Valentin Nikulin: biography, childhood
He was born in Moscow in 1932 on July 7th. He has Jewish roots. Valentin's parents are intelligent and creative people. His father, Yuri Veniaminovich, was a famous playwright in the USSR. And my mother, Evgenia Brook, received an excellent musical education in piano. She was also a composer.
Parents separated when our hero was 5 years old. He stayed to live with his mother. And I saw my father only on weekends and holidays.
Valya showed interest in art from an early age. He liked to draw, dance and sing. The boy often attended rehearsals with his mother. At first he thought about a musical career. But over time, his plans for the future changed.
Education
Nikulin Valentin Yuryevich, whose biography we are considering, decided to connect his fate with jurisprudence. After receiving a school certificate, the guy submitted documents to the main Moscow university - Moscow State University. He managed to get into law school on his first try. In 1957, Valya was awarded a diploma of higher education. However, he did not work in the specialty he received.
His mother helped Valentin find his place in the sun. Evgenia Naumovna insisted that her son try his hand at acting. And he listened to the words of his mother. Soon V. Nikulin became a student at the acting studio named after. Nemirovich-Danchenko, opened at the Moscow Art Theater.
In 1960, our hero successfully graduated from this educational institution. Almost immediately, Valya got a job at the Sovremennik Theater. On the stage of this institution, he played many characteristic roles.
early years
Valentin Nikulin was born on July 7, 1932 in Moscow. A boy was born into the family of a theater playwright and pianist. Our hero's uncle was a fairly famous publicist. It is not surprising that from early childhood little Valentin dreamed of repeating the fate of his parents and achieving success in the field of high art.
However, after graduating from school, the guy, to the surprise of those around him, went against family traditions. The young man applied for admission to the Moscow State Institute and was soon assigned to the Faculty of Law. Despite successfully graduating from a university in his specialty, Valentin Nikulin never began working as a human rights activist. The fact is that by that time our hero felt a hidden artistic potential in himself that needed immediate implementation. Therefore, soon the young man went to learn stagecraft at the Nemirovich-Danchenko studio.
Later, aspiring actor Valentin Nikulin joined the acting troupe of the Sovremennik Theater. On this creative platform, the artist played many outstanding roles. Particular success for our hero was brought by his participation in such famous productions as: “The Naked King”, “At the Depth”, “Provincial Anecdotes”, “Three Sisters”.
Introduction to cinema
When did Nikulin Valentin first appear on Soviet screens? This happened back in 1961. The aspiring actor played the role of Andrei in the dramatic film “Leap Year”. His colleagues on the set were Elena Fadeeva, Innokenty Smoktunovsky and Victoria Ermolyeva.
In the same 1961, the second film with the participation of Valentin Nikulin was released. We are talking about the film story “Nine Days of One Year”. He got a cameo role as a guest at a wedding.
Between 1962 and 1965. he starred in several more films. The young actor tried on different images - a sailor, a journalist and an engineer. And in every role he was convincing.
Continuation of film career
In 1966, the fairy tale film “Three Fat Men” was presented to Soviet audiences. The actor reincarnated as his on-screen hero, Dr. Gaspar Arneri. However, Nikulin himself considered this role unsuccessful and unloved.
The fact is that after the film was widely shown, people on the streets often said to him: “Gaspard, hello!” We can say that the artist has become a hostage to one role. And our hero took it very painfully.
For most of his career, Valentin Yuryevich played strange characters - eccentrics, wizards, and so on. Most likely, he received such roles because of his specific appearance (asymmetrical face, kind and slightly sad eyes).
The artist tried to change the role that had bored him. But he still returned to the already familiar images. In the film “Blue Balls Pharmacy,” Valentin Nikulin played an adviser on miracles, and in “The Ballad of Bering and His Friends” he played a strange botanist.
In 1975, he got his first leading role in the military drama film The Wolf Pack. His character is the riding Mushroom Eater. The image created by the actor turned out to be colorful and believable.
The most interesting film works of V. Nikulin for 1976-1990 are listed below:
- Fairy tale film “The Little Mermaid” (1976) – Sulpitius;
- film story “Schedule for the day after tomorrow” (1978) – chemistry teacher;
- heroic film “We looked death in the face” (1980) - artist of Lenestrad;
- melodrama “Beyond the Blue Nights” (1983) – artist Kirill Averichev;
- adventure film "Captain Fracasse" (1984) - Cardinal of France;
- detective story “A Visit to the Minotaur” (1987) – violin maker;
- comedy “Was there Kartin” (1989) - Sgibnev;
- “The Investigation is Conducted by Experts” (1989) – drug dealer;
- historical and biographical film “Stalin’s Funeral” (1990) – an arrested neighbor.
