Biography
Yuri Georgievich Bogatyrev is an actor of Soviet cinema and theater, People's Artist of the RSFSR.
Actor Yuri Bogatyrev
Yuri was born on March 2, 1947 in the capital of Latvia in the family of naval officer Georgy Andrianovich Bogatyrev and housewife Tatyana Vasilyevna. In addition to Yuri, the family also raised a daughter, Margarita.
The boy grew up as an unusual child from childhood: he loved to sew clothes for dolls, he was vulnerable and sensitive. In his early years he suffered from sleepwalking. In 1953, the family moved to Moscow, where Yuri began attending art school. On weekends, the boy organized amateur puppet theater performances for neighbors and relatives.
Yuri Bogatyrev in childhood and youth
When the time came to choose a profession, Bogatyrev decided to connect his life with fine arts. In 1962, the young man became a student at the Art and Industrial School. M. Kalinina, specialty “Carpet Artist”. During the holidays, Bogatyrev worked part-time by sketching archaeological finds at excavations. Together with his fellow students, he went out into the open air to hone his skills.
Yuri Bogatyrev in his youth
During one of these outdoor classes in 1965, Bogatyrev became friends with the studio members of the Globus children's puppet theater, whose director was teacher Vladimir Mikhailovich Stein. Bogatyrev began rehearsing with the group and performing in productions, one of which was even shown on Soviet television. In 1967, Yuri entered the Shchukin School in the workshop of Yuri Vasilyevich Katin-Yartsev for the same course with Natalya Varleya, Natalya Gundareva and Konstantin Raikin.
Instagram and Wikipedia Yuri Bogatyrev (actor)
In the post-Soviet space there are many who are partial to domestic cinema. Of course, many of them met our today's hero on their screens. And first of all, everyone who wants to know more about this actor will turn to the World Wide Web.
The first thing they will look for is Yuri Bogatyrev’s Instagram and Wikipedia. Of course, there is an official page for the actor in the free Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia. On it you can find all the information about Bogatyrev, and reliable information at that. This concerns his biography and creativity, what awards he received. Even literature, as well as cinematic films dedicated to Yuri Bogatyrev.
Theater
Working in the early 70s at Sovremennik, Yuri Bogatyrev remained in minor roles for a long time. The artist played in more than 15 productions directed by G. Volchek, V. Fokin, O. Efremov, G. Tovstonogov, A.A. Alova, V.N. Naumova. Bogatyrev’s most famous works were his roles in the plays “Eternally Alive” based on the play by V. Rozov, “The Cherry Orchard” by A. Chekhov and “Twelfth Night” by W. Shakespeare. In 1977, Yuri Georgievich was transferred to the Moscow Art Theater at the invitation of Oleg Efremov.
Yuri Bogatyrev in the play “Twelfth Night”
Here Bogatyrev gets into the cast of the plays “Days of the Turbins” by M. Bulgakov, “The Living Corpse” by L. Tolstoy, “Tartuffe” by Moliere, “The Seagull” by A. Chekhov. For a long time, Yuri Bogatyrev could not get his own housing in Moscow. The actor had to live either in a hostel or with friends: K. Raikin or A. Adabashyan. In 1981, after receiving the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR, Yuri Georgievich was finally given a one-room apartment on Gilyarovsky Street.
Wife of Yuri Bogatyrev (actor) - Nadezhda Seraya
Our today's hero had a fictitious wife, whom he helped stay afloat after she divorced her first husband. Yuri Bogatyrev's wife, Nadezhda Seraya, was born on the sixth day, the autumn month of September, in 1943.
Nadezhda is a graduate of GITIS, and graduated in 1966, after which she worked at the Smolensk Drama Theater for two years after graduation. Subsequently, Nadezhda appeared in the Lipetsk and Volgograd theaters. Since the mid-seventies, the actress has performed on the stage of the Moscow Taganka Drama and Comedy Theater. In addition to the theater, Nadezhda also worked on the set; her filmography is quite extensive and includes four dozen works.
Movies
Acquaintance with the aspiring film director Nikita Mikhalkov in the late 60s was of great importance for Bogatyrev’s creative biography. Collaboration with the director resulted in a large number of diverse roles for Yuri Georgievich. In 1970, the artist made his debut in Nikita Sergeevich’s diploma work “A Calm Day at the End of the War” and immediately gained popularity among filmmakers.
