The history of the relationship between the two great Soviet clowns is full of jealousy, envy and mutual accusations. Yuri Nikulin and Oleg Popov are part of the childhood of everyone who was born in the USSR. If someone then told the young pioneers that Uncle Oleg and Uncle Yura could hate each other, this would be perceived as sacrilege.

Two paths to glory

“Clown Oleg Popov” - this is how he is mentioned for the only time in Nikulin’s memoirs “Almost Seriously”, where the author writes a lot and kindly about his other colleagues. A dry statement that speaks volumes.

And Popov, having been the "Happy Hans" of Germany for ten years, when asked by a journalist whether he was friendly with Nikulin, coldly replied: "I do not comment." “It dawned on me: I asked something categorically wrong,” the journalist writes.

Oleg Konstantinovich opened up later. In 2015, on his 85th birthday, the artist was remembered in his homeland: he was invited to perform, many interviews were taken. When in one of them Popov was asked about his relationship with Nikulin, he listed his grievances for a long time, at the end of the reservation that after all the person was no more and would not like, in fact, to speak badly about him, but ...

And then the old clown could not cope with his face: at the words “there is no man,” a smile flashed on him ...

Nikulin "white", Popov - "red". They could make a great duet. This did not happen, but their path in the profession was similar. A ticket to the big clowning was written out for them by the great Pencil - Mikhail Rumyantsev, for whom both were assistants.

Popov took the place of Nikulin, who had left shortly before this due to a conflict with the maestro.

In subsequent years, Nikulin conquered the arena in a duet with Mikhail Shuidin, while Popov preferred solo. Moreover, he became famous before Nikulin, who, in comparison with him, was perceived for a long time as an ordinary carpet.

Fame came to Yuri Vladimirovich later - in the cinema, in the role of Dunce in Gaidai's comedies; he also created powerful dramatic images with Tarkovsky, Bondarchuk, Herman Sr. Popov also sometimes starred, but the arena was his home. It seems that he was jealous of Nikulin's film exploits, but at the same time he was proud that he himself was an exclusively circus artist:

Nikulin gained popularity only thanks to the cinema. I'm not saying it's bad. Everything he has done in cinema is wonderful. But he's not as circus as I am. He didn’t walk on the wire, didn’t juggle, didn’t stand on his hands, didn’t jump ... Only la-la-la and jokes.

Soviet circus brands

Yuri Vladimirovich also had reasons to envy Oleg Konstantinovich. Nikulin's popularity was limited to the USSR, while Popov was known all over the world.

It all started in 1958, when the Soviet circus troupe went on tour to Western Europe. They say that after a performance in Belgium, the Dowager Queen Elizabeth kissed Popov's hand right in the arena and exclaimed: “Oh, the sun has arrived from Russia!”

The illusionist Igor Kio also recalled Elizabeth in connection with this nickname:

The Belgian Queen... hosted a reception in honor of the Moscow Circus Troupe royal palace... When, at the end of the evening, saucers with lemon water were served to wash hands after greasy food, Popov, not knowing the purpose of these saucers, drank water from his. The queen thought this was the funniest joke of her life. And here she said: "No, this is something breathtaking - this is a sunny clown."

Perhaps the old majesty really did something similar, but Popov himself explains the origin of his nickname more prosaically:

In the very first review (on tour.) it was written that in such foggy weather a clown arrived, who lit up the arena with the sun, which made everyone warmer, and with light hand That reviewer now always calls me the "solar clown."

Popov became the brand of the Soviet circus. In Munich and Brussels there are streets named after him, he is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most popular clown on the planet. Nikulin never dreamed of such a thing, therefore, obviously, his statements about the international success of his colleague contained hidden irony:

Oleg Popov is a phenomenon in the circus of the West. There is stagnation in clowning: elderly clowns in grandfather costumes, and he showed a new clown.

But in the USSR they thundered on an equal footing. Souvenir products were even produced with their images - an unheard-of innovation for the Soviet light industry. Both the one and the other People's Artists of the USSR (Popov became one four years earlier), and both are more than successful in terms of material. Nikulin received from Gaidai 50 rubles for a shooting day - a third of the engineer's monthly salary. Popov had two Volkswagens - a rarity in those days.

It seems that at first their relationship was quite friendly.

In the 1960s, young Oleg Popov and Yuri Nikulin even performed in the same performance ... And their relationship was simply excellent. What happened then, I don't know, - says Tatyana Nikolaevna, Nikulin's widow.

Rumor has it that Popov took reprises from Nikulin.

Father and Shuidin at the dawn of their career went on tour to Leningrad, says the son of the artist Maxim Nikulin. - The day after their performance, the newspaper wrote: “The young clowns Yuri Nikulin and Mikhail Shuidin showed themselves interestingly, it’s only a pity that they completely repeated the repertoire of Oleg Popov.” Oleg Konstantinovich toured in Leningrad the day before, and, of course, the audience had the opportunity to compare. Father and Shuidin, having arrived in Moscow, immediately went to the circus authorities: “How is it, we were the first to come up with reprises, and they write nasty things about us ?!

What should we do?!" And the authorities answered: “Well, fill Popov’s face!”

However, the interception of numbers was unlikely main reason enmity - this practice is common in the circus environment. Yes, and Popov later complained that it was his reprises that were stolen from him. Tatyana Nikulina refutes this:

There was such an author - Mikhail Tatarsky. He published a collection of reprises invented by him, I note, not intended for any of the clowns specifically, including the reprise “Ray of Light”, which later became famous, which was staged by both Oleg, Yura and Shuidin. But if Oleg Popov in the end took this ray for himself and took it away, then Nikulin and Shuidin’s reprise ended with the words: “And this is for you!” A beam of light was thrown into the hall, and light flashed in the hall. Thus, it took on a completely different sound.

By the way, about this really wonderful reprise, they say that it was first rehearsed by a very famous in those years, but now forgotten clown Valery Musin. But on the eve of the tour abroad, he became seriously ill, and the room was urgently remade to fit Popov. They say that after the resounding success of Popov, Musin took to drink and soon went into circulation.

