The glory and loneliness of Agatha from "The Eternal Call": Why Tamara Degtyareva decided not to tie the knot

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

For almost half a century, until her very last day, she served at Sovremennik and always called herself a theater actress. But all-Union love came to Tamara Degtyareva after filming in the film "Eternal Call", where the actress played Agatha, the wife of the youngest of the Savelyev brothers. Tamara Degtyareva's own life, like the fate of her most famous heroine, turned out to be very dramatic.

Theater and cinema

The future actress was born in a simple family in 1944. Tamara was very weak, she was often sick, but from an early age she dreamed of becoming a real artist. The girl did not even consider other professions, she was ready for anything to become a student of theatrical. The graduate went to apply to Schepkinskoye with her mother. And even the crowds of applicants near the walls of the school did not frighten Tamara, she was very determined and believed in her luck.

Tamara Degtyareva conquered the capital from the first attempt, and having received a diploma, she immediately got into the troupe of the Theater of the Young Spectator, where over five years of work she played several significant roles, including Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Natasha in the play of the same name by Alexander Galich … In 1970, the actress moved to the Sovremennik Theater, where she served until the last days of her life, even when she had to appear on stage in a wheelchair. The actress successfully played roles from the classical repertoire and was no less harmonious in productions based on the works of contemporary playwrights.

She took part in the filming of films, performances, and made her film debut in 1968, playing the main role in the film "Meetings at Dawn" by Eduard Gavrilov and Valery Kremnev. Later there were other roles and pictures, but all-Union fame and recognition came to her after the release of the Eternal Call saga about the half-century history of the Savelyev family, where the actress embodied the image of the wife of her younger brother Ivan.

According to the recollections of the on-screen husband of Tamara Degtyareva, actor Nikolai Ivanov, she was a very good person and a wonderful actress. On the set, she was always collected and restrained, but in life she projected her kindness and charm on those around her.

Tamara Vasilievna and her students from VGIK, where she taught acting, were also treated with love and respect. They noted not only the high professionalism of their teacher, but also her amazing human qualities. She was not an authoritarian teacher, on the contrary, she taught students to show character in the profession, not to lose themselves and give all the best, even in small roles.

Unfulfilled dreams of happiness

The pretty charming actress has always had many fans, but in her youth she was so passionate about the profession that she simply did not have time and energy to arrange her personal life. Fate itself found Tamara Degtyareva. True, family life turned out to be too far from what the actress imagined it to be.

The wife of Tamara Vasilievna was a fairly well-known theater director and teacher Yuri Pogrebnichko. During his courtship with the actress, he was incredibly gentle, caring and helpful. And, giving her consent to become his wife, Tamara Degtyareva sincerely hoped that in a joint life of love, tenderness and care she would receive no less.

But after the official registration of the marriage, the husband seemed to be changed. Tamara Vasilievna mentioned in one of her interviews that she remembered 10 years of family life for constant discomfort, conflicts out of the blue, as well as endless nagging and remarks from her husband.

She could not even imagine how difficult it would be to coexist with a loved one. Yuri Nikolaevich made some remarks to his wife every hour. An improperly hung towel or a fold in an ironed shirt could become a reason for a serious quarrel, a cup that was not standing right or an incorrectly poured tea irritated her husband, which he immediately splashed on the actress.

He calmed down only after his wife began to sob and beat in hysterics. But the calmness in the family did not last long, because in the morning everything began from the very beginning. Moreover, Tamara Vasilievna was never able to give her husband a child, which also did not add peace and understanding in the family.

Exhausted by scandals and nagging, tired of clarifying the relationship and accusations of all mortal sins, Tamara Degtyareva filed for divorce and subsequently admitted: this was the most correct decision in her life. After this family nightmare, she put an end to the dreams of starting a family and devoted herself entirely to work. The theater became her second home, she gave her unspent motherly love to her students.

Loneliness

She has never suffered from loneliness, but in 2012, the diabetic actress discovered a small dot on her toe, but did not attach any importance to it. She went to the doctors when it was too late. Gangrene left no choice: first, the actress had her finger amputated, and then her leg. There was simply no other way to save her life.

After several operations, the most difficult thing was the realization that no one would need it. But colleagues in the theater did everything so that Tamara Vasilievna did not feel abandoned. Inna Churikova visited her every day in the hospital, Vladimir Samoilov equipped the apartment for new needs, Liya Akhedzhakova was even able to break into the intensive care unit to visit Tamara Degtyareva.

Due to health problems, the actress missed the premiere of the play "The Time of Women", which was originally staged by the director counting on Tamara Degtyareva. It seemed that the profession could be given up, but Galina Volchek and Yegor Peregudov gave the actress the opportunity to return to the stage. She appeared on stage every month and played. She lived on the stage. And the work undoubtedly extended her life.

Tamara Degtyareva passed away in August 2018. She left calmly, in a dream, as only good people leave.

During the creation of the Eternal Call serial film, life in the villages near Ufa, where the shooting took place, froze, local residents became extras actors, and professional actors refused roles in the theater and left thousands of kilometers from home to take part in the project. Then they did not know that during the filming, some of them would be on the verge of death, and decades later they will start talking about the evil rock of this film - after all, many stars of "The Eternal Call" have repeated the dramatic destinies of their heroes.