Valentin Nikulin: biography, childhood
He was born in Moscow in 1932 on July 7th. He has Jewish roots. Valentin's parents are intelligent and creative people. His father, Yuri Veniaminovich, was a famous playwright in the USSR. And my mother, Evgenia Brook, received an excellent musical education in piano. She was also a composer.
Parents separated when our hero was 5 years old. He stayed to live with his mother. And I saw my father only on weekends and holidays.
Valya showed interest in art from an early age. He liked to draw, dance and sing. The boy often attended rehearsals with his mother. At first he thought about a musical career. But over time, his plans for the future changed.
An excerpt characterizing Nikulin, Valentin Yurievich
– My friend, what have you done in Moscow? Why did you quarrel with Lelya, mon сher? [my dear?] “You are mistaken,” said Prince Vasily, entering the room. “I found out everything, I can tell you correctly that Helen is innocent before you, like Christ before the Jews.” - Pierre wanted to answer, but he interrupted him. “And why didn’t you address me directly and simply as a friend?” “I know everything, I understand everything,” he said, “you behaved as befits a person who values his honor; It may be too hasty, but we won’t judge that. Just remember the position in which you place her and me in the eyes of the whole society and even the court,” he added, lowering his voice. – She lives in Moscow, you are here. Remember, my dear,” he pulled him down by the hand, “there is one misunderstanding here; I think you feel it yourself. Write a letter with me now, and she will come here, everything will be explained, otherwise I’ll tell you, you can get hurt very easily, my dear. Prince Vasily looked at Pierre impressively. “I know from good sources that the Empress Dowager takes a keen interest in this whole matter.” You know, she is very merciful to Helen. Several times Pierre was going to speak, but on the one hand, Prince Vasily did not allow him to do so, on the other hand, Pierre himself was afraid to start speaking in that tone of decisive refusal and disagreement in which he firmly decided to answer his father-in-law. In addition, the words of the Masonic charter: “be kind and friendly” came to his mind. He winced, blushed, stood up and fell down, working on himself in the most difficult task in his life - to say something unpleasant to a person’s face, to say something that was not what this person, no matter who he was, expected. He was so accustomed to obeying this tone of Prince Vasily’s careless self-confidence that even now he felt that he would not be able to resist it; but he felt that his entire future fate would depend on what he said now: whether he would follow the old, former road, or along that new one, which was so attractively shown to him by the Masons, and on which he firmly believed that will find rebirth to a new life. “Well, my dear,” said Prince Vasily jokingly, “tell me: “yes,” and I will write to her on my own behalf, and we will kill the fat calf.” - But Prince Vasily did not have time to finish his joke, when Pierre, with a fury in his face that reminded him of his father, without looking into the eyes of his interlocutor, said in a whisper: - Prince, I did not invite you to my place, go, please, go! “He jumped up and opened the door for him. “Go,” he repeated, not believing himself and rejoicing at the expression of embarrassment and fear that appeared on Prince Vasily’s face. - What happened to you? You are sick? - Go! – the trembling voice spoke again. And Prince Vasily had to leave without receiving any explanation. A week later, Pierre, having said goodbye to his new friends, the Freemasons, and leaving them large sums of alms, left for his estates. His new brothers gave him letters to Kyiv and Odessa, to the Freemasons there, and promised to write to him and guide him in his new activities. The affair between Pierre and Dolokhov was hushed up, and, despite the sovereign’s then strictness regarding duels, neither both opponents nor their seconds were harmed. But the story of the duel, confirmed by Pierre’s breakup with his wife, became public in society. Pierre, who was looked upon condescendingly and patronizingly when he was an illegitimate son, who was caressed and glorified when he was the best groom of the Russian Empire, after his marriage, when brides and mothers had nothing to expect from him, lost greatly in the opinion of society, especially that he did not know how and did not want to curry public favor. Now he alone was blamed for what had happened, they said that he was a stupid jealous person, subject to the same fits of bloodthirsty rage as his father. And when, after Pierre’s departure, Helen returned to St. Petersburg, she was not only cordially, but with a touch of respect for her misfortune, received by all her acquaintances. When the conversation turned to her husband, Helen adopted a dignified expression, which she, although not understanding its meaning, with her characteristic tact, adopted