The root of the dislike of the two great clowns is not only artistic, but also administrative ambitions. In 1981, when Nikulin became the chief director, and later the director of the circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, which now bears his name, it turned out that Popov was aiming for the same place. Oleg Konstantinovich was even more bitterly offended in 1990, when his two-year anniversary approached. He is still sure that Yuri Vladimirovich deliberately did not allow him to celebrate his birthday on Tsvetnoy. Tatyana Nikulina claims that everything was completely different:

The ceiling fell in our circus, and the circus was generally closed. Therefore, we simply did not have the physical opportunity to celebrate his anniversary ...

Popov was pompously congratulated at the Great Moscow Circus. The Gaidaev trinity - Evgeny Morgunov, Georgy Vitsin and Yuri Nikulin - greeted the hero of the day from the arena: "Be healthy, Oleg Popov!"

Was it Nikulin's hypocrisy? Some people think so.

Yuri Vladimirovich turned out to be a very tough and cruel person to his friends, - says clown Yuri Kuklachev.

And Evgeny Morgunov once said about Nikulin:

We were in the same team and made laughter together, but only he received the State Prize, which he begged for from the Ministry of Culture.

This caused a sharp public response from Yuri Vladimirovich, and after one of the rude pranks, he ordered Morgunov not to be allowed into his circus (“We have enough of our own clowns”), Georgy Vitsin forbade his daughter to ask Nikulin for freebies. And yet, the members of the trio did not become real enemies.

It seems that Nikulin did not consider Popov an enemy either, despite the fact that he claims the opposite:

Nikulin was very jealous of me. I had a lot of success in the West, but he didn't. I can't find any other explanation why he didn't let me near the Moscow circus for a cannon shot.

Yuri Vladimirovich always spoke only positive things about Oleg, I have not heard a single statement against him in all the years, ”Tatyana Nikulina objects. - Yes, and they had nothing to share. Oleg was the first? And for God's sake. Yuri Vladimirovich never claimed the position of the first clown.

They are just different people - in character, in relation to life, to people ... Oleg Popov worked when his father had already retired. Popov was treated kindly by the country and the party, he received the people's nomination when he was young. Teams were selected under it. He traveled abroad without restrictions. Then, having married, he stayed in Germany, and now he pretends to be a victim of the regime, - Maxim Nikulin echoes her.

Popov has a different opinion: he is sure that the reason for his failures is precisely that, unlike Nikulin, he has never been a member of the CPSU. He said: "It seems to me that the concept of a communist clown is ridiculous in itself."

However, after 1991, membership in the Communist Party was no longer relevant. Popov emigrated - he claims that he was forced: while he was on the next tour, monetary reform overnight deprived him of all his considerable savings, and in Germany his troupe was abandoned by the impresario, leaving him without money in a foreign country. Soon his wife died, and nothing more kept him in Russia. Probably, all this really influenced his decision, but would it have been different under more favorable circumstances? ..

It seems to me that all the good and resourceful artists fled and are now abroad, he dropped in 2005.

Oleg Konstantinovich continued to work in Europe, and in the meantime, his antagonist died in Russia in 1997 in honor and glory. For some reason, Popov is offended by the fact that Nikulin's son became the director of the circus after him:

He has nothing to do with the circus! Of the living people, I have the longest work experience at the arena.

Did Popov seriously believe that Russian government will he invite an elderly carpet-coverer from the big top of the German commune Eglofstein, who has not renounced Russian citizenship, to this significant position? ..

Yes, Oleg Popov was a great artist who is still remembered and loved in his homeland - he was even surprised by this when he visited her for the first time after leaving. And continues to work. Another question is how successful an acting clown can be at his age. He also performs in Russia - this year, for example, Popov came to St. Petersburg, rich, famous, happily married to the German circus performer Gaby, who is 30 years younger than him. And the bronze Nikulin wearily smokes an eternal cigarette at the Novodevichy cemetery ...

In the USSR, he, the Solar Clown, was literally carried in his arms. The entire older generation remembers the famous checkered cap and the good-natured smile of Oleg Popov. However, in the early 1990s, the circus performer, who during his lifetime became a classic of world clowning, exchanged his homeland for Germany, where he became Happy Hans.

The other day Oleg Konstantinovich visited Russia. He received the "Master" award in Sochi, starred in Andrei Malakhov's TV show and ... again left for Europe. We decided to tell about the fate of the legendary clown, his connections with Penza today.

SHOE AND MILLION

“Having become the director of the Penza circus, I tried with all my might to drag Oleg Popov to us,” Nikolai Zhidkov pours fragrant tea into cups. - And so, when I was in Moscow visiting the trainer Anatoly Kornilov, Oleg Konstantinovich looked at his light. They drank a glass. I say, they say, you are our dear, maybe it's time to go on tour to Penza? And the clown's face has already changed. "What's happened?" - I ask. And in response, I heard a whole story.

Immediately after graduating from the circus school, graduate Popov received an invitation to work in the Penza circus - at that time he was on Pushkin Street. The artist was not a clown at that time and performed with the number “Equilibrium on a free wire”. But something clearly went wrong. It seems that at rehearsals everything is in order, but during the performance there is a puncture after a puncture. The local audience did not accept the novice artist and even booed several times.

In general, Oleg had to leave the capital of the Sursky Territory without salty slurping. And so the mental trauma associated with Penza remained with him for the rest of his life. ”

And yet, fate has repeatedly pushed Nikolai Alexandrovich and Oleg Popov. In the mid-1970s, Serdobsky cuckoo clocks were in great demand in the Union. The clown wanted his own portrait to be the background for the arrows. Nikolai Zhidkov helped fulfill the special order.

When the Moscow circus went on tour to Europe, Popov forgot the shoe he needed for the reprise. It's good that the wife sent the props.

After triumphant performances in Belgium, Holland and France, the shoe was very worn out, and the clown decided to change his shoes, and left the old one in the room for disposal. But already in Manchester, a messenger ran up to the bus where the artists were getting on.

"Mr. Popov, this is for you!" he announced and handed the package to the clown. Inside was an old shoe.

Everyone laughed, and the shoe was pushed deep under the seat. The artist was preparing to enter the arena, as there was a knock on the dressing room. The bus driver stood on the threshold, and in his hands was Popov's props. Out of annoyance, Oleg Konstantinovich shoved the annoying object into the dustbin backstage.

