Nikita Podgorny, actor: biography, personal life, theatrical work, filmography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Podgorny Nikita Vladimirovich was an outstanding theater and film actor in the Soviet Union. Almost everyone knew the films with his participation, because he could be seen on TV screens quite often. Throughout his life, he starred in 59 projects. Since 1954 he became an actor at the Maly Theatre. Podgorny left a big mark in the history of cinema. Today, his films are popular among both adults and the younger generation.

It is interesting that the fate of the artist depended largely on his profession. It is no coincidence that many actors do not agree to play roles where it is necessary to portray the terminally ill or killed. It has always been believed that a stage death can somehow affect the life of an actor. Unfortunately, the fate of the hero of our article developed as if according to the script of the movie. The biography of Nikita Podgorny is really fascinating.

Biography

The great actor was born on February 16, 1931 in Moscow. Podgorny lived only 51 years and also died in Moscow. His father Vladimir was also an artist, so the son decided to follow in the footsteps of his parent. ATthe movie was also shot by Nikita's uncle - Nikolai. He served almost all his life at the Maly Theater. All relatives of Nikita Vladimirovich played an important role in his upbringing. Since childhood, he was surrounded by an atmosphere of cinema, theater and creativity. Quite often famous people came to Podgorny's house for a cup of tea. These were Vera Pashennaya, Mikhail Chekhov, Konstantin Stanislavsky and many others. Nikita's parents knew from his very childhood that the boy would devote his life to cinema. Most of all, the future actor liked the tragedian from the Moscow Art Theater - Leonidov.

School years

At school, Nikita had big problems with algebra. He had to take exams, but he was very worried about mathematics. However, Podgorny had great intelligence and charm, so he immediately came up with a way out of the situation. He went to visit the algebra teacher. He took a large cake and a bouquet of flowers with him. He told the teacher that he was going to connect his life with cinema, so the teacher immediately gave him a C for the exam.

Students

Nikita chose the university right away, unlike other applicants. He entered the Shchepkinsky School at the Maly Theater in Moscow. He was taken there instantly, and immediately after admission, Nikita became everyone's favorite. The fact is that his father, who had a good reputation, worked in this school for a long time. This, too, in many ways helped Podgorny get used to the institution and become the favorite of many teachers. The young actor could successfully play any role, joked well, was very sociable and charming. Allthe teachers immediately began to notice Nikita's efforts and believed that the boy would have a happy future. Their dreams came true, Podgorny played many roles much better than his friends. He gradually became more and more popular, so that many viewers became interested in the actor. Some recognized him as the son of Vladimir Podgorny.

Maly Theater

After graduating from college, Podgorny entered the Maly Theater, where he served all his life. The director of the theater, Tsarev M. I., adored the young actor and even considered him his own grandson. Once he even forgave Nikita for a stupid prank. Once Podgorny and his friends closed in the dressing room and drank there. Soon someone began to knock on them for a long time and persistently. By voice, Nikita could not immediately determine who exactly was bothering them, so he said a lot of obscene and rude words to the stranger. When this knock began to greatly disturb the actors, Nikita finally opened the door, and the director stood on the threshold. But no scandal happened, which surprised Nikita's friends and himself.

As mentioned earlier, the young actor loved to joke and was the real life of the party. Once, during the production of one of the performances, he was supposed to play with the actress Bystritskaya Elina. During the performance, Podgorny suddenly took off his black glasses, and the actress saw glued eyelashes in front of Nikita's eyes. Elina could hardly resist not to laugh right on the stage and disrupt the whole performance. She even had to stand with her back to the audience.

Contemporaries of the actor said that he had a brilliant reputation. He did not have a single enemy, and all the theater workers and teachers treated him with special attention and loved him. People like him were considered a real rarity. Usually in the cinema everyone is jealous of each other, but with Nikita everything was different. However, there was still a person who did not like Podgorny from the very beginning. It was Boris Ravenskikh. During the staging of one performance, another quarrel occurred, as a result of which Boris heard a lot of impudent words addressed to him from Nikita. In addition, after this conflict, the actor announced that he would leave the Maly Theater. But, fortunately, the director of the theater, who was very fond of Podgorny, was able to keep him.

Private life

The personal life of Nikita Podgorny is of interest to many of his fans. For the first time, the actor got married, even when he studied at the Shchepkinsky school. His bride was a young and beautiful university student - Nellie Bodryagina. But, unfortunately, the couple was married for only three years. They broke up because both were still young and inexperienced.

But almost immediately after the divorce from a classmate, Nikita again became a groom. Olga Chuvaeva became his companion. She worked with him at the Maly Theater, just starting to build a career as an actress. Their romance began with an ordinary friendship, which later grew into love. A wonderful girl was born to a happy young family, who was named Dasha. She was a copy of her father and did not at all look like Olga Chuvaeva. Today Daria Podgornaya works at the Maly Theater. Nikita Podgorny has no more children.

Theatrical work and acting career

Podgorny played in many productions. Often the audience bought tickets for performances with his participation. And in 1970 he finally became one of the best actors. It was very difficult for Podgorny to get such fame. The fact is that there were already about ten people's artists of the Soviet Union in the Maly Theater. But thanks to his charm and ingenuity, he still managed to break into the ranks of the most famous actors of the Maly Theater.

