What was the reason for the early departure of the star of the film "Moscow does not believe in tears": The sad fate of Yuri Vasiliev

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

22 years ago, on June 4, 1999, the famous theater and cinema actor, People's Artist of Russia Yuri Vasiliev passed away. Most of the audience remembered him in the image of Rudik from the film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears." His creative destiny could hardly be called happy. After his premature departure, Vladimir Menshov said that in the West, an actor with such data would have the fame of Alain Delon, but for years he had been waiting for calls from film studios and played only 20 film roles. Why one of the most beautiful Soviet actors turned out to be unclaimed, and what took away his vitality and brought his departure closer - further in the review.

No one in his family had anything to do with the world of cinema: his father worked as an electrical engineer, his mother was a librarian. On weekends, they left the capital for the Moscow region, and in one of the seasons the actor Nikolai Plotnikov rented a dacha next to them, with whom they became friends. Yuri listened to his stories and admired his artistry. It was then that he first thought about the acting profession.

Nobody ever doubted his talent, except himself. Immediately after school, Yuri Vasiliev entered GITIS from the very first attempt, successfully coped with all the tasks, was in good standing with the teachers. In the graduation performance, he performed brilliantly, and he was invited to the troupe of the Maly Theater, to which he devoted 40 years of his life. In the first year he was involved in 6 performances, although he did not receive the main roles.

The beginning of the film path

In his last year at the institute, Vasiliev played his first film role in the film "Catchers of Sponges". Surprisingly, the actor's partner on the set was his wife, a student at the Shchepkinsky School, Nelly Kornienko. Moreover, when they were approved for the main roles, no one knew that they were married. Nelly said: "".

Loud popularity came to Vasiliev 7 years later, when the 28-year-old actor played the main role in Sergei Gerasimov's film "Journalist". This picture was watched by almost 28 million viewers, it received the Grand Prize of the Moscow International Film Festival, it was recognized as the best film in 1967 according to the results of a survey of readers of the magazine "Soviet Screen". After such success, the actor did not want to lower the bar and often refused roles if they seemed to him below the level of "Journalist". This went on for 11 years, until Vasiliev got a bright role in the musical film "The Bat". In the image of Prince Orlovsky, he looked incredibly impressive and convincing. A year later, Vladimir Menshov approved him for the role of Rodion Rachkov.

Not Rudik at all

Menshov did not immediately see Yuri Vasiliev in this image. He offered the role of Rudik to Oleg Vidov, Lev Prygunov, Evgeny Zharikov, Vladimir Ivashov, but they all refused. They were well aware of how often viewers identify actors with their on-screen characters, and here the hero is not just an unpleasant, but a notorious villain who abandoned a woman and a child and turned out to be a mama's son. Nobody wanted to incur the wrath of a multimillion audience, and Vasiliev took a chance. And he created a very ambiguous image that arouses not only antipathy, but also sympathy.

In real life, Yuri Vasiliev had nothing in common with the selfish self-confident Rudik, who predicted the era of "continuous television" for the main character. When this era actually came, the actor never found his place in it. Many of his colleagues admit that talent, unfortunately, does not always become the key to success in their profession. Often the decisive role is played by a disruptive character and the ability to acquire the necessary acquaintances, which Vasiliev was completely deprived of. The artistic director of the Maly Theater, Yuri Solomin, said about him: "".

He never imposed himself on directors, did not ask for roles and often did not even voice his desires aloud. For example, he was very fond of Chekhov and dreamed of the role of Gaev in the play based on The Cherry Orchard. The actor rewrote the text of this role in a notebook and memorized it. Only with his wife he could share why he did it: "". But at the same time, he did not tell the director about his dream - he silently waited for his time for years, but did not wait.

The stigma of the handsome man

Both in his youth and in his mature years, the actor was incredibly handsome and always enjoyed great success with the opposite sex. But the increased attention of women greatly weighed and embarrassed him - he avoided meeting with fans and all his life he loved his wife, actress Nelly Kornienko. His beauty became a punishment for him for another reason: the main characters of Soviet cinema were actors of completely different types, "guys from the people", but Vasiliev with his aristocratic appearance and sophisticated manners could not be imagined at the bench.

In addition, the directors did not even try to discern what was hidden under the mask of a reference handsome man. His colleague Vladimir Safronov said: "". As a result, his talent as a dramatic actor was not even half revealed.

Pain that no one knew about

Vitaly Solomin, who was a very private person and rarely made friendly relations with colleagues, treated Vasiliev very warmly: "".

He was devoid of creative jealousy and envy, knew how to rejoice in other people's successes, was very kind, gentle, modest and delicate, and therefore absolutely everyone loved him - from colleagues to neighbors in the country. But Vasiliev could not use this love or the adoration of a multi-million army of fans - he did not make profitable acquaintances, did not go to offices, did not ask for anything for himself. Always friendly and affable, at the same time he remained a very closed person, avoided publicity, did not like to give interviews and did not share his feelings with anyone.

No one suspected that Vasiliev had heart problems from his youth. He was insanely worried about his lack of demand, but he did not tell anyone about these experiences. With age, he began to smoke too much, it often took him 2 packs a day. Constant nervous tension and nicotine aggravated his physical condition, his heart ached more and more often, but the actor was in no hurry to seek medical help.

On June 4, 1999, the actor went to arrange a technical inspection for his old "Niva". He spent almost the whole day in line in the sun. He got nervous, tired, and he felt bad again. Without saying a word to his wife, he lay down on the sofa after dinner and turned on the TV. When Nelly later looked into the room, she found him lifeless. He was only 59 years old. The reason for the premature care was cardiovascular insufficiency.

Many were amazed at the relationship of Yuri Vasiliev with his wife: A 40-year holiday romance.