"Incomplete lower" education and 9 more interesting facts from the life of the famous Odessa citizen Leonid Utesov

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

March 21 marks 121 years since the birth of the famous theater, cinema and pop artist Leonid Utesov … He became the first pop artist who was awarded the title of People's, and one of those who still remains a truly national performer - his popularity was all-Union, and the public's love for him reached the point of frenzy. Utyosov was a real Odessa citizen, and in his life there were many curious situations associated primarily with this legendary city.

A large number of hoaxes and legends are usually associated with Odessa. The first of them in the life of Utesov was the date of his birth and his real name. The encyclopedias indicate that Utyosov was born on March 21, although he himself denied this: “I believe I was born on March 22. The encyclopedia believes that the 21st, - wrote the famous Odessa citizen in his memoirs. - Well, she's an encyclopedia, she knows better ….

Utyosov was born into a Jewish family, and until the age of 17 he was called Lazar Weissbein. His father assigned him to a commercial school, but soon he was expelled from there for poor academic performance and for either hitting or doused with ink on one of the teachers. Later in the column "Education" he indicated: "Incomplete lower".

The young man was glad of his expulsion - he got a job in a traveling circus, where he walked on a tightrope, worked on a trapeze, made the audience laugh in the form of a clown. Together with a circus troupe, he traveled to all major Ukrainian cities. In 1912, the young man became an artist of the Kremechug Theater of Miniatures. It was at this time that Ledya became Lenya and took on the stage name of Cliffs.

In Odessa, funny things often happened. Once in the tram Utyosov saw a girl crying - her wallet was stolen, in which there were 20 kopecks. Utesov gave her 20 kopecks and asked her not to cry. The girl asked: "Can you return my wallet too?" Once on the street, a woman recognized the artist and said to her son: “Look! This is Utesov himself! When you grow up, he will already die!"

Utyosov wandered from one troupe to another for 5 years and tried himself in various roles: he read sketches, sang, danced, showed pantomime. At the end of 1913, in Aleksandrovsk (Zaporozhye), he met his future wife, actress Elena Lenskaya. The girl was looking for a place to live, and Utyosov offered her his services: “Maybe my proposal will seem ridiculous to you, but let's come to me and wait out the bad weather. And then I'll help you find a room. Lena Lenskaya did not need to look for a room - she entered mine and never left it. As if it had rained for forty-nine years. She became my wife. A year later, they had a daughter, Edith Utesova performed on stage with her father.

Utesov enjoyed incredible success with the opposite sex. In one of the Ukrainian cities, a fan brought him flowers every evening, for which she sold half an apartment. Another fan committed suicide after learning that Utyosov allegedly died after falling off the rope. He was not a faithful husband. One day he moved from his wife to his mistress. It was in winter, Lenskaya sent a cart of firewood to her address with a note: “Elizabeth, heat the house well. Take care of Ice . The act of his wife touched the singer, and he returned to her.

In 1929 Utyosov organized the Tea-Jazz jazz orchestra, with which he worked for about 40 years. The singer was well received everywhere, especially in Odessa (the king of the underworld Mishka Yaponchik was his big fan). But nationwide popularity came to him after filming in the film "Jolly Fellows" in 1934.

Utesov was often reproached for performing thieves' songs. In 1934, the Glavrepertkom banned the performance of the songs "Gop with a Smykom", "From the Odessa Kichman", "Lemons", "Bublichki", "At the Samovar", "At the Window" and others at concerts. However, at closed concerts, these songs were performed by the request of the party leadership, including Stalin.

During the Second World War, Utyosov donated his personal savings for the construction of an airplane called "Merry Boys". Then he received the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR, and became a national only at the age of 70. “Estrada is like a prostitute,” explained Utesov. “It’s good and comfortable to spend the night with her, but it’s indecent to appear in public.”

Interesting stories often happened to another popular Russian artist: funny curiosities during Fedor Chaliapin's tour in America