The idol of millions of Soviet moviegoers - Alexei Smirnov - lived a very short, but bright life. Many of his talented films were included in the Golden Fund of Russian cinema.
Outstanding theater and film actor - Honored Artist of the RSFSR Alexei Smirnov - for many post-war years delighted his compatriots with a talented game on the stage and on film sets. And even millions of young moviegoers still remember his comic role in the cult film Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures.
Biography and films of Alexey Smirnov
On the Yaroslavl land (Danilov) on February 28, 1920, the future popular Russian actor Alexei Smirnov was born. At the age of six, his family moved to Leningrad, where his father suddenly died. After the tragedy, the mother had to take care of two sons: Lesha and his brother. All his life, Smirnov has lived in a communal apartment, received by his father.
Alexei had a passion for acting since school, when he attended a drama circle. And then there was a studio at the Leningrad Theater of Musical Comedy, from which he graduated in 1940, becoming at the same time an actor of this troupe. The debut in the operetta "Rose-Marie" was marked by a conscription due to the outbreak of the war.
During the dashing war years, Aleksey Smirnov served as the commander of a fire platoon and an artillery battery in the Ukrainian and Belorussian fronts. I had to go to the rear of the enemy as a scout. The combat prowess of our hero is marked by numerous awards of the Motherland, among which there are two Orders of Glory and the Order of the Red Star. Alexey met the Great Victory, being discharged due to a serious concussion. It is because of this injury that he will not be able to subsequently have children.
With the establishment of a peaceful life in our country, Smirnov returned to his native Musical Comedy. The very appearance of a kind-hearted guy and a bumpkin with an impressive build forced all directors to exploit his comedic role, which the actor himself did not quite like.
After filming the films "Baltic Glory" and "Kochubey", Alexei received offers from directors for a variety of roles. Now the Soviet audience fell in love with his talented game and made him their real idol. In addition, it should be noted that Smirnov was very unpretentious on the set, where he had to repeatedly work without stuntmen and climb into cold water, then fall from a great height or come into contact with wild animals.
The degree of his talent and professionalism is eloquently spoken for by his films in the following films: "Striped Flight" (1961), "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" (1961), "Business People" (1961), "Welcome, or Strangers no entry "(1964)," Operation "Y" and other adventures of Shurik "(1965)," Aybolit-66 "(1966)," Wedding in Malinovka "(1967)," Seven old men and one girl "(1968), "Scouts" (1968), "Only old men go to battle" (1973).
The death of the actor occurred on May 7, 1979. According to the official version, the news of the death of his best friend - director Leonid Bykov - killed Alexei Smirnov in a car accident, who was being treated in a hospital for coronary heart disease. There is also an opinion that the cardiac arrest occurred from a fatal glass of cognac, drunk in memory of a friend. But, one way or another, both friends left for another world almost at the same time.
Personal life of the actor
Alexey Smirnov was never able to connect his fate with a woman. Of course, his concussion during the war, which made him childless, played a fatal role in this case. Until the end of his life, his family consisted only of his mother, who suffered from a serious mental illness. It was with her that he lived in a communal apartment all his life.
