Tabakov in childhood
However, all of Oleg Tabakov’s early childhood memories are painted in light shades. He associates these years with freedom, sun, space and happiness. He was surrounded only by loving people: mom and dad, grandmothers Olya and Anya, Uncle Tolya and Aunt Shura. Little Oleg read a lot and was already interested in theater - he enjoyed visiting the Saratov Youth Theater, watched many productions several times and knew them by heart.
Everything changed when the war broke out. My father went to the front, worked on an ambulance train, Oleg and his mother were evacuated to the Urals, and during the war years Maria Andreevna worked in a military hospital near the Elton railway station. The head of the family returned home, but soon after that he and his wife separated. This was a huge blow for the boy and literally caused physical pain.
Oleg Tabakov in his school years
Left without male guardianship, the boy almost fell into bad company by getting involved with street punks. Someone told Oleg’s mother about this, and the woman took her son by the hand and brought him to the “Young Guard” drama club at the Palace of Pioneers. He was lucky to get to the teacher Natalya Iosifovna Sukhostav, whom Tabakov later called his godmother in the acting profession. Although he spoke very quietly and unintelligibly at the studio audition, the woman accepted him into the group, and within a few months he shone on stage in key roles. He studied in the drama club from 1950 to 1953.
Young actor Oleg Tabakov during a visit to Saratov (1961)
After graduating from Saratov school No. 18, Tabakov decided to go to Moscow to enter the theater school. His relatives dissuaded him, sincerely wishing him well - few believed that a young man from the provinces with three years of local drama club would overcome the brutal entrance tests. But, apparently, the Saratov theater school has always been strong: Oleg was accepted into the Moscow Art Theater School and GITIS. He gave preference to the first, as he considered this university “the pinnacle of theater pedagogy.”
New family
It seemed that in the duet of Oleg Tabakov and Lyudmila Krylova (see photo below) there would always be love - in the actor’s personal life and creative biography everything was well established long ago, his wife and children idolized the man. Everything changed when a young student, Marina Zudina, came to study with the renowned master of cinema and theater.
She, like Oleg Pavlovich’s wife, was in love with the artist since childhood, and at the age of 16, becoming a student at the Moscow Art Theater School, she began to win the heart of her idol. The elderly professor could not resist the beauty of youth and the freshness of youth. As the artist later admits in interviews with glossy magazines, passion consumed him with unprecedented force. The couple hid this relationship from everyone for more than 10 years. Tabakov left the family when his son Pavel was born, and Marina registered the boy in the name of her lover.
Fact! Oleg Pavlovich’s children did not forgive him for the betrayal of their mother, who sacrificed her life to create conditions for the carefree pursuit of her profession. It was rumored that his daughter Alexandra even wanted to commit suicide, and his son Anton, as a sign of protest, left acting and went into the restaurant business.
But the artist experienced the greatest happiness, according to him, when at 71 he became the father of his daughter Masha. Now he wants to live as long as possible in order to stay longer with the woman he loves and his children.
First roles
In educational performances, Tabakov played mainly positive roles. Having once played Khlestakov from The Government Inspector, he received a comment from one of the teachers: “It turns out that there was a wonderful comedian dormant in you.” He received a diploma from the Studio School in 1957, after which he was accepted into the Stanislavsky Theater.
The year of birth of Sovremennik is considered to be 1956
Back in 1956, he and a group of like-minded graduates of the Moscow Art Theater School (among them were Oleg Efremov, Igor Kvasha, Galina Volchek, Evgeny Evstigneev, etc.), founded the Sovremennik Theater (then it was called the Studio of Young Actors). As a test of the pen, they chose the play “Forever Alive”: the artistic director was Oleg Efremov (he also played the role of Borozdin), Tabakov (Lyolik, as his friends called him) played the student Misha.
They rehearsed for 4 months, the premiere took place on April 8, 1957. Critics noted that they did not see anything new in the production - it was just “classic good Moscow Art Theater.” The group of young actors took these words as praise, because it was the revival of the aesthetic ideals of the theater, free from the touch of “Sovietism,” that was their main goal.
Actors of the Sovremennik Theater Lyudmila Ivanova and Oleg Tabakov (1958)
At first, Sovremennik lived under the wing of the Moscow Art Theater, but after the third performance, Nobody (in which Tabakov played 3 roles at once), the theater management accused the artists of trampling on traditions and kicked them out of the premises. Only 4 years later the theater knocked out its own building, located on Mayakovsky Street. Tabakov was a regular artist at Sovremennik until 1983, and was involved in more than 30 productions.
Still from the film “Spring Rain”
While still a student, Tabakov began acting in films. At first these were roles in the crowd, but in 1956 he got the main role in the film “Tight Knot”. In the story, his hero Sasha Komlev’s father dies, and the guy is adopted by the chairman of the collective farm, who was shown in the films as a notorious bureaucrat. The censors did not like this, the actor who played the role of the chairman was replaced, and the film received a different name - “Sasha Enters Life.” Viewers still saw the original, but only 30 years later.
