Leonid Yengibarov is a famous Soviet circus clown, juggler, acrobat, equilibrist, film and theater actor and writer. On the arena, the mime clown portrayed comedic and tragic scenes, various funny and sad situations, human characters. All of his miniatures had a deep philosophical meaning, and the touching novellas written by Yengibarov are filled with special tenderness and sadness.
Biography of "clown with autumn in the shower"
Leonid is a native Muscovite, he was born in 1935 in the family of Georgy and Antonina Yengibaryan. The father of the future clown worked as a chef, and his mother was a housewife, sometimes working as a dressmaker. Leni's childhood fell on the war years, and in his interviews he often recalled how the family had to hide from the bombings. Yengibaryan lived in an old wooden house, which was located in Maryina Roshcha.
At school, Leonid became interested in boxing and even entered the Institute of Physical Education after graduating from a decade. But he soon realized that boxing was not his and entered another university - the Institute of Fisheries, which he also dropped out. Subsequently, Yengibarov decided to study at the clownery department at the School of Circus Art. Even in his student years, Yengibarov began to act as a mime, but he failed his debut in the circus arena. The clown did not give up and continued rehearsals. Perseverance and hard work were rewarded. Just five years after graduation, Yengibarov was recognized as the "best clown in the world" at an international competition in Prague.
The circus path of "a clown with autumn in his soul", as his colleagues called him, began in Yerevan, since 1959 Leonid Yengibarov worked in an Armenian circus collective, with which he toured all over the USSR and abroad. The young clown was noticed by filmmakers and already in 1963 he starred in the title role in the film "The Way to the Arena". This was followed by work in documentaries "Leonid Yengibarov, Meet!" and "2-Leonid-2".
In 1971, Yengibarov, together with his teacher and director Yuri Pavlovich Belov, created a play called "Star Rain", which premiered in Yerevan and Moscow. In the same year, he decided to leave the circus for the stage and created his own theater, directed by Yu. Belov.
With his theater, Leonid toured across the country for more than six months, but suddenly his life was cut short. The body could not stand the serious stress, and the sad clown's heart stopped when he was only 37 years old. After the concert, Yengibarov returned home and felt unwell (he suffered a sore throat on his legs), his mother called an ambulance, but the doctors could not help. Clown-mime Leonid Yengibarov was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery.
Personal life
Leonid Georgievich said about himself that he was an inveterate bachelor. Rumor attributed him to relationships with many beauties, but it was not known to whom the heart of the sad clown was given. Although Leonid has a daughter named Barbara who was born in Prague. During the tour, the artist met Yarmila Galamkova, a Czech journalist and artist. The young people began a rapid romance, the result of which was the birth of Barbara. However, the girl's fate was tragic. Soon after the death of her father, Yarmila Galamkov's mother also died, and the girl had to live with relatives.