“When, after the performance, no one rushed to chase me with a shoe, I felt an incredible relief,” Solar Clown told Nikolai Zhidkov. - But the next morning, entering the dressing room, I was stunned. On the table in front of the mirror, as if smiling maliciously, lay my shabby, wrinkled shoe. I grabbed it and rushed to the window to throw it away, but caught myself: Europe, after all.

I had to hide the shoe in my briefcase. On the ship that sailed home, I once again tried to lose my shoe - I threw it into the sea. And what do you think? A friend ran up to me on the shore: “Oleg, here is a bag for you!” I was dumbfounded. Luckily, it turned out to be a letter from my wife.”

World fame Oleg Konstantinovich brought such a reprise: the clown went out into the arena with a basket, took out lunch from it, and after the meal he went to bed, but the solar circle interfered with him. Popov changed his place several times, but the beam followed him on his heels. Then he collected sunlight hands and laid it in a braid. At that moment, the basket itself began to glow. The artist left the arena under a flurry of applause. And it was for this that the Queen of Belgium gave him the name Sunny Clown.

“A funny story that happened in Latin America is connected with this reprise,” Nikolai Zhidkov smiles. - After the performance, impresario Enrique Kanyuka approached Oleg: “A very rich man wants to meet you. You can't refuse his request."

The stranger expressed admiration for what he saw, and then took out a checkbook, wrote something and handed it to the clown. The check was for one million.

Oleg was delighted. But the joy was short-lived. The head of the tour snapped: “The money is not yours, it belongs to the state. Let's go to the embassy.

But the employee, who took the check in his hands, laughed out loud. Yes, the check was written one million, but not dollars, but a million smiles. Since then, the nickname Sunny Millionaire has stuck to Oleg Konstantinovich.

YURI NIKULIN AND DEPARTURE ABROAD

Both of these clowns were chic artists, but from some time Oleg Konstantinovich began to be jealous of the success of his colleague. Many circus people talked about this. Popov was acutely worried that films with the participation of Nikulin were becoming insanely popular, and he was filming only in children's television programs.

And when Yuri Vladimirovich became a successful director of the circus, Popov was completely upset.

“The first time I drew attention to this was at the director's board of the State Circus,” continues Nikolai Zhidkov. - When Nikulin, like everyone else, voted against, Popov immediately said yes. And vice versa.

In the TV show “Let them talk,” Oleg Konstantinovich stated that Nikulin, under a far-fetched pretext, did not allow him to celebrate his anniversary at the circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard. But there was actually a renovation going on. Moreover, Nikulin and his partner Shuidin came to the anniversary performance, performed and ended with the words: “Be healthy, Oleg Popov!”.

Why did the great clown leave the USSR? According to Nikolai Alexandrovich, there are several reasons. One of them - the artist saved money all his life, putting them on a passbook. He was practically an official Soviet millionaire, but after the collapse of the Union, he ended up with nothing.

“The circus people have repeatedly said that Popov considered himself greatly offended by this, was indignant, they say, they could have compensated for his contributions. Oleg ended up with a meager pension, which he was very indignant about, - says Zhidkov. - Another reason - after the death of his wife, the artist was left alone. True, there is an unpleasant story associated with this.

Popov was on tour when the trouble happened. He was going to the funeral, but allegedly the director of the circus persuaded him not to go: the weekend is ahead, many spectators will come, the team will be left without a salary. And Popov stayed ... "

Vladimir Verzhbovsky

In WHAT company Yuri Nikulin appeared in, he was always asked to tell a joke: "You are a clown. Can you make a joke somehow?" "And what are you doing?" - once asked Nikulin who wanted to listen to jokes. "I am the general of artillery," he replied. "Well, maybe you can shoot us something now?"

On December 18, Yuri Nikulin would have turned 85 years old. funny and tragic stories From the life of the great artist, "Superstars" was told by the director of the "Museum of Three Actors" Vladimir Tsukerman.

IF Nikulin had not entered the clowning studio, it is quite possible that he would have become a policeman. "You are a front-line soldier, there are awards, let's come to us!" They suggested to him in the authorities. "Otherwise, we will attract for parasitism."

Returning from the war in 1946, Nikulin did not work or study for three months, and all his attempts to enter theater and cinema universities ended in failure. “You are not photogenic, your face will not print well on film,” VGIK told him. They did not take Nikulin to GITIS, and to Shchepkinskoye, and to Shchukinskoye schools. He tried to get into auxiliary staff Theatre. Moscow City Council to Yuri Zavadsky, but even there he was refused. But ended up in a clowning studio.

"DO YOU HAVE WHAT, AN EPIC?"

The FIRST time Yuri Nikulin got into the circus at the age of five. He liked it so much that he wanted to become a clown. His mother made him a cotton suit with yellow and red flowers. I made a frill collar from corrugated paper, a small hat with a tassel from cardboard, and sewed pom-poms on slippers. “In this form, I went to visit a girl who had a costume party,” Nikulin later wrote in his book “Almost Seriously.” “Some of the guys dressed as a doctor, someone portrayed a snowdrop, one girl came in a pack and I was dancing. And I am a clown and I realized that I should make everyone laugh. Remembering that when the clowns in the circus fell, it caused laughter from the audience, as soon as I entered the room, I immediately crashed to the floor. But no one laughed. I got up and fell again. He hit quite painfully (I didn’t know then that you also need to be able to fall), but, overcoming the pain, he got up again and again crashed to the floor. He fell and kept waiting for laughter. But no one laughed. Only one woman asked her mother:

"What is he, a fit?" The next day my back, neck, arms ached, and for the first time I realized from my own experience that being a clown is not easy.

GET UP FROM THE PENCIL

Once again, Nikulin was convinced that being a clown was not at all easy when he first entered the arena of the Moscow Circus. He already worked in a group of clowns under the guidance of the famous Pencil. One of the artists fell ill, and young Nikulin was released into the arena. He went out to the arena and ... began to spin around him, from shock not knowing which way to speak. While spinning, I forgot what I wanted to say.

Theater actors know how difficult it is to work in the arena. There is no wall behind you. You need special plasticity and organics so that all spectators of the circus can see and hear you. Young Nikulin was then rescued by presenter Alexander Bush: "Do you want to show tricks?" - "Yes". - "Well, go backstage and carry the equipment." Nikulin ran backstage, where he was literally attacked by other artists. Someone encouraged, someone scolded.

