10 Russian actors who died in oblivion and poverty (17 photos + 3 videos)
The acting profession is unreliable and risky. Today an artist can be in demand and loved by everyone, but tomorrow the trend changes, new faces appear, and everyone forgets yesterday’s idol. If in modern times actors have the opportunity to receive large fees, invest money somewhere and thus secure their future, then in the USSR and after its collapse this was impossible.
The Soviet actor lived on a small salary, and after 1991, dozens of famous stars were thrown to the margins of life without a means of support. We invite you to read about the fates of Soviet artists who died in poverty and oblivion.
Few people remember the name Alexey Smirnov, but everyone knows his face
Alexey Smirnov
Actor Alexey Smirnov is one of those whose name no one remembers, but whose film images remain firmly in memory. Smirnov mainly starred in episodic, character roles, but many of them are remembered by all Russian television viewers. Thus, he played the rowdy Fedya in the film “Operation “Y” and other adventures of Shurik,” the mechanic Makarych in the film “Only Old Men Go to Battle,” as well as many others.
Smirnov could never build relationships with women; after being wounded in the war, he became infertile and therefore never married. Smirnov broke down after the death of his friend Leonid Bykov - he began to drink a lot, despite health problems. Soon he was hospitalized with coronary heart disease, but could not give up alcohol there either.
He was discharged on May 7, 1979, and died on the same day. National fame did not make him happy and did not bring him friends. No one went to Smirnov’s grave for a long time - it was overgrown with grass and for 25 years no one could find it. The burial place of Alexei Smirnov was discovered not so long ago quite by accident.
Alexey Smirnov - master of the comic episode
Alexander Belyavsky
Alexander Belyavsky as criminal Fox
One of the most elegant Soviet actors acted a lot in his youth, mostly in the roles of “charming scoundrels” - just look at Fox’s role in the mini-series “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed” with Vladimir Vysotsky.
The last film with the participation of Alexander Belyavsky was released in 2008, where he played a small role as the governor. It was the film “A Kiss Not for the Press” with Andrei Panin in the title role. In the last years of his life, he was unable to work actively due to heart problems and the consequences of a stroke. Alexander Borisovich walked with a cane and did not feel too well. Due to lack of work and a small pension, there was not enough money to live.
Belyavsky died in 2012. The artist was found under the windows of the house where he lived - Alexander Belyavsky fell out of the window. At first it was believed that he stopped on the staircase to take a breath of air and lost his balance. However, later friends and colleagues began to say that this was a conscious act, and the reason was a miserable existence and health problems. Alexander Belyavsky was 80 years old.
Alexander Belyavsky in later years
Tatiana Samoilova
Tatyana Samoilova in the film “The Cranes Are Flying”
The star of the 60s, actress Tatyana Samoilova was considered one of the most beautiful women not only in Soviet but also in European cinema. And in 1957, the film with her participation - “The Cranes Are Flying” - received its Oscar. The actress was recognized in the West; she began to receive invitations to film in Hollywood and from European directors.
However, Goskino officials did not want to let Samoilova go to work, fearing that she would become a “defector.” In Soviet times, she had enough work in the USSR - among her paintings at that time there was, for example, “Anna Karenina”. Since the mid-70s, Tatyana Samoilova completely disappeared from the screen. They remembered her only in the early 90s - they invited her to the 43rd Cannes Film Festival as a guest of honor.
Unfortunately, this did not become a reason to return to cinema. She was offered her first role after a 25-year break only in 2000. After that, she played in only five films (for example, in “The Moscow Saga” with Olga Budina and Alexander Baluev). The actress herself said that if she lived in Hollywood, Anna Karenina alone would be enough for her to live comfortably all her life. Samoilova died alone in 2014.
Tatyana Samoilova in later years
Nonna Mordyukova
Nonna Mordyukova in her youth
A truly national artist, Nonna Viktorovna Mordyukova acted a lot in both Soviet and new, “capitalist” times. She has had roles in films by Nikita Mikhalkov (“Kinfolk”), Vladimir Menshov (a striking episode in the farcical comedy “Shirley-Myrli” with Valery Garkalin), Georgy Danelia (“33”).