for herself. This expression said that she decided to endure her misfortune without complaining, and that her husband was a cross sent to her from God. Prince Vasily expressed his opinion more openly. He shrugged his shoulders when the conversation turned to Pierre, and, pointing to his forehead, said: “Un cerveau fele – je le disais toujours.” [Half-crazy - I always said that.] “I said in advance,” Anna Pavlovna said about Pierre, “I said right then, and before everyone else (she insisted on her primacy), that this is a crazy young man, spoiled by the depraved ideas of the century. I said this back then, when everyone admired him and he had just arrived from abroad, and remember, one evening I thought he was some kind of Marat. How did it end? I didn’t want this wedding then and predicted everything that would happen. Anna Pavlovna continued to host such evenings on her free days as before, and those that she alone had the gift of arranging, evenings at which she gathered, firstly, la creme de la veritable bonne societe, la fine fleur de l' essence intellectuelle de la societe de Petersbourg, [the cream of a truly good society, the color of the intellectual essence of St. Petersburg society,] as Anna Pavlovna herself said. In addition to this refined choice of society, Anna Pavlovna’s evenings were also distinguished by the fact that each time at her evening Anna Pavlovna presented her society with some new, interesting face, and that nowhere, as at these evenings, was the degree of the political thermometer expressed so clearly and firmly, on which the mood of the court legitimist St. Petersburg society stood. At the end of 1806, when all the sad details had already been received about Napoleon’s destruction of the Prussian army near Jena and Auerstette and about the surrender of most of the Prussian fortresses, when our troops had already entered Prussia, and our second war with Napoleon began, Anna Pavlovna gathered at her place evening. La creme de la veritable bonne societe [The cream of real good society] consisted of the charming and unhappy Helene, abandoned by her husband, from MorteMariet, the charming Prince Hippolyte, who had just arrived from Vienna, two diplomats, an aunt, one young man who enjoyed living room with the name simply d'un homme de beaucoup de merite, [a very worthy person], one newly granted maid of honor with his mother and some other less noticeable persons. The person with whom Anna Pavlovna treated her guests like a novelty that evening was Boris Drubetskoy, who had just arrived as a courier from the Prussian army and was an aide-de-camp to a very important person. The temperature of the political thermometer indicated to society this evening was the following: no matter how much all European sovereigns and commanders try to pander to Bonaparte, in order to cause me and us in general these troubles and sorrows, our opinion about Bonaparte cannot change. We will not stop expressing our unfeigned thoughts on this matter, and we can only say to the Prussian king and others: so much the worse for you. Tu l'as voulu, George Dandin, [You wanted it, Georges Dandin,] that's all we can say. This is what the political thermometer indicated at Anna Pavlovna’s evening. When Boris, who was to be presented to the guests, entered the living room, almost the entire company was already assembled, and the conversation, led by Anna Pavlovna, was about our diplomatic relations with Austria and the hope of an alliance with it. Boris, in a smart adjutant uniform, matured, fresh and ruddy, freely entered the living room and was taken, as it should be, to greet his aunt and again joined the general circle. Anna Pavlovna gave him her withered hand to kiss, introduced him to some faces unfamiliar to him and identified each one to him in a whisper. – Le Prince Hyppolite Kouraguine – charmant jeune homme. M r Kroug charge d'affaires de Kopenhague – un esprit profond, and simply: M r Shittoff un homme de beaucoup de merite [Prince Hippolyte Kuragin, dear young man. G. Krug, Copenhagen chargé d'affaires, deep mind. G. Shitov, a very worthy person] about the one who bore this name.
Education
Nikulin Valentin Yuryevich, whose biography we are considering, decided to connect his fate with jurisprudence. After receiving a school certificate, the guy submitted documents to the main Moscow university - Moscow State University. He managed to get into law school on his first try. In 1957, Valya was awarded a diploma of higher education. However, he did not work in the specialty he received.
His mother helped Valentin find his place in the sun. Evgenia Naumovna insisted that her son try his hand at acting. And he listened to the words of his mother. Soon V. Nikulin became a student at the acting studio named after. Nemirovich-Danchenko, opened at the Moscow Art Theater.
In 1960, our hero successfully graduated from this educational institution. Almost immediately, Valya got a job at the Sovremennik Theater. On the stage of this institution, he played many characteristic roles.