Oleg Tabakov's first serious film role (“Tight Knot”)
At the turn of the 50s and 60s, all of Moscow knew about the talented actors of the Sovremennik Theater. And Tabakov gained truly national fame after the release of two films in a row in 1960: the drama “People on the Bridge” and the action-packed film “Probation.”
Oleg Tabakov in the film “Probationary Period”
He departed from this role in the film “Young and Green” (1963). Many doubted that Tabakov, with his youthful appearance, would be able to convincingly play the foreman and deputy Babushkin. But he masterfully succeeded, and then he was cast in the role of Lieutenant Krutikov from “The Living and the Dead” - the first negative role in Tabakov’s filmography.
Tabakov as Babushkin (left) and Krutikov
Childhood
Oleg Tabakov was born on August 17, 1935 in Saratov. Although the family lived rather modestly, the little boy’s earliest memories retained the image of a large, friendly, loving family. In addition to Oleg, there were two more children.
The Tabakovs' life changed greatly in 1941. When the war began, my father voluntarily went to the front. A year later, Oleg’s mother fell ill with typhoid fever, the consequences of which lasted for a long time.
Oleg Tabakov in his youth
Having barely recovered from a serious illness, Maria Andreevna Tabakova takes the children and goes to the small town of Elton. For the next two years, she works here as a general practitioner in a hospital, thus joining the army. It is possible to return to his native Saratov only after the end of the war.
All-Union glory
According to the recollections of Sovremennik actors, in those years they were so in demand that sometimes Mosfilm employees would wait for them right at the exit from the theater, put them in a car and take them to the set. The crazy work schedule affected Tabakov’s health – at the age of 29 he had a heart attack. The doctors' prognosis was disappointing - he was advised to quit performing forever. But a couple of months passed, and he was already rehearsing every evening for the play “Ordinary History,” which in 1967 received the State Prize of the Soviet Union, and Tabakov himself was awarded the Badge of Honor for his cumulative merits.
Photo from the play “An Ordinary Story”
In 1966, viewers saw Tabakov in the role of Nikolai Rostov in “War and Peace” by Sergei Bondarchuk, in the company of Vyacheslav Tikhonov and Lyudmila Savelyeva.
“War and Peace”: Oleg Tabakov as Nikolai Rostov
In 1968, Oleg Tabakov was invited to the Prague theater "Chinogerny Club" to play Khlestakov in the production of "The Inspector General". In total, 30 performances were shown to Czech audiences, each of which received standing ovations,
In 1970, after Oleg Efremov left for the Moscow Art Theater, Oleg Tabakov headed Sovremennik, while continuing to appear on stage with other actors. He proved himself to be a fairly tough and uncompromising leader: without hesitation he punished truants and slobs, and once Oleg Dal was fired - he showed up to a performance drunk and was unable to go out to the audience. According to Oleg Pavlovich, the theater is a big family where all children should grow up in justice.
Oleg Pavlovich became one of the first to take part in television plays: his first experience was working in the productions “Pencil Drawing” and “Continuation of the Legend.” He also records two solo performances on TV (“Vasily Terkin” and “The Little Humpbacked Horse”). After that, he brilliantly played the main roles in the television plays “Shagreen Skin”, “Ivan Fedorovich Shponka and His Aunt”, “Aesop” and “Stovemen”, and took part in the creation of a television version of the Sovremennik production “Twelfth Night”.
In the USSR, postcards with Tabakov were sold in every stall
In 1973, he got the role of the SS General Schellenberg in “17 Moments of Spring” with Vyacheslav Tikhonov in the title role, after which he began to be recognized outside the Soviet Union.
Still from the film “17 Moments of Spring”
In 1976, he again showed his comedic talent in “12 Chairs” by Mark Zakharov. In the epic about the adventures of the heroes Andrei Mironov and Anatoly Papanov, he played the shy caretaker-thief Alkhen. “12 Chairs”: Tabakov in the role of the “blue thief” In 1978, Tabakov began voicing the cat Matroskin from the cartoon “Three from Prostokvashino”. Sharik was voiced by Lev Durov, and Uncle Fedor was voiced by Maria Vinogradova. Today it is difficult to imagine what will happen if the heroes beloved from childhood speak in different voices. This is one of Tabakov’s most famous works as a dubbing actor, but far from the only one. Apparently, he is best at playing the voices of cat heroes - he dubbed the voice of the main character in the film "Garfield" and its sequel.