However, national fame and demand, even in later years, had little effect on the quality of life. In 1999, she played her last film role - in the film “Mom” with a whole constellation of young actors. Her partners on the set in this film were Vladimir Mashkov, Evgeny Mironov and Oleg Menshikov.
In an interview, Nonna Mordyukova restrainedly complained about lack of money and a humiliating existence on a meager pension. At the end of her life, she shared a tiny, cluttered apartment with her sister in Krylatskoye in Moscow. She was sick a lot, so she couldn’t make money on filming and concerts. She said that her pension is barely enough for the basic necessities, and sometimes in the store she picks up a pineapple just to smell it. Nonna Mordyukova died in 2008 at the age of 82.
Nonna Mordyukova in the film “Mama”
Borislav Brondukov
Borislav Brondukov as Fedul in the film “Afonya”
[media=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0eDfA2yKx4]
This actor is known for his small but well-remembered roles as Fedul from “Athos”, Inspector Lestrade from “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”, the fake Captain Kolbasyev from “We Are from Jazz” and many others. Borislav Brondukov suffered his first stroke in 1984, at the age of 46 . Despite the serious diagnosis, he continued to act in films and tried to lead an active lifestyle. But the first stroke was followed by three more. The illness lasted for ten years, and in the last years of his life - after 1997 - the artist did not get out of bed, could not talk, only sometimes cried from melancholy and humiliation. Life was hard.
Brondukov’s wife Ekaterina said that young strong guys with a gangster appearance periodically appeared in the house and left her some money. The couple lived in the village of Bykovnya near Kiev, where even doctors refused to go. At times there was absolutely nothing to eat, and then a familiar butcher would give Borislav Brondukov’s family bones - from which Ekaterina would cook a thin soup. The actor died in 2004, he was 66 years old.
Borislav Brondukov in later years
Vladimir Ivashov
The role of Vladimir Ivashov in the film “The Ballad of a Soldier” received many awards
The career of Moscow actor Vladimir Ivashov began brilliantly - he starred in Grigory Chukhrai’s film “The Ballad of a Soldier” when he was still a twenty-year-old student at VGIK. The actor was nominated for the prestigious British BAFTA award, and the monument to the Soldier-Liberator in Bulgaria began to be called Alyosha in honor of his character.
After the first star role, there were others - the adjutant of Colonel Kudasov in “The Crown of the Russian Empire” (the song “Russian Field” after that became the artist’s crowning number), Pechorin in “A Hero of Our Time” (however, Vyacheslav Tikhonov voiced the role, since Ivashov is from - temporarily lost his voice due to illness) and others. True, it seemed that the movies were simply exploiting his appearance, and no one was interested in Ivashov’s acting range.
In the early 90s, Vladimir Ivashov was not in demand in cinema; he was fired from his job - from the Film Actor Theater. To earn a living, he got a job as a laborer: he carried bricks at a construction site and kneaded concrete. In 1995, he died from internal bleeding - Vladimir Ivashov had a stomach ulcer. The actor was only 55 years old.
The song “Russian Field” performed by Vladimir Ivashov
Tamara Nosova
Tamara Nosova in the film “Hello, I am your aunt”
People's Artist of the USSR Tamara Nosova performed mainly in a comic role. She graduated from VGIK in 1950 and since then has acted a lot - although mostly in episodes. Among her famous roles are Aunt Aksal in the fairy tale “The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors”, Donna Rosa in “Hello, I am your Aunt” with Alexander Kalyagin, Komarikha in “Wedding in Malinovka” with Mikhail Pugovkin.
Tamara Nosova worked for a long time at the Film Actor's Theater and was married three times. But all three marriages ended in divorce, and after the death of her mother in 1982, she withdrew into herself and began to lead an almost reclusive lifestyle. In 1991, she was “left” from the theater. In addition, the actress was ill: diagnosed with “chronic cardiac ischemia,” which is usually accompanied by severe depression, weakened memory and attention.
