Kuravlev Leonid Vyacheslavovich (20 photos)

Category: Stars, Famous people, Nostalgia, PEGI 0+

9 October 2015

October 8 marks the 79th anniversary of one of the brightest versatile actors, People's Artist of the RSFSR - Leonid Vyacheslavovich Kuravlev. Leonid Vyacheslavovich has long been known as a very closed person to his colleagues and especially to the press, despite his universal popularity and popular love.

Leonid Vyacheslavovich Kuravlev was born into the most ordinary Moscow family, his mother worked as a hairdresser, and his father as a mechanic at an aircraft factory. However, in the early forties, the artist’s mother was deported to Murmansk on false charges, where she lived with her son for several years. Studying at school was not easy for Kuravlev. My sister, seeing how my brother was getting bad marks, jokingly said that with such grades there is a direct path to becoming an artist. The first time, Leonid was unable to enter the theater school. However, two years later, in 1955, Kuravlev was enrolled in Bibikov’s course at VGIK. Leonid's acting career was successful from the very beginning - he played in episodes while being a student. Kuravlev has a very bright type, thanks to which directors offered him the most diverse roles, but Leonid himself preferred to act in a comedic role, believing that he was not suitable for dramatic leading roles because of his not very attractive appearance. And yet, an important point in his life and artistic career was the acquaintance with Vasily Makarovich Shukshin and the subsequent main role in the film There Lives Such a Guy.

7 facts from the life and filmography of the master.

1. Leonid Kuravlev made his film debut while still a student at VGIK, playing the sailor Kamushkin in Mikhail Schweitzer’s historical-revolutionary film “Midshipman Panin” in 1960. At the same time, he starred in Vasily Shukshin’s thesis “They report from Lebyazhye.” Shukshin became the director who discovered Leonid Kuravlev for the audience. A year later, together with Vasily Makarovich, Leonid starred in the melodrama “When the Trees Were Big.” Afterwards, two films by Shukshin with the actor’s participation were released: “There Lives Such a Guy” and “Your Son and Brother.” Kuravlev fit into the style of Shukshin’s films. The director wrote the role of Ivan in the film “Stoves and Benches” especially for Leonid Vyacheslavovich. However, Kuravlev began to refuse the proposals of the famous director. Even then I was concerned about playing different roles and not being clichéd.

2. Kuravlev’s first comic role was Shura Balaganov in Mikhail Schweitzer’s comedy “The Golden Calf” based on the novel by Ilf and Petrov. The bright image created by the actor was the standard with which other performers were compared. One of Kuravlev’s favorite works is the thief-burglar Georges Miloslavsky in the famous comedy by Leonid Gaidai “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession.” There was another candidate for this role - Andrei Mironov. But Gaidai chose Kuravlev and was right. For Miloslavsky, the actor received 2 thousand 312 rubles - a lot of money at that time.

A funny moment arose during the filming of the episode when Miloslavsky calls Anton Semenovich Shpak and introduces himself as a woman. Kuravlev could not pronounce the phrase in a high voice. Actress Natalya Kustinskaya came to the rescue: she said these words during the dubbing. The director also did not allow the actor to sing in films. The song “Suddenly, like in a fairy tale, the door creaked...” was performed by Valery Zolotukhin.

3. In 1975, one of the most famous films with the participation of Leonid Kuravlev was released - the comedy “Afonya” by Georgy Daneliya. 20 actors auditioned for the role of Afonya. Among the candidates were three leaders: Daniel Olbrychsky, Vladimir Vysotsky and Leonid Kuravlev. “Afonya commits negative actions, and if Olbrychsky or Vysotsky had played him, they would not have been forgiven,” says the director. - But there is some secret in Kuravlev. Thanks to his charm, Afonya ended up being quite likable.” Afonya turned out to be so likable that after the film’s release, the wives of alcoholics bombarded Danelia with angry letters. Their content was something like this: “Comrade director, have you ever slept with a drunk plumber?”

4. Kuravlev influenced Natalya Varley’s choice to become an actress. She made this decision while starring with Leonid Vyacheslavovich in “Viye” based on Gogol’s story. By the way, then on the set Kuravlev saved the life of a colleague. During the stunt filming of Viy, the coffin in which the actress stood was rushing at high speed under the dome of the church. Suddenly Varley lost her balance and fell out of the coffin. Leonid somehow miraculously caught her, although he could have gotten scared and jumped away. “Lenya is one of those people who don’t think about danger and are always ready to lend their shoulder,” says Natalya Varley.

5. Every appearance of an actor on screen delights the audience. In Stanislav Govorukhin’s film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed,” Kuravlev appears in the role of a thief named Smoked, with whom Zheglov plays billiards. Leonid Vyacheslavovich plays billiards well, and in fact it is he who pockets the balls for Vysotsky.

In the legendary series “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” Kuravlev played the German agent von Bork. Vasily Livanov (Sherlock Holmes) admitted: “Lenechka is very cute. It’s just... it’s monstrously heavy.” When the actors were filming an episode with a spy exposed and running away from home, Kuravlev’s character falls asleep on the run from the sleeping pills that Holmes gave him. According to the script, Livanov needed to drag him back to the house. The colleague had difficulty coping with the task set by the director. “Obviously it’s character. A serious character that weighs a lot,” Livanov joked after filming.

6. In Tatiana Lioznova’s film “Seventeen Moments of Spring,” Kuravlev played SS Obersturmbannführer Kurt Eismann. The actor suffered on the set. It seemed to him that his Russian dialect was too characteristic. Then the director asked to bring a black bandage over her face. Lioznova said: “You should just burn through your interlocutor with one eye.” This was a wonderful find. The actor focused on the new task and began to speak more confidently.

During the filming of this film, Kuravlev’s daughter Katya was just entering college. The actor took the keys from the director, quickly ran to her office and called to find out the latest news. He ran back, handed Lioznova the keys, and 15 minutes later everything happened again. The film crew then held their fists for Katya. Ekaterina Leonidovna, who will turn 53 next year, followed in her father’s footsteps and graduated from the Shchukin School. But my son Vasily, who is now 36 years old, entered the road transport institute. Vasya was fond of tennis, and on all tours, Kuravlev first went to a sporting goods store, where he bought rackets, balls, and beacons. Leonid Vyacheslavovich is a wonderful family man. He lived together with his wife Nina Vasilievna, an English teacher, for more than half a century. Family friends say they were the perfect couple.

7. Even in the difficult 90s for cinema, the actor did not get lost. Together with Vakhtang Kikabidze he starred in an advertisement for zirconium bracelets. And in the late 90s he managed to work on television: for several years he hosted the program “The World of Books with Leonid Kuravlev” on the RTR channel. Among the acting fraternity, he has long been known as a great book lover. Kuravlev read avidly and often brought the most interesting books for his colleagues.

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