Nikulin briskly jumped out from behind the curtains, put a funnel of water on one of the clowns, bowed spectacularly and ran away. Only he poured water on the wrong person ... For which he later received a scolding from Pencil.

Soon Nikulin got a new permanent partner, Mikhail Shuidin, with whom they worked together for 35 years. When Shuidin was only thinking about whether he should go to work in a circus or not, he decided to consult Nikulin. Yuri Vladimirovich, as always, answered with a joke: “The groom asks the rabbi: “Shall I marry or not?” “Do whatever you want,” the rabbi told him. "You'll still regret it."

They were perfect partners. But not friends. Shuydin only once went to visit Nikulin, and even then only to bring his passport for a business trip abroad.

"OLEG POPOV OFFENDED"

Nikulin also met OLEG Popov at Pencil. They even became friends. But then ran between the clowns black cat. Nikulin arrives in some city, and the audience does not laugh at his reprises. What's happened? Why? And he is told that Oleg Popov has just been in the city and showed precisely these scenes. Oleg Popov stole Nikulin's reprises! And who would like that? When Yuri Vladimirovich expressed his dissatisfaction to the "solar clown", he only grunted: "But I don't care."

In 1956, Popov went on tour with a group of circus performers. The Queen of Belgium, seeing a cheerful simpleton on the arena, did not hide her delight and exclaimed: "Oh, the sun has arrived from Russia!" She went out to the arena and publicly kissed the buffoon's hand. "Solar Clown" has become insanely popular in Europe.

In 1989, Nikulin opened a new circus and promised that he would hire Oleg Popov. But he didn't. Popov was offended and began to find fault with Nikulin in the press. He even said that he emigrated abroad because of Yuri Vladimirovich. But it is not so.

Popov kept all his savings at home in iron tea and coffee cans. When he was abroad, money was exchanged and he lost everything. Then he went to Germany, where his troupe was "thrown" by the impresario. Another circus offered a job only a month later. What to do in a foreign country without money and housing? Popov found in his pocket the phone of a fan who took his autograph in one of the German towns. And called. She invited me to visit. So he stayed with her and lived near Nuremberg. He married, then began performing with her (although the girl was 36 years younger than him and had previously worked in a pharmacy). From abroad, Oleg Popov continued to scold Nikulin. Because he was a communist. For not knowing how to juggle and walk on a wire. For allegedly undeservedly received the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

SAUSAGE OR CIRCUS

IF the circus on Vernadsky at one time was built in 18 years, then it was built on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in 2.5 years. When Nikulin was asked if it was patriotic that the Finns were building it, he replied: “It would be less patriotic if only our grandchildren came to the new circus. What else is curious: in 1939, Nikulin fought with the Finns, and exactly 50 years later, the Finns built the Moscow Circus. But, if it were not for Nikulin's personal charm, instead of a circus, two sausage factories could have been built for those $ 20 million. There was just such a choice: sausage or circus.

But Nikulin was favored by the authorities. All our general secretaries and presidents considered it a pleasure to talk with the great clown. And he was the same with everyone. And he always tried to help others. In my presence, Yuri Vladimirovich rescued a man from prison by phone, arranged for the son of an usher to be treated in a good hospital. When the supply manager of the circus could not resolve the issue with ice cream, Nikulin called the director of the cold storage facility: "You are Alexander Vladimirovich, and I am Yuri Vladimirovich. We are like brothers ..." And he easily agreed that ice cream was sent to the circus not in paper cups, from which a lot of garbage, but in the waffle.

"THE STREET DRUNKER"

Yuri Vladimirovich told me a funny story. He and his wife were driving to the country, and suddenly the car stalled on the way. As soon as the couple stopped in some village, they were immediately surrounded by local women and did not let go of their favorite actor for a long time. Tatyana Nikolaevna could not stand it: "Yura, that's enough, let's go already." But the village women did not let up: "Ah, I used it myself, let others use it."

With technology, Nikulin was always on "you", and his car always broke down. Lev Durov told how Yuri Vladimirovich came to the shooting of the film "Old Robbers". "Give us the car keys," the workers tell him. "Why is that?" - "Come on." When the shooting was over, Nikulin got behind the wheel, started the car ... He doesn’t understand anything: the engine doesn’t rumble. Popped under the hood - all parts are new. In a day, the workers who were his fans managed to replace them.

At the same time, fame also brought a lot of inconvenience. "Don't go to the beach, don't sunbathe," Nikulin complained to me. for the match, but for how I react. "I had to watch football on TV.

Many viewers even believed that he was not an artist at all, but "some drunkard was invited from the street." The image of the Boobie was so convincing. Nikulin, of course, drank, but he always knew when to stop. Once, Yuri Vladimirovich admitted to me that he once went to the arena drunk as a fool. It was in Paris. He, Igor Kio and Mikhail Shuidin were invited to a meeting by Ekaterina Furtseva. "Let's drink cognac," suggested the Minister of Culture. "What are you talking about, we'll go to the arena in the evening." "Am I a minister or not? I order!" Furtseva says. Never again in their lives did they go out into the arena so drunk.

"FIREWORKS TYPE SALUT"

CINEMATOGRAPHY did not accept Nikulin for a long time. He went to tryouts but was often not approved. Nikulin himself said that he watched the film "The Russian Question" ten times, in which he starred as an extra. But he didn't see himself that way. In 1958, he finally starred in an episode of the film "Girl with a Guitar", where he played pyrotechnics. Remember his phrase "Homemade fireworks like salute"?

The pyrotechnician was dressed up in a red shirt, put a small cap on his head, and was given a suitcase in his hands. Nikulin offered to put him in sneakers. And he bought them in the store.

Why Keds? “It seemed to me that the hero is a little crazy,” said Yuri Vladimirovich. “I thought that he should walk smoothly and be sure to wear sneakers.” Not only that, Nikulin came up with the idea of ​​replacing the word "blow up" with "squeeze" and suggested adding a new element to the script: "After the explosion, the pyrotechnician will disappear, and they will start looking for him, and instead they will find a cap on the floor ..." The director agreed.

But the actor Nikulin did not stop there. It was he who came up with the idea of ​​setting fire to "home-made fireworks like a salute" not with matches, but with a cigarette taken from one of the members of the commission.

They liked the filmed episode so much that they decided to write another scene for the pyrotechnician - an explosion in a music store.

