As a director, Govorukhin played Vysotsky and other little-known facts about the outstanding bard

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Vladimir Vysotsky is a songwriter, actor and bard, whose talent, according to many, borders on genius. He was such an outstanding and extraordinary person that his fame does not subside to this day. He was a hero of that time, a legendary man, a rebel. For some time he was banned by the Soviet government because of his struggle with the system. He always said that he thought, toured abroad, married a foreigner, in general he was not a "man of the Soviet regime." The image of Vysotsky is still shrouded in a curtain of mysteries. Unfortunately, his age was short-lived, but in such a short period Vladimir Semenovich managed to live a rich and vibrant life.

Why Vysotsky decided to live with his stepmother, and not with his mother

Vysotsky was born in an ordinary Moscow communal apartment. Parents divorced when Vysotsky was nine years old and created new families. Literally from the first acquaintance, Volodya did not have a good relationship with his new stepfather, so he decided to live with his father. But the relationship with the stepmother of the Armenian Evgenia developed immediately.

Evgenia, despite the fact that she was married for the third time, did not have children of her own. And she gave all her soul and love to Volodya. When they lived in Germany, she did everything so that Vysotsky did not yearn for his mother and homeland. She constantly helped him with his lessons. Perhaps that is why Volodya began to study better. Evgenia encouraged Volodya's creative endeavors in every possible way and saw him as an artist in the future, even though his father did not share her enthusiasm with her.

He called his beloved stepmother "Zhenya's mother." Even as an adult, he treated her with incredible trepidation and never came without a gift for her. Interestingly, as a sign of love and respect, Vysotsky was even baptized in the Armenian Apostolic Church.

How Vladimir Semenovich almost became an engineer

Already being a high school student, Vladimir began to dream about the stage. He attended a theater studio, where he achieved considerable success, composed poetry and songs. But his family did not share his dreams and insisted on choosing a more mundane profession. Vladimir surrendered under the pressure and persuasion of relatives, so he chose the Moscow Civil Engineering Institute for training, deciding to study as an engineer. But you can't escape fate!

Once, Vladimir was preparing for a session with his classmate, building drawings. And suddenly he spills either ink or coffee directly on his work. And then Vladimir said that this is not his profession, there is no need to waste time learning what you don’t love. He dreamed of theatrical, so he decided to completely change the direction of his studies. And at the age of eighteen he fulfilled his plans, becoming a student of the acting department of the Moscow Art Theater School.

Marina Vlady opened the world of great European music to the bard

Being married to Lyudmila Abramova, Vysotsky met a girl because of whom he left the family. The new hobby grew into great love. It was a French beauty with Russian roots Marina Vlady. She then opened a new wonderful world to Vladimir, introduced him to the right people abroad. With the help of these acquaintances, records of Vysotsky's songs were released in Europe, while in his native country this was unrealistic to arrange.

How Govorukhin made fun of Vladimir Semenovich

Yet it is true that a talented person is talented in everything! Stanislav Sergeevich Govorukhin is not only a wonderful director, but, as it turned out, a good humorist. He was able to play Vladimir Vysotsky very subtly and creatively. It happened on the set of the famous Soviet film "Vertical". For this picture, Vladimir Semenovich wrote six songs dedicated to mountaineering.

The rally story is linked to one of these songs. It is called "The Ballad of the Alpine Shooters." In the film, it sounded right after the moment when the crash of an avalanche was heard, with a sound reminiscent of an artillery cannonade.

So, once the director of the film was absent for a couple of days during the filming process and, returning to the set, first looked into the hotel, into the room of Vladimir Semenovich, but did not find him there. Govorukhin was about to leave, but suddenly he saw some papers covered with writing. Coming closer, he saw that these were freshly written poems that impressed him and touched him to the depths of his soul.

As it turned out, Stanislav Sergeevich has another talent - a phenomenal memory. He calmly learned the lines by heart, left the room and went down to the reception, where he saw Vladimir Semyonovich. He at this time was sitting in a buffet, along with several actors and a couple of fans. Seeing Govorukhin, Vysotsky barely greeted him, blurted out that he had composed a wonderful song for a movie and offered to play it, because the bard always had a guitar at hand. Naturally, Stanislav Sergeevich agreed, because the idea of a great rally flashed through his head.

And now Vysotsky begins to sing. Literally a minute later, Govorukhin cut him off with the words that he had already heard this song and that many climbers know it well. Vysotsky indignantly replied that this was not true, and that he had only written it. Then the director, with an imperturbable face, recited the verse that was in this song.

