Childhood
Leonid Semenovich Kanevsky was born on May 2, 1939 in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, into a Jewish family. His father was a professional fruit grower-technologist, loved his work, and could determine the variety of any apple “by eye.” In her youth, her mother studied at the conservatory, then devoted herself to raising her children: Leonid and her eldest son Alexander. Subsequently, she received an economic education and worked in the Ministry of Housing Construction of Kyiv.
Leonid Kanevsky in his youth
The only family member related to art was his second cousin Anatoly Kanevsky, an actor at the Ivan Franko Theater.
Actor Anatoly Kanevsky, relative of Leonid
Kanevsky's family occupied two rooms in a communal apartment. Next to the house stood the mansion of the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR, Mikhailo Grechukha. When little Lenya played football with his friends, the ball sometimes flew over the fence. The guards always returned it, but sometimes it was punctured.
Leonid Kanevsky's brother Alexander - satirist writer
In 1950, a school friend brought Leonid to a drama club at the Ministry of Internal Affairs club, and the boy immediately realized that he wanted to become an artist. His father wanted him to continue the family business and did not approve of his desire, considering his son’s desire a whim - like how all Soviet boys dreamed of being a pilot or astronaut.
The elder brother Alexander, together with his cousin Roman, sometimes beat Leonid. When the boy grew up, he began to engage in wrestling, trying to be like his father - a powerful, stately man. His coach was the front hero Konstantin Nakelsky, who trained the soldiers. In the end, Roman told Alexander: “We’ll beat him one last time, and then we won’t, because it’s already dangerous.” In the future, Leonid tried to keep himself in shape, since, in his opinion, this is one of the responsibilities of an artist.
Kanevsky, Leonid Semenovich
Leonid Semyonovich Kanevsky was born on May 2, 1939 in Kyiv into a Jewish family[1]. My mother studied piano at the Kyiv Conservatory, completed 2 courses, got married at the age of 19, left the conservatory and went with her husband to the Caucasus, where he worked. In 1933, his elder brother Alexander was born, 6 years later Leonid was born[2].
At the age of 17 he left for Moscow and entered the Shchukin School on the course of Vera Konstantinovna Lvova.
Since 1960 he played at the Moscow Lenin Komsomol Theater with director Efros.
Then he played on the stage of the Moscow Theater on Malaya Bronnaya.
The actor became widely known for his role as Major Alexander Tomin in the television series “The Investigation is Conducted by Knowledgeables,” as well as the roles of a smuggler in the film comedy “The Diamond Arm” [3] and haberdasher Bonacieux in the mini-series “D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers.”
In 1991, he repatriated to Israel, where, together with director Evgeny Arie, he created the Gesher Drama Theater in Tel Aviv (translated from Hebrew as “ bridge
"); The core of his troupe consists of Russian actors who played on the stages of Moscow and Leningrad theaters.
In 2003, he was the host of the game show “The Ninth Wave” on the Israeli Channel 9.
From January 2006 to the present, Leonid Semyonovich Kanevsky has been the host of the documentary series “The Investigation Was Conducted...” on NTV.
The actor continues to play in the Gesher Theater.
In 2009 he starred in the TV series “Semin” and “Syomin. Retribution".
He also took part in the dubbing of the cartoon “Cars 2” in the role of scout Finn McMissle.
Kanevsky played roles in more than seventy films and many roles in theater performances.
Personal life
Married since 1975 to the daughter of the famous artist Shtepsel (Efim Berezin), Anna Efimovna Berezina (born 1949), is a philologist and translator, knows several foreign languages: English, Polish, Czech, Hebrew[4].
Daughter - Natalya Leonidovna Kanevskaya (born 1977) - stylist, set designer, costume designer for theater and cinema, jewelry designer.
Son-in-law - Ido Nativ - Hebrew teacher, art critic, author and creator of the “Hebrew Teacher” project, taught Hebrew at the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Moscow State University, at the Sunday school of the Embassy of the State of Israel, communications manager at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology[5][6].