Nikulin came up with a third episode: at the end of the film they show a building with lights on in the windows. A pyrotechnician enters the entrance, and after a couple of seconds the lights go out in all the windows. And the fire truck rushes through the city ...

But the director did not support the idea: “It’s not worth it, perhaps. We already have an overrun of the film. We’ll have to knock out a fire truck, but it’s not included in the estimate.”

"FACE LOOKS STUPIDER"

EXACTLY in the role of a pyrotechnician in the film "Girl with a Guitar" Nikulin was first seen by Leonid Gaidai. And he invited him to the role of Dunce in his short comedy "Dog Mongrel and an unusual cross." "Let them glue big eyelashes on you," the director suggested, "you will start to flap your eyes, and this will make your face look even stupider."

By the way, at first, Gaidai invited Georgy Vitsin, Mikhail Zharov and Sergey Filippov to the acting trinity. Zharov was the first to refuse his role. "What is this? I'll run around the fields, jump from trees! Take someone younger." Filippov, after reading the script, also balked: “I can’t act. We urgently need to leave for Novgorod, my aunt got hit by a tram.” Moreover, trams never ran in Novgorod. One Vitsin agreed. Boris Novikov auditioned for the role of the Dunce, and Ivan Lyubeznov for the role of Experienced. But when Yuri Nikulin was brought to Gaidai for an audition, all the director's questions disappeared.

On December 27, 1960, the artistic council of Mosfilm approved the composition of the performers of the film Dog Mongrel and the Unusual Cross. And so the famous trio Vitsin - Nikulin - Morgunov was born.

A few years after the release of the picture on the screen, Nikulin toured with a circus in a Scandinavian country. There he was invited to a reception at the Soviet embassy. After the celebration, the ambassador got into a conversation with Nikulin. “In my office, in a safe, there is a cassette with your film“ Dog Barbos ... ”, the ambassador shared with him. “Before the start of negotiations, we show it to foreign diplomats. They almost cry with laughter. After that, it is easier to negotiate with them. Believe me, they sign all the papers."

"THIS IS DEAD NIKULIN!"

NIKULIN has always actively participated in the filming. In "Operation Y", for example, he came up with a scene in which Dunce puts his finger in the mouth of a skeleton - and he closes it. He also transformed the scene of the fight between Dunce and Shurik on rapiers. They did a dozen takes, but Gaidai was still dissatisfied. And suddenly Nikulin came up with : at the climax, when Shurik pierces the Goon, turn on pitiful music and let blood flow from the wounded chest under it, which later turns out to be red wine.

It's a paradox, but the more successful Gaidai's work became, the worse his colleagues in the film studio treated him. "The Diamond Hand", which fed the entire "Mosfilm" for twenty years, was called almost the worst film of the year. "No acting, solid templates, and the song "About Hares" is only for taverns," critics said.

By the way, Nikulin's wife and son Maxim starred in the "Diamond Hand". Tatyana played the role of the leader of a group of tourists, and her son played the role of a boy with a bucket, whom Andrei Mironov meets on the island.

Field shooting of "The Diamond Hand" took place in Adler. The film crew lived in the Horizont Hotel, in the basement of which they equipped a wardrobe and props room. In the latter they kept Nikulin's "double": a figure of Semyon Gorbunkov made of papier-mâché. She was supposed to be dropped from a height of 500 meters when shooting an episode when Semyon Semyonovich fell out of a Moskvich suspended from a helicopter.

To prevent the figure from gathering dust, it was covered with a white sheet. Once a cleaning lady came into the basement, lifted the sheet and was stunned... Nikulin was lying in front of her. The cleaner ran upstairs shouting: "There... There... Dead Nikulin!" An hour later, the news of the artist's death spread throughout the city. Upon learning of this, Nikulin called Moscow and warned his mother not to worry. And he did the right thing, because the very next day the "sad" news reached the capital.

"The Diamond Arm" was filmed in 1969, and exactly ten years later Nikulin entered the "Museum of the Three Actors" with a cast on the same arm that was "broken" in the film. He damaged it in Chelyabinsk: he performed on stage and fell into the orchestra pit. Nikulin told how a crowd of boys on the street shouted with delight: "Hurrah! There will be a second series!" - and he, writhing in pain, went to the dressing.

The wives of Nikulin and Gaidai were once classmates and even sat at the same desk. Nina Grebeshkova later recalled that somehow, even before the formation of the famous trinity, she was walking down the street and met Tanya Pokrovskaya with some strange type: tall and completely ugly. “Meet me, this is my husband,” Tatiana introduced Nikulina. These are the coincidences. And a few years later, Grebeshkova recognized on the set in one of the actors that same husband of her classmate.

Tatyana Nikulin met when he first started performing in the circus. She then studied at the Timiryazev Agricultural Academy and somehow brought a trained horse for Pencil. And Nikulin took it and invited the girl to watch the performance, during which, as luck would have it, he fell under a horse. He ended up in the hospital, and Tatyana began to visit him. And six months later they got married and lived together for almost half a century, until the death of the artist.

"HOW TO ASK FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM?"

AMAZING thing, but under the Soviet system, Nikulin behaved very freely. Collected and wrote down political anecdotes. In the early 1970s, during the most violent persecution of dissidents, Garik Orbelyan came to Moscow from America. I called Nikulin. "Gary, come!" Nikulin shouted into the phone. After some time, a call came from the Lubyanka: "Your meeting must be canceled." Nikulin responded by sending the calling Chekist three letters... Then the call came again: "The colonel gave the go-ahead, meet me."

Strange, but Nikulin was not afraid of anything. He told the story of how he flew with the circus on tour to Scandinavia. Naturally, the artists were accompanied by the KGB, who was called "Dzerzhinsky" behind his back. Nikulin decided to joke. He called the stewardess and asked: “Do you happen to know how to ask in English:“ How to ask for political asylum? ”The girl went cold with horror and immediately conveyed the essence of the conversation to“ Dzerzhinsky ”. wanted to ask the stewardess?" - "I wanted to know where it is better to buy a coat for my wife." And at that time they were about to land the plane ...

EXPERIENCED WITH STUNNER quarreled

In the FAMOUS cheerful trinity, Georgy Vitsin always stood apart and did not particularly make contact with anyone. But Experienced and Dunce were friends at first. But after...

