Family drama of the stars of Soviet cinema Vasily Lanovoy and Tatyana Samoilova in and behind the scenes

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

Beautiful and successful, they were together for only six years, but their love was so strong that this union remained in the memory of the fans. Colleagues argued that the feelings between Vasily Lanov and Tatyana Samoilova were so strong that they were physically felt even by those who were nearby. Many were jealous of their beauty, acting fame and love. So what was the reason for the separation of the most beautiful couple in the USSR?

It would seem that the happiness of such a harmonious couple should have been eternal, but mutual mistakes, which they themselves called stupid, destroyed their happiness. For six years they were the object of admiration and envy of colleagues. And then there was an abortion, roles that made them even more popular and a series of fatal circumstances that divorced them forever.

Tatyana Samoilova did not hide that she retained a warm relationship with her ex-spouse. She always dreamed the same dream, in which she and Vasily - beautiful, young and in love buy each other wedding gifts. From time to time she met her ex-husband on the set and always only one thought slipped through her head: what fools we were that we missed each other! However, this did not mean at all that they would like to resume relations.

Fateful acquaintance

Tatiana grew up in a complete and loving family. Before her eyes there was always a parental example of how people can live with each other all their lives and not lose warm feelings. Her parents have lived together for over 60 years. She dreamed that her relationship was built on the same principle. When fate brought her to Lanov, she planned to live with him to a ripe old age, just like her parents. A young girl, a romantic and subtle nature, and could not imagine that life could turn out completely differently.

They met at the Shchukin school, where they both studied. Lanovoy, still very young, walked along the corridors of the school. There he met a dazzling girl, with radiant eyes, elongated like a squirrel. He immediately approached her and simply asked, they say, whose she is? The girl, not at all, boldly blurted out that while she was only mom and dad. Lanovoy by this time was already a recognized handsome man, a well-known womanizer at the school. Many girls were eager to get his attention, but he made his choice. It is not surprising that the couple immediately became famous throughout the Pike.

It was a meeting about which they write "a spark ran between them." They practically did not part, everyone was enviously walking along the corridors of the school holding hands. Together they studied. We prepared for exams, went to the cinema and did not want to leave for a minute.

They didn't want a big and lavish wedding. The main holiday for them was the opportunity to be together. They just signed at the registry office, even without guests, and then went to the store to buy gifts for each other. It was this moment, as the happiest, that was imprinted in Tatyana's memory and constantly came to her in her sleep. By the way, the gifts were not romantic at all. It was underwear, which in the Soviet Union certainly could not be classified as cute gifts for lovers.

The young lived with Tatiana's parents. During the day they were ordinary students, and in the evening they, almost adults, were waiting for family life. Vasily got a job. He appeared on the radio, took small shots. But he was responsible for his mother and sisters - he sent them money. The spouses themselves lived on a scholarship. Vasily tried to be the head of the family, however, as it turned out, the spouses have different views on family life.

Family or career

Traditionally, it is believed that the beginning of the end of their marriage was laid by Samoilova when she decided to put her career above her family. But this does not take into account that Vasily did it much earlier, taking it for granted. He had already filmed and believed that the spouse would take care of their family, who would agree to remain in his shadow, devoting herself entirely to her husband and future children. Tatiana had to put an end to her acting career. True, Tatyana had her own thoughts on this matter.

The couple were expecting their first child. More precisely, even two babies should have been born at once. And then Tatiana was offered a role in "The Cranes Are Flying". She could not refuse the role, because it was her dream to become an actress, to be recognized and beloved by the audience. And combining motherhood and filming would be an impossible task. In addition, interruptions in filming, a spoiled figure and the difficulties of motherhood did not add to the confidence that this pregnancy was desired.

This choice was the most difficult in her life, she put her entire future fate on the scales. Realizing perfectly well that Vasily would not approve of the decision to get rid of the child, she nevertheless decided on it. In addition, she was suspected of having tuberculosis, and the doctors advised to postpone motherhood. A child of war, she had a bunch of sores since childhood, suffered from typhoid, measles, and diphtheria.

This decision of Tatiana was the beginning of the end of their relationship. Of course, with her husband they discussed all the pros and cons. But Vasily was adamant, neither the wife's career nor her health were a sufficient argument. He warned that if she had an abortion, he would be offended. She still had an abortion and Vasily found out about it only after everything was decided.