Granddaughter - Amalia Nativ (born 2012)[7].
The elder brother is a satirist and screenwriter Alexander Kanevsky (born May 29, 1933).
Cousin - actor Anatoly Kanevsky (05.10.1910 - 17.01.1966), Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR[2].
Second cousin granddaughter - Renata Piotrovsky (born 04/06/1987) - actress[8].
Youth
In 1956, Leonid Kanevsky went to Moscow to enter a theater university.
His mother went with him to the entrance exams. Unlike her father, she always believed in her son and supported him. The actor admitted that it was his mother’s support that helped him realize his dream. At first, Kanevsky tried to enter the Moscow Art Theater, but at the admissions committee, Pavel Massalsky directly told him that they did not need actors with such texture. The same story repeated itself at the Shchepkinsky School. But he managed to become a student at the Shchukin School. Upon admission, he read Gorodnichy’s monologue from The Inspector General, because he believed that with his face in the theater they would never be allowed to play this role. He was accepted into the course of Vera Konstantinovna Lvova.
Young Leonid Kanevsky without a mustache
At Shchuka, Kanevsky studied with Vladimir Georgievich Shlesinger. Future movie stars studied on a parallel course: Andrei Mironov, Lev Durov, Mikhail Derzhavin, Alexander Shirvindt. Leonid disappeared into school for days, he liked all the subjects: art history, dance, vocals, foreign theater. They even studied fencing. In the Moscow communal apartment on Gogolevsky Boulevard, where the young actor rented a corner, 50 people were accommodated in 11 rooms, it was very crowded.
Biography
In addition to Leonid, the family also raised his six-year older brother, whose name was Alexander. After graduating from school, Leonid Kanevsky announced to his parents that he wanted to become an actor and was going to enroll in a theater university in Moscow.
The father and mother were not happy with their son’s decision, but seeing his categorical attitude, they gave in to him. In 1956, Leonid set off to conquer the capital. The persistent and talented young man managed to successfully pass the exams and enter the Shchukin Higher Theater School in the workshop of Vera Konstantinovna Lvova. As a result, the course the young man studied turned out to be legendary. Olga Yakovleva, Vasily Livanov and Andrei Mironov studied with Leonid.
After graduating from a theater university, the young actor was accepted into the troupe of the Lenin Komsomol Theater where he served from 1961 to 1967 . The main director of the theater at that time was Anatoly Efros, whom Leonid considered a brilliant teacher and his mentor. On the Lenkom stage, Leonid played many bright and memorable roles and was the leading actor of the theater. Among the numerous theatrical productions, the most interesting were “The Seagull”, “You are 22, old people!”, “About Lermontov”, “Attractions”, “Years of Wandering”, “Twenty Years Later” and others.
From 1967 to 1991, the actor worked at the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya. Leonid participated in such productions as “In the Rooms”, “Late Love”, “The Inspector General”, “Othello”, “Don Juan” and many others.
In 1990, Leonid Kanevsky went to work in Israel. In Moscow, the artist left the apartment he was renting out. In the city of Tel Aviv, the artist, together with Evgeniy Arie (director), created the drama theater “Gesher” (translated from Hebrew as bridge). Many Russian artists worked at the Leonid Theater, including Leonid Yarmolnik, Oleg Yankovsky, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Leonid Yakubovich and many others. With the Gesher Theater, the artists traveled to all the most prestigious festivals in the world. The actors visited England, Germany, America, France, Switzerland and other countries. The theater also toured in Moscow on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater with Oleg Tabakov.