Introduction to cinema
When did Nikulin Valentin first appear on Soviet screens? This happened back in 1961. The aspiring actor played the role of Andrei in the dramatic film “Leap Year”. His colleagues on the set were Elena Fadeeva, Innokenty Smoktunovsky and Victoria Ermolyeva.
In the same 1961, the second film with the participation of Valentin Nikulin was released. We are talking about the film story “Nine Days of One Year”. He got a cameo role as a guest at a wedding.
Between 1962 and 1965. he starred in several more films. The young actor tried on different images - a sailor, a journalist and an engineer. And in every role he was convincing.
Continuation of film career
In 1966, the fairy tale film “Three Fat Men” was presented to Soviet audiences. The actor reincarnated as his on-screen hero, Dr. Gaspar Arneri. However, Nikulin himself considered this role unsuccessful and unloved.
The fact is that after the film was widely shown, people on the streets often said to him: “Gaspard, hello!” We can say that the artist has become a hostage to one role. And our hero took it very painfully.
For most of his career, Valentin Yuryevich played strange characters - eccentrics, wizards, and so on. Most likely, he received such roles because of his specific appearance (asymmetrical face, kind and slightly sad eyes).
The artist tried to change the role that had bored him. But he still returned to the already familiar images. In the film “Blue Balls Pharmacy,” Valentin Nikulin played an adviser on miracles, and in “The Ballad of Bering and His Friends” he played a strange botanist.
In 1975, he got his first leading role in the military drama film The Wolf Pack. His character is the riding Mushroom Eater. The image created by the actor turned out to be colorful and believable.
The most interesting film works of V. Nikulin for 1976-1990 are listed below:
- Fairy tale film “The Little Mermaid” (1976) – Sulpitius;
- film story “Schedule for the day after tomorrow” (1978) – chemistry teacher;
- heroic film “We looked death in the face” (1980) - artist of Lenestrad;
- melodrama “Beyond the Blue Nights” (1983) – artist Kirill Averichev;
- adventure film "Captain Fracasse" (1984) - Cardinal of France;
- detective story “A Visit to the Minotaur” (1987) – violin maker;
- comedy “Was there Kartin” (1989) - Sgibnev;
- “The Investigation is Conducted by Experts” (1989) – drug dealer;
- historical and biographical film “Stalin’s Funeral” (1990) – an arrested neighbor.
07.07.1932, Moscow – 06.08.2005, Moscow
People's Artist of the RSFSR (1990)
Roots
Valentin Nikulin was born in Moscow into the family of the Soviet playwright, author of numerous plays Yuri Veniaminovich Nikulin and pianist Evgenia Naumovna Brook. There were also representatives of the acting profession in Valentin Nikulin’s family. So his grandfather Veniamin Ivanovich Nikulin (real name - Olkenitsky) before the revolution played on the stages of various provincial drama theaters, was the director of the Kaluga and Voronezh theaters. He later emigrated to the USA, where he wrote memoirs about theatrical life in pre-revolutionary Russia. Also, Valentina Nikulin’s uncle and aunt, actors Konstantin Shane and Tamara Shane, emigrated to the United States.
Valentin Nikulin's parents divorced when he was five years old. Therefore, the mother was involved in raising the boy. The future actor spent his childhood on Arbat. The young man absorbed the spirit of this unique street, which is the heart of Moscow.
Scene
After completing his studies at school, Valentin Nikulin entered the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov. In 1957, he successfully graduated, but did not work in his specialty. Even during his studies, Valentin realized that jurisprudence was not his calling. The acting path was also not the subject of his dreams, but at the insistence of his mother, Valentin nevertheless entered the School-Studio named after. Nemirovich-Danchenko at the Moscow Art Theater. And already here, studying on the course of P.V. Massalsky, the young man was passionate about this profession.
In 1960, Vladimir Nikulin graduated from the Moscow Art Theater School and was accepted into the troupe of the Sovremennik Theater. The actor devoted three decades to this stage, playing many roles. Being a deeply intelligent person by his upbringing, he embodied similar images on stage. Among the most famous works of the actor: Actor in the play “At the Lower Depths” based on the play by Maxim Gorky, Father of the Princess in the play “The Naked King” based on the play by Evgeny Schwartz, Ivan Romanovich Chebutykin in the play “Three Sisters” based on the play by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Violinist Bazilsky in the play “Provincial jokes” based on the play by Vampilov.
