Two Lives of the Legendary Actress Tamara Makarova: From All-Union Glory to Death Alone

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

August 13 marks 111 years since the birth of the famous Soviet actress, teacher of VGIK, People's Artist of the USSR Tamara Makarova … Her husband Sergei Gerasimov was called the main director of Soviet cinema, and she was called the first lady, the domestic Greta Garbo, a woman of mystery. She became a real legend of cinema and the object of adoration of thousands of fans, but in her declining years she had to fight alone with those blows of fate that fell upon her one after another.

Tamara Makarova grew up in the family of a military doctor, not related to the world of art, but from childhood she was fond of pantomime and ballet, dreaming of a stage. She took part in home performances and attended ballet school - since then and throughout her life she has kept the habit of keeping her posture and following her figure. At the age of 17, she entered Foreger's acting workshop, and first came to the set thanks to a fluke. Once, when Tamara Makarova was walking down the street, a woman approached her, who turned out to be an assistant to the directors Kozintsev and Trauberg, and asked her a sacramental question: "" Of course, the answer was unequivocal.

Glory and recognition came to her after she began acting with her husband, director Sergei Gerasimov. After the release of the film "Seven Brave", incredible popularity fell upon her. Gerasimov said about his wife: "".

When the war began, the couple remained in Leningrad until 1943. Tamara Makarova took an active part in the defense of the city - she worked as an instructor in the Front's Political Directorate and as a nurse in one of the hospitals. And when in 1943 they were evacuated to Tashkent, a new drama broke out there: the actress's sister was repressed, and Gerasimov and Makarova, who had no children of their own, adopted her son. The actress said: "".

After the war, the couple moved to Moscow and began teaching at VGIK. At the same time, Makarova became famous abroad. The film-fairy tale "Stone Flower" with her participation won an award at the International Film Festival in Cannes. Foreign producers drew attention to the spectacular Soviet actress, and one of them invited her to play the role of Anna Karenina in the Hollywood film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel. Who knows how her creative destiny would have developed if this plan had come true, but in those days there could be no question of it - the actress was not released abroad.

He and Gerasimov were considered an exemplary pair of Soviet cinema, they lived together for more than 50 years, but in fact, behind the magnificent facade of the union of a successful director and a brilliant beauty actress, who were frequent guests at Kremlin receptions, there were family dramas that the general public did not know about. … They were very different - Sergei Gerasimov was passionate, carried away, temperamental, and his wife was very restrained, closed and sober. She knew about his romances with young actresses, but did not arrange scenes of jealousy and did not try to reason with her husband. In the end, she was sure that their union was unshakable, and that her husband would never leave her.

Tamara Makarova was one of those women who are said to be able to age beautifully. And in adulthood, she took an ice shower, did exercises and adhered to a diet, and even after 70 years she still looked regal and feminine. And no one knew how difficult the last years of her life had become for her.

In 1983, Makarova starred in her husband's last film, Leo Tolstoy, and two years later, Sergei Gerasimov died. Since then, her life has been divided into two halves - happy and like a nightmare. After the death of her husband, she stopped acting in films and was forced to leave teaching. In the late 1980s. her adopted son Arthur went into business. What exactly he did was a mystery to her. And in October 1995 he was found killed - he was stabbed to death with an old Spanish blade from his own collection of cold weapons. The case was never solved, the perpetrators were not found, and new shocks awaited Tamara Makarova.

Acquaintances claimed that for several years unknown persons terrorized the elderly actress with phone calls, demanding to sell her apartment in order to pay off Arthur's debts. She lived on a modest pension and knew nothing about his debts, and she was threatened with reprisals. Makarova wrote a statement to the police, but there they ignored him. In the early 1990s. the actress was often sick and almost never left the house. Only the most devoted students remained nearby, but with her misfortune the famous actress was left alone. She last appeared in public in 1995 at the Nika Film Awards. On January 19, 1997 Tamara Fedorovna Makarova passed away.

Until the end of her days, she yearned for her husband and never learned to live without him. Sergey Gerasimov and Tamara Makarova: The Great Union of Equals.