Oleg Tabakov gave the voice to the cat Matroskin
A year later, audiences appreciated his performance of King Louis XIII in the musical “D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers,” which featured a truly stellar cast: Mikhail Boyarsky, Veniamin Smekhov, Igor Starygin, Irina Alferova, Alisa Freundlich, Margarita Terekhova. Tabakov's vocal parts were performed by Vladimir Chuikin. Songs of Louis XIII that were not included in “The Three Musketeers” Four years later, Nikita Mikhalkov presented the result of their collaboration - the drama “An Unfinished Piece for a Mechanical Piano” based on Chekhov’s stories. In the same year he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR. In 1980, another film by Mikhalkov with Tabakov in the title role was released - “A Few Days in the Life of Oblomov”, which received audience success outside the country, collected awards from international festivals and was shown for 10 days at the Embassy Cinema in New York with an inevitable sell-out.
Ilya Ilyich Oblomov performed by Tabakov
In 1983, long-term collaboration with Sovremennik ended with a transfer to the Moscow Art Theater. The first role Oleg Pavlovich played on this stage was Salieri from Amadeus.
In 1983, Tabakov joined the Moscow Art Theater troupe (pictured: in the image of Salieri)
In 1988, Tabakov was awarded the title of People's Artist. By the early 90s, he was one of the richest actors in the Union (although the 1992 monetary reform had a disastrous effect on his fortune). After the collapse of the USSR, Oleg Pavlovich continued to act in films (“Shirley-Myrli” with Vera Alentova, “The President’s Granddaughter” with Nadezhda Mikhalkova, “The Orphan of Kazan” with Elena Shevchenko, etc.), regularly appeared on stage, but most of the time he had teaching acting to the younger generation took away.
Oleg Tabakov
Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov - People's Artist of the USSR (1988), Soviet and Russian actor, director and teacher, one of the founders of the Sovremennik Theater, director of the Tabakerka Theater and the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov, rector of the Moscow Art Theater School (1986−2000). Oleg Tabakov is a laureate of the State Prizes of the USSR (1967) and the Russian Federation (1997). Oleg Pavlovich was also a Full Knight of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland. Oleg Tabakov was the president of the Saratov Sufferings festival, a member of the Council for Culture and Art under the President of Russia. The famous actor passed away on March 12, 2020 after a long illness.
Childhood and education of Oleg Tabakov
Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov was born on August 18, 1935 in Saratov. The parents of the talented actor were doctors.
Oleg Tabakov’s father, Pavel Kondratievich Tabakov , was a doctor. He went to the front and became the chief physician of military hospital train No. 87. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star and the medal “For Courage.” After the war, he was an employee of the Microbe Research Institute.
Oleg’s mother, Maria Andreevna Berezovskaya (née Piontkovskaya ), is a radiologist. During the war, she worked as a general practitioner in a military hospital at the Elton station of the Ryazan-Ural Railway.
After the war, his parents separated, and little Oleg suffered his parents’ divorce very painfully.
The family lived in a communal apartment. Oleg studied at a men's high school in the city of Saratov. The choice of future profession was influenced by the fact that the boy attended the “Young Guard” theater group at the Saratov Palace of Pioneers and Schoolchildren, according to the biography of Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov on Wikipedia.
In 1953, Oleg Tabakov entered the course of Vasily Toporkov at the Moscow Art Theater School.
Oleg Tabakov and the Sovremennik Theater
In 1957, Oleg Efremov created the Studio of Young Actors, which later transformed into the Sovremennik Theater. Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov became the youngest of the six founders of the Sovremennik Theater. The first in the list of serious theatrical works by Oleg Tabakov was Efremov’s famous play “Forever Living” (1956).
Oleg Tabakov played at the Sovremennik Theater from 1957 to 1983. “The Naked King”, “Three Wishes”, “Always on Sale”, “An Ordinary Story” are the unforgettable talented works of the young actor, which were an exceptional success.
In 1968, Tabakov was invited to the role of Khlestakov by the Prague theater “Chinogerny Club”. Of course, the actor played this role brilliantly. From that moment on, the name of Oleg Tabakov received star status abroad.
Oleg Tabakov said in his biography that he worked a lot in Canada, where he taught and staged plays at York University in Toronto. “Starting with the Sheffield “The Inspector General” (1976), I was invited to give lectures and stage plays abroad very often, which became both a source of good income and a component of my greater autonomy from the theater,” Oleg Pavlovich wrote in his book. In theaters in Hungary, Finland, Germany, Denmark, Austria, and the USA, Oleg Tabakov, according to Wikipedia, staged more than 40 performances.
Oleg Tabakov's film career
In cinema, Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov began acting in films during his student years - first as an extra, and in 1956 he played the main role in the film “Tight Knot”. Further, Oleg Tabakov actively combined his work in cinema with his theatrical career.