Yuri Bogatyrev in the film “A Calm Day at the End of the War”
Four years later, Bogatyrev reincarnated as the main character - security officer Yegor Shilov - in the film by the novice master “One among Strangers, a Stranger among Ones,” which was filmed in the Caucasus. A few months before filming, Yuri went on a diet in order to look athletic and fit on camera. For the film, the actor had to learn how to sit in the saddle, which he did easily and quickly.
Yuri Bogatyrev in the film “One among strangers, a stranger among friends”
Bogatyrev’s horsemanship made an impression even on seasoned local residents, Chechens. Yuri Bogatyrev gave his all to the game. The artist and his friend Konstantin Raikin were not afraid to jump from a cliff into a mountain river, which almost ended in tragedy for both.
Yuri Bogatyrev in the film “Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano”
For Nikita Mikhalkov, Bogatyrev became one of the main actors. Yuri Georgievich appeared in the director’s film “An Unfinished Piece for a Mechanical Piano,” in which the role of Voinitsev was written especially for the artist, in the film adaptation of “A Few Days in the Life of I. I. Oblomov,” where he played the complete opposite of Andrei Stolts’s own character.
Yuri Bogatyrev in the film “A few days in the life of I. I. Oblomov”
In 1981, Yuri Bogatyrev played the role of Stasik in the comedy “Kinfolk,” where Svetlana Kryuchkova and Nonna Mordyukova also played. In 1986, Mikhalkov invited Bogatyrev to the project “Dark Eyes,” where the artist’s partners on the work site were Marcello Mastroianni, Irina Safonova, Innokenty Smoktunovsky, and Oleg Tabakov.
Yuri Bogatyrev in the film “Kinfolk”
Other significant works by Yuri Bogatyrev include the adventure film “Two Captains” by Evgeny Karelov, the drama “Declaration of Love” by Ilya Averbukh, the film adaptation of the play “Vacation in September” by A. Vampilov, the film “The Last Hunt” by Igor Sheshukov, the melodrama “My Dad” by Vladimir Bortko – idealist,” family drama by Sergei Ashkenazy “Time for Thought.”
Yuri Bogatyrev in the film “Two Captains”
In the 1984 TV series “Dead Souls,” director Mikhail Shveitzer assembled a star-studded cast. In addition to Bogatyrev, Alexander Kalyagin, Larisa Udovichenko, Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Vyacheslav Nevinny, Vsevolod Sanaev, Inna Makarova, Valery Zolotukhin, Lidiya Fedoseeva-Shukshina, Inna Churikova played in N. Gogol’s immortal tragicomedy.
Yuri Bogatyrev in the film “Dead Souls”
The last works in cinema for Yuri Bogatyrev were the drama “The Flight of the Bird”, where the actor appeared in an ensemble with Elena Yakovleva and Rodion Nakhapetov, the adventure comedy “Presumption of Innocence”, in which Lyubov Polishchuk and Stanislav Sadalsky played together with Bogatyrev, and the musical film “Don Cesar de Bazan" starring Anna Samokhina and Mikhail Boyarsky.
Yuri Bogatyrev in the film “Don Cesar de Bazan”
A large place in the artist’s filmography was occupied by his work in the television plays “Tanya”, “Once Upon a Time in California”, “Martin Eden”, in the television versions of the performances of the Sovremennik Theater and the Moscow Art Theater “Forever Alive”, “Twelfth Night”, “Mutiny”, "Carrier Henschel." Being a big child himself, Yuri Bogatyrev willingly participated in the filming of programs and film adaptations for children that were broadcast on central television: “The Man from the Country of Green”, “This Fantastic World”, “Poems by A. Barto”, “The Path”.
Remembering Yuri Bogatyrev: friends about the life and death of the artist
Yuri Bogatyrev // Photo: Sherstennikov / RIA Novosti
Today marks the 70th anniversary of the birth of People's Artist of the RSFSR Yuri Bogatyrev. The man died on February 2, 1989 in Moscow. That fateful night, Bogatyrev suffered a heart attack. The ambulance team that arrived at the scene injected the actor with clonidine, which turned out to be incompatible with the antidepressants to which the man was addicted. As a result, the celebrity’s heart instantly stopped.
UNDERRATED ARTIST
28 years after the death of the film and theater star, his friends continue to share memories of their loved one. Thus, Stanislav Sadalsky spoke about one of Yuri Bogatyrev’s hobbies. The artist said that his friend loved to draw and was a talented, but not recognized artist. By the way, the first exhibition of Yuri Bogatyrev’s works opened on February 6, 1989 at the Ermolova House-Museum. He did not live to see this long-awaited event for literally several days.