Morgunov liked to use his popularity. If Vitsin categorically forbade his daughter Natasha to ask Nikulin for free tickets to the circus, then Morgunov regularly took an invitation card from Yuri Vladimirovich for two people, and brought twelve people to the box of the directorate. In all shops and markets, he also "sold out" for three for free, and often got away with it.

Somehow, speaking in the Far East, he was "rewarded" by grateful fishermen with a huge salmon, that way eight kilograms. But the "modest" artist refused the present, saying: "I have no right to take such an expensive gift from you, knowing that my friends Vitsin and Nikulin do not have fish." He was given two more fish. Such jokes were repeated from month to month, from year to year.

But last straw was Morgunov’s statement to Nikulin in one of the newspapers: “We were in a common harness and made laughter together, but only he received the State Prize, which he begged for from the Ministry of Culture. Therefore, neither I, nor Vitsin, nor the cameraman Brovin, nor the artist Yasyukevich did not receive this award. And off we go ... Nikulin answered Morgunov in Vladimir Pozner's program, and Morgunov aggravated what he said in a long interview with another newspaper, hooking Vitsin at the same time.

Recently, Morgunov's son Anton said: "The old people behaved like children. Everyone remembered old grievances." For the people, the trio Coward - Experienced - Dunce was united, friendly and cheerful. Unfortunately, this was not the case in real life.

Soviet clowns were considered among the best on the planet. The circus in the Soviet Union was separate view art, which was very popular. Many clowns are still remembered by those who personally caught them at their first performances. We will talk about the most famous of them in this article.

Among the Soviet clowns, one of the most famous is Yuri Nikulin, People's Artist of the USSR, the idol of several generations of Soviet lovers of humor and laughter. He was born back in the Smolensk province in 1921. His parents were artists, so the fate of Yuri was largely predetermined.

In 1939, immediately after graduating from school, he was drafted into the army. During the Great Patriotic War he fought near Leningrad. In 1943, he caught pneumonia, spent a long time in the hospital, after being discharged, he almost immediately received a shell shock during one of the air raids on Leningrad.

After the war, he tried to enter VGIK, but he was not accepted, not having found acting abilities in him. Therefore, Nikulin went to the clowning studio school, which worked at the capital's circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard. It became his home for several decades.

In 1948, the famous Soviet clown made his debut in a pair with Boris Romanov in a performance called "The Model and the Hackster", which immediately captivated the audience. For some time he worked as an assistant at the Pencil. He met Mikhail Shuidin, with whom he went on tour throughout the country to gain experience in the circus.

Nikulin worked with Pencil for two and a half years, after which he left with Shuydin due to a conflict. Having started performing on their own, they made up a duet famous throughout the country, although they were completely different artists in type and character.

Among the clowns of the Soviet Union, Nikulin was one of the most popular. He worked in his native circus for half a century, becoming its symbol, now there is even a monument to the famous artist on Tsvetnoy Boulevard.

Wherein brilliant career he simultaneously made a movie, playing in the popular comedies "Operation" Y "and other adventures of Shurik", " Caucasian captive", "The Diamond Arm".

He stopped performing in the circus only when he was 60 years old. In 1981, he officially retired from the stage, starting to work as the chief director of the circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard. In 1982, he took over as director of the circus. Under this famous Soviet clown, the circus flourished, a new building was built, the opening of which took place in 1989.

Yuri Nikulin was popular not only in big cinema, but also on domestic television. In the 90s, his program was released under the name "White Parrot". She brought together famous and honored artists who told their favorite jokes and funny stories from my own career. The signature jokes were always those that Yuri Nikulin himself poisoned.

Nikulin died in 1997 at the age of 76 after complications from heart surgery.

Mikhail Shuidin

Mikhail Shuidin is a clown from the Soviet comedy trio. He performed with Nikulin and Pencil, not at all lost against the background of famous stage colleagues. Shuydin was born in the Tula province in 1922. He was an eccentric acrobat.

Like Nikulin, he went through the Great Patriotic war They were practically the same age. Shuidin participated in the Stalingrad and Battles of Kursk, distinguished himself in battles in Ukraine, receiving the Order of the Red Star. He was even assigned to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, which was then replaced by command with the Order of the Red Banner.

Immediately after the war he entered the school of circus art. Together with Nikulin, he worked as an assistant at the Pencil. His debut was successful, when the famous Soviet clown portrayed an important director, being himself full and small in stature. His appearance invariably caused laughter in the hall.

After leaving Pencil with Nikulin, they worked together until 1983, almost until the death of the Soviet clown after a long and serious illness at the age of 60. His is a shirt-guy who knows and knows everything, unlike Nikulin, who played a melancholy clumsy. My joint work these Soviet clowns built on the contradiction of characters.

Interestingly, in ordinary life Shuidin and Nikulin practically did not communicate with each other. They were very different in character and way of life, but as partners on stage they were inimitable. Spectators specially came to the circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard to see this amazing couple of artists.

The famous Soviet clown Shuidin shone in satirical sketches and pantomimes "Little Pierre", "Pipe of Peace", "Carnival in Cuba", "Roses and Thorns".

Mikhail Rumyantsev

Most people know Mikhail Rumyantsev as Pencil. This is one of the most famous stage names of clowns in the USSR. He was born in St. Petersburg in 1901. Rumyantsev decided to become an artist when he met the legendary American silent film artists Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford in Moscow.

Rumyantsev goes to acting classes, and then to the school of circus art, studying with Mark Mestechkin, the chief director of the circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard.

In 1928, he begins to appear in public in the image of the then legendary Charlie Chaplin. After graduating from the school of circus art, he works in Kazan, Smolensk and Stalingrad. In 1932, one of the most famous Soviet clowns in the future, the list of which he rightfully heads, decides to abandon the image of an overseas artist. In 1935, he began working in the Leningrad circus under the pseudonym Karan D'Ash. Gradually, he forms his own unique stage image, determines the costume and program of the performance.

In 1936, he moved to Moscow, where he took in his companions a small Scottish terrier named Klyaksa, so the career of the Soviet clown Pencil began. The metropolitan audience was delighted with the new artist.