“In the first three years of work at Sovremennik, I played sixteen or eighteen roles: this would have been impossible in any other theater in Moscow. And at the same time, he also managed to act in films: “The Motley Case”, “The Eve”, “Probationary Period”, “People on the Bridge”, “Clear Sky”. Then there was Noisy Day. It seems to me that if Sovremennik had not been in my life, I would have become a film actor and would have played much more important roles in films. Once, for example, I was so busy at the theater that I could not star in “The Ballad of a Soldier,” Oleg Tabakov recalled in his autobiography.
Cinema brought Oleg Tabakov great popularity. Viewers remember all the roles masterfully performed by the actor. Tabakov was one of the most popular actors, which affected his health. Due to the incredible workload, Oleg Pavlovich suffered a heart attack at the age of 29 (1964).
But the workaholic Oleg Tabakov, despite heart problems, continued to shine in theater and cinema. He played Nikolai Rostov in “War and Peace”, then there were wonderful roles in the films: “Property of the Republic” (1971), “Seventeen Moments of Spring” (1973), “Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano” (1976), “12 Chairs” (1976), “D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers” (1979), “Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears” (1979), “Goodbye Mary Poppins” (1983), “The Man from the Boulevard des Capuchins” (1987) and many others.
In 1978, the famous cartoon “Three from Prostokvashino” was released, after which Oleg Tabakov’s voice forever merged with the cat Matroskin.
However, Oleg Pavlovich brilliantly realized his talent in any role, from Mrs. Andrew in “Mary Poppins” to the king in “The Three Musketeers” and the small role of a drunkard in “Shirley-Myrley”.
Oleg Tabakov actively acted in film after the collapse of the USSR, although the quality of Russian films in which the master played is, of course, inferior to Soviet cinema.
Oleg Tabakov's biography on Wikipedia states that he starred in more than 120 films.
Teaching career, Tabakerka Theater
Playing in theater and cinema, Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov began teaching in 1973. In 1976, on the basis of GITIS, Oleg Tabakov recruited a course of twenty-six students, the basis of which were those whom he brought from his “drama club”.
1986−2000 Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov was the rector of the Moscow Art Theater School and also directed the graduate program of the Studio School and Carnegie Mellon University (USA). In Boston, Tabakov organized a summer school named after. K.S. Stanislavsky (1992).
In 1977, Oleg Tabakov again showed his remarkable organizational skills. He managed to get a former coal warehouse on Chaplygina Street, 1a. The guys, together with their leader, cleared and repaired the abandoned premises with their own hands. This is how the well-known “Tabakerka” basement came into being. But the theater received official status only in 1986.
On March 1, 1987, the reconstruction of the Tabakerka Theater was completed, and Tabakov staged plays there, acted himself and trained actors.
Oleg Tabakov actively and easily combined his work as a theater director with the work of an actor, teaching and directing in Russia and abroad, and filming.
“His “snuffbox” on Chaplygin is a replica and rhyme to his “Contemporary”. He, too, at first played with democracy and studioism - without this, theaters don’t start. But I quickly realized that there is no democracy in the art of theater. He conducts the theater in an absolutely authoritarian, tough manner, combining, as Vladimir Ilyich would say, Russian revolutionary scope with American efficiency,” wrote Anatoly Smelyansky in the preface to Oleg Tabakov’s biography “My Real Life.”
Moscow Art Theater named after A.P. Chekhov
When Oleg Efremov left Sovremennik for the Moscow Art Theater in 1970, Oleg Tabakov became director. Galina Volchek became the main director of Sovremennik, and Tabakov was the director for 6 years and, as Wikipedia reports, this “brought a lot of benefit to the theater.”
However, in the 80s, Oleg Tabakov followed Efremov’s example.
“From ’76 to ’83, I remained at Sovremennik in so-called “one-time” roles, and then moved to the Moscow Art Theater to Efremov. This happened after a certain action of the theater towards me,” Oleg Tabakov recalled in the book, explaining that Sovremennik did not treat his illness very well. Oleg Tabakov had pneumonia and then asthma. When Oleg Pavlovich recovered, the theater “calmed him down” and introduced other actors to his roles.
“I felt cold. There can be nothing worse for an actor than this - when you find out that something was done behind your back. This was done not because you refuse to work, but because, in general, people can do without you. Directly according to the Stalinist formula that we have no irreplaceable people. That’s when I decided to move to the Moscow Art Theater,” said Oleg Tabakov.
In the 80s, Oleg Tabakov played in the Moscow Art Theater performances by Oleg Efremov: “The Seagull”, “Ivanov”, “Woe from Wit” (the role of Famusov).
In 2000, Oleg Tabakov became the head of the Moscow Art Theater. A.P. Chekhov.
As Wikipedia notes, Oleg Tabakov updated the theater’s repertoire and attracted young, advanced domestic directors - Sergei Zhenovach , Yuri Butusov , Evgeny Pisarev , Konstantin Bogomolov . Oleg Tabakov breathed new life into the great theater, this time as its director.
In 2008, a theater college was opened at the Tabakov Theater. Children from all over the country study at this unique boarding school.