“Yura was a connoisseur of painting, a real connoisseur. Now they say that he is a genius, a real underrated artist, his exhibitions are organized, his albums are published. And then... He drew my portrait in a few minutes... And I almost lost it..." Sadalsky shared on his blog.
"Stasik." Work by Yuri Bogatyrev // Photo: LJ Stanislav Sadalsky
Bogatyrev’s friends believed that his passion for painting became a continuation of his acting career. Yuri Bogatyrev himself agreed with the opinions of his close people and readily admitted that he did not compete with famous artists. The man could not even imagine that over time art critics would begin to appreciate his work. “I draw people with whom I studied, worked, met, as well as compositions on the themes of my favorite literary and dramatic works. In no way can I pretend to be professional, and my drawings can serve, perhaps, only as touches to the artist’s portrait. Peering into people’s faces or reflecting on the pages of literary works with the help of paper and paints, I kind of “continue” the acting profession,” the man said.
“It was as if he had the ability to “pull out” some internal property of a person that was inaccessible to the gaze of others,” Irina Gamula, chief curator of the Bakhrushin State Theater Museum, said on the Kultura TV channel.
Yuri Bogatyrev did not seek to compete with professional artists // Photo: frame from the program “Revealing the Secrets of the Stars”
At the same time, Bogatyrev was distinguished by some kind of domestic disorder. The actor’s relatives said that he did not overload himself with housework. The artist preferred to devote all his free time to art.
“He was always busy with everyday life and was either drawing, reading or talking. He came out in some kind of half-torn robe, and there was a feeling that this was Ostrovsky’s character. He made scrambled eggs so that they looked like a painting,” said director Joseph Raikhelgauz.
Yuri Bogatyrev in his favorite robe // Photo: frame from the film “Yuri Bogatyrev. Stolen life"
It is interesting that Yuri Bogatyrev for a long time preferred to live in a theater dormitory. It was there that he returned after social parties and receptions. The artist moved from there only in 1981, when he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR. Then the actor was given a one-room apartment on Gilyarovsky Street.
WORKING WITH NIKITA MIKHALKOV
Nikita Mikhalkov became the director who discovered Yuri Bogatyrev for cinema. The young actor played a German in his graduation film “A Quiet Day at the End of the War,” which was released in 1970. “Yura Bogatyrev is a wonderful, amazing, great Russian artist. We can only regret that he didn’t do much and left too early,” Mikhalkov noted in a story on the Kultura TV channel.
Subsequently, cooperation with Nikita Sergeevich continued. In 1974, Soviet viewers saw the film “One among Strangers, a Stranger among Ones,” in which Yuri Bogatyrev played the iconic role of security officer Yegor Shilov. For millions of cinema fans, this courageous and “hot” character became a real superhero, not inferior to the modern “X-Men”: he confidently stayed in the saddle and easily performed various stunts.
Yuri Bogatyrev in the image of Yegor Shilov // Photo: frame from the film “One among strangers, a stranger among one’s own”
THIN AND SENSITIVE
According to the recollections of Bogatyrev’s friends, the famous artist had nothing in common with Shilov, who made him famous.
“At first he was like a child. He had some fluff, his stubble was “increased.” His character was soft, tremulous, warm-hearted, pulsating like a feather in the wind. You blow it, and it flies into the air,” actor Sergei Shakurov told reporters.
// Photo: frame from the film “Declaration of Love” (1977)
The artist’s friends also told reporters that he seemed to have a presentiment of his death. But then those around the film and theater star did not take his words seriously. In the program “Revealing the Secrets of the Stars,” Bogatyrev’s loved ones talked about what tormented him.
“I came to him and stood up. I found the apartment number, I called, no one answered. I look: the door is not locked. I see him sitting on the carpet in the middle of the room, drunk and in tears. He says: “I’m going to die soon,” shared the star’s friend Evgeniy Steblov.
Yuri Bogatyrev lived in this house // Photo: frame from the film “Yuri Bogatyrev. Stolen life"
The actor’s words are confirmed by director and classmate of Yuri Bogatyrev, Konstantin Raikin. “He always said that he would die early. I thought that he was “interesting” and spoke for the sake of a nice word. It was typical for Yura to do such “sticky things,” the film and theater star shared.
Friends knew about the vulnerability of Yuri Bogatyrev, who suffered all his life from the fact that he was not like everyone else. The man’s entourage tried to support him in difficult times and remembered that the artist demanded very careful treatment of himself. “He needed compliments, applause, admiration. Then he modestly lowered his eyes and said: “You are exaggerating,” said the actor’s colleague Viktor Merezhko.
