Pyotr Todorovsky - biography, photo, personal life, filmography

Childhood and youth

On August 26, 1925, Efim Todorovsky and his wife had a son, who was named Peter. The family lived in the city of Bobrinets (Kirovograd region of Ukraine). During World War II, the parents of the future director moved to Stalingrad, where Peter and his father worked for some time as coal unloaders at a local power plant.

Peter Todorovsky

After the front line shifted to the east, Todorovsky’s family moved again, this time to the village of Peschany Mar (Saratov region). In 1943, Peter became a cadet at the Saratov Military School, and a year later, as a commander of a mortar platoon, he went to Belarus, where he subsequently participated in a number of combat operations. As part of the Red Army, Peter reached the Elbe, but after being wounded during the battle he was sent behind the front line.

Pyotr Todorovsky in his youth

After the end of World War II, Todorovsky served for a short time as an officer in the Kostroma garrison, and after demobilization he went to work at a glass container factory, where he worked for six months. In 1949, the future director entered the camera department of the Moscow VGIK. Peter graduated from the educational institution in 1954, after which he worked at the Odessa film studio for 10 years.

Movies

Pyotr Todorovsky’s directorial debut was the film “Loyalty” (1964), after which he directed the films “The Magician” (1967), “City Romance” (1969), “One’s Own Land” (1973), “The Last Victim” ( 1975) and “On the Day of the Holiday” (1978).

Directed by Pyotr Todorovsky

In 1970, Todorovsky made his debut as an actor, playing one of the main roles in the film “It Was the Month of May” by Marlen Khutsiev. The script was based on the story by Grigory Baklanov “How Much is a Pound?” The peculiarity of the film was the complete absence of a game background. Thanks to this trick, the line between the main and secondary characters was blurred, and the viewer could capture all aspects of the characters' interpersonal relationships, leaving no one unattended.

Pyotr Todorovsky in the film “It Was the Month of May”

In the 80s, Todorovsky released films that became classics of Russian cinema. On March 8, 1982, the premiere of the film “The Beloved Woman of Mechanic Gavrilov” took place. The day for the premiere was not chosen by chance: the film, aimed primarily at the female sex, talked about hard-won, fragile female happiness. Lyudmila Gurchenko, who perfectly performed the main role, said that while working on the film she liked that her character did not need to be played out with words, facial expressions and gestures. It needed to be felt.

Lyudmila Gurchenko in the film “The Beloved Woman of Mechanic Gavrilov”

In 1983, the drama “War Romance” was released on the big screen. The film, which tells the story of first love and its echoes in the life of the main character, collected prizes at festivals in Zhdanov, Berlin, Kyiv and Prague, and also won an Oscar in the category “Best Foreign Film” (1984).

Natalya Andreichenko in Pyotr Todorovsky’s film “War Romance”

The film “Along Main Street with an Orchestra” (1986) gave the viewer the opportunity to see a selection process invisible to the eye. The main character of the film one fine day realized that he no longer wanted to walk in circles, cyclically performing the same actions. The already middle-aged rebel quits his job and leaves his wife, proving that a person, regardless of age, marital and social status, can at any moment start life from scratch.

Elena Yakovleva in Pyotr Todorovsky's film "Intergirl"

The star journey of one of the brightest actresses of our time, Elena Yakovleva, began after the release of Todorovsky’s film “Intergirl” in 1989. The film, which destroyed the ossified stereotype that there is no sex in the USSR, told the story of an ordinary, seemingly unremarkable girl, Tanya Zaitseva, who worked as a nurse during the day and turned into a moth in the evening.

Pyotr Todorovsky and the cast of the film “Anchor, more anchor!”

Todorovsky’s subsequent films – “Anchor, More Anchor!”, “What a Wonderful Game” and “Retro Threesome” – were also liked by the audience. Based on Peter’s biographical story “Remember, Don’t Remember,” the series “Cadets” was filmed, which was released on big screens in 2004. In the mid-2000s, the filmmaker’s filmography was replenished with the works “Riorita”, “The Last Slaughter”, “Vise” and “Hipster”.

Family co-creation

Peter and Mira Todorovsky. / Photo: www.kommersant.ru[

Peter was always in a creative search, and Mira was preoccupied not only with everyday life, but also with financial issues. His fees for world-famous paintings were sold out instantly, and his wife again and again raised money for the family. She wrote scripts for documentaries, later bought films abroad, did dubbing and sold them to television companies. A little later, she became Todorovsky’s personal producer, now she was looking for money so that he could make films.

Pyotr and Mira Todorovsky with their son. / Photo: www.tele.ru[

His films were filled with very personal experiences and, probably, that’s why the audience liked them so much. When Mira read Vladimir Kunin’s story “Intergirl,” she immediately realized that it would turn into a film. Todorovsky resisted as best he could. The plot did not resonate with his feelings in any way, and he was not on the topic of how to talk about prostitution in the USSR. But Mira was able to convince him, found a Swedish sponsor, and the film went into production. True, the name of Mira Todorovskaya is not mentioned in connection with the film: all the laurels went to the management of Mosfilm.

