Games with the death of Leonid Filatov: Why did the actor consider the last years of his life a payment for sins

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

Actor, poet, director was born on December 24, 1946 Leonid Filatov … On the stage and on the set, he often had to play his own death, but in reality, the last 10 years have become for him an exhausting struggle for life. He died at the age of 57 after a serious long illness. The tests that fell to his lot, he considered not accidental and said that he deserved this punishment.

Leonid Filatov said: "". In his life, he probably did not waste a single minute. Many of his acquaintances believed that it was precisely this indefatigable efficiency and dedication in the profession that played a cruel joke with him, taking away all his strength.

The actor's health problems began in the 1980s. During one of the rehearsals of The Seagull, the director drew attention to the fact that Filatov, who played the role of Trigorin, rising from the seat, was trying to raise his leg with his hand, and made a remark to him: “”. And I heard in response: "". Later, the actor said: "".

In the early 1990s. Filatov, in addition to filming in films and working in the theater, also took up directing activities. During the filming of the movie "Children of Bitch", he suffered a stroke. Later, the actor admitted: "".

His wife Nina Shatskaya recalled that once in 1994, during a performance, Filatov spoke too quietly and moved too slowly. The audience in the hall did not notice anything, and colleagues decided that he had had a drink before the premiere. Only his wife suspected something was wrong - she knew that her husband never drank before going on stage. It turned out that these were the consequences of a microstroke.

And then endless trips to hospitals began, one course of treatment after another, the fight against hypertension. Filatov has lost a lot of weight and lean. He was diagnosed with kidney failure and had an operation to remove the kidneys. For the next two years, he practically did not leave the hospital, as he constantly needed hemodialysis. In 1997, he underwent a donor kidney transplant, which gave him several years of life.

At the same time, Filatov did not stop working. In 1994, he was offered to host the TV program “To be remembered,” in which he spoke about the undeservedly forgotten stars of the “second echelon”. Many acquaintances dissuaded him, knowing how close to his heart he takes these tragic stories. "" - said the actor.

All these difficult years, the wife was always there, never for a minute losing hope of his salvation. They spent 20 years together, although they fell in love long before they could get married. However, at that time, both had families, and for a long time their romance was secret. Tired of deception and double life, both got divorced as a result. For many years Filatov could not get rid of the feeling of guilt and the feeling that all the tests were sent to him as punishment for sins: "". He reproached himself for the fact that after Lyubimov left the Taganka Theater, the actors persecuted the new artistic director Anatoly Efros, in which Filatov also participated. And after the death of Efros, he could not forgive himself for this.

They say that many actors are afraid to play their own death because of superstition: what is played leaves an imprint on fate. Filatov said: "".

Whether it was a sign of fate or a coincidence, the actor really faced an untimely death. With a transplanted kidney, even a mild infection can lead to disaster. Autumn 2003Leonid Filatov was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia, and on October 26 he died.

The actor believed that after the operation, his granddaughter Olya helped him survive, to whom he is dedicated the last and most touching poem by Leonid Filatov.