Awards of Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov
Oleg Tabakov has many state awards. In the list of Tabakov's titles given by Wikipedia: Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1969), People's Artist of the RSFSR (1977), People's Artist of the USSR (1988), State Prize of the USSR (1967) - for the play "Ordinary History", State Prize of the Russian Federation (1997), Order “For services to the Fatherland”, 1st degree (August 17, 2010) - for outstanding contribution to the development of domestic theatrical art and many years of creative activity.
In 2020, People's Artist of the USSR Oleg Tabakov celebrated his 80th birthday. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory telegram to the hero of the day.
It says, in particular, that Tabakov is an unusually talented and energetic person, who has achieved success in acting, directing, and teaching, and has won the love of the people.
“But as a true master, you never “rest on your laurels,” you do not rest on your laurels, but work hard and fruitfully, uniting creative like-minded people around your interesting ideas and plans. And you always achieve success,” the media quoted the Russian President as saying.
In 2020, Oleg Tabakov was among the Golden Mask laureates in the category “For outstanding contribution to the development of theatrical art.”
Public position of Oleg Tabakov
In 2012, Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov was a confidant of Russian Presidential candidate Vladimir Putin. In the same year, Oleg Tabakov was one of the representatives of the creative intelligentsia who appealed to the President of the Russian Federation about the appointment of Nikolai Tsiskaridze .
On March 11, 2014, Oleg Pavlovich signed an appeal from cultural figures of the Russian Federation in support of the policy of Russian President V.V. Putin on Ukraine and Crimea.
Oleg Tabakov’s wife Marina Zudina called a recorded telephone conversation “a setup” in which the famous actor called Ukrainians “in some sense wretched.” The artist’s wife told the Komsomolskaya Pravda website that “this story with REN TV was a setup” and the telephone conversation was recorded without Tabakov’s knowledge.
“I’m sorry if my words taken out of context unwittingly offended someone. Let this remain on the conscience of those who use the situation to pit people against each other, incite hatred and organize similar provocations. At the same time, I, like all normal people, would like this bloodshed to end, so that we would finally stop compiling lists of enemies on both sides. People of art cannot be dangerous to national security either in Ukraine or in Russia,” Oleg Tabakov wrote on the Moscow Art Theater website.
The actor also noted that he has “a firm position on the events taking place in our relations with the fraternal people,” that he considers Russian and Ukrainian cultures to be a single whole, and the latter “was, is and will be part of our common heritage, otherwise it will dissolve and disappear "
Illness and death of Oleg Tabakov
In November 2020, Oleg Tabakov was admitted to intensive care, which came as a shock to all those in love with his work. Since then, fans have been anxiously reading news about Oleg Tabakov’s health, worrying about their favorite actor, and colleagues in the artistic workshop are recording video messages in which they express support for the people’s artist.
On November 27, People's Artist of the USSR Oleg Tabakov was taken to the intensive care unit of the First City Hospital. Doctors diagnosed the 82-year-old actor with pneumonia. The news reported that the artist’s condition is stable and serious, he is on a ventilator.
Later information appeared that the artist had undergone emergency surgery.
On December 19, the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater shared with journalists news about Oleg Tabakov’s health. A representative of the theater said that “Oleg Pavlovich continues treatment in the hospital, but he is already feeling better.”
But on December 25, doctors reported that Tabakov’s condition had worsened. It became known that it was assessed as severe, doctors diagnosed Oleg Pavlovich with sepsis, and he was placed in intensive care. Later, news appeared that the actor was put into an artificial coma.
The health of People's Artist of the USSR Oleg Tabakov is still being closely monitored by doctors at the First City Hospital. The actor is not yet being prepared for discharge. Leonid Pechatnikov told reporters about this in January 2020 . “Oleg Tabakov’s health condition is under the control of doctors,” the RIA Novosti official was quoted as saying.
On March 12, 2020, the sad news came that Oleg Tabakov passed away in the hospital where he had been treated for the last few months.
Personal life of Oleg Tabakov
Oleg Tabakov was married twice, and both spouses, naturally, are actresses.
Oleg Tabakov first married actress Lyudmila Krylova in 1959. Oleg Tabakov's first wife is a Soviet and Russian theater and film actress, Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1982). Lyudmila Krylova has been serving at the Sovremennik Theater since 1960.
They separated in 1994. Children were born in this marriage: son Anton (1960) and daughter Alexandra (1966).
Oleg Tabakov spoke about the reasons for breaking up with his first wife in Andrei Malakhov’s “Tonight”. According to him, he didn’t like that his wife gave away his dogs without asking Oleg Pavlovich’s opinion.
In 1995, Oleg Pavlovich married actress Marina Zudina . The master's second wife was born on September 3, 1965. People's Artist of the Russian Federation (2006). In 1981, 16-year-old Marina came to GITIS for a competition with Oleg Tabakov and was no longer included in the main audition rounds, but in an additional set, immediately passed an interview and entered, says Wikipedia.