The artist’s filmography consists of 90 full-length films and TV series. Leonid made his film debut in 1963 in the drama “Forty Minutes Before Dawn” directed by Boris Rytsarev, where the young actor got the role of a store manager in a village general store. The actor became famous thanks to his participation in the filming of the detective project “The Investigation is Conducted by Experts,” which was broadcast on television from 1971 to 1989. In the crime-detective series, the actor played the role of inspector of the Moscow criminal investigation department, Alexander Nikolaevich Tomin. Some of the best actors in the country played in this series.
Leonid's film career includes many memorable, legendary and striking film works. Among them, one can especially highlight the films “City of Masters”, “The Diamond Arm”, “Adventures in the City That Doesn’t Exist”, “D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers”, “There, on Unknown Paths...”, “Mary Poppins, Goodbye” , “Pippi Longstocking”, “Syomin”.
Very often, Leonid Kanevsky appeared in films in episodic roles (most often in negative characters). TV viewers remembered these images forever, since the actor’s bright performance could not leave anyone indifferent. Some call the artist the king of episodes. Leonid is not at all embarrassed by this statement. The artist believes that there are no small roles, only small actors.
One of the rare films where Leonid played positive roles is “Spring on the Oder”. In this film, the actor played the role of intelligence lieutenant Oganesyan, a former art critic.
In 2003, in Israel, Leonid hosted the game show “The Tenth Wave” on Channel 9. Since 2006, Leonid has been the permanent TV presenter of the documentary project “The Investigation Conducted..” on the NTV channel , which are associated with various detective investigations. Leonid has extensive experience in dubbing various projects, both films and animated films.
The last films in which the famous and beloved artist took part were the comedy by Fluz Farkhshatov “What Men Talk About. Continuation" (Semyon), Dunya Lisova's musical melodrama "Heat" (cameo) and Valery Ivanovsky's detective melodrama "Female version. Party dacha" (Boris Bystrykh).
Today, at his age, the artist leads an active lifestyle and is in demand in the profession. Leonid continues to act in films, play on the stage, work as a TV presenter and much more.
The beginning of an acting career
Leonid Kanevsky graduated from the Shchukin School in 1960. He was offered to work at the Theater. Vakhtangov, but were warned that there were no serious roles for him yet. Kanevsky began working at the Moscow Lenin Komsomol Theater at the invitation of its director.
Kanevsky and Mikhail Kozakov in the play “Hamlet”
In 1963, Anatoly Vasilyevich Efros came to Lenkom. Under his leadership, Kanevsky played in Chekhov’s “The Seagull”, in Edward Radzinsky’s plays “104 pages about love” and “A movie is being made...”. In cinema, Kanevsky got episodes, mostly of a negative nature: drunkards, gangsters, smugglers. His screen debut took place in the film Forty Minutes Before Dawn (1963). Kanevsky played the owner of a general store in a Belarusian village. Leonid Semenovich was never offended by directors for giving him small roles, because there were many offers. In 1967, Anatoly Efros went to the Moscow Drama Theater on Malaya Bronnaya and took 11 actors with him, including Kanevsky. He was able to play in “The Inspector General”, in “Romeo and Juliet” he got the role of Signor Capulet’s servant, and Capulet himself was played by the brilliant Leonid Bronevoy. Kanevsky served in this theater until 1991.
In the photo: Leonid Kanevsky, Lev Durov, Anatoly Efros and Andrei Mironov
In 1968, he received one of the few positive roles - intelligence lieutenant Oganesyan in the film "Spring on the Oder". His character, a former art critic, in one scene talked about Leonard da Vinci and the smile of the Mona Lisa.
Leonid Semenovich was born on May 2, 1939 in Kyiv in the family of a technologist. From a young age, he dreamed of becoming an actor, so immediately after school he decided to go to Moscow and enter a theater university. However, he was not accepted into the famous Moscow Art Theater School, where Leonid was eager to get into. Failure awaited the young man at the Shchepkinsky school, but at the school named after B.V. Shchukin, luck smiled upon him. Kanevsky took the course of Vera Lvova, where he was very lucky with the company: Vasily Livanov, Andrei Mironov, Zinovy Visokovsky studied with him. After graduating from university, Leonid joined the troupe of the Moscow Lenin Komsomol Theater, and in 1967 he moved to the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya.
