"Tailcoat hero": Why Yuri Vasiliev remained a supporting actor

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

19 years ago, on June 4, 1999, a theater and film actor, People's Artist of Russia passed away Yuri Vasiliev … There are about 30 roles in his filmography, but most of them are supporting roles. The audience remembered him in the image of Rodion Rachkov from the film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" and was often identified with him, while in real life he was the complete opposite of his hero. Perhaps because of this, he was never able to fully realize his creative potential.

Yuri Vasiliev was born in 1939 in Moscow into the family of an engineer and librarian. After school, he entered GITIS, and upon graduation he was accepted into the troupe of the Maly Theater, on the stage of which he performed until the end of his days. In the theater, he was fortunate enough to play diverse roles, including poignant ones. But in the cinema, his career was not so successful.

He made his film debut in his last year of study at GITIS. His first film was the drama Sponge Catchers, and his first popularity came after starring in the film The Journalist. The directors drew attention to the talented young actor, but he refused many offers - the theater has always been in the first place for him. During the first 10 years of his film career, he played in only 5 films and in several television performances, which he preferred because they were closer to the theater.

In the 1970s. Yuri Vasiliev continued to act in films, but he got mostly minor roles. But some of them brought him all-Union glory. The actor's finest hour was the operetta "The Bat", where he played Prince Orlovsky, and the film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears", in which he got the role of Rudik - Rodion Rachkov, Alexandra's father. He did not want his character to turn out to be one-sided and evoke only negative emotions in the audience. His wife said: "".

In the image of the infantile, selfish mama's son Rudik, the actor looked so convincing that many viewers began to associate him only with this hero. They had no idea that in real life Yuri Vasiliev was not at all like his character - he was very gentle, modest, intelligent, unassuming, never asked or demanded anything, did not like to attract attention to himself, and most importantly - he was very loyal, responsible and devoted. All his life, the actor lived with the only woman - the actress Nelly Kornienko. In this marriage, a daughter, Catherine, was born, whom he surrounded with love and care.

Together with his wife, they literally spent 24 hours a day - they performed together on the stage of the Maly Theater, sometimes acted in films together, and rested together. Despite this, they found reasons for jealousy even where they were not. Nelly Kornienko said that in the film "Journalist" Yuri Vasiliev and Galina Polskikh played a couple in love so convincingly that even she believed in it: "".

After the film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" earned an "Oscar", it would seem that all the actors should have received dozens of proposals from directors, but this did not happen with Yuri Vasiliev. His wife explains it like this: "".

He passed away when he was only 59 years old. On June 4, 1999, he went to undergo a vehicle inspection. The day was very hot, Vasiliev was nervous and tired. Returning home, I lay down to rest - and did not wake up again. The cause of death was a heart attack.

Leonid Filatov in his program "To be remembered" said about Yuri Vasiliev: "".

But for Vasiliev's partner in the film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" her character was closer. Vera Alentova and Katya Tikhomirova: What an actress and her most famous screen heroine have in common.