A unique feature of the Pencil was political jokes. For example, during the Brezhnev stagnation, he went on stage with a large shopping bag stuffed with dummies of scarce products: red caviar, pineapples, raw smoked sausage. Once on stage, he froze in front of the audience in silence. The audience waited impatiently for what the clown would say. After some time, he loudly announced: "I am silent because I have everything. And why are you ?!" At the same time, Rumyantsev himself noted that his stage character never allowed himself anything extra.

Throughout his career, he performed not only solo, but was also a clown from the Soviet comedy trio, along with Nikulin and Shuydinov. His fame was such that it was believed that by his appearance on stage he was able to save any performance. A full house was guaranteed. The Soviet clown, whose photo can be found in this article, was very conscientious about his work, he always demanded full dedication from all assistants, uniformists, and illuminators.

He worked in the circus for almost his entire adult life, as much as 55 years. IN last time he appeared on the scene just two weeks before his death. In March 1983 he died. Mikhail Rumyantsev was 81 years old.

Perhaps everyone knows him. Soviet clown Oleg Popov was born in 1930 in the Moscow region. He began his career as an equilibrist, speaking on the wire. In 1951, he first appeared on stage as a carpet clown in the Saratov circus, then moved to Riga. He finally established himself in this role, working under the guidance of the legendary Pencil in the early 50s.

The Soviet clown Popov created the famous image of the Solar Clown. It was a young guy with a bright mop of straw hair, who did not lose heart in any situations, who appeared on stage in a plaid cap and striped pants. In his performances, he often used a variety of circus techniques: juggling, acrobatics, tightrope walking, parodies, but the key place in his performances was occupied by entre, which he staged by means of classical buffoonery and eccentricity. Among his most famous numbers are "Whistle", "Cook", "Ray".

Domestic viewers immediately remembered the name of the famous Soviet clown in a plaid cap. He performed not only on stage, he often appeared in television programs, for example, in the children's morning program "Alarm Clock", often acted in films, usually in cameos, staged circus performances as a director.

The artist often went on tour in Western Europe, as a result they brought him worldwide fame. The Soviet clown in a checkered cap was known in all countries of the world.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Popov went to Germany. In 1991, he settled in the small town of Eglofstein, began performing in his own circus program under the new stage name Happy Hans.

He returned to Russia only in 2015, having spent 24 years in Germany. On June 30, his long-awaited performance took place in the Sochi circus as part of the circus festival "Master".

In 2016, the already Russian clown Popov was scheduled to tour Russia. His performances were sold out in Saratov. In October, he arrived in Rostov-on-Don, where he planned to perform at least 15 times. After that, he was going to go on tour to Samara and Yekaterinburg.

His friends recall that on November 2 he was cheerful, went to the central market, planned to go fishing, to the local river Manych to catch perches. In the evening he watched TV in the hotel room. At about 23.20 he became ill, the hotel staff called ambulance, but it was not possible to save the actor. As it became known, he fell asleep in his hotel room in a deep armchair and never woke up again.

By the decision of his wife and daughter, he was buried in the German Eglofstein, where his family lives. Moreover, according to the will of the artist, he was put in a coffin in a clown costume.

Asisyay

Remembering the famous Soviet clowns, photos of which can be found in this article, it is imperative to talk about Vyacheslav Polunin, better known by his stage name Asisyai.

This folk was born in Oryol region in 1950. He received his higher education at the Institute of Culture in Leningrad, then graduated from the pop department at GITIS. It was the Soviet clown Asisyai, famous throughout the country, an actor-mime, author and director of clown numbers, masks, reprises and performances.

It was he who became the founders of the famous who successfully performed throughout the country. At the peak of popularity, "Litsedei" came out in the 80s. Asisyai was the main character of this theatre. The most popular were the numbers "Asisyai", "Sad Canary", "Nizzya".

Since 1989, Polunin initiated a caravan of wandering comedians in Moscow, which, speaking from Moscow, traveled all over Europe with performances, uniting many stage venues in different countries into a single theatrical space. Since 1989, the Caravan of the World festival has been held annually.

It is noteworthy that since 1988 Polunin has been living and working mainly abroad. In 1993, he assembled a new troupe, with which he staged a dozen premiere performances.

Talking about the principles of his work, Polunin always noted that for him clowning is new way worldview, this is a special perception of reality, in which the clown heals the souls of the audience.

The trainer and circus performer Vladimir Durov was born in Moscow in 1863. Even in his youth, he left the military gymnasium, because he became interested in the circus. He began performing in 1879.

In 1883 he settled in the circus-menagerie Winkler in Moscow. He began his artistic career as a strongman, then tried the role of an illusionist, onomatopoeia, clown, coupletist. From 1887 he began to specialize exclusively as a satirist and clown trainer.

Animal education was built entirely on the principle of feeding, developing in them conditioned reflexes with the help of encouragement, for each successfully completed trick, the animal received a treat. Durov studied the works of Sechenov and Pavlov, basing his training method on scientific achievements.

In his own house in Moscow, he conducted psychological experiments on animals, involving famous psychiatrists and psychologists, for example, Pavlov and Bekhterev. To start making money, he opened a living corner right in his house, which eventually became known as Durov's Corner. "In it, he gave paid performances along with animals. For example, he came up with a unique famous number called" Mouse Railway ".

This work has been suspended October Revolution and the destruction that followed. Again the doors of "Durov's Corner" were opened in 1919, but not as a private, but as a state theater. Durov himself was allowed to live in his former home, which by that time had been nationalized.

Already in the Soviet Union, Durov continued experiments on telepathy together with the famous Soviet biophysicist Bernard Kazhinsky. In 1927, already in the status of a Soviet clown, Durov published the book "My Animals", which over time was repeatedly reprinted and enjoyed great popularity.

In 1934, Vladimir Durov died at the age of 71. After his death, the business was continued by daughter Anna, in 1977 "Durov's Corner" passed to her nephew Yuri. Now it is headed by the great-grandson of Vladimir Leonidovich - Yuri Yuryevich, continuing the tradition of Soviet and Russian clowns working with animals.

Remembering the names of the clowns of the USSR, whose photos are presented in this article, you should definitely remember about Leonid Yengibarov. who almost all his career acted as a "sad clown".

He was born in Moscow in 1935. At the age of 20, he entered the circus school at the clowning department. Since 1959, he began performing at the arena of the Novosibirsk Circus. Then he appeared on the stage of the circuses in Tbilisi, Kharkov, Minsk, Voronezh. Gathering full houses in the Soviet Union, he went on a tour abroad to Poland, where he was also waiting for success.

