5 stars of the Soviet screen who ended badly: Alexandra Zavyalova, Sergey Shevkunenko and others

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

Happy ends most often happen in movies, but in real life, alas, there are not so many of them. These stars of the Soviet screen were no exception, who achieved great success and recognition among the audience, but could not cope with the prose of life. How did it happen that the actors and actresses favored by Fortune found such a bad ending? Here are just some of the real stories with a sad ending.

Valentina Serova (1917-1975)

Valentina Serova (1917-1975)

In the 40s, Serova was considered the main star of Soviet cinema. Participation in such films as "The Immortal Garrison", "Hearts of Four", "Wait for Me" brought her all-Union fame and audience love. Crowds of fans, including high-ranking officials, wanted to attract the attention of the country's main blonde. But she chose a husband to match herself - the hero of the Spanish Civil War, test pilot Anatoly Serov. However, the happy family life did not last long: exactly a year after the wedding, Serova's husband crashed during one of the training flights, never seeing his son, who was born a few months after the death of his father. Valentina named the child in honor of her deceased husband. Among the famous admirers of the actress was the poet Konstantin Simonov, who persistently sought her attention: he went to all the performances, gave flowers and gifts. Needless to say, the man dedicated the famous poem "Wait for me …" to his muse Serova. And in the end, Valentina gave up and agreed to become Simonov's wife.

But their family life was difficult to call ideal. They said that Serova never fell in love with Simonov and could not forget Marshal Rokossovsky, with whom she allegedly had an affair during the war. Konstantin, on the other hand, did not find a common language with his stepson Anatoly and insisted that he be sent to a boarding school outside the Urals. Besides, Valentina, who in her youth loved to have a glass or two, over the years began to kiss the bottle more and more often. And even the birth of a common daughter, Mary, did not save the celebrity marriage from collapse. The actress's mother took the child for upbringing, and did not allow the girl to see her parent. The actress's career also began to decline. Due to alcohol abuse, Valentina was "asked" from several theaters. Movie roles weren't offered either - who wants to mess with a hard-drinking former star? In December 1975, the body of the artist was found in a completely looted apartment. So far, it has not been possible to find out what caused her death. However, everyone was sure that one of her many drinking companions had a hand in Serova's death. Her son Anatoly died six months before the death of his mother - alcoholism also took him to his grave. Serova herself could not come to his funeral, since even then she drank almost without stopping.

Sergey Shevkunenko (1959-1995)

Sergei became a star at the age of 14, starring in the films "Bronze Bird", "Dagger", "The Lost Bird". And it seemed that the fame that overtook him so early would be an excellent help for a further successful career. But, as often happens, the guy could not cope with the popularity that covered him. Shevkunenko's father died when he was only 4 years old. Therefore, the mother was engaged in raising the child. However, already in the 8th grade, Sergei walked along a crooked path, began to drink, skip lessons and take money from other children. For his bad behavior, he was even sent to a special vocational school, so to speak, for re-education, but these measures did not help, and soon the young actor received his first prison sentence of 16 years for beating a man on the street. Shevkunenko was given a year of correctional labor in a children's colony, where he graduated from school.

However, the guy did not stay free for long: a year later, he again received a term for stealing food in the Mosfilm buffet, where the once famous child actor got a job as a lighting fixture. In total, Sergei spent 14 years in prison: he was in prison for theft, possession of drugs, weapons and paintings. They also suspected him of the murder of actress Zoya Fedorova, but they could not prove his involvement. And already in the 90s Shevkuneko achieved the status of a "lord", which was considered the right hand of a thief in law. Having become a crime boss, the actor organized the "Mosfilm OPG", which controlled many points in the capital. In the gangster's room, they called him “Chief” and “Artist.” The life path of Shevkunenko, who was once a star, ended tragically: in 1995 he was killed by a hitman. Sergei's mother, who became an unwitting witness to the massacre of her son, also became a victim of the assassin.

Talgat Nigmatulin (1949-1985)

Talgat Nigmatulin is one of those people who are said to have made themselves. Forced to work from a youthful age to feed his mother and brother, a shy boy who grew up in an orphanage, thanks to his indomitable will, was able to become one of the brightest actors in the Soviet Union. "Pirates of the XX century", "Wolf's Pit", "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn" - films in which the actor from Kyrgyzstan shone. The audience called him “Soviet Bruce Lee.” However, the actor's stellar path ended very soon, when in the early 80s Talgat became a member of the Fourth Way sect, which mainly included representatives of creative professions. Two years later, a split occurred in the organization, and its leaders actually forced Nigmatulin to knock money out of the recalcitrant, but the actor refused to do it. Then, in February 1985, five sectarians beat the artist to death. How cruel the massacre was can be judged by the fact that forensic experts counted 119 injuries on the star's body. The actor was so disfigured that it was decided to cremate him. The organizer of the crime, Abai Borubaev, who is the ideological inspirer of the sect and who was directly involved in the massacre of Nigmatulin, received 15 years in prison. The rest of the criminals spent five to ten years behind bars.

Alexandra Zavyalova (1936-2016)

The role of Pistimeia in the TV series "Shadows disappear at noon" became for Alexandra Zavyalova the brightest … and then oblivion came. It's a paradox, but it was this character that revealed all the facets of the artist's acting talent, but after the collapsed fame she did not act for more than 20 years, only in 1992 playing an episode in the film "White Clothes." played in the films "Aleshkin's Love", "Wait for Letters", "Weekdays and Holidays", etc., got on the pages of the American edition of "Life", was among those invited to a dinner party at the US Embassy during the Moscow Film Festival. There, the actress met the businessman Othello Cetiolli. A romance broke out between the young people, but the secret services, suspecting the man of espionage, forced him to leave the country, and Zavyalova from those began to be considered “unreliable.” Alexandra's creative lull resulted in a prolonged depression, she was even placed in a psychiatric hospital. At this time, her daughter was taken by her father, and her little son was sent to an orphanage. The actress then had to work hard to get the child back, and then everyone simply forgot about Zavyalova. She lived the rest of her life alone and oblivious. And on February 4, 2017, on her 80th birthday, the actress was found dead in her apartment. The killer turned out to be her own son, whom the court subsequently sentenced to 8 years in prison.

Alexey Fomkin (1969-1996)

That same Kolya Gerasimov from the film "Guest from the Future" long before his starring role starred in "Yeralash". And it seemed that with such a creative baggage, the guy was not threatened with oblivion. However, due to constant absences, he could not even get a certificate of secondary education, leaving school with a certificate "listened". And after half a year did not receive an offer to shoot, he decided to go to serve. But the law of meanness: the directors immediately remembered about him, but no one released him from the army. That was the end of Fomkin's acting career. He worked a little at the Moscow Art Theater named after Gorky, but because of the constant absenteeism he was "asked" from there. To make ends meet, Alexei was forced to work as a painter and miller, to live in the village. Having married, the former actor settled in Vladimir, and alcohol has already firmly settled in his life. On February 23, 1996, Fomkin and his wife and friends celebrated the Day of the Soviet Army. At night, a fire suddenly started - everyone but Alexei managed to run out of the blazing apartment. He was so drunk that he could not wake up and suffocated from the smoke. The actor was only 26 years old.