Wikipedia

Leonid Kuravlyov

Leonid Vyacheslavovich Kuravlyov (Russian: Леонид Вячеславович Куравлёв; 8 October 1936 – 30 January 2022) was a Soviet and Russian film actor. He became a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1976.[1]

Leonid Kuravlyov
Леонид Куравлёв
Kuravlyov in 1997
Born
Leonid Vyacheslavovich Kuravlyov

(1936-10-08)8 October 1936
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died30 January 2022(2022-01-30) (aged 85)
Moscow, Russia
OccupationActor
Years active1959–2015
Spouse
Nina Kuravlyova
​
​
(m. 1960; died 2012)​
Children2

Early life

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Kuravlyov was born in Moscow into a working-class family.[2] His father Vyacheslav Yakovlevich Kuravlyov (1909–1979) worked as a locksmith at the Salyut Machine-Building Association and his mother Valentina Dmitriyevna Kuravlyova (1916–1993) was a hairdresser.[3][4] In 1941 with the start of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union (known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War) his mother was arrested on false report, accused of counter-revolutionary activity (Article 58) and exiled to Karaganda, Kazakh SSR to work at the local plant.[5] In five years she was freed without a right to live in Moscow and sent to Zasheyek, Murmansk Oblast in the Russian far north where she continued working as a hairdresser. In 1948 she managed to get a permission to see her son who spent a year with her at Zasheyek, and in 1951 she finally returned to Moscow.[5][6]

Career

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In 1955 Kuravlyov entered VGIK to study acting under Boris Bibikov.[7] He graduated in 1960 and joined the Theater Studio of Film Actors.[8] He made his first movie appearances while still a student. In 1960 he was noted by Vasily Shukshin and took part in his diploma film Reported From Lebyazhye.[9] In 1961 they both starred in the popular melodrama When the Trees Were Tall, and in 1964 Shukshin gave him the leading role in his comedy movie There Is Such a Lad which brought Kuravlyov true fame and which he considered to be the start of his successful movie career.[3] He also acted in Your Son and Brother (1965) and felt so grateful for what the director did for him that he later named his son after Shukshin.[10]

The role of Shura Balaganov in Mikhail Schweitzer's comedy The Little Golden Calf based on the book by Ilf and Petrov was one of his first successful roles: he managed to create an image of a brash yet charming petty thief.[11][12] His other notable roles of that period include Khoma Brut in one of the first Soviet horror movies Viy (1967),[13] antagonist Sorokin in a psychological melodrama Not Under the Jurisdiction (1969),[14] Robinson Crusoe in Stanislav Govorukhin's Life and Amazing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1972), a Nazi officer Kurt Eismann in Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973)[15] and Lavr Mironovich in Pyotr Todorovsky's The Last Victim (1975).[16]

In the 1970s he appeared in three to four films per year.[17] Even though Kuravlyov was adept at playing serious dramatic roles, he is still best known for his leading roles in top-grossing comedy movies such as Afonya (1975) by Georgiy Daneliya (11th highest-grossing Soviet film, highest grossing film of the year,[2] 62.2 mln viewers),[18] Leonid Gaidai's Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (1973, 17th highest-grossing film, 60 mln viewers)[19] and It Can't Be! (1975, 46th highest-grossing film with 46.9 mln viewers), The Most Charming and Attractive (1985) by Gerald Bezhanov (the highest-grossing film of 1985, 44.9 mln viewers)[20] and others.[21][22]

According to Russian actress Lidiya Fedoseyeva-Shukshina, after being tipsy, Kuravlyov openly spoke about his negative attitude towards the leadership of the Soviet Union.[23] She recalled that, drunk, he had opened the window at her house and had shouted to the whole street that he hated the Soviet regime.[23] She had feared that "the police would come and take everyone away as rebels."[23]

Later years

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During the late 1990s he hosted a popular TV programme The World of Books with Leonid Kuravlyov where he talked about new book releases. In two years it was closed and then relaunched with new hosts.[24] In 2012 he was awarded the IV class Order "For Merit to the Fatherland".[25]

Kuravlyov was a devoted Christian, a member of the Russian Orthodox Church.[26]

In 2014 Kuravlyov along with 100 other Russian members of culture signed an open letter in support of Vladimir Putin's position regarding Ukraine and Crimea.[27] In his last years Kuravlyov lived in a nursing home where he was diagnosed with dementia.[23]

In January 2022, he was hospitalized with pneumonia.[23] According to Kuravlyov's son, tests for COVID-19 were negative.[23]

Death

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Kuravlyov died from pneumonia on 30 January 2022, at the age of 85.[19][28]