“It’s not enough, it’s not enough at all. Drawings, roles, rehearsals, friends, communication. They don’t praise you enough, they don’t admire you enough, they don’t look at you enough,” shared Yuri Bogatyrev’s friend Joseph Raikhelgauz, in turn.
// Photo: Still from the film “Twelfth Night” (1978)
Some of Bogatyrev's relatives considered him a big child. This point of view was shared, for example, by lawyer Andrei Popov, who communicated with the actor in the last four years of his life. According to a celebrity friend, Yuri Bogatyrev was very calm and tried not to get involved in scandals, as this went against his nature. “I didn’t hear that he ever fought with anyone; in my memory there were no such episodes. He knew how to compromise, negotiate and was an absolutely conflict-free person,” said the elderly man.
According to Andrei Mikhailovich, his friend worked for a very long time on each role. Bogatyrev seemed to get used to all his characters. The man calls the work of the famous actor “titanic.” His words are confirmed by Nikita Mikhalkov. “He caught everything in the wind,” says the director. By the way, for the sake of one of the roles, a convinced vegetarian tried meat, and from then on he forgot about the diet.
BOGATYREV AND WOMEN
It is worth noting that the film and theater star was lucky enough to work with many of the most beautiful actresses of his time, including Anastasia Vertinskaya, Elena Solovey and Svetlana Kryuchkova. Yuri Bogatyrev’s feelings for his partners were platonic: he could not offer them anything more than friendship. The artist likened women to goddesses. At the same time, natural delicacy and sensitivity did not allow him to open up completely.
Only over the years did Bogatyrev realize that he was not like everyone else. This realization literally put pressure on the man, who preferred to “treat” his problems with alcohol.
“Yura made this “discovery” in himself very late, grew into it somehow very painfully... He suffered very much about this... He drank, did all sorts of stupid things while drunk, from which he later suffered madly and was ashamed. This added an additional guilt complex to him. Today's stars even flaunt this. Nowadays, even people of normal orientation are happy to pretend to be homosexuals - it’s fashionable, practical - they’re friends with each other...” said director Alexander Adabashyan in an interview.
// Photo: Still from the film “Dead Souls” (1984)
LAST YEARS
In recent years, Yuri Bogatyrev stopped struggling with excess weight and suffered from hypertension. The artist often called friends and complained about life. Some of them believed that the man was exhausted by his work in the theater, which turned out to be too difficult for the sensitive artist. “He was very wounded,” noted Alexander Kalyagin.
Some believed that Bogatyrev seemed to be tired of himself. Every day he played other people's passions, and after going on stage he suffered from his own. The actor imagined ridicule and condemnation from strangers everywhere. The artist’s relatives say that he could be humiliated even with the “wrong” look or turn of the head.
“He called me and said: “Svetotulya, I’m sitting here alone. Old, fat, no one needs." And this was not bravado and coquetry. That’s how he felt,” said actress Svetlana Kryuchkova.
// Photo: Still from the film “Don Cesar de Bazan” (1989)
Among Bogatyrev’s obsessive nightmares was a dream that the audience was making fun of him. The actor had days when he despised himself. The artist suffered because he was not like the people around him.
“Natasha Gundareva said that he could drink and come to her in tears. He said: “Everyone despises me, I can’t help myself.” She said: “You made it all up yourself, you didn’t do anything bad to anyone.” Everything grew in him gradually. Over time, his inner harmony disappeared. He was in constant conflict with himself, and it seemed to him that he was disliked, treated with prejudice or negatively. I built a wall around myself and imagined that it was built outside,” shared Alexander Adabashyan.
To prepare the article, materials from Sobesednik and Nezavisimaya Gazeta were used.
Personal life
Actor Yuri Bogatyrev often had to transform himself into a respectable family man in films and on stage. Among his on-screen wives one can remember Elena Solovey, Natalya Nazarova, Svetlana Kryuchkova. But in the personal life of Yuri Georgievich, everything was not at all easy. The actor failed to create a happy family, although Yuri loved children. The artist maintained tender friendly relations with women. Yuri's friends were Iya Savvina, Natalya Gundareva, Natalya Varley. But more and more often men appeared in the actor’s life.
Yuri Bogatyrev
Yuri Bogatyrev realized his own unconventional orientation quite late. The actor was ashamed that he was gay, and because of this he began to go on binges, which he used to suppress attacks of depression. Bogatyrev managed to overcome his craving for forbidden connections only once, when Yuri developed a tender feeling for the little-known actress Nadezhda Seraya.