A.V. Lunacharsky in 1986 (course of Oleg Tabakov and Avangard Leontiev ) and was accepted into the troupe of the Moscow Theater Studio under the direction of Oleg Tabakov. An affair began between him and Marina, which ten years later turned into an official marriage.
From his second wife, Oleg Tabakov also has two children: son Pavel (1995) and daughter Maria (2006).
Tabakov’s eldest son Anton graduated from GITIS, served in the Sovremennik and Tabakerka theaters, acted in films a lot since childhood, but then chose the restaurant business over theater and cinema. The biography of Anton Tabakov on Wikipedia says that he is currently the creator and co-owner of a number of restaurants “Oblomov”, “Mao”, “Kafk”, “Antonio” and the coffee shop “Ilya Ilyich”, later he became involved in the restaurants “Longe Shu”, “ Stolz."
Anton Tabakov has four children - grandchildren of Oleg Pavlovich: Nikita, Anna, Antonina and Maria, they are educated in England and France.
Alexandra Tabakova graduated from the Moscow Art Theater School in 1987. She worked in the theater under the guidance of her father, played in films, but quit acting in films. Wikipedia says that Tabakova does not communicate with her father, like her mother Lyudmila Krylova, a version is mentioned that Anton and Alexandra could not forgive Oleg Pavlovich for abandoning their mother and left the acting profession. The daughter of Oleg Tabakov worked at the Moscow radio station “Silver Rain” and on television. Alexandra Tabakova was the common-law wife of actor Andrei Ilyin , was married to German actor Jan Josef Liefers , and their daughter Polina was born in the marriage. The granddaughter of Oleg Tabakov graduated from the Moscow Art Theater School and is a theater artist by profession.
Pavel Tabakov also followed in the footsteps of his relatives. After graduating from nine classes, Pavel entered the Moscow Theater School, created by his father, on a general basis, says the biography of Tabakov’s grandson. “The elder Tabakov’s participation in his son’s admission ended with the question: ‘Will you try to enroll?’, warning that it would not be possible to get into college ‘through connections’.”
Pavel Tabakov is already well known to viewers from the films “Star”, “Orleans”, “The Duelist”; he plays quite prominent roles; in addition, he is often written about in the yellow press, like other celebrities. The personal life of Pavel Tabakov is of great interest to the media; photos of him and his girlfriends are published in tabloids. The young actor met with Taisiya Vilkova (star of the series “Deffchonki”), actress Maria Fomina . Currently, it is reported that his girlfriend is Sofya Sinitsyna from the series “False Note”.
“I am concerned about Pavel’s appearance in advertising,” noted Oleg Tabakov. “I myself tried to avoid this.” True, the son thinks differently, but he is already an adult, God will be his judge,” the media reported.
Pedagogical activity
In 1974, Tabakov, convinced that it was necessary to “constantly acquire and collect his professional skills,” had the idea to create his own studio. There were more than four thousand people willing to study with Tabakov himself, but only 18 people passed the selection. Five of them entered GITIS, a course that Tabakov undertook to teach.
Since then, the People's Artist has devoted the lion's share of his time to teaching.
The program on Tabakov’s course was very different from what was taught to students in other theater schools. The students read the “forbidden book” and arranged meetings with cult figures in the art of that time, such as Vladimir Vysotsky and Bulat Okudzhava. Oleg Tabakov and his “tobacco chickens” In 1977, this course became the basis for the future Tabakerka theater. Among the young people were many famous artists today: Igor Nefedov, Andrei Smolyakov, Elena Mayorova.
Oleg Tabakov and Oleg Efremov (anniversary of the Moscow Art Theater School, 1993)
In 1986, Tabakov became the rector of the Moscow Art Theater School. He held this position until 2000, after which he headed the department of acting skills. In 1992, on his initiative, the Stanislavsky Summer Acting School was founded in Boston.
In 2000 he became artistic director of the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov. First of all, the new artistic director set a course for a complete renewal of the repertoire, for which he invited directors with a fresh look (Kirill Serebrennikov, Konstantin Bogomolov, Sergei Zhenovach) and actors (Konstantin Khabensky, Yuri Chursin, Irina Pegova, Maxim Matveev, etc.).
Tabakov combined management of two theaters and teaching
In 2009, the artist announced the creation of an acting college at Tabakerka. Every year, the institution accepted 24 people, whose accommodation and all their needs were financed from the Moscow budget. At the same time, according to Tabakov, the college teachers themselves looked for young talented actors, traveling to remote corners of Russia. In August 2020, Oleg Tabakov celebrated his eightieth birthday. He celebrated his anniversary as director and artistic director of the Moscow Art Theater. A.P. Chekhov, as well as a member of the Council for Culture and Art under the President of Russia. Oleg Tabakov and Marina Zudina in “Evening Urgant”
The beginning of theatrical activity
The creative biography of actor Oleg Tabakov began after graduation, when the young man took a risk in 1953 and applied for admission to two of the most prestigious theater universities in the country - the Moscow Art Theater School. Nemirovich-Danchenko and GITIS. Having brilliantly passed all the exams in one and the other, he chose the Moscow Art Theater to study. Since childhood, he was firmly confident in the unsurpassed talent of the teachers of this university.