At twenty-four, Kanevsky made his film debut, playing a store manager from a village general store in the film Forty Minutes Before Dawn (1963). He received his next role - the head of the secret police - only a couple of years later in the film “City of Masters” (1965). Then he embodied on the screen the image of an illegal music seller in the short film “When the Harpsichord Plays” (1966) and a scout in the film “Spring on the Oder” (1967). Kanevsky even managed to play a passing character, a foreigner’s assistant, in the famous comedy “The Diamond Arm” (1968). In 1967, he met his future wife Anna, the daughter of the famous actor Efim Berezin.
After eight years of his cinematic career, Leonid Kanevsky achieved mass popularity. In 1971, he played the role of Major Tomin in the detective series “The Investigation is Conducted by Experts: Your Real Name?” The project was a huge success throughout the Soviet Union and immediately brought fame to the cast. Three more sequels to the series were released that same year. The image of Major Tomin, which became Leonid’s calling card, did not leave the screens for thirty years in a row. “There wasn’t a city police department in the Union that didn’t invite us to speak. We were passed on like a relay baton. They knew, for example, that I like to steam... The police leaders who met us, even at the plane’s ramp, said: “Semyonich, the bathhouse is heating up,” the actor recalls. - Of course, it provided income, but it was also incredibly interesting. Every month – at least two trips. We were something like a vest into which you could cry out all your troubles and problems.” However, Kanevsky did not find himself hostage to one role. He played many bright characters in films, and the audience especially remembered his Mr. Bonacieux from the adventure film “D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers” (1979), Bob Gudetti from “Mary Poppins, Goodbye”, the swindler from “Pippi Longstocking” (1984) . In 1977, Kanevsky had a daughter, Natalya.
With the onset of the difficult “dashing” nineties, Leonid Semenovich “decided to radically change his life in his fifties” and left for Israel. Together with Evgeniy Arie, he founded the Gesher (Bridge) theater. “At first it was terribly difficult... For example, once we did not receive a salary for four months. The old school helped to endure all this. And then the theater began to develop and gain momentum,” says the actor. Over time, “Gesher” gained popularity, and Kanevsky achieved professional demand on local television and cinema. His daughter Natalya became a theater designer and now works on Israeli television.
All-Union popularity
Leonid Semenovich literally woke up famous in 1968, after the release of Leonid Gaidai’s comedy “The Diamond Arm.” He got a small role as one of the smugglers who were waiting at the pharmacy for Gesha Kozodoev to wrap a plaster with diamonds on his hand.
“The Diamond Arm”: Leonid Kanevsky as a smuggler
Kanevsky's temperamental hero was loved by audiences throughout the Soviet Union. The restaurant “Devil Damn” was opened at the location where “The Diamond Arm” was filmed in Baku. Inside, the owner placed statues of Andrei Mironov, Yuri Nikulin and Leonid Kanevsky.
In 1971, the actor received a large and positive role as Major Alexander Tomin in the detective television series “The Investigation is Conducted by Experts,” based on real crimes. The scriptwriters of the project, Alexander and Olga Lavrov, were former investigators. The stories focused not on crimes, but on the motives of the criminals and their psychology.
Still from the series “The Investigation is Conducted by Experts”
For several years, Alexander Tomin personified the heroic profession of a defender of order. The actors, including Kanevsky, together with detectives from Petrovka, 38 went on searches and sat in for interrogations. During filming, Tomin made a serious career, rising from captain to colonel. Major Tomin - Inspector's Song In addition to fame, this series also brought trouble to Kanevsky. When he was at a creative meeting in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a thief was caught in his hotel room. He said that he would become a “star” in the criminal world if he robbed one of the “experts.”