Peter and Mira Todorovsky. / Photo: www.pomnipro.ru[/

And she led this project from start to finish. When her husband had problems selecting actresses, she personally took him to the National Hotel. It was important for her to show her husband that currency prostitutes were beautiful, slender, and very stylish. Only after this Mira Grigorievna was able to convince her husband that the best candidate for the main role was Elena Yakovleva.

Personal life

The first wife of the eminent cultural figure was actress Nadezhda Cherednichenko. At the time of their acquaintance, Peter was an unknown operator, and Nadezhda was an artist who was recognized on the street. The novel developed rapidly. A month after they met, the young people got married. As the director himself recalls, married life did not bring him happiness. The young student, who was just beginning to conquer the cinematic Olympus, felt uncomfortable in this relationship from the very beginning.

Pyotr Todorovsky and Nadezhda Cherednichenko

Against the background of a young lady who, in addition to an apartment on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment, a car and a dacha in Sukhumi, had two marriages behind her with people superior in social status to him, Todorovsky was simply lost. As a result, the desire for self-realization took precedence over the desire to build a family. The union lasted for a year and a half. The couple officially divorced in 1961, managing to maintain friendly relations.

Pyotr Todorovsky with his wife Mira

Peter met his second wife Mira Grigorievna in 1962. The filmmaker’s chosen one studied at the Institute of Marine Engineers and danced in a student ensemble, whose repertoire included Todorovsky’s most popular song at that time, “Where are you, where are you, my beloved friend?” It was on stage that Peter, who came to shoot in Odessa, saw Mira, who captivated him at first sight. Despite the fact that many people showed sympathy for the attractive man, Todorovsky settled on a lovely dancer, who later became the producer of all his films.

Pyotr Todorovsky with his wife and son

The young people got married in 1962. The organizer of the wedding, which took place in Leningrad, was Todorovsky’s close friend, the poet Grigory Pozhenyan. The couple's family life has never been routine. The pace was more like a creative cycle of madness. Peter, being a charismatic and intelligent man, attracted talented, ideological people like a magnet. The doors of their apartment were open both day and night. Frequent guests in the house were Bulat Okudzhava, Alexander Volodin, Vasily Shukshin and even Vladimir Vysotsky.

The birth of his son Valery Todorovsky in May 1962 did not at all cool the ardor of Peter, who was greedy for ideas. Mira repeatedly told reporters how difficult it was for her to lull the constantly crying Valera, who, hearing the choral singing of songs and ringing laughter coming from the kitchen, could not calm down. Despite periodic difficulties, the couple were happy. It is worth noting that Peter was not the only breadwinner in the family. Mira also made a significant contribution to replenishing the joint budget. The screenwriter's wife weaved, knitted and embroidered, selling crafts and receiving good money for her work.

Pyotr Todorovsky with his family

Arts and crafts are not the only activity that brings in revenue. After the birth of the child, the wife of the famous director began to get involved in the cinema industry. An engineering education contributed to the involvement of the active young lady in the field of cinema. It is known that Mira wrote scripts for the Kievnauchfilm studio. The first work where she made her debut as a producer was Todorovsky’s film “Intergirl”. Mira became for Todorovsky a muse, a friend, a wife, and a colleague. Only Peter’s death put an end to their half-century love story.

Wedding in someone else's apartment

Peter and Mira Todorovsky. / Photo: www.domkino.tv

The wedding took place in Leningrad. They had no money, but on this occasion Mira sold the gold watch she had inherited from her grandmother, Grigory Pozhenyan agreed with his Leningrad friend to provide an apartment for the celebration, and Pyotr and Mira Todorovsky went to celebrate their wedding. The owner of the apartment turned out to be playwright Alexander Volodin. The very next day, Volodin introduced Todorovsky to Georgy Tovstonogov. The acquaintance resulted in the recording of music for the play “Factory Girl.”

Mira Todorovskaya with her son Valery. / Photo: www.hsmedia.ru[

And Peter and Mira began their family life. As reckless as their very acquaintance. The doors to their house were almost never closed; they didn’t even let their son, who was born a year later, sleep: they sang songs until the morning with a guitar, and gathered numerous friends. And then they handed over the bottles, trying to plug another hole in the family budget. Later the family moved from Odessa to Moscow, the director was invited to work for Mosfilm.

Death

In the last years of his life, Peter often gave interviews. The eminent artist appeared in the television programs “Visiting Dmitry Gordon” and “Life Line”, the heroes of which at different times were Garik Sukachev, Boris Klyuev, Nikita Bogoslovsky and Vitaly Vulf, and also starred in Dmitry Dibrov’s author’s program “Anthropology”.

Pyotr Todorovsky in recent years

Also on the Russia-Culture channel, with an interval of a couple of days, a series of programs called “Monologue in four parts” was released. In them, the director told without embellishment all the ins and outs of his life. The filmmaker remembered the war, and the people who were around during this difficult period both for the country and for him, and the meeting on the Elbe and, of course, did not ignore his creative path.

Tomb of Pyotr Todorovsky

In April 2013, Pyotr Todorovsky suffered a heart attack, from which he never recovered. The legend of Russian cinema died on May 24 of the same year. At the time of his death, the director was 88 years old. Farewell to the artist took place on May 28 in the hall of the House of Cinema. The creator of the film “Intergirl” is buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.