The training took place on the course of Vasily Toporkov. This is a wonderful teacher who considered Tabakov his best student. While still a 3rd year student, young Tabakov played his first role in the film “Tight Knot”. His character - Sasha Komelev - was a very ideological Soviet youth who opposed the chairman of the collective farm.
After graduating from university, Tabakov, as a result of an assignment, ended up working at the Stanislavsky Moscow Drama Theater, but fate was favorable to him, and soon he was transferred to the studio of young actors, which later became the famous Sovremennik Theater, which at that time was headed by Tabakov’s comrade Oleg Efremov.
The theatrical biography of Oleg Tabakov (whose photo is in the article) includes a huge number of performances at the Moscow Art Theater, Sovremennik, and a self-organized studio called Tabakerka. In addition, Tabakov played on stages in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Finland, Germany, Denmark, the USA and Austria. The actor was known and loved far beyond the borders of our country.
Personal life of Oleg Tabakov
Oleg Tabakov's first wife was actress Lyudmila Krylova (born 1938), who gave birth to her wife two children: Anton (1960) and Alexandra (1966).
Oleg Tabakov and Lyudmila Krylova were married for almost 35 years
While still a schoolgirl, she came to a performance at the Sovremennik Theater and fell madly in love with Oleg. After that, she firmly intended to enter the acting school, entered the “Sliver” and began working at the Maly Theater, regularly attending all productions with the “Sovremennik” troupe, without losing hope of meeting her idol.
The couple acted in films and played in the theater together
One day they called her from the studio and asked her to send a photo - one “picky actor” could not choose a partner for a new film. As it turned out, Tabakov was this picky person. As Lyudmila claimed, the romance between them began on the very first night of their acquaintance. Two months after the birth of their first child, the lovers got married and immediately after the registry office returned to the theater for rehearsal.
In the photo: young Tabakov and Krylova with their son Anton
It seemed that their marriage would withstand any hardships and vicissitudes of the acting profession, but in 1981, 16-year-old Marina Zudina entered Tabakov’s course at GITIS. Over the years of study, their relationship went far beyond the “student-teacher” framework (despite the 30-year age difference), but for a long time they managed to hide this fact. In 1995, after a 10-year romance, Oleg Tabakov and Marina Zudina got married. Oleg Tabakov commented on his departure from the family: “No matter how banal it sounds, love has come…”
Tabakov traded Krylova for Marina Zudina
Almost 20 years later, he said in an interview that the relationship between him and Lyudmila deteriorated because she repeatedly got rid of his beloved dogs while he was on tour. Posner. Oleg Tabakov. Fragment (2011) Children from his first marriage did not forgive their father for breaking up with Krylova. Anton and Alexandra left the acting profession. The son went into the restaurant business and raised four children: Nikita, Anna, Antonina and Maria. The daughter, who broke off relations with Tabakov, was a radio and television presenter for some time, then married German film director Jan Liefers, with whom she gave birth to a daughter, Polina, in 1988. After the divorce, Alexandra and her daughter (who bears her father’s surname) returned to Moscow.
Anton and Alexandra Tabakov with their mother
In 1995, Marina Zudina gave Oleg Pavlovich a son, Pavel, and in 2006, a daughter, Maria. Having matured, Pavel Tabakov continued his father’s work: he graduated from Oleg Tabakov’s studio school, enrolling there honestly, without cronyism, and was involved in productions of the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov, played in a number of sensational films (“Star”, “Orleans”, “The Duelist”, “Empire V”).
Pavel, the son of Oleg Tabakov and Marina Zudina, also became an actor
Marriage and birth of a son
Gradually, the performances of the Sovremennik troupe began to be talked about in the capital's theatrical circles - many liked both the repertoire of the cultural institution and the talented performers. Most of the spectators admired the work of young talents; Lyudmila Krylova was among Tabakov’s many fans.
This is interesting: the future wife fell in love with her idol when she was a very young schoolgirl - she attended all the performances of the new theater and dreamed of personally meeting the attractive and charismatic performer of the leading roles.
For many years, the girl went towards her goal - for the sake of her beloved she entered Shchepka, and for his sake she tried not to miss a single casting. By this time, the actor had already starred in several films, gaining popularity and a reputation as a universal artist who could handle all genres in the art of acting. At the time of their close acquaintance, Oleg Tabakov had a reputation as a womanizer and an inveterate bachelor - he believed that in his biography and personal life there was no place for a wife and children. His photos were circulated by millions and were sold in all Soyuzpechat kiosks; millions of fans besieged the back entrance of the theater after premieres with his participation.