Cinema of the Soviet period
Vladimir Nikulin began acting in films soon after graduating from the Mkhat Studio School. Among his first screen roles were: Andrei in the drama “Leap Year”, sailor Marat Chepin in the drama “The Way to the Pier”, engineer Vladimir Sergeevich in the production drama “Big Ore”. The actor became widely famous for the children's fairy tale film “Three Fat Men,” directed by Alexei Batalov and Joseph Shapiro based on the fairy tale of the same name by Yuri Olesha. Valentin Nikulin played one of the main roles in it - the good doctor Gaspar Arneri. New bright works soon followed: Pavel Smerdyakov in the drama “The Brothers Karamazov”, botanist Georg Steller in the historical adventure film “The Ballad of Bering and His Friends”, etc.
Viewers immediately noticed the appearance of a new extraordinary actor. His heroes stood out for their intelligence, a certain eccentricity, and most importantly, an absolutely unique, slightly ironic smile combined with an intelligent, thinking look. In the 70s and 80s, he actively starred in films of a wide range of genres - military dramas (Griboed in the film "The Wolf Pack" and correspondent Alexander Mikhailovich Pozharsky in the film "Wreath of Sonnets"), science fiction films (the receptionist in the film "The Collapse of an Engineer" Garin"), detectives (Buzzard in the film "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", Mikhail Alekseevich Lebedev in the film "The Sicilian Defense", Andrea Guarneri in the film "A Visit to the Minotaur"), adventure films (prison warden Marrone in the film "The Mystery of Villa Greta" "and the Cardinal of France in the film "Captain Fracasse", comedies (Alessandro in the film "A Million in the Marriage Basket") and historical films (Father James in the film "Peter the Great").
Children's films occupied a special place in Valentin Nikulin's film biography. As they say, children are the most demanding spectators who do not forgive lies. Valentin Nikulin was always natural in the frame; his characters were distinguished by charisma and kindness. In addition to the already mentioned Doctor Gaspard, the following were remembered: Koti’s father in the children’s drama “He Was a Real Trumpeter”, journalist Alexey Borisovich Ivanov in the children’s television film “Riders at Rosa Station”, the Jester in the fairy tale film “A Cheerful Dream, or Laughter and Tears”, Sulpitius in the children's film "The Little Mermaid", the ghost of Timosh in the fairy tale film "Ivan da Marya", the old master in the fairy tale film "Autumn Gift of the Fairies".
The intelligence of Valentin Nikulin has been mentioned more than once. Colleagues jokingly said about him: “Indecently intelligent.” They say that this sometimes complicated his relationships with directors. On the one hand, they were attracted by his talent and skill, on the other, his excessive intelligence sometimes interfered with the creation of one or another image, and the directors had to eradicate it with various provocations.
Emigration
In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Valentin Nikulin emigrated to Israel. Actor Igor Kvasha, who knew him well, said that in fact Nikulin did not really want to go there; his wife insisted on leaving. In the end, this move did not bring anything good. In the new place, Nikulin’s life did not work out - he failed to realize himself creatively (although he performed at the local Habima theater), he divorced his wife, and it was there that he began to get very sick. All this was complicated by the actor’s strong longing for his homeland, and after seven years, Valentin Nikulin decided to return back to Russia.
Return to Russia
Valentin Nikulin returned to his homeland on May 8, 1998. During the years of his absence, life in Russia changed dramatically, and it was necessary to try to adapt to new conditions. For some time, Valentin Nikulin could not find a job. He tried to gain a foothold in the Moscow Art Theater troupe, but played only one role there. Finally, in 1999, he was again accepted into the Sovremennik troupe, where he worked for the remaining years. In addition, the actor performed on other stages with the musical one-man show “My Friends Have Beautiful Features,” based on poems by Russian poets.
Periodically, Valentin Nikulin starred in films and television series, playing small roles. Among his works of this period: Kashchei the Immortal in the fairy tale “To Far Far Away Lands”, Nakhimson in the series “Detectives-2”, writer Yuri Konstantinovich Zapyatny in the detective series “MOOR is MOOR”.
And yet, despite being somewhat busy, Valentin Nikulin was never able to fit into his new life. In one of his interviews, he admitted: “I’m very tired, believe me. I'm losing myself. I have a feeling that I don’t really fit into today’s Moscow, no matter how prettier it has become. To this, intelligent people say to me: “Valka, what does it matter that you don’t fit in. Do you think we fit in?” But I have not lost anything, for I am a beggar...”