Leonid Kanevsky as Major Tomin
In addition, because of the role, Kanevsky lost a profitable role in the film “Dog in the Manger” (1977). The directors felt that it was inappropriate for the actor playing Major Tomin to play a servant. At the artistic council, director Jan Fried was “not recommended” to film Kanevsky. The role eventually went to Armen Dzhigarkhanyan. But Georgy Yungvald-Khilkevich, in a similar situation, insisted that Leonid Semenovich should play Bonacieux in The Three Musketeers.
Leonid Kanevsky in the film "The Three Musketeers"
In the eighties, “Connoisseurs” no longer had such success. Many other crime films and TV series appeared that depicted a much darker reality. Kanevsky began working for children's audiences. In 1981, he voiced Mr. Fix in the dubbed version of the Australian animated series Around the World in 80 Days, and a little later starred in the films Goodbye Mary Poppins and Pippi Longstocking.
Still from the movie "Pippi Longstocking"
In the 80s, a mustache became an integral attribute of Leonid Kanevsky’s image. Before that, he wore sideburns, but after the play “Merry Men,” where he got the role of a variety show artist, he became attached to the mustache with his soul. Once, for a role, he shaved them off, thereby causing a fit of laughter from his daughter. Leonid was offended and even left home for a couple of hours. Then he cooled down, but didn’t shave his mustache anymore.
In 1987, he played a cameraman in Konstantin Khudyakov’s serial film “The Contender.” The main roles were played by Yuri Yakovlev and Leonid Filatov. Kanevsky admitted that working with such actors was a great pleasure. Unfortunately, the film was not a great success.
I spent my childhood in a communal apartment
Brothers Leonid and Alexander Kanevsky
The future favorite of the audience was born on May 2, 1939 in Kyiv. The family lived in a small communal apartment. In addition to mom and dad, the family had an older brother, Sasha, who later became a famous writer, playwright and satirist. Dad combined three jobs and earned quite a lot. But since guests literally lived in the apartment for a long time, there was not enough money.
To feed the guests, sometimes mom took her fashionable seal coat, took it to the pawnshop, received money, and the holiday gatherings continued. Then, when the head of the family brought the salary, my mother went to the pawnshop and picked up the fur coat. This happened several times a year. Every morning began with a huge queue for the toilet, everyone was nervous because they were late for work, scolding the lucky one who was late for a long time. The Kanevsky family was considered wealthy: they had 2 rooms.
Grandfather Leva and grandmother Lyuba lived in a small room. Mom and dad and brothers Alexander and Leonid lived in a large room. In addition, the family had a small kitchen and a very tiny toilet, which could only be accessed by walking sideways. The kitchen and toilet were rebuilt from a dark and small pantry, which was the envy of the residents, since they did not have such benefits.
Moving to Israel
In 1990, at the invitation of director Yevgeny Arie, Kanevsky emigrated to Israel, where together with him he created the Russian-language theater “Gesher”.
First, together with Mikhail Kazakov and Valentin Nikulin, they toured the whole country, and sold-out crowds awaited them everywhere. However, the first six months were difficult. There were problems with salaries, and it also turned out that not all viewers understand Russian. The actors began to learn Hebrew, and by the end of the year they were performing Dostoevsky’s “The Idiot” in two languages.
Leonid Kanevsky Theater "Gesher"
At different times, Leonid Yarmolnik and Oleg Yankovsky played in Gesher. With this theater, Leonid Semenovich traveled to prestigious festivals in England, Germany, France and the USA. “Gesher” came on tour to Russia and was a great success here. When performances were played at the Moscow Art Theater by Oleg Tabakov, resellers sold tickets for double the price, but the hall was always full. Actor Leonid Kanevsky about “The Diamond Arm”, departure to Israel and the cycle “The investigation was carried out...” However, not everyone enjoyed the current situation. For example, Kirill Safonov, who started working at Gesher in 1999, never settled down there. There were few roles given, and in his free time he had to work as a taxi driver and waiter. Already in 2001, Safonov hurried to return to Russia.