An incident changed everything - during auditions for his next film, the actor asked to replace the actress assigned to him as a partner. By that time, he was popular and loved by the authorities, so they listened to the words of the capricious leading man and offered to try the young artist of the Maly Theater Lyudmila Krylova. The master liked the miniature, fragile girl with an admiring look, and he approved the sample.
Their romance began literally from the first meeting - the girl idolized the man so much that Tabakov could not resist her. However, the artist was in no hurry to call his new passion to the registry office, and the couple signed only after the birth of their son Anton in 1960.
Fact! Krylova took a great risk when she decided to give her first child to her lover - the birth was very difficult, Anton was born only on the third day, and after that the woman could not even sit for a long time - the bones were separated by one and a half centimeters.
The mother-in-law helped her daughter-in-law with her little son, who took Lyudmila to her home in Saratov. The young wife of a Soviet celebrity could not even imagine that she would burden her husband with chores around the house and caring for the baby. As the artist said, after going to work, she always took Anton with her - Oleg Pavlovich was too passionate about creativity to delve into the details of family life.
Home was always on Krylova - she idolized her idol too much, trying to create for Tabakov all the conditions for proper rest after exhausting tours or rehearsals. Even if the spouse burst into the apartment long after midnight along with a cheerful company of colleagues, Krylova meekly prepared a treat for the whole company, wanting to please her husband with the hospitality of their common home.
A little later, Krylova decided to give birth to another child. This is how the daughter Alexandra appeared in the family. Both children were with Lyudmila constantly, both at rehearsals at the theater and on tours or on business trips. Therefore, they knew their future in advance - the acting environment that surrounded the kids from the moment of birth had an impact.
An interesting fact: in the Tabakov family, the mother was always in charge; all colleagues noted that Oleg Pavlovich obeyed her unconditionally in everything at home, considering Krylova a good wife and an excellent housewife.
Death of Oleg Tabakov
In November 2020, the actor was admitted to intensive care, which came as a shock to all fans of his work. Diametrically opposite media reports also added fuel to the fire: some claimed that Tabakov had been diagnosed with sepsis, while others wrote that he was conducting a routine examination. Anton Tabakov reported that his father was admitted to intensive care due to pneumonia (this version was later confirmed). Soon the artist underwent a tracheostomy. On December 25, doctors reported that Tabakov’s condition had worsened. He had to be put into an artificial coma. When he woke up, the actor stopped recognizing his wife and son.
Farewell to Oleg Tabakov
In January 2020, information appeared that the artist was feeling better, but later news began to appear in the press about Tabakov’s disappointing condition, allegedly his brain began to fail, although his relatives denied this information. However, it turned out that the actor’s body was so weakened that it could only function in a state of artificial coma. Finally, on March 12, the family decided to disconnect Tabakov from life support. The 82-year-old actor passed away in a hospital bed, surrounded by loved ones. The farewell to the actor took place on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater, and the funeral took place at the Novodevichy cemetery.
In October 2020 at the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov unveiled a monument to Tabakov. The initiator of the idea was Vladimir Mashkov. And in Saratov, a sculptural composition is dedicated to the memory of the artist: the figures of Cat Matroskin and Oleg from the film “Noisy Day”.
Death of the master
For three long months the tireless Oleg Pavlovich fought for his life. Due to his constant workload, he, like many of us, did not pay enough attention to his health. The recently placed dental implants did not take root, and rejection began, which caused sepsis. The weakened body could not cope with the infection, and the heart could not stand it.
The life of the great actor, director and artistic director of two of the people's most beloved theaters was cut short on March 12, 2020. Half of Moscow came to say goodbye to their beloved actor, even Russian President Vladimir Putin was there. In recent years, Tabakov has been a confidant of the head of state in the Council for Public Television.
The master was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery, next to other wonderful Russian actors - Zeldin and Bronev.
In the article we briefly reviewed the biographies of Oleg Tabakov, the wives and children of the great man. The memory of him will be preserved for more than one generation.
Photo of Oleg Tabakov before and after plastic surgery
It is impossible to find photos of Oleg Tabakov before and after plastic surgery on the Internet, at least when it comes to authentic samples. The actor claims that he has never, under any circumstances, used the services of surgeons and does not intend to do so. In principle, he doesn’t need it, because in the end you can’t hide your age.
After all, the audience fell in love with him exactly as he is, with his natural appearance, advantages and disadvantages. So, we can say with confidence that the beloved actor Tabakov is “real” without resorting to modern surgery. Of course, in fact, few of the actors admit that they undergo plastic surgery; Tabakov has never changed radically, so we can conclude that he is telling the truth.
