Happiness on the third attempt: For what friends and relatives condemned Evgeny Evstigneev

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

On October 9, the famous theater and film actor, People's Artist of the USSR Yevgeny Evstigneev could have turned 93, but 27 years ago he passed away at the age of 65. His relatives are sure: the actor could have lived much longer, but his heart could not stand the experiences he was experiencing. Evstigneev was married three times, and each time he seemed to have to make excuses for trying to find family happiness. For a long time he could not find understanding even from the closest ones …

Galina Volchek

Evgeny Evstigneev was from Nizhny Novgorod, his parents were ordinary workers, and he himself worked as a locksmith at a factory for 4 years, until his passion for music led him to a jazz orchestra. During one of the performances, the director of the Gorky Theater School drew attention to his artistic abilities, who invited the guy to try himself in the acting profession. He was accepted without exams and was enrolled after the start of the school year. And after graduating from college, Evstigneev was assigned to Vladimir, where he performed on the stage of the regional drama theater. And only at the age of 28, the actor came to Moscow to continue his studies at the Moscow Art Theater School.

Yevstigneev's classmate was Galina Volchek. At first, she did not pay attention to the modest provincial, the most ordinary-looking on the course, but he soon won her heart. Galina was a girl from an intelligent Moscow family, and her parents did not consider Evstigneev a worthy party for her. But she did not doubt her choice, because she saw the most important thing in her chosen one. "", - said Galina Volchek.

At their wedding, which was celebrated in a communal apartment with relatives, Galina's father did not appear, and her mother came, but at the same time ignored the groom. The young people had nowhere to live, at first they huddled with Galina's parents, and then for 6 years they wandered in rented apartments. Despite the constrained material conditions, they were happy. In 1961, the couple had a son, Denis. But after a while, rumors reached Galina that her husband had begun an affair with a young actress Lilia Zhurkina. She could not believe it until she was convinced of her husband's infidelity.

Galina Volchek learned about her husband's betrayal on a tour in Saratov. When the secret became clear, she asked her husband just one question: "" Volchek herself made the decision to divorce, and Evstigneev did not hold her back. Later, he very much regretted this and said that his first marriage was destroyed by the categorical nature of his wife, that with her maximalism she broke the life of both him and herself. Galina did not even want to hear about living together after the betrayal. The actor was sure that she would forgive him, but did not take a step towards reconciliation …

Lilia Zhurkina

His new chosen one, Lilia Zhurkina, was also married at the time of their acquaintance, but after Evstigneev broke up with Volchek, she filed for a divorce. She had to leave their theater, because his first wife worked there, and colleagues openly condemned Lilia and called him a homeless woman. In the cinema, her career also did not work out - she was offered only cameo roles. She married Evstigneev and gave birth to a daughter, but in this marriage none of the spouses felt happy. The creative biography of the actor was very successful, with each new role he became more and more popular, and his wife was jealous of him for fame and suffered from her own lack of fulfillment.

Evstigneev made every effort to help his wife return to the theater, but she rarely got roles there. Their daughter Maria later said: "".

Scandals more and more often happened in the family, and the actor tried to load himself with work as much as possible in order to be at home less often. In addition, the second wife was opposed to the husband seeing his son from his first marriage, and Evstigneev had to meet with Denis in secret. And Lilia Zhurkina began to drink, over the years this bad habit was aggravated by a serious neurological disease, and at the age of 48 she passed away. After her death, Evgeny Evstigneev suffered a heart attack. He had heart problems a long time ago. He suffered his first heart attack 6 years before these events, at the age of 54. Then he had to give up active theatrical activity for a year. But the actor did not spare himself and soon again loaded himself with work. After the second heart attack, the doctors advised him to undergo bypass surgery, but he still did not dare to have the operation, he was playing for time, postponing because of the filming.

Irina Tsyvina

When the actor was 63 years old, a scandal broke out around his name again. Everyone was struck by the news that Evstigneev decided to marry his student Irina Tsyvina, who was 37 years younger than him! Many called this marriage a misalliance, because the spouse was not only older, but also much more successful than his young wife, which made friends suspect her of selfish intentions. In addition, their romance began 3 years before that, when the actor's second wife was still alive.

Evstigneev did not pay attention to gossip - he lost his head from his chosen one. His closest ones also condemned him, daughter Maria for a long time could not forgive him for a third marriage, as she believed that he had betrayed the memory of her mother. Only years later, when she was convinced that Irina truly loved her father, she was able to forgive them. Tsyvina managed to establish relations with both her son and her husband's daughter. Later she talked about her communication with Maria: "".

Before the wedding, Evstigneev warned his wife that he did not intend to help her in her acting career, and she refused to take his last name so that he would not suspect her of pursuing fame. They signed quietly and modestly, without rings, guests and witnesses. It seemed that in his third marriage, the actor was absolutely happy - he became younger, energetic, cheerful and vigorous, but his health was increasingly failing. After all the experiences I had endured, my heart was worn out. Before going on stage, he often took heart medications. In London, he was supposed to have an operation. The actor reassured his wife: "". But Yevstigneev did not live up to the operation - the day before, on March 4, 1992, the actor died of a heart attack.

Galina Volchek, who continued to treat her ex-husband very warmly, knowing and understanding him like no one else, said: "". Unfortunately, this ruined the great artist, who did not have time to play so many roles …

One of the most famous works of the actor was the role of Professor Preobrazhensky in "Heart of a Dog": How the film saved Evgeny Evstigneev.