Yuri Bogatyrev and Nadezhda Seraya
After a divorce from her first husband, a woman found herself and her child practically on the street. Yuri Bogatyrev extended a helping hand to Nadezhda: the young people signed at the Moscow registry office, and the girl managed to stay in Moscow. The couple planned to move in together after their housing problems were resolved. But Yuri was playing for time and didn’t even tell his own mother about the wedding.
Personal life of Yuri Bogatyrev (actor)
As for such a topic as the personal life of Yuri Bogatyrev, it is ambiguous. Things didn’t work out for the actor with the opposite sex; he was delighted with women, but he didn’t experience any attraction. The actor looked at the girls as if they were beautiful paintings or sculptures. Even at that time, many wondered whether it was true that Yuri Bogatyrev was gay.
The actor was a married man, having tied the knot with actress Nadezhda Seroy. With all this, neither Bogatyrev himself nor his wife hid the fact that it was a marriage of convenience. In the last years of his life, the actor realized that he was homosexual, but he did not achieve understanding from either his family or friends. He was seized by severe depression and the actor became addicted to strong drinks and very strongly. After prolonged drinking of alcohol, and in large quantities, Bogatyrev began to have health problems.
Death
In the last months of his life, Yuri Bogatyrev began taking antidepressants as prescribed by his doctor. The artist was oppressed by psychological problems that he could not cope with on his own. On the night of February 2, Yuri Georgievich took medication and went to bed. At night, the actor had a heart attack. According to the instructions, the ambulance injected Bogatyrev with clonidine, the dose of which turned out to be fatal in combination with medications for the treatment of depression. As a result, a state of shock developed, which became the cause of the actor’s death.
Grave of Yuri Bogatyrev
The day before, Bogatyrev was preparing an exhibition of his own artistic works, since he did not give up the hobby of his youth - painting - until the end of his life. But during the funeral, which took place on February 6, many of Yuri Georgievich’s paintings disappeared without a trace, as well as the fee from the Italian producer. Bogatyrev's grave is located at the Vagankovskoye cemetery.
Children of Yuri Bogatyrev (actor)
Just like his family, the actor was not interested in children. He understood perfectly well that if there is no attraction to women, then there can be no talk of any children. And there is no point in discussing such a topic as the children of Yuri Bogatyrev.
He accepted a woman with a child into his life, but nothing came of it. Yuri Bogatyrev was attracted to men and he was very embarrassed about it. However, the public at that time did not accept sexual minorities. As mentioned earlier, he drank heavily, to the point where Bogatyrev had a heart attack. The ambulance that came to the call used clonidine, but it was incompatible with the drugs that the actor was using. This caused cardiac arrest and it was not possible to save him.
Memory
In memory of Yuri Bogatyrev, several programs and documentaries were created. Leonid Filatov dedicated an episode of the program “To Be Remembered” to his friend, the film “Islands” was released on the “Culture” channel, and the film “Big, Big Child. Yuri Bogatyrev."
On February 25, 2020, the premiere of the documentary film “Yuri Bogatyrev. Stolen Life,” which used rare photos and documents from the Bogatyrev family archive, as well as testimonies from the actor’s friends.
Family of Yuri Bogatyrev (actor)
The family in which the actor grew up was closely connected with the military profession, and as a result they moved several times. As a result, Yuri Bogatyrev’s Family settled in the capital of the Soviet Union.
As for his own family, the actor never wanted to start a family and have children. All this is due to the fact that he began to realize his sexual orientation, which was fundamentally different from the Soviet life regime. But still, one day his heart trembled before Nadezhda Sera. Perhaps this happened because they agreed on a calling in life. Nadezhda, like Bogatyrev, was an actress. Seeing that after the divorce, the woman was left alone with the child and was experiencing housing problems, the actor offered to help her. They signed at the capital's registry office. However, that's where it all ended.
Filmography
- “A Quiet Day at the End of the War” – 1970
- “One among strangers, a stranger among one’s own” – 1974
- “Slave of Love” – 1975
- “Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano” – 1976
- “A few days in the life of I.I. Oblomov” - 1979
- “Vacation in September” – 1979
- "The Last Hunt" - 1979
- “My Dad is an Idealist” – 1980
- “Kinfolk” – 1981
- “Dead Souls” – 1984
- “Dark Eyes” – 1987
- “Presumption of Innocence” – 1988
- “Don Cesar de Bazan” – 1989
