How a fan of Kirill Lavrov helped his family survive in the 1990s: Secrets of an acting dynasty

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

This acting dynasty has been going on for four generations, and the People's Artist of the USSR Kirill Lavrov became its most famous representative. Without an acting education, he played about 80 roles in films and 50 on the theater stage, became the artistic director of the BDT. True, success and recognition came to him only after 40 years, and in his life there were periods when he had to think not about creative realization, but about survival. And at that moment, help came from an unexpected side, from a woman who had been his ardent fan for many years …

The founders of the acting dynasty were the parents of Kirill Lavrov. His father, Yuri Lavrov, from the age of 14 performed on the stage of the BDT, gave 30 years of his life to the Kiev Theater of Russian Drama. Lesia Ukrainka, from 1928 until his last days he acted in films, played about 50 roles, in 1960 he received the title of People's Artist of the USSR. His wife was also an artist, Olga Gudim-Levkovich, who came from a noble family. She performed little on stage, but she recorded programs on the radio and was engaged in literary and reading activities. Born into an acting family, Kirill Lavrov, in his youth, began to dream of a stage, but life made serious adjustments to his plans.

When Kirill was 15 years old, the war began. Because of this, he did not even have time to finish school. His parents divorced when he was young. Together with their mother and sister, they went to evacuate to the Kirov region, where Kirill, to help his mother, worked as a loader at a grain procurement station. In 1942, they moved to Novosibirsk, and Lavrov got a job as a turner at the plant of the People's Commissariat of Ammunition. In 1943, when he was 18 years old, he volunteered for the army, and after the end of the war he served in the Far East for 5 years. It was there that he was finally able to return to his old hobby for theater - he participated in amateur performances and performed in amateur performances.

He tried to enter drama school, but without a certificate of secondary education, this was impossible. However, Kirill Lavrov did not give up his dream and mastered the basics of acting in practice. He came to the Kiev Theater of Russian Drama. Lesia Ukrainka, where his father performed, and convinced the director to arrange an audition for him and take him to the troupe for a trial period.

At first, he got only roles in the crowd, but the director saw great potential in him, and soon Kirill Lavrov began to get the main roles. In 1951, Valentina Nikolaeva, a graduate of the Moscow Art Theater School, came to their theater and became his wife. They lived together for almost 50 years. When in 1955 the head of the Kiev theater was appointed artistic director of the BDT, he invited the spouses to Leningrad. Since then, Lavrov's creative destiny has changed dramatically.

Immediately after moving to Leningrad, the actor began acting in films, however, at first his roles were so tiny that Lavrov's name was not even mentioned in the credits. In the early 1960s. he began to offer leading roles, and the first loud popularity came to the actor only after 40 years, when the film "The Brothers Karamazov" was released. After that, Kirill Lavrov became one of the most recognizable and sought-after Soviet actors. In adulthood, he played all his most striking roles in the theater and in the cinema. His most famous film works were the films Taming the Fire, My Tender and Tender Beast, Salt of the Earth, From the Life of the Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department, Charlotte's Necklace, Gangster Petersburg, The Master and Margarita.

Despite the great success in the acting profession, Kirill Lavrov worried all his life because he did not receive a specialized education. Without a diploma, he continued to educate himself in adulthood and read so much that he more than filled in these gaps. Although he played dozens of roles in theater and cinema and achieved all-Union recognition, Lavrov did not consider himself entitled to evaluate someone's acting skills. When his daughter Maria, who decided to follow in his footsteps, took her first steps on the theater stage, he told her: "".

The actor's wife's professional life was not so successful - after moving to Leningrad, she was not offered major roles in the theater, and she practically did not act in films. Kirill Lavrov never used his loud surname to protect his wife or daughter - this was considered unacceptable in their family. At the same time, there was no creative jealousy either - Valentina Nikolaeva sacrificed her acting career for the sake of her family and without regret went into the shadow of her famous husband.

When Lavrov was 30 years old, he had a son, Sergei, and 10 years later, a daughter, Masha. She became the continuer of the acting dynasty, which the parents did not object to. In 1987 she graduated from LGITMiK and became an actress of the Leningrad Youth Theater. Although after 2 years Kirill Lavrov was appointed the artistic director of the BDT, Masha was in no hurry to go to the theater with her father, continuing to perform on the stage of the Youth Theater for another 4 years.

Unlike theatrical, the film career of Maria Lavrova was not so successful. She began her career in the 1990s, when there was a crisis in the cinema. Maria repeated the fate of her father: she began to actively act in films only after 40 years, but she never regretted it, considering herself primarily a theater actress.

1990s became the most difficult for their entire family. In an interview, Maria recalled: "".

Kirill Lavrov appeared on the stage and acted in films until the last days of his life, despite serious health problems. On the eve of his 80th birthday, many acquaintances and colleagues drew attention to the fact that the actor looks very tired, haggard and pale. In 2006, he was diagnosed with leukemia. To prolong his life, a bone marrow transplant was needed. His daughter Masha was supposed to be the donor. Unfortunately, the doctors did not manage to save him. April 27, 2007 Kirill Lavrov passed away.

After the actor left, his business was continued not only by his daughter, but also by his granddaughter Olya. In 2011 she graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Theater Arts and began performing on the stage of the Youth Theater. In addition, the 30-year-old actress takes part in the performances of the theater Russian Entreprise named after. A. Mironov”and since 2002 has been acting in films and serials.

Even before his marriage, Kirill Lavrov had an affair with one of the most beautiful Soviet actresses, but he himself decided to stop it: Broken dreams of Elina Bystritskaya.