Once Podgorny got the role of Chatsky in the comedy "Woe from Wit". One of the critics really liked the performance of the young actor. He admired how Nikita let the image of Chatsky through himself, managed to play it with a special sadness characteristic of the hero. It didn't happen by accident. Since childhood, Nikita has read dozens of different books that were popular at that time. He was very fond of literature, he could sit with a book in his hand for at least a whole day. Thanks to reading, he was able to realistically convey the images of lyrical characters on stage.

Theatrical works of Nikita Podgorny are as follows: he played General Tafto in Vanity Fair, played Ryumin in M. Gorky's Summer Residents, the role of the Unknown in Ostrovsky's The Abyss, Prince Selsky in L. Tolstoy's Killer Whale. In 1966 Nikita played in Labyrinth, and in 1977 in Optimistic Tragedy.

Filmography

In the theater Podgorny worked almost all the time, so he did not have time for film roles. But still, he sometimes starred in those directors with whom he was familiar and respected. Even if they offered Nikita small episodes, he still agreed. A vivid confirmation of this is the film with Nikita Podgorny "Autumn Marathon". In it, the actor appeared on the screen only a few times.

In 1958, the first film with his participation - "The Idiot" was released on TV screens. Podgorny played the main role of Gani Ivolgin in it and coped with it successfully. Subsequently, he began to receive more leading roles, and in the most popular films. He played Mozart in the play "Mozart and Salieri", Vedernikov in the film "Michman Panin", Dima Krucifersky in the film-play "Who is to blame?", Giovanni Pinedi in the film "Labyrinth".

In 1983, the actor played his last role in the movie Jewelcrafting. At that time, he was already seriously ill, so the role of Boris Kravtsov was the last in his life. Prior to that, he played in the play "A Few Drops" and in the film "A Dangerous Age".

Experts are investigating

Nikita acted with great pleasure in films and television programs. He loved his work very much and put all his strength into it. His best work in cinematography can rightly be considered a role in the TV series "Experts are investigating." At that time, this series was very popular. Nikita brilliantly played the role of a criminal, in which there was practically nothing left of his conscience.

Fate

His last theatrical performance was Yuri Bondarev's "Choice". Podgorny was supposed to play a prisoner who ended up in Germany, and at the end of his life the hero goes home to die peacefully from an incurable disease. In the movie, it was cancer. Howmentioned earlier, many actors were afraid to play roles associated with death or illness. But Nikita Podgorny was not afraid of anything. Unfortunately, exactly one year later he died of cancer.

A terrible disease

It all happened after the actor went on vacation. After the rest, the entire troupe, together with Podgorny, left for Tbilisi to shoot a movie there. Together with Nikita, his wife Olga went to the city. As they were driving, Olga noticed that Podgorny had become ill. He complained to her of severe back pain. However, they did not worry much, because when they contacted one of the local hospitals, they were reassured. The doctors said that the pains are similar to osteochondrosis. However, not everything was so simple. When the couple arrived in Moscow, they immediately turned to CITO.

The diagnosis made in Tbilisi was completely affected. Experienced doctors prescribed Nikita a course of treatment, which included various massages and warm-ups. But these procedures were of no use, as the actor's back pain intensified every day. Sometimes they became quieter, but not for long. And this torment continued every day for three winter months.

Disturbing news

One of the most important days in Nikita's life was an ordinary spring day in 1982. Then Olga played for the last time in the play "The Power of Darkness". During the training for him, the actress was disturbed by a phone call. A friend of the doctor Podgornykh said into the phone that Nikita did not have osteochondrosis at all, but something serious. Olga became very worried that during the whole performance she could not play calmly. Before the last act, she picked up the phone againand dialed the doctor's number. He upset her very much, saying that there was no hope and no chance for treatment. The doctor said that Nikita had a terrible tumor, and it was located in a very problematic place. No surgeon can remove her from there, so Nikita is doomed.

Life in ignorance

Naturally, no one began to talk about the terrible disease to the actor, so as not to cause panic. Therefore, a story was invented for him, allegedly he was taken to a clinic to be examined in a scanning machine. The wife loved Podgorny very much, so she asked the doctors not to talk about the diagnosis.

But already in the summer of 1982, on x-rays, it was noticeable that the terrible tumor had practically resolved. Olga was delighted with this fact and sincerely believed that the disease was left behind forever. Soon the couple went together to Shchelykovo to rest. In fact, the actor has long guessed that this is not osteochondrosis, but cancer. But he did not show it, and came to Shchelykovo only in order to see his home, the forest for the last time, to be with his beloved wife and friends from these parts. When they were about to drive back, Nikita himself got behind the wheel of the car and drove off. However, then he hardly moved to the rear seats, making room for the driver. On the road, Podgorny was very ill. The driver stopped the car several times to give the sick actor the necessary shots.

Last days

Podgorny got back to the oncology center on the last day of the summer of 1982. All the doctors and friends of the patient were sure that the tumor was gone andNikita will be back home soon. But already on September 25, Podgorny died. Relatives thought that he did not know about cancer, but the actor had long been aware of everything. The cause of death of Nikita Podgorny is oncology. The actor reacted to death quite calmly. Until now, no one knows how the sick artist found out about his illness. Perhaps if he had learned about it spontaneously, the lethal outcome would have happened much faster. The actor until the last days, despite bouts of pain, remained active, purposeful and cheerful. He left so early because there were so many more roles to play.

The grave of Nikita Podgorny is located at the Vagankovsky cemetery in Moscow.