Least favorite films of Valentin Nikulin
One of the actor’s least favorite works was the role of Dr. Gaspar Arneri in the film “Three Fat Men.”
This bright role became the actor’s calling card for many years. Meeting him on the streets, people often said: “Gaspard!” Our today's hero has always perceived such one-sidedness of his acting role as extremely painful. Meanwhile, in this film, Valentin Nikulin was lucky enough to work with such Soviet cinema stars as Alexey Batalov, Rina Zelenaya, Evgeny Morgunov, Alexey Smirnov and others. Gurchenko, Kikabidze, Valentin Nikulin - It will be like this Trying to change his boring role, Valentin played a wide variety of roles. However, he still returned to the same thing again and again. He was an “advisor on miracles” in the film “Blue Balls Pharmacy”, a strange botanist in the film “The Ballad of Bering and His Friends”, a jester in “A Cheerful Dream” and even Kashchei the Immortal in the late Russian film “To Far Far Away Lands”. Among the actor’s other works, it is worth highlighting the films “Darling”, “The Brothers Karamazov”, “The Little Mermaid”, “A Million in the Marriage Basket”, as well as some others. These films became a notable milestone in the actor’s work, but their popularity was still somewhat lower than the popularity that the roles of eccentrics and wizards brought to Valentin Nikulin.
Concluding the story about the acting career of our today's hero, we note that over the years Valentin Nikulin also often worked as a voice actor and singer. He often performed songs from films. The compositions he performed can be heard in many Soviet films (“Day after Day”, “The Path to the Pier”). Thus, Valentin Nikulin was still able to realize his long-standing dream of a musical career.
Personal life
Valentin Nikulin registered the relationship at the registry office three times. He didn't have any children of his own. However, he had the opportunity to experience the joy of fatherhood. After all, Nikulin raised the children of his wives from their previous marriages.
With his last wife, Marina Ganulina, he emigrated to Israel. At the end of the 1990s, our hero divorced his third wife. The reason for making this decision was everyday disagreements. Valentin Yuryevich wanted to return to Moscow. And Marina Ganulina wished to stay in Israel.
Death
On August 6, 2005, Nikulin Valentin left this world. The actor has been seriously ill in recent months. Doctors diagnosed him with osteoporosis. This disease is characterized by the destruction of bone tissue, causing the bones to become brittle. The actor also had problems with blood vessels. His ex-wife (Marina Ganulina) came from Israel to Moscow to look after him.
A month before his death, Valentin Yuryevich’s condition noticeably worsened - he stopped walking. His chances of recovery were zero.
Valentin Nikulin found his final refuge at the Donskoye Cemetery (Moscow). His grave is located on the territory of the 4th section. In July 2007, the actor’s colleagues, relatives and fans erected a granite monument to him.
Biography
Valentin Nikulin was born into the family of playwright Yuri Veniaminovich Nikulin (1907-1958) and pianist Evgenia Naumovna Brook (1909-1982); nephew of the writer Lev Nikulin and actors Konstantin Shein and Tamara Shein, grandson of the entrepreneur Veniamin Nikulin. The parents separated when the future actor was 5 years old.
Graduated from the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov (1957), then - the School-Studio named after. V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko at the Moscow Art Theater (1960). Since 1960 - actor at the Sovremennik Theater.
In this theater he played many character roles in performances based on works of classics and modern authors. The founder of the Sovremennik Theater Oleg Efremov called V. Nikulin one of the most talented masters. In 1991, Valentin Nikulin emigrated to Israel, lived there for 7 years, played in the Habima Theater, and returned to Russia in 1998.
He was a popular film actor, a recognized master of artistic reading, and performed as a singer and melodic speaker. In the last years of his life, he performed on various stages in a musical one-man show based on the poems of Russian poets “My Friends Have Beautiful Features” (there is a television version of the play).
Valentin Nikulin died on August 6, 2005 after a serious long-term illness and was buried at the Donskoye Cemetery. In July 2007, a monument was erected at the grave[1].
Interesting Facts
Nikulin Valentin considered Bulat Okudzhava, Fazil Iskander and Gennady Raspopov to be close-minded people.
In 1981 he received the title “Honored Artist of the RSFSR”. But that is not all. In 1991, V. Nikulin became People's Artist of the RSFSR.
Our hero took part in dubbing cartoons. What characters spoke in his voice? This is the wizard from “Dunno in the Sunny City” (1976), Robinson Crusoe from the cartoon “Robinson Kuzya” and the Time Keeper from “The Wizard of the Emerald City”.
