Lenkov Alexander Sergeevich - Soviet and Russian actor, People's Artist of Russia. His unusual appearance and bright talent were remembered by viewers of several generations.
Childhood and youth
The future artist was born in the very middle of the war in the town of Rasskazovo near Tambov. In less than a month, the family moved to the capital, where, according to the parents, it was easier to survive with a small child. The whole further life of Alexander is connected with Moscow. Mother Olga Dmitrievna was a teacher of higher mathematics, father Sergei Sergeevich worked at a secret rocket enterprise as an engineer. The parents were sure that their child would become an intellectual and continue the family dynasty. But life decided otherwise. The director of the Mossovet Theater came to the school where the boy studied in search of a young talent for a new performance. Lenkov's charming smile struck her at first sight. The ten-year-old boy got the opportunity to play on stage together with eminent actors of the capital's theater in the performances "Third-year students" and "Theft". Sasha generously shared his love for art with friends: he arranged puppet shows in the courtyard, ran around the city with a movie camera and created his own films. He jokingly called them the Lenfilm studio.
Theatre
The first stage experience predetermined his further biography. After school, the young man could not decide on the choice of a profession for a long time. But, having weighed his strength, he abandoned the dream of entering VGIK at the camera department and went to school at the Mossovet Theater. That year, the enrollment in the group of students was carried out by the People's Artist Yuri Zavadsky, which was already a unique event. Over the years of cooperation, this temple of art became Lenkov's family, after graduation, the young actor was warmly accepted into the main troupe of the theater. Alexander Sergeevich devoted five decades of his creative destiny to serving the stage. He shone in the best productions of the eminent collective. The artist received leading roles in the plays: "There was not a penny, but suddenly altyn", "The Seagull", "Twelfth Night", "The Brothers Karamazov". Lenkov's test as a director was very successful. His works: "Vasily Terkin", "Edith Piaf", "Noise behind the Stage" enjoyed great success with the audience. The artist did not pass the genre of entreprise, many theaters wanted to see him in their productions. The audience remembered the Holy Fool from Boris Godunov, the performances The Servant of Two Masters and The Married Brides.
Movie
Debut film works immediately gave Lenkov great fame. The audience warmly received the films "An Invented Story" and "Spring Troubles" (1964). This was followed by the drama "Keys to Heaven" (1964) and the comedy work "Give a Book of Complaints" (1965), which made the actor popular. This was followed by a series of images that revealed his multifaceted acting talent. The subjects of the paintings were very different: films about the war, lyrical comedies, and, of course, films for children, whom Alexander Sergeevich loved very much. He himself was like an adult child, so he could easily transform into any character. Children of several generations remember his Snowman from “The Snow Queen” (1986) and Babu Yaga in “The Island of the Rusty General” (1988), in the TV series about Petrov and Vasechkin (1983) he got the role of a janitor-wizard. Often the heroes of the actor were eccentric bachelors - Benjamin in the film "Winter Cherry" (1983) and Mikhail Petrovich from the picture "Little Faith" (1988). Since the late 90s, the artist could often be seen on television screens in detective and entertainment series: "Cafe Strawberry", "At the corner of the Patriarchs", "Deffchonki". The actor was remembered for his strong energy and amazing performance. He created images of people with a special worldview, often ridiculous and incomprehensible to others, as if "from another dimension."The career of Alexander Lenkov has developed in such a way that in his huge filmography, numbering more than one hundred and seventy works, there are almost no main roles, all of them are mainly comedic and supporting.
Radio and television
Alexander Lenkov devoted a lot of time to working on radio and television. The owner of an unusual voice was often invited to participate in literary readings and performances. There are quite a few plays and audiobooks where the voice of the actor sounds. He directed most of his programs to children: "Tales for the little ones", "Alarm clock", "Good night kids". The best works "KOAPP" and "Put out the light" were awarded the prestigious national award TEFI. He had a chance to voice dozens of characters from domestic and foreign cartoons: Piglet in Winnie the Pooh, astronomer Steklyashkin in Dunno, a chipmunk rescuer in Chip and Dale Rushing to the Rescue. Beginning with the first issue, over the years Boris Grachevsky invited the actor to shoot the Yeralash newsreel. In the early 2000s, Alexander became interested in the voice acting of computer games. His voice sounds in "Harry Potter", "The Witcher 2" and "Zombie Farm".
Alexander Sergeevich willingly shared his vast experience with the students of VGIK who wanted to get an acting education, several times he recruited his own course.
Personal life
The artist met his wife Elena in childhood, at the birthday party of his classmate. They met many years later, as students, got married and never parted. The actor's wife is far from creative, she graduated from the Aviation Institute. Their only daughter, Catherine, has chosen her own path and is working as an artist-designer. Together with her father, she participated in the creation of the film "Sanit Zone" (1990).
The creative schedule of Alexander Sergeevich has always been tight and busy. He was not afraid of the heavy workload in the theater, numerous shootings, recordings on television … He loved his job and wanted to do everything. In an interview, Lenkov said that he considers himself a "professional" and a "workhorse." When the artist felt unwell and went to the doctors, the right time was lost. Several urgently performed oncological operations were able to prolong the life of the actor for a very short time. He passed away in the spring of 2014.