Last years
Back in 2000, Valentin Nikulin was diagnosed with osteoporosis. He lived with this disease in recent years, without ceasing to work on stage and on the set. In 2004, due to a medical error (he was injected with too much of the drug), the actor lost his legs. Next to Valentin Nikulin was his wife (third wife) Marina Mikhailovna Nikulina (Ganulina). It was she who told about medical carelessness, as a result of which Valentin Yuryevich’s health deteriorated. Lately he has been immobile and at home. Valentin Nikulin died on August 6, 2005. He was buried at the Donskoye Cemetery in Moscow.
Igor BIN
Materials used: Sergei Grachev, “Twice a Jew of the Soviet Union. Truth and rumors about Valentin Nikulin", 07/07/2017, https://www.aif.ru
Personal life
Valentin Nikulin registered the relationship at the registry office three times. He didn't have any children of his own. However, he had the opportunity to experience the joy of fatherhood. After all, Nikulin raised the children of his wives from their previous marriages.
With his last wife, Marina Ganulina, he emigrated to Israel. At the end of the 1990s, our hero divorced his third wife. The reason for making this decision was everyday disagreements. Valentin Yuryevich wanted to return to Moscow. And Marina Ganulina wished to stay in Israel.
Death
On August 6, 2005, Nikulin Valentin left this world. The actor has been seriously ill in recent months. Doctors diagnosed him with osteoporosis. This disease is characterized by the destruction of bone tissue, causing the bones to become brittle. The actor also had problems with blood vessels. His ex-wife (Marina Ganulina) came from Israel to Moscow to look after him.
A month before his death, Valentin Yuryevich’s condition noticeably worsened - he stopped walking. His chances of recovery were zero.
Valentin Nikulin found his final refuge at the Donskoye Cemetery (Moscow). His grave is located on the territory of the 4th section. In July 2007, the actor’s colleagues, relatives and fans erected a granite monument to him.
Latest films of Valentin Nikulin, cause of death
In 1990, Valentin Nikulin received the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR. This award became a kind of recognition of the merits of an outstanding actor. last years of life
Actor Valentin Nikulin died as a result of cardiac arrest
In 1991, after the collapse of the USSR, a talented Soviet actor left for Israel. He lived there for seven years, during which he performed at the local Habima theater. However, life abroad did not work out. Valentin Nikulin was very homesick for the Soviet Union, and therefore returned back very soon. In the new Russia for some time he also could not find his place. At first, Valentin Nikulin performed one of the roles on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater, but still failed to get a permanent place in the theater troupe. As a result, our today's hero returned to his native and familiar Sovremennik Theater, where he subsequently performed for many years. In recent years, he has appeared in films quite rarely.
In the early 2000s, the actor was diagnosed with osteoporosis. For a long time, the disease progressed, literally driving Valentin Yuryevich crazy. In 2005, a prolonged illness led to cardiac arrest. Now the actor’s grave is located at the Donskoye Cemetery. Two years after the actor’s death, a special monument was erected at his grave.
Interesting Facts
Nikulin Valentin considered Bulat Okudzhava, Fazil Iskander and Gennady Raspopov to be close-minded people.
In 1981 he received the title “Honored Artist of the RSFSR”. But that is not all. In 1991, V. Nikulin became People's Artist of the RSFSR.
Our hero took part in dubbing cartoons. What characters spoke in his voice? This is the wizard from “Dunno in the Sunny City” (1976), Robinson Crusoe from the cartoon “Robinson Kuzya” and the Time Keeper from “The Wizard of the Emerald City”.
Noteworthy facts
- Valentin Nikulin was friends with the writers Bulat Okudzhava and Misha Ancharov, and the architect Gennady Raspopov. According to my own recollection, in the late 1950s I witnessed the creation of Bulat Okudzhava’s first widely known song cycle and accompanied the poet on the piano in the process of selecting melodies.
- Valentin Nikulin, who believed himself to be under-demanded in cinema, was sensitive to the fact that for a wide audience his “calling card” was the role of Dr. Gaspar Arneri in “Three Fat Men.” But in the movie “Sin. A Story of Passion” he creates a cameo - the image of actor Valentin Nikulin, who emigrated to Israel, reacting sadly to the heroine’s compliment: “I recognized you from Three Fat Men!”
