Sergey Gerasimov and Tamara Makarova: The Great Union of Equals or an Ideal Family in a Non-Ideal Reality

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

The union of the great director and the most talented actress was called the union of equals. They were always close, only Sergei Gerasimov walked in front, and Tamara Makarova was one step behind him. It seemed that in their life there was everything that was needed for happiness: the possibility of creative realization, the favor of the leadership, success, fame. Their family seemed perfect. But behind the restrained regality of the actress was hidden unspoken pain and fear of losing everything in one moment.

Fight test

She attracted his attention with an incendiary Charleston, masterly performed during the demonstration of pop miniature in the acting workshop of Foregger in 1924. He walked over to express his admiration for her skill. But she did not attach any importance to this event.

By the time they first met, Gerasimov had already managed to appear in several silent films by G. Kozintsev and L. Trauberg and enjoyed the audience's favor. A little later, Tomochka Makarova was invited to star in the film by G. Kozintsev and L. Trauberg "Another's Jacket". An assistant approached her on the street and asked a question that many young creatures still dream about: "Girl, do you want to act in films?" Naturally, she wanted, and besides, she was ideally suited for the role of a seductive typist.

In 1926 she made her debut as an actress. On the set, she drew attention to the very young man who admired her Charleston. He was elegant and respectable, knew how to wear very inexpensive things with dignity, his noble origin was always felt.

A romantic relationship began between the young people, but Tomochka was in no hurry to rush headlong into the maelstrom of passions. On the first date, she gave him a check. A simple girl who grew up in Ligovka, who had a reputation as the most unsafe district of Leningrad, Makarova was familiar with all the local punks and even enjoyed a certain respect in this environment. She asked her friends to scare the gentleman, to check if he was able to protect her.

When the couple left the restaurant, a heavy hand lay on Gerasimov's shoulder, and an insinuating voice whispered disgustingly: "The music did not play for long, the fraer danced for a short time." The young actor turned a little pale, but resolutely shook his hand off his shoulder and remained standing still. He successfully passed the check and a month later Sergey Gerasimov and Tamara Makarova became husband and wife.

Union of equals

Sergei Gerasimov was already starting to shoot his own movie, but he was in no hurry to offer roles to his young wife. She seemed to him too restrained in the manifestation of emotions and feelings. Although it was this quality that allowed her to always keep a sober head. Their collaboration began with the film Do I Love You? and continued until the end of the life of the great director.

After the release of the screens of the Soviet Union, the paintings "Seven Brave" Gerasimov and Makarov became real celebrities. Now he starred his wife in almost all of his films.

Tamara has always played selflessly and with full dedication. Her main weapon was her eyes. Where other actresses needed to do a lot of body movements, Makarova played with her eyes. Her gaze could reflect the whole gamut of feelings, and could strike on the spot. Gerasimov was very fond of taking pictures of her eyes. And he himself looked at her with boyish surprise and admiration.

Much later, this loving look of his will bring her a lot of suffering and female pain. After all, it will not be directed at her …

They met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, leaving the studio. On the night of June 22, 1941, they completely finished work on Lermontov's "Masquerade".

Makarova and Gerasimov refused to leave Leningrad. She worked as an instructor in the Political Directorate, later as a staff member in a hospital. He shot a film about life in wartime Leningrad. They were evacuated to Tashkent only in 1943. There they also adopted Arthur, the son of Tamara's sister. The sister was repressed together with her husband after Kirov's murder.

After returning to Leningrad, they continued to work in the cinema and began to teach at VGIK. Students made legends about their teachers. Gerasimov and Makarova treated everyone like their own child. They fed, clothed and shod their students, taught them simple worldly wisdom and good manners.

They complemented each other in an amazing way in life and work. If Gerasimov got excited, only Tomochka knew how to calm him down. She smoothed out all conflicts. She felt him and all his mental anguish like no other. In an era when at any second the mercy of the authorities could be replaced by disgrace, she helped him to seek compromises. And to achieve what is necessary by the least loss for the director. He was called the first aristocrat of Soviet cinema, and she was called the first beauty.

There were rumors about Gerasimov's weakness for women. However, all the fair sex were in love with him, who were fortunate enough to personally meet the great master. Tamara Fyodorovna was jealous and tormented. But never in my life did I allow myself to throw a scandal. Everyone who visited their house noted the unusually friendly atmosphere, the open doors and the deeply respectful attitude of the spouses to each other. However, Sergei Apollinarievich was also jealous of his wife. Unusually feminine, elegant, beautiful, she was invariably popular with men.

Yet there was even something more than love between them. It was boundless confidence in each other, an overwhelming feeling of happiness from the mere opportunity to feel the presence of a loved one nearby. No matter what.

We will certainly meet …

They have lived together for more than half a century. Their last joint work was the film Leo Tolstoy, where Gerasimov was not only a director, but also played the role of Tolstoy himself, and Tamara Makarova played Sofya Andreevna.

After the death of her husband, she also had to go through the death of Arthur's adopted son, a writer and screenwriter, who was killed with a knife from his own collection.

Dying, Tamara Fedorovna wrote a letter to her husband, in which she thanked him for everything and expressed her hope for a meeting in another life …

Sergey Gerasimov and Tamara Makarova were not at all like the heroes of their last joint work. Marriage was a constant conflict between the real and the sublime.