In 1962, Yengibarov was awarded a medal in Leningrad for the best number, where he met Roland Bykov and Marcel Marceau. These meetings played important role in his career, with Bykov they remained friends until the end of their lives.

In 1963, Yengibarov also became known as a film actor. He starred in the comedy by Levon Isahakyan and Henrikh Malyan "The Way to the Arena" - in leading role clown Leni, who decides to work in the circus, despite the protests of his parents, who wish him a different future.

A year later, Yengibarov appears in Sergei Parajanov's classic historical melodrama Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. He plays the role of a dumb shepherd, proving that he is capable of not only humorous, but also tragic roles.

In 1964, the "sad clown" leaves for Prague, where he wins a professional competition. His short stories are also published there for the first time, it turns out that Yengibarov is also a talented writer. In Prague, his daughter Barbara is born, her mother is a Czech journalist and artist, whose name is Yarmila Galamkova.

In 1966, a documentary film dedicated to the artist, "Leonid Yengibarov, meet me!", was released on Soviet screens.

By the end of the 70s, he was touring the entire Soviet Union, most of all he was appreciated by the audience in Kyiv, Odessa, Leningrad and Yerevan. In 1971, Yengibarov, in collaboration with his colleague Belov, released a performance called " star Rain". It is shown in the capital's variety theater. After Yengibarov leaves the circus to establish his own theater with solo performances filled with clowns, reprises and various tricks. This is how the production of "Clown's Whims" appears.

A book of short stories by Yengibarov "First Round" is being published in Yerevan. At the same time, he starred with Tengiz Abuladze in the comedy-parable "A Necklace for My Beloved" in the image of the clown Suguri. In the early 70s, he toured with his theater throughout the country, playing 210 performances in 240 days.

Yengibarov's bright career ended abruptly and tragically. In the summer of 1972, he comes to Moscow on vacation. Starts working on a new play. July was incredibly hot and dry that year. In addition, peat bogs are burning near Moscow, in separate days in the capital, the smog is such that a person cannot be seen from a distance of several meters.

On July 24, Yengibarov returns home after a concert in He feels unwell due to a sore throat that he carries on his legs. His mother Antonina Andrianovna prepares dinner and goes to spend the night with a friend. The next morning, she discovers that Leonid has not yet risen.

By evening, he becomes ill, he asks to call an ambulance for him. When the doctors arrive, the artist gets better, he even begins to compliment the nurse. But two hours later, his condition deteriorates again. Mother again calls an ambulance. Yengibarov asks for a glass of cold champagne, which constricts his blood vessels, and his condition only worsens. The doctors who arrived for the second time are unable to help him, the clown dies from chronic coronary disease hearts.

According to the doctors, the cause was a blood clot, which was formed due to the fact that the son returned already sick from the tour and rehearsed performances with a sore throat. At the time of his death, Yengibarov was only 37 years old. He was buried at the Vagankovsky cemetery.

Many took his death as a personal tragedy.

People's Artist of the RSFSR gained fame as a cat trainer. He was born in the Moscow region in 1949. I dreamed of becoming a clown since childhood. But he was not taken to the circus school for seven years in a row.

Finally, in 1963, he entered a vocational school as a printer, but did not despair in his place. Working in the printing house "Young Guard", in the evenings he is engaged in the folk circus at the Palace of Culture "Red October". In 1967 he became a laureate of an amateur art competition.

At the final concert of the competition, circus performers on Tsvetnoy Boulevard notice him, Kuklachev is nevertheless invited to the circus school. In 1971 he became a certified artist of the Union State Circus, where he worked until 1990. His image is a simple-minded, but at the same time a little sly buffoon from the people in a stylized Russian shirt. Initially works under the pseudonym Vasilek.

In search of his own zest, Kuklachev decided in the mid-70s that a cat should appear in his performances. It is believed that they are difficult to train, but Kuklachev manages to work successfully with them. Over time, the troupe of animals began to replenish with new tailed artists, this made it possible to make several numbers with animals.

It was the numbers with cats that brought Kuklachev all-Union popularity, he was also successful on foreign tours.

In 1990, the circus performer received at his disposal the building of the former theater "Call", located on Kutuzovsky Prospekt. Soon, at its base, he opens one of the first private theaters in the country, which eventually gets the name "Kuklachev's Cat Theater". It turns out that this is the first cat theater in the world, immediately it becomes known far beyond the borders of Russia.

In 2005, the theater received the status of a state theater, and in addition to cats, dogs appear in reprisals.

Now Kuklachev is 69 years old, he continues his work in the cat theater.

Evelina Bledans

Russian actress of Latvian origin, she started as a clown. She was born in Yalta in 1969. She graduated from the acting department of the Institute of Performing Arts in Leningrad.

The first fame came to her in 1999, when she appeared as part of the Masks comedy troupe, which produced popular television shows based on clowning, pantomime and eccentricity. The artists were distinguished by the fact that they worked in the silent film genre. All projects were conceived and implemented by the artistic director Georgy Deliev, who himself was one of the artists of the comedian troupe.

In the 90s, the famous television series "Masks Show" appeared on the screens; in total, five seasons were filmed, which number almost two hundred episodes.

After that, Evelina Bledans gained fame as a television and film actress.

The clown has become such a popular image in the Soviet Union that it can often be found outside the circus arena. For example, the Soviet toy clown was in great demand in the USSR, which was considered a special gift for any holiday, and especially for a birthday.

In a comedy program variety artist Evgeny Petrosyan, which was popular in the 90s, the clown toy has become a symbol, you can always see it on the project intro.

The Soviet cartoon about the clown "Cat and the Clown" also demonstrates how popular these artists were. It was released in 1988, directed by Natalia Golovanova.

The cartoon was shot in the spirit of a classic buffoonery, which tells the story of an old clown who devoted many years to work in the circus. In his lifetime, he has seen a lot, it is already difficult to surprise him with something. But this succeeds the magic cat, which is able to turn into all sorts of objects.

This 10-minute cartoon shows the tense and uncompromising struggle between the characters, each of which has a strong and intractable character. On the one hand, there is an elderly clown, and on the other, a cocky, naive and at times frankly rude cat. This unusual work ends very unexpectedly: the cat at the very end turns into a boy.