In the same period, Tatiana fell ill with tuberculosis, Vasily visited her in the sanatorium, where she was being treated. But at that moment, both of them realized that something had broken in their relationship.

After that, she both went to work. He disappeared on the set of the film "Pavka Korchagin", she starred in "The Cranes Are Flying". Then they left for different countries altogether - she went to the Cannes Film Festival with her film, he went to China with his. Upon their return, both admitted that they had become strangers to each other, something was lost, there was not that warmth and closeness between them.

They decided to part ways. Without scandals, quarrels and mutual reproaches, they confessed to each other that their marriage had exhausted itself. Both, of course, regretted that those magical emotions that they gave each other had dissipated. But they managed to maintain respect and warm feelings for each other.

Tatiana tried to be the wife that Vasily needed. She was torn between career, illness and family. She herself decided to take a desperate step and invited Lanovoy to disperse. Feelings have not yet extinguished and the smoldering fire could well be re-kindled.

She was sure that he deserved more, because she believed that after an abortion in an underground clinic, she would no longer be able to have children. She chose to leave before he hated her. So the most beautiful couple of the USSR broke up.

Love in the movies, but not in life

Samoilova has always been different from other Soviet actresses. Her beauty was special, not typical of the cinema of that time. But her personal life for the most part was tragic, despite her beauty, talent and popularity. Although, it is likely that they were the reason.

Most of the roles that she embodied on the screen were also tragic. She was especially successful with Karenina, quite possibly because Vronsky was played by Lanovoy. By this time, they had not been together for a long time. It has been almost ten years since their divorce, but on the screen they look exclusively as a couple. The audience did not get tired of being surprised at the actors' play, then and again assumptions began to be born that the actors did not play, and the old love did not rust.

The work on the film took 4 years. One has only to guess how many nerve cells during this time were killed by Lanovoy's wife Tamara Zyablova. After all, the fact that there is some kind of mutual attraction between the former spouses was clear to everyone, without exception. Tatyana was also not free - at that time she was married to the writer Valery Osipov.

The actors rightly decided that they would not be able to glue the broken cup, and were not ready to risk their families for the sake of past feelings. The roles have remained just roles. They met later, but only greeted dryly.

The absurd character of Tatyana Samoilova turned out to be sluggishly current schizophrenia, and this was not revealed immediately. Emotional breakdowns, which repeatedly brought Lanovoy to white heat, also contributed to their discord. And it was in this marriage that her unhealthy manias began to manifest. Sometimes it seemed to her that he wanted to poison her and then it was pointless to talk to her.

Later, when the diagnosis was made, she was treated in psychiatric clinics, she was constantly on drugs. This helped her maintain relative emotional stability. Screams, tantrums, the desire to commit suicide - all this was part of Samoilova's life.

In subsequent interviews, Samoilova often admitted that it was the marriage with Lanov that was fateful. They are the same year of birth, both children of the war, both actors. Their interests and outlook on life were tightly intertwined, making them halves of one whole. Both of them admitted that in their youth they made an irreparable mistake, but they did not want to return to the past.

Surely Samoilova repeatedly thought about whether her decision to terminate the pregnancy for the sake of the role was right. She called her favorite role exactly Veronica from "The Cranes Are Flying", it was here that she revealed herself as an actress with a special charisma. Despite the fact that Khrushchev called the heroine Samoilova a woman of easy virtue, the film was awarded the Golden Palm. Since it was decided to send the picture to the 11th Cannes International Film Festival. There Samoilova met Pablo Picasso, who painted a picture from her.

After the festival there was Paris, where she also became a laureate. She was invited to appear in America in the form of Anna Karenina, but the actress was simply not released from the country, categorically declaring that they would not waste the Soviet property. However, the very fact that foreign directors were interested in her as an actress was very flattering to Samoilova.

But everything could be different. Remaining married to Lanov, having given birth to children for him and burying her career as an actress, she could observe the overwhelming popularity of her husband. Behind a string of pretty actresses who would have surrounded him on the set. And it is not at all a fact that a handsome and successful husband would appreciate this sacrifice and would not go to one of them. The beauty of the love story of Samoilova and Lanovoy, supported by a picture from the films, lies in the fact that it was not allowed to be spoiled by everyday life and disappointments.