Filmography[ | ]
- 1961 - Leap Year - Andrey
- 1961 - Nine days of one year - young physicist
- 1962 - Path to the pier - Marat Chepin
- 1964 - Letters to the Living - Valentin
- 1964 - Big Ore - Vladimir Sergeevich
- 1965 - A bridge is being built - locomotive driver Kachanov
- 1965 - Roll Call - journalist
- 1965 - Adventures of a Dentist - Patient
- 1966 - Three Fat Men - Dr. Gaspar Arneri
- 1966 - Darling - Vladimir Platonovich Smirnin
- 1967 - The Mysterious Wall - Canadian traveler
- 1968 - To love... - lonely guest
- 1969 - The Brothers Karamazov - Smerdyakov
- 1970 - The Ballad of Bering and His Friends - Georg Steller, botanist
- 1970 - Amazing Boy - Professor Art
- 1971 - The Lion's Grave - Andrey
- 1972 - Day by day - Dmitry
- 1972 - Going beyond the horizon - Nikolai Shavanosov
- 1973 - Wedding
- 1973 - Was a real trumpeter - Koti's father, artist
- 1973 - The collapse of engineer Garin - receptionist
- 1974 - Accident - Friedrich, maintenance worker
(voiced by Vladimir Ferapontov) (uncredited) - 1974 - Ivan da Marya - Timosha, the ghost of the tower
- 1974 - Blue Balls Pharmacy (television play) - Great Envious, Senior Advisor for Miracles
- 1975 - Aeronaut - Polonsky
- 1975 - Townspeople - passenger in a white cloak, “Associate Professor”
- 1975 - Retired Colonel - Pavel
- 1975 - Wolf Pack - Mushroom Eater
- 1975 — From Lopatin’s notes
- 1976 — Wreath of Sonnets
- 1976 - A Cheerful Dream, or Laughter and Tears - Jester
- 1976 - The Little Mermaid - Sulpitius / storyteller
- 1977 - Debt - Karnaukhov
- 1977 - Nose - janitor
- 1978 - Suspicious
- 1978 - Schedule for the day after tomorrow - Semyon Semyonich
- 1978 - Meeting at the end of winter - poet “without corners”
- 1979 - Man changes skin - Nemirovsky
- 1979 - Good People - Male
- 1979 - Circus Man - Tanti
- 1979 - I want to sing
- 1979 - No special signs
- 1979 - Time chose us - sniper-sergeant-major in a prisoner of war camp
- 1980 - Clown - Zheka
- 1980 - We looked death in the face - King, artist of Lenestrad
- 1980 - Sicilian Defense - Lebedev
- 1980 - The Mystery of Edwin Drood - Buzzard, Grewgius' Clerk
- 1980 - Stray Bullet - Glazunov
- 1981 - White dance
- 1981 - Comrade Innokenty
- 1983 - The Mystery of Villa Greta - Marrone, prison guard
- 1983 - Behind the blue nights - Overichev
- 1984 - Cancan in the English Park - Rodionov
- 1984 - Captain Fracasse - Cardinal Richelieu
- 1984 - Autumn gift from fairies - grandfather
- 1985 - Million in the wedding basket - Alessandro, servant
- 1986 - Face to Face - Broker
- 1986 - Stargazer - Lasswitz
- 1987 - I have the honor
- 1987 - Jerusalem artichokes - Grechishnikov
- 1987 - Visit to the Minotaur - Andrea Guarneri
- 1988 - Tragedy in rock style - friend of Dmitry Bodrov
- 1988 - Balcony - Solntselov
- 1989 - Was there Carotene? — Sgibnev
- 1989 - Visit of a Lady - Pastor
- 1989 - I hope without hope
- 1989 - Our Father
- 1989 - Entrance to the labyrinth - fiscal
- 1989 - The investigation is carried out by the Experts. Mafia - Valentinov
- 1990 - Stalin's funeral - arrested
- 1990 - The Lord's Fish - Ancharsky
- 1991 - Air Kiss
- 1991 - And the wind returns... - cameo
- 1993 - Sin. A story of passion - actor
- 1994 - Coffee with lemon - pianist
- 1999 - Yana's Friends - Neighbor
- 2001 - Doctors - psychiatrist
- 2002 - Main roles - admissions committee teacher
- 2003 - Detectives-2 - Nakhimson
- 2003 - Spas under the birches - Markusha
- 2003 - Far Far Away - Kashcheev / Kashchei the Immortal
- 2004 - MUR is MUR - writer Zapyatny
- 2005 - The Tale of Happiness
Voice acting for cartoons[ | ]
- 1974 - I give you a star - reads the text
- 1974 - The Wizard of the Emerald City - Time Keeper
- 1976 - Dunno in Sunny City - a wizard
- 1978 - Robinson Kuzya - Robinson Crusoe
- 2003 - A Knight's Romance - text from the author / vocals
Radio plays[ | ]
- 1972 - Treasure Island - Ben Gunn
- 1982 - Golden Bug - Legrand
[2]