Childhood and youth
The future actor was born in Kyiv in May 1939, into a friendly Jewish family. Parents had only a distant relationship with the world of art. The father worked as a technologist, and the mother provided comfort for her husband and two sons - Leonid and Alexander (the latter is 6 years older). In her youth, the woman studied at the conservatory. She gave up her studies, devoting herself entirely to home.
Perhaps the mother's genes were the reason why her sons rushed to the world of art. Alexander discovered literary talent (his brother grew up as a satirical writer), and Leonid was irresistibly drawn to the world of cinema and theater from childhood. The boy did not miss a single film premiere in his hometown, without regret spending his pocket money on counterfeit stamps.
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Leonid Kanevsky and his brother Alexander in their youth
In high school, when the time came to decide on a place to study, Kanevsky told his parents that he planned to enter one of the Moscow theater institutes. At first, the adults were skeptical about the news, but they realized that their son was determined and did not dissuade the actor. The only condition that was set for the son was that his parent would go with him.
Moscow did not receive the young man very hospitably. Neither the Moscow Art Theater nor the Shchepkinsky School accepted Leonid because of his Ukrainian accent. My mother persuaded me to try to enroll at Shchuka. The despondent Kanevsky did not hope for success, but under the pressure of his parent he went to try his luck for one last chance. And he won. The student was enrolled in Vera Lvova’s course. As it turned out, it was a legendary course. Future cinema stars Andrei Mironov, Olga Yakovleva and Vasily Livanov studied with the Kyivian resident.
New roles
In 2002, Leonid Kanevsky gladly accepted Vladimir Khotinenko’s offer to revive the series “The Investigation is Conducted by Experts.” Another “veteran”, Georgy Martynyuk, played with him, and Lydia Velezheva took the place of Elsa Lezhdey. Only 4 episodes were filmed because the continuation went unnoticed. In 2006, he became the host of a series of documentaries “The investigation was carried out...” on NTV. Kanevsky talked about crimes committed in the USSR from 1917 to 1991. The project also paid a lot of attention to the life and morals of Soviet citizens, their psychology and social status.
Now Leonid Kanevsky hosts the program “The Investigation Conducted...”
“The investigation was carried out...” became the most popular documentary project on domestic television. Leonid Semenovich personally edited all the scripts. Most of all, he liked to talk about talented swindlers and swindlers who became criminals due to personal and social failures. On February 21, 2021, Leonid Semenovich began filming a new episode of the program “The Investigation Conducted...”, about the “Novosibirsk Satan.” This was the name of the maniac welder Fyodor Kozlov, who operated in Novosibirsk in 1989. Kozlov carried out 10 attacks on girls, killing 5 of them. Two of the victims were little girls.
On December 4, 2021, the play “Late Love,” staged by Evgeny Arie based on Valery Mukharyamov’s play “In the Shadow of the Vineyard,” was sold out at the LK Palace of Culture. Together with Kanevsky, Klara Novikova and Daniil Spivakovsky took part in the production. They played people who had achieved financial success but still felt lonely, their memories burdened by memories of a difficult past. Leonid Semenovich played in a suit made by his daughter Natalya Kanevskaya.
"Late love". Production of the Gesher Theater
Attended the freestyle wrestling section
Leonid Kanevsky
As a child, Lenya grew up as an ordinary boy, no different from his peers. The only drawback the boy had was being overweight. Dad worked as an engineer, repairing equipment in confectionery factories, so the boy often visited the workshops. The result of such visits and eating various delicacies was excess weight, which led to ridicule among the neighboring boys. Tired of listening to ridicule, Lenya secretly from his mother, because he knew that she would not approve of this decision, signed up for the freestyle wrestling section.