The bard was dumbfounded and embarrassed, to put it mildly. He began to sort out the options, wondering how such a misunderstanding could have happened. He put forward the only option that he may have heard sometime in childhood these lines, which remained somewhere in the subconscious. The director also agreed with this version, assenting that this really happens. But seeing how upset the actor was, Govorukhin took pity and laughingly said that it was just a creative prank. History is silent about what Vladimir Semenovich answered to this, but there was clearly something interesting and strong, in the style of Vysotsky.

How robbers apologized to Vysotsky and why they wanted to accuse him of theft

Once Vysotsky was robbed in a hotel room in Sochi. The items that were stolen were not so important, clothes and a few accessories. But the situation was aggravated by the fact that among the stolen documents were documents and keys to the apartment. The victim had to go to the police and write a statement. But when he got back to his room, he was in for a pleasant surprise. The stolen goods were returned, adding a note containing an apology from the robbers: “Forgive us, Vladimir Semyonovich. We didn't know whose things it was. We return everything except jeans. Sorry, they have already been sold."

But once in Paris, Vysotsky himself was mistaken for a robber. He lived with Marina Vlady and once, having parked his car at the house, out of habit, he began to remove the wipers and mirrors so that they would not be stolen. A passing policeman decided that the car was being robbed. Vysotsky was saved from detention by his beloved, who saw the unfolding conflict through the window of the apartment in time and explained to the guards that this car was their property. And that is how it is customary in Russia to protect oneself from the loss of property. With this story, she really surprised the policeman, but still he had to let go of the failed thief and apologize to him.

Lover of cars and high-speed driving

In the USSR, a car was a rarity, and a foreign car was generally something from the world of fantasy. Therefore, the cars that Vysotsky brought from abroad aroused great interest among passers-by. Why, even officials could not afford such. And Vladimir Semenovich changed cars very often. But not because they got bored, but because he loved speed and often got into accidents. Almost empty roads and a love of adrenaline contributed to the fast driving. However, he still tried not to break the rules. But, if he broke it anyway, he was forgiven. Sometimes the traffic police stopped Vysotsky's car just to see the idol and take a closer look at the car.

It was especially a pity for the car, brought as a gift from Marina Vlady. Vysotsky did not travel long on an imported car, he crashed it on the same day. Vladimir Semenovich lost control at high speed and entered the bus. But, fortunately, the car was restored, and the bard was still able to drive it.

In total, Vysotsky had eight cars, the same number and had an accident. But the most favorite car was Mercedes-Benz. Vysotsky proudly said that only he and Brezhnev had such a thing. And it’s true, Vysotsky’s car was the first in the traffic police’s file cabinet. By the way, this car is now in the Vysotsky Museum in Yekaterinburg.

Why did the authorities want the funeral of Vladimir Vysotsky to go unnoticed?

Despite the huge army of fans, not a single interview and concert of Vysotsky was shown on Soviet screens in his entire life. And his songs could not be heard on the radio. Due to difficult relations with the Soviet government, they even tried to ban Vysotsky from acting in films. Therefore, viewers could already learn and see a lot about the life and work of the scandalous genius only after his death.

Vladimir Semenovich died on July 25, 1980 at the age of forty-two. To this day, the exact cause of the bard's death is unknown. The family chose not to do the autopsy. An interesting fact is that in his last poem, which he wrote on a prescription for some kind of medicine, Vysotsky predicted his imminent death.

By the way, they also tried to hide the news of his death from admirers of Vysotsky's talent, since the Olympics were being held in the capital at that time. The tragic event was reported in a couple of newspapers, and there was also a note that was posted in the Taganka Theater. Further, of course, human rumor spread this message throughout the country.

As a result, instead of a quiet funeral, which the authorities tried to arrange, there was a huge mourning line stretching from Taganka to the Kremlin itself. Many wanted to say goodbye to the genius. Under the hot summer sun, people, not sparing themselves, stood in line to pay tribute to their beloved artist.

The artistic director of the theater appealed to the Moscow authorities with a request to give the go-ahead for permission to drive in a car with an open coffin through the streets of the capital, so that those who wish could say goodbye to their beloved bard. They agreed to this, but deceived. Suddenly, while driving, the car went on a different route. And after a while a communal car drove by and washed away the flowers lying on the asphalt with water. But what happened next shocked people. Utility workers broke a portrait of Vladimir Vysotsky out of the theater window. People could no longer restrain themselves and started chanting "Fascists!"

But, despite all this, the Soviet authorities failed to make them forget their beloved Vladimir Semenovich. His songs and films have still not lost their relevance. He is remembered for the fact that he lived, worked and loved at the limit of his strength. He did not look like anyone and did not try to bend himself under the system. For this, millions of people fell in love with the rebel hero of that time.