Vera Maretskaya: biography, filmography, personal life

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

The great Russian actress Vera Maretskaya was born on July 31, 1906 in the village of Barvikha, so familiar to the current generation of Russians. Her father P. G. Maretsky was a small private entrepreneur - he rented a buffet, and despite the fact that he was not a rich man, he provided excellent education for four children - two eldest sons graduated from the Institute of Red Professors, Vera Petrovna herself entered Moscow University at the Faculty of Philosophy, the youngest sister became a teacher. By this time, Vera was quite fluent in German and French.

Choice made

Vera Maretskaya, after studying for a year at the university, realized that in life she needed only theater, and secretly from her parents applied to three theater studios at once, was accepted into two and chose a studio school that was very popular in those days. theater them. Vakhtangov.

She was a talented, direct, naturally smart anderudite, in a word, charming, despite the fact that she never considered herself a beauty. And the magnificent Y. Zavadsky, who was on the jury, could not resist her charms. He was just thinking about his team, and after graduating from the studio school in 1924, Vera Maretskaya will forever connect her creative fate with the theater of this talented director.

Wife and mother

Her personal fate was also connected with him for many years, although they did not live long in an official marriage. Mutual understanding and friendship connected them until the end of their days - Yu. A. Zavadsky was the first to die, a year later Vera Petrovna.

Vera Maretskaya in 1926 gave birth to a boy, who was named Yevgeny in honor of Vakhtangov. Having matured, he dreamed of architecture, but at the insistence of his mother, and she was a powerful woman, he entered GITIS. He devoted his whole life to the theater of his father and mother, but never emerged from their shadow.

Sister

By the moment when Y. Zavadsky left V. Maretskaya, in addition to little Zhenya, she had in her arms an even smaller Shura, the son of Dmitry's arrested brother. She raised Sasha as her own child.

Both journalist brothers were shot on the same day in 1937. To the credit of Vera Petrovna, she did not deny them, but, being constantly under the threat of arrest as a relative of the enemies of the people (they were accused in the Bukharin case), she always helped them with parcels and in general as best she could.

Nationality

By this time, Vera Maretskaya was a famous, beloved, titled actress. Her creative destiny was much luckierpersonal. An actress of great talent, who could do any role, who equally beautifully, beyond all praise, played a partisan in the film “She Fought for the Motherland” and a midwife Zmeyukin in “The Wedding”, replayed all the characteristic roles in the theater, and always with the same success (more before the war they went to Maretskaya).

She could handle the roles of all roles, she simply and naturally played women of any class, any nationality. Vera Maretskaya was Russian by nationality. And Rostislav Yanovich Plyatt, the smartest and most intelligent person who loved Vera Petrovna for many years, owns the phrase that there is only one nationality in the world - a good, decent person. And then, the phrase of Alexandra Sokolova (“Member of the Government”), known to absolutely everyone - “Here I stand in front of you, a simple Russian woman …” - after all, it was Maretskaya who said it, and quite reasonably.

Film actress

Vera Maretskaya, whose personal life was inextricably linked with the theater, did not act in films very much - only 25 films. However, these were such impressive works that the whole country knew and loved the film actress Maretskaya. Her talent was so powerful that even in the propaganda film "Member of the Government" she made her heroine such a living woman that she is believed and loved by many generations, despite the change of power in the country.

The first film, in which V. Maretskaya played, was released in 1925 "The Cutter from Torzhok" by Yakov Protazanov. In this film with a youngcharming Verochka was played by Igor Ilyinsky, already a recognized actor who spoke well of the work of his partner.

Second marriage

Before the war, Vera Maretskaya, whose filmography, as mentioned above, is not very large, starred in 10 films. The workload on the stage also affected, and the fact that the studio of Yu. A. Zavadsky was sent to Rostov-on-Don, allegedly to raise the peripheral theater. The troupe left in 1936 and returned in 1940. In the same year, Vera Petrovna marries the artist of the same theater G. P. Troitsky, a year later their daughter Masha is born. Georgy Petrovich goes to the front as a volunteer and dies in 1943. Maretskaya was not informed about his death until the end of the shooting of the scene in which the great V. P. (that was her name in the theater) played with her son (“She fought for the Motherland”). This film was shown on all fronts of the Great Patriotic War - it was incredibly popular. After watching it, people were eager to fight.

Next crackdown

In life, the titled Vera Petrovna, and she received awards for theatrical performances, was absolutely not arrogant, not arrogant, did not set