Why the witch from the "Night Watch" refused Smoktunovsky and did not marry Utyosov: Unknown Rimma Markova

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

In the eyes of viewers and colleagues, Rimma Markova has always been a strong woman. Such that he will never give himself offense, and will protect others. Her calling card was the role of Nadezhda Petrovna in Alexei Saltykov's "Woman's Kingdom". The image of a strong-willed collective farm woman who managed to go through many trials began to be identified with the actress herself. And only a few close people knew that the image of a strong woman was just the protective armor of Rimma Vasilyevna. This mask hid vulnerability, sentimentality and weakness.

From the provinces to the metropolitan stage

Rimma Markova's parents were simple peasants, from childhood they got used to working a lot, and they taught their children, Rimma and Leonid, to that. The father of the actress Vasily Demyanovich was an excellent storyteller, but he could have worked in the village all his life if the director of the Saratov Drama Theater hadn’t heard him one day and invited him to the troupe. Mom Maria Petrovna, of course, went after her husband and later became a make-up hairdresser.

The Markov children began to appear on stage at an early age, and when the family moved to Vologda, they began to attend a studio at the theater. The teacher Lydia Rotbaum immediately drew attention to the acting talent of Rimma and Leonid Markov and literally insisted that they go to study in Moscow. She also agreed to audition with Ivan Bersenev himself, artistic director of the Lenin Komsomol Theater. So the brother and sister ended up in the capital.

The Markovs huddled in a small closet at the theater. This was a former janitorial, and it was too close even for the two to stand there. They lived, as usual, not rich, as Rimma Markova later recalled, helped out at that time the House of the Actor, where they could warm, and feed, and caress. Moreover, Alexander Moiseevich Eskin, director of the House of Actor, took over the patronage of the young actress. It was thanks to him that the young actress and the legendary Soviet actor met.

An offer of marriage

Once Rimma Markova ran into Eskin's House of the Actor and found the legendary Leonid Utyosov visiting him. When Utyosov began to sing, it seemed to Rimma Vasilyevna that he was singing only for her. Could a girl who was born in the village of Churino, Samara province, have imagined that she would sit at the same table with Utyosov himself.

Leonid Osipovich was widowed not so long ago, and the attentive actress noticed that he desperately lacked female care. Rimma Markova's heart ached with pity for this well-known person throughout the country. He is idolized by millions of viewers, his talent is admired, but it is banal to clean his jacket, iron his shirt and feed him tasty food.

Rimma Vasilievna almost burst into tears from the feelings rushing over her. When Utyosov finished singing, she jumped up, hugged the artist and suddenly invited him to marry her, promising to cook, look after and take care of Leonid Osipovich in every possible way. Utesov was a very wise man, he just looked at her sadly, thanked her, called her a golden girl and very delicately refused such a generous offer. And what self-respecting man could allow a young beauty to feel sorry for him ?!

Generous heart

The actress saw Innokenty Smoktunovsky in the role of Khlestakov on the stage of the theater in Makhachkala. She was a frequent visitor to the city where her parents lived and always tried to watch performances at the local theater. She immediately drew attention to the young actor, and after the curtain closed, she went backstage to get acquainted with the genius.

And then she began to convince the actor to go to the capital. He, in general, did not mind, but did not imagine how to do it in practice. In the capital, he had neither housing nor patronage. Rimma Vasilievna undertook to help. Upon her return to Moscow, she immediately went to the main director of Lenkom, Sofya Giatsintova, who believed Markova and made an invitation to the theater for Smoktunovsky.

He arrived, but he was not accepted into the staff of the theater, housing, which is quite natural, was not provided. And Rimma Markovna invited him to live in the same little room in which she herself lived with her brother Leonid. Smoktunovsky was paid at that time only for going out to the crowd. Month after month, but the situation did not change.

Innokenty Smoktunovsky suffered from lack of demand and uncertainty, he did not even have money to rent a bed. Such helplessness put the actor in an extremely awkward position in front of the hospitable Rimma Markova. And once, in a fit of despair, he proposed to the actress. But Rimma Vasilievna firmly stated: she is not going to marry him, because, in principle, she cannot stand blondes. And on his part, making an offer out of despair is at least stupid.

Fortunately, soon Sulamith Kushnir appeared in the life of the actor, with whom Smoktunovsky lived happily all his life. And a little later he moved to Leningrad, where he played many bright roles on the stage of the BDT, and returned to the capital already very famous. True, he was never able to help Rimma Markova get a job when she left Lenkom. For many years he felt a sense of guilt because of this, but did not get tired of thanking the actress at every meeting.

Strong weak woman

The actress also went into politics at one time only to help people. She joined the Fair Russia party and tried to understand the problems of each person who approached her. Lacking any resource, she helped as much as she could. When she turned out to be powerless, she was very worried, did not even sleep at night.

In the last years of her life, Rimma Vasilievna made friends with producer Sergei Kasyanov, whom she began to present as her grandson. One evening, when the actress was already very sick, the producer asked Rimma Vasilievna to teach him to cultivate the same strength of character, to share the secret of how to live honestly, openly, fearing nothing and no one.

The great actress only looked at him reproachfully and said very sadly that he did not understand anything about her. She was not at all what everyone knew her. After going through a lot of problems and suffering, she "acquired armor", learned to defend herself and protect others. But she wears this mask out of necessity. And she uttered words that can be safely adopted by every person: “The main thing in life is to be yourself and do what you should do. And this is your strength!"

She was always real: on the screen or in real life. She never played, she lived the life of each of her heroines, invariably creating images of strong women. Rimma Markova herself was like that: strong, strong-willed, domineering. Fans admired her original Russian beauty, and all her life she considered herself ugly. She married twice for love but her third marriage was on the instructions of the Communist Party.