Why the host of "Song of the Year" ended his days at the hospice: Evgeny Menshov

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

He served in the theater, acted in films, but was remembered by everyone as the host of the "Song of the Year" program. For eighteen years, Evgeny Menshov, together with Angelina Vovk, appeared on the screens, invariably elegant, smart, incredibly charming. It is not for nothing that on television he received the unofficial title of a real gentleman of television. He had many friends, Evgeny Menshov was loved and respected by his colleagues. But he spent the last days of his life in a hospice …

Not from the first frame

Evgeny Menshov, born in 1947 in Gorky, has been seriously involved in football since childhood. In the local football team, he was considered a promising goalkeeper, but his love of art won out sports excitement in him. Football still took an important place in his life, and he gladly took to the field until 2008.

After graduating from school, Evgeny Menshov became a student at the Gorky Theater School, and then entered the Moscow Art Theater School, using the recommendation of the director of the school, Vitaly Lebsky. True, the letter was not given to Evgeny Menshov, but to his friend Yuri Kuprin. But the latter decided to help his comrade, who took advantage of the patronage.

After receiving his diploma, the actor was admitted to the troupe of the Moscow Gogol Drama Theater in 1971, but fame and recognition came to him almost ten years later, when the film "Melody for Two Voices" was released. The performer of the role of Kirill Vorobyov began to receive letters from fans, they confessed their love to him and waited for new films with his participation.

And then television appeared in his life. Before that, he starred in television plays, but the offer to try himself as the host of one of the most popular programs on Soviet television turned his whole life upside down. At that time, the candidacy of Angelina Vovk was approved, but the creators of the program wanted to see a dramatic actor next to the favorite of the audience.

Evgeny Menshov passed the test, but did not receive an answer immediately. Only a month later, a long-awaited call was heard in his house with an invitation to the shooting. At first, the actor was not satisfied with the work on the program. First of all, his relationship with Angelina Vovk, who constantly made comments to him, did not work out, he was lost and did not understand how to stand and where to look, if the shooting was conducted from eight television cameras at once.

But he stubbornly continued to work and once, having arrived on television, noticed that Angelina Vovk's attitude towards him had changed dramatically. She looked at the co-host with literally loving eyes and it was simply impossible not to notice. Evgeny Menshov decided to ask his colleague directly what was going on. It turned out that after watching the next program, Angelina Vovk's mother suddenly told her daughter: no one had ever looked at her like Evgeny Menshov. Since then, the famous presenter has ceased to find fault with the person with whom she worked as a pair, and during the broadcast they seemed to be playing a melody in two voices. Some viewers thought that the hosts of Song of the Year were romantically involved, but each of them had their own lives outside of work.

Three melodies of love

Evgeny Menshov has always enjoyed the attention of women. He was married three times, invariably choosing beautiful and talented women as his wife.

The first wife of the actor was Natalya Seliverstova, a classmate of the actor at the Moscow Art Theater School. Together they lived for 18 years, and after the actor went to the actress Larisa Borushko, whom he met at the Gogol Theater. With his second wife, Evgeny Menshov started life from scratch, leaving all the acquired property to Natalya Seliverstova.

With Larisa Borushko, they lived for a long time in a tiny room in a communal apartment, slept right on the floor, because they had no furniture. And yet they were incredibly happy. Later, friends helped the spouses to get a separate home, and Larisa gave birth to her husband's only son, Alexander.

The careers of both spouses were quite successful, Larisa Borushko acted in films a lot and even feeling unwell, she did not rush to the hospital, not wanting to waste time visiting doctors. Unfortunately, such carelessness turned out to be disastrous. When the actress was diagnosed with cancer, nothing could be done. Evgeny Menshov very much regretted that his second wife did not go to the clinic at a time when the disease could be overcome. Nevertheless, the couple fought for the life and health of Larisa for several years. But they lost this battle.

After the death of Larisa, Evgeny Menshov for a long time could not come to his senses, and his grief was also mixed with anxiety for his son, who became very withdrawn after his mother left. At that time, Alexander entered Moscow State University, but the teachers did not behave very tactfully towards the student and even mocked his stuttering. Fortunately, having taken the documents from Moscow State University, Alexander Menshov entered the University of Medicine and Dentistry, became a dentist.

And in the life of Evgeny Menshov, a new love soon appeared. TV presenter Olga Groznaya helped the actor cope with depression, which was caused not only by the loss of his wife, but also by leaving the program "Song of the Year". Then the leadership changed in the program, and Evgeny Menshov and Angelina Vovk did not accept the new conditions. They were not allowed to communicate with spectators and musicians, they were obliged to read the text solely from the script without any improvisation.

From the state of emptiness and loss of meaning in Yevgeny Menshov's life, his third wife Olga brought him out. They lived together for eight years and for almost all these years Yevgeny Menshov was struggling with cancer, diagnosed in him during the life of his second wife. Then the disease receded, but over time there was a relapse.

According to colleagues, Olga Groznaya gave her husband later happiness, but at the same time she initiated his refusal to communicate with friends and colleagues. When the famous presenter fell ill, she limited his communication to a narrow family circle. As soon as it became clear that the disease was progressing, his wife assigned Evgeny Menshov to the hospice. There, the actor was constantly under the supervision of the best doctors and received qualified medical care and round-the-clock care.

On May 19, 2015, Evgeny Menshov's heart stopped beating. Olga the Terrible, after the death of her husband, said that he was an ideal person without a single flaw.

Colleague Evgeny Menshova, People's Artist Angelina Vovk hosted the programs "Good night, kids" and "Song of the Year", which simply could not be imagined without her participation, but for many years she has not appeared on the screens. It turns out that her television career did not end of her own free will, and her departure from television was forced. Angelina Vovk is still going through these events hard and only recently spoke about who was involved in this drama.