Evgeny Samoilov is a legendary actor, whose name will forever remain in the history of Soviet and Russian cinema. He especially succeeded in honest, positive, open, noble heroes, whom he wanted to believe and imitate. During his long creative career, Samoilov played in almost fifty films and presented about the same number of roles to the public on the theater stage.
Biography
On April 16, 1912 in St. Petersburg, Evgeny Valerianovich Samoilov was born into a simple working-class family. His father worked at the Putilov factory in the cannon shop, his mother took care of his family and home. The Samoilovs lived in a good three-room apartment not far from Yekateringof. Little Eugene loved to walk in this park, admired the nature and architecture of the Petrine era.
Samoilov's father was a creative person, he read a lot, attended the theater. With every payday he was sure to buy books. One of the family traditions was reading aloud the works of Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev. Evgeny Valerianovich and his father also often visited the Alexandria Theater, did not miss the tour of famous artists.
Of the school subjects, young Samoilov loved only drawing and literature. The hardest things for him were exact sciences and the German language. Evgeny inherited his artistic talent from his father and maternal uncle. He dreamed of turning drawing into the work of his life, he planned to enter the Academy of Arts. In his free time, and sometimes skipping school, Samoilov disappeared in the halls of the Russian Museum and the Hermitage.
In 1928, a school friend persuaded him to go to audition for a private art school, organized by the theatrical actor N. N. Khodotov. To his surprise, Evgeny Valerianovich was accepted, but his friend was refused. So gradually theater and acting completely captured Samoilov's attention. After school, he went to study at the Leningrad Art Polytechnic.
The young actor was noticed by the famous director Leonid Vivien and in 1930 he was invited to his "Youth Theater". This is how Samoilov's career began in the theater, and a little later - in the cinema.
Creation
Evgeny Valerianovich got to the State Theater named after Meyerhold in Moscow by acquaintance. The parents of his wife were familiar with the brother of the founder of the theater, Vsevolod Emilievich Meyerhold. In 1938, the theater was closed, accusing its leadership of creating an "antisocial atmosphere."
By that time, Samoilov had already made his film debut. He was invited to play the lead role in the lyric comedy "Chance Meeting". In the next film "Tom Sawyer" directed by Frenkel, the actor had a chance to embody on the screen the images of two characters at once - the Robinson twins.
Samoilov considered the role of Nikolai Aleksandrovich Shchors in the film of the same name to be an undoubted success in his creative career. The picture dedicated to the Ukrainian hero of the Civil War was filmed by Alexander Petrovich Dovzhenko at the personal request of Stalin. The director was looking for the leading actor for a long time, until his assistant paid attention to Samoilov, having seen the actor at the rehearsal of the play "How the Steel Was Tempered". The actor went to audition in Kiev, and Dovzhenko immediately approved him.
For the role of Shchors, Samoilov had to learn the Ukrainian language, master horseback riding. They had to work for 12 hours, for each frame they shot a dozen takes, without thinking about the budget or the costs of the film. For this film, Yevgeny Samoilov received the Stalin Prize in 1941.
Success in cinema did not make the actor forget about the theatrical stage. He finally moved to Moscow and changed several theaters:
- Moscow Comedy Theater (1939-1940);
- Moscow Mayakovsky Theater (1940-1967);
- State Academic Maly Theater (1968-2006).
The war did not pass without a trace for the artist. In besieged Leningrad, his parents died of hunger. Samoilov was evacuated, filmed at the Tbilisi and Yerevan film studios. He received his second Stalin Prize for the role of Lieutenant Kudryashov in Pyryev's film "At six o'clock in the evening after the war." The actor recalled that at the height of the war in 1944, the shooting took place in the cold pavilions of Mosfilm. He admired the visionary gift of Pyriev, who predicted victory and keenly sensed its imminent advance.
The characters created by the acting talent of Evgeny Samoilov turned out to be bright, courageous, noble, harmonious. He was especially successful in the role of the military. Like no other Samoilov knew how to convey their inner strength, valor, patriotism. He performed such roles in films:
- Hearts of Four (1945);
- "Heroes of Shipka" (1955);
- Oleko Dundich (1958);
- The Enchanted Desna (1964);
- Waterloo (1970);
- They Fought for Their Homeland (1975);
- "War in the West" (1990).
In 1954, Evgeny Samoilov received the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR, twenty years later - People's Artist of the USSR. He was awarded the Golden Mask and Golden Eagle prizes, orders of Merit for the Fatherland, III and IV degrees.
The actor was often invited to the examination committee of the Shchepkin Theater School. He continued to act even in old age. His last film appearance was the 2003 television series Savior under the Birches. During leisure hours, Samoilov loved to read, listened to classical music, and was engaged in woodcarving.
The great actor passed away on February 17, 2006 in Moscow, and was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery.
Personal life
Evgeny Samoilov lived for 62 years in a happy marriage with Zinaida Levina (1914-1994). The actor's wife left the profession of electrical engineer and devoted herself to the family. She was also a creative person, played the piano, was fond of theater and supported her husband in his difficult profession.
The couple raised their daughter Tatyana (1934-2014) and their son Alexei (1945). Their children also became actors. Tatyana Samoilova became famous no less than her famous father, having played in the films "The Cranes Are Flying" and "Anna Karenina". Awarded the title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation. She presented Evgeny Samoilov with Dmitry's grandson (1969), who lives and works in the USA.
Alexey Samoilov chose the path of a theatrical actor, worked at Sovremennik and the Maly Theater. In addition, he is known as the first husband of the famous figure skater and coach Tatyana Tarasova. It was the son who supported and helped Yevgeny Samoilov after the death of his wife. The only daughter of Alexei Samoilov, Natalie, also chose a creative profession, becoming an art critic.