In recent years, Tamara Nosova ate at a social canteen for the homeless; her pension was not even enough to pay rent. The toilet in the artist’s apartment did not work for several years, and rats were scurrying around the house. Nosova developed a craving for pathological hoarding - she stole trash and garbage from surrounding landfills into her apartment. The actress died in 2007 after lying on the floor of her apartment for several days after a stroke.
Tamara Nosova was a bright comic actress
Tatyana Peltzer
Tatyana Peltzer joked that no one saw her young
Viewers do not remember actress Tatyana Peltzer as a young woman - it seems that she appeared on movie screens immediately as a “national grandmother.” This image was exploited by both cinema and theater directors. Tatyana Ivanovna Peltzer has dozens of roles, voiceovers for cartoons, and a huge number of theatrical works. Among them are the television version of “The Marriage of Figaro” with Andrei Mironov in the title role, “You Never Dreamed of It” with Lydia Fedoseeva-Shukshina, “Funeral Prayer” with Evgeny Leonov and others.
Tatyana Peltzer lived a long life, including professionally: until recently she worked at the Lenkom Theater in the troupe of Mark Zakharov. Even when she began to develop senile dementia and the actress forgot words, she had roles in the theater. In 1992, she was admitted to a psychoneurological clinic and there she broke her femoral neck. After the injury, the 88-year-old actress could no longer get up. She died of pneumonia in July of that year. The press wrote that Tatyana Peltzer was buried in a closed coffin, as she was allegedly severely beaten in the hospital. There was no confirmation of these rumors.
Tatyana Peltzer was buried next to her relatives
Sergey Filippov
Sergei Filippov always dreamed of a bright tragic role, but got ridiculous scoundrels
The artist Sergei Filippov was truly popular - many of the phrases that his characters uttered on the screen went to the people. Due to his specific appearance and long, awkward figure, Filippov was mainly cast in small comic roles, especially in his mature years.
Among his roles are a drunken lecturer from Eldar Ryazanov’s film “Carnival Night” (“Is there life on Mars? This is unknown to science!”), an episode in the comedy “Girl Without an Address” (“What does Masik want? Masik wants vodka”), the role the Swedish ambassador in “Ivan Vasilyevich” and, of course, the exemplary portrayal of Kisa Vorobyaninov in the film adaptation of “12 Chairs” by Leonid Gaidai.
Filippov spent the last years of his life alone. Friends-actors said that after the actor’s death, the daughter of his second wife took advantage of the turmoil and took everything valuable from the apartment - antique furniture, jewelry and porcelain. At the same time, Sergei Filippov’s friend and colleague Alexander Demyanenko collected money for the funeral. Sergei Filippov was buried in April 1990.
What does Masik want? Masik wants vodka
[media=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju5yhdy-GiA]
Mikhail Kononov
Mikhail Kononov as Nestor Severov in the film “Big Change”
Kononov began acting in films in the early sixties, but gained the greatest popularity in the 70s after the main role in the mini-series “Big Change”. There, Mikhail Kononov starred in the role of school teacher Nestor Severov, and Alexander Zbruev, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Savely Kramarov and others played with him.
In the late 80s, Kononov appeared as the pirate Rat in the cult television film “Guest from the Future.” In the film, he, together with Vyacheslav Nevinny, chased Alisa Selezneva and the boy Kolya, who were trying to save the myelophone. His somewhat comical appearance played a cruel joke on Mikhail Kononov. In later years, he was rarely filmed - this type was not in demand in the cinema of the 90s.
Kononov did not give up: he wrote a book of memoirs and tried to sell it, but publishing houses showed no interest. Due to poverty, he had to sell his Moscow apartment and settle in the near Moscow region. Two weeks before his death, he went to the hospital with pneumonia, but there was not enough money for the necessary medications. Kononov died in the summer of 2007 from thromboembolism.
Mikhail Kononov in later years
Acting fame is capricious, and artists have subtle and sensitive natures. Many were crippled by the collapse of the Soviet Union and, as a consequence, the commercialization of cinema. Artists often drowned out poverty and humiliation with alcohol.