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "Биография Леонида Куравлева". RIA Novosti. 8 October 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Умер известный актер Леонид Куравлев" (in Russian). 30 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b Leonid Kuravlyov documentary by Channel One Russia, 2016 (in Russian)
  4. ^ Family tomb
  5. ^ a b Islands. Leonid Kuravlyov Archived 15 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine documentary by Russia-K, 2016 (in Russian)
  6. ^ As a child Leonid Kuravlyov lived in Zasheyek and then Kola Peninsula in cinema article at Komsomolskaya Pravda, 8 October 2012 (in Russian)
  7. ^ "Биография Леонида Куравлева" (in Russian).
  8. ^ Cinema: Encyclopedia Dictionary, main ed. Sergei Yutkevich (1987). — Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia, p. 222
  9. ^ a b c d e f g ""Жил такой парень". Не стало Леонида Куравлева" (in Russian).
  10. ^ Anna Velidzhagina (20 January 2011). "Леонид Куравлев: Я так был благодарен Шукшину, что назвал в его честь сына(Leonid Kuravlyov: I was so grateful to Shukshin that I named my son after him)". Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian).
  11. ^ "Самый обаятельный и отрицательный. Биография Леонида Куравлева". Rbc.ru (in Russian).
  12. ^ (In russian)
  13. ^ "Как снимали "Вий" — первый и последний советский фильм ужасов" (in Russian). 2 November 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d "Биография Леонида Куравлева". 30 January 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Уникальное дарование: скончался актер Леонид Куравлев" (in Russian).
  16. ^ "Последняя жертва".
  17. ^ "От Афони до Айсмана. Леонид Куравлёв сам выбирал свои роли" (in Russian). 8 October 2014.
  18. ^ "За что советские зрители любили "Афоню" и другое плохое кино" (in Russian).
  19. ^ a b "Ушел из жизни выдающийся актер Леонид Куравлев". 1TV. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  20. ^ ""Самая обаятельная и привлекательная": Абдулов умирал в муках, а Муравьева и Куравлев овдовели" (in Russian).
  21. ^ Top-grossing Soviet films at KinoPoisk
  22. ^ National films in Soviet distribution by Sergey Kudryavtsev (in Russian)
  23. ^ a b c d e f (in Russian) Fedoseeva-Shukshina: Kuravlyov shouted that he hated the Soviet regime, News.ru [ru] (30 January 2022)
  24. ^ Leonid Kuravlyov: I write stories, but I'm not talking with editors interview at Komsomolskaya Pravda, 8 October 2001 (in Russian)
  25. ^ President's decree № 1699 at Kremlin.ru (in Russian)
  26. ^ Olga Shablinskaya. White Studio. Leonid Kuravlyov Archived 15 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine talk show at Russia-K, 2016 (in Russian)
  27. ^ Russian members of culture - in support of Vladimir Putin's position on Ukraine and Crimea at Echo of Moscow, 11 March 2014 (in Russian)
  28. ^ (in Ukrainian) Leonid Kuravlyov died, Ukrayinska Pravda (30 January 2022)
  29. ^ "All That Jam Cast / Crew".
  30. ^ a b Rollberg, Peter (2016). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 421. ISBN 9781442268425.
  31. ^ "Актеры и роли, создатели фильма "Наследники"" (in Russian).
  32. ^ a b "Жил такой парень. Не стало Леонида Куравлева" (in Russian). 30 January 2022.
  33. ^ a b "Леонид Вячеславович Куравлев. Биографическая справка". 8 October 2011.
  34. ^ a b c d e f "Умер актер Леонид Куравлев, сыгравший Афоню и Айсмана". BBC (in Russian).
  35. ^ ""Мастер и Маргарита" Юрия Кары выходит в прокат" (in Russian). 2 December 2010.
  36. ^ a b c d "Актер умер в возрасте 85 лет" (in Russian).
  37. ^ a b ""Символично, что он ушел в день рождения Гайдая": Харатьян о смерти Куравлева" (in Russian).
  38. ^ "Вход в лабиринт - актеры и роли" (in Russian).
  39. ^ "Елки-палки!." (in Russian).
  40. ^ "Режиссеры о Леониде Куравлеве: никакой звездной болезни, деликатность и трудолюбие" (in Russian).
  41. ^ "Режиссер Игорь Масленников: "У Леонида Куравлева была изюминка русского простака"" (in Russian).
  42. ^ "Кто из актеров "Самой обаятельной и привлекательной" действительно знал секреты сватовства" (in Russian).
  43. ^ a b c d "В возрасте 85-ти лет ушел из жизни замечательный актер Леонид Куравлев" (in Russian).
  44. ^ "Человек-невидимка (1984)" (in Russian).
  45. ^ "БИОГРАФИЯ ЛЕОНИДА КУРАВЛЁВА: УМЕР АКТЁР ФИЛЬМОВ "АФОНЯ" И "ИВАН ВАСИЛЬЕВИЧ МЕНЯЕТ ПРОФЕССИЮ"" (in Russian). 30 January 2022.
  46. ^ "Ярмольник рассказал, как Куравлева однажды разыграли по-крупному" (in Russian).
  47. ^ "Леонид Куравлев: любимый, народный, родной" (in Russian).
  48. ^ "Просто ужас".
  49. ^ a b "Актер Леонид Куравлев отмечает 85-летний юбилей" (in Russian).
  50. ^ ""Фрак для шалопая"" (in Russian).
  51. ^ "Инкогнито из Петербурга" (in Russian).
  52. ^ ""Мимино": как создавался культовый киношедевр?" (in Russian).
  53. ^ "Соло для слона с оркестром" (in Russian).
  54. ^ "Умер Леонид Куравлев" (in Russian). 30 January 2022.
  55. ^ "Простой хороший человек: Леонид Куравлёв всю жизнь играл сердцем" (in Russian). 8 October 2021.
  56. ^ Rollberg, Peter (2016). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 420. ISBN 9781442268425.
  57. ^ "Умер Леонид Куравлев". 30 January 2022.
  58. ^ a b c "Не оставшийся в простаках" (in Russian).
  59. ^ "Народный артист Леонид Куравлев попал в реанимацию с коронавирусом" (in Russian).
  60. ^ a b "Афоня, Жорж Милославский, инспектор Гранден. Главные роли Леонида Куравлева" (in Russian). 30 January 2022.
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