Read: Tourist guide to the Kyiv region: the city of health Irpen
As a result, the boy lost excess weight and could stand up for himself, as he often loved to walk in Kiev Podol, a place loved by hooligans. However, sports alone were not enough; the boy was drawn to art, so he also enrolled in a drama club. He liked performing on stage, so he knew exactly where he would go after graduating from school. After graduating from school with honors, Leonid Kanevsky applied to the theater institute. There was no need to study in the Ukrainian capital, since the Karpenko-Kary Institute had quotas based on nationality, and the young man fell under them.
Personal life of Leonid Kanevsky
In 1967, Leonid Kanevsky met his future wife Anna Berezina, daughter of actor Efim Berezin. They were introduced by Leonid’s brother, Alexander, who wrote comic miniatures for Berezin’s duet with Yuri Timoshenko “Tarapunka and Plug”. Alexander said: “Fima Berezin has a wonderful daughter, Anya. I’m already married, but she shouldn’t be left out of the family.”
Leonid Kanevsky and Anna Berezina
Leonid and Anya lived in a cooperative on Chekhov Street, which was called “Youth Theaters”. Many aspiring actors and directors lived in this house; Kanevsky’s neighbors were Valentin Smirnitsky and Nikita Mikhalkov with his wife Anastasia Vertinskaya.
Leonid Kanevsky with his wife
Leonid and Anna got married in 1975. The wedding was celebrated on a grand scale at the Intourist Hotel. In 1977, their daughter Natasha was born. Growing up, she became a costume designer and connected her life with the Israeli Ido Nativ, a teacher. They made Leonid a happy grandfather, giving him a granddaughter Amalia (born 2012).
Leonid Kanevsky with his daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law
Leonid is glad that his family consists of only women. “I’m a woman’s man,” the artist laughs. True, the purely female company was recently diluted by his grandson Mikael, who was born in 2015. “A guy with humor, just like his grandfather,” Kanevsky is proud of his grandson.
Mikael, grandson of Leonid Kanevsky
Some sources claim that actress Renata Piotrovsky is the granddaughter of Leonid Kanevsky. This is not entirely true. Renata is the great-granddaughter of actor Anatoly Kanevsky, second cousin of Leonid Semenovich. So they are relatives, but distant.
Actor's daughter
In 1977, the Kanevsky family was replenished with a daughter, Natalya. The actor proved himself to be a gentle and caring father. In character, the baby resembled her father. The girl grew up to be a strong and purposeful person. In addition, since childhood, she was able to convince almost any person that she was right. Leonid Kanevsky did not have any more children.
Leonid Kanevsky with his wife and daughter
At first, Natasha wanted to become an artist. She even studied at a theater school, went on stage, and staged individual excerpts of plays herself. But later the girl changed the vector of her development.
Dad, I realized: being an artist is not for me.
By this time, she had already managed to enroll in the acting department of the Israeli Theater Institute, but because of her Russian accent, Natasha had a hard time, so she changed her specialization to costume designer and decorator. The girl has been drawing well since childhood. In addition, she independently developed sketches of shoes, scarves, blouses and dresses.
Natalia Kanevskaya
During trips abroad with his wife, Kanevsky took with him his daughter’s drawings, in which she depicted things, so that it would be easier for dad to choose a gift for her. Leonid Semenovich walked around the shops until he bought exactly the same thing that his daughter had drawn.
My wife stopped me: “Don’t torment yourself, what difference does it make whether this color is or another?” But I firmly insisted: “We’ll choose exactly the one she drew.”
These father's efforts were not in vain. Today Natalia Kanevskaya is known in the theater and cinematic community as a talented costume designer, set designer and stylist. She collaborates with Israeli and Russian directors, and in “The Inspector General” and “Late Love,” which are staged at the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya, Kanevsky’s daughter plays the leading roles. She recently created the costumes for The Ideal Husband. This sensational performance was staged by Konstantin Bogomolov.
Natalya Kanevskaya also makes accessories and produces collections. They can be seen at Moscow Fashion Week. The daughter of a famous actor often gives her jewelry to her friends, among whom are theater and film stars.
Leonid Kanevsky now
On June 6, 2021, Kanevsky visited Bryansk while filming a program about an armed gang that committed 15 robberies and 1 murder in a month.
The actor visited Partizan Square and the embankment area. Leonid Kanevsky. Hopeless lucky guy | Central Television On October 1, 2021, the actor attended the farewell ceremony for Mark Zakharov at the Lenkom Theater. Many cultural figures, such as Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Konstantin Bogomolov and Ivan Urgant, came to say goodbye to the legendary director. In 2021 and 2021, new episodes of the “Investigation Conducted...” program continued to be released, of which Leonid has been the permanent host for more than 10 years.
Viewers watch the program not only on NTV, but also on the Youtube channel - the episodes receive millions of views and continue to be very popular and arouse the interest of the audience. Leonid Kanevsky is also active on his Instagram – thousands of fans follow his life on social networks. The actor and presenter shares news, photos with his family and funny stories.
Personal life
Leonid Kanevsky is married. The artist's wife is Anna Berezina, who is a translator by training (daughter of the famous Shtepsel - Efima Berezin). Leonid met Anna in the early 70s. In 1975, the artist got married and to this day lives happily with his wife. In this union, the actor raised a daughter, whose name is Natalya.
Today the artist’s daughter is a designer, stylist, costume designer and set designer. Leonid also has a granddaughter Amalia Idovna Nativ. The artist’s wife is fluent in 4 languages: English, Hebrew, Czech and Polish.
Married to "Plug"'s daughter
Leonid Kanevsky with his wife
In the early 1970s, Leonid’s older brother Alexander introduced him to Anna Berezina, the daughter of Efim Berezin, whom older audiences know as “Plugs”. This legendary actor was Leonid Kanevsky's father-in-law. Shortly before their marriage, an interesting incident happened to the lovers: after submitting an application to the registry office, Leonid and Anna came to one of the Moscow hotels, where at that time their father-in-law and mother-in-law, as well as Anna’s brother Gregory, lived. Suddenly, after Leonid’s words about the application at the registry office, Mendelssohn’s march started playing on the radio. Later, the happy family had a daughter, Natalya, who is a costume designer and selects costumes for her star father for filming.
It is worth saying that Leonid Kanevsky developed warm and friendly relations with Efim Berezin himself. It was he who weaned Leonid Semenovich from playing cards, because the actor played only preference and only for money. The only habit that Leonid Kanevsky does not give up is training in the gym: on the horizontal bar, various exercise machines and training with a barbell.
Despite his venerable age, Leonid Semenovich Kanevsky is still on stage. Lives and works in Moscow, sometimes participates in theatrical productions in Israel, in the theater of which he was involved in the opening.
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Performed roles that were loved by the audience
Leonid Kanevsky (left)
Leonid Semenovich Kanevsky made his film debut in 1963. His first role was in the film “Forty Minutes Before Dawn,” where the actor played the manager of a rural store. After this, there were several more episodic roles, the most striking of which was the role of a smuggler in the comedy “The Diamond Arm,” which was beloved by the audience. The directors liked this talented artist, but they did not invite him to the main roles. The reason for this was Leonid Kanevsky’s short stature: he was 168 centimeters.
Leonid Semenovich Kanevsky received the main role and popularity throughout the vast Soviet country in 1971, playing Major Tomin in the Soviet detective serial film “The Investigation is Conducted by Experts.”
Also in 1978, Soviet viewers saw Leonid Semenovich in the three-part musical film “D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers,” where he played the role of haberdasher Bonacieux. At the end of February 2021, Russian viewers saw Leonid Kanevsky in the comedy “What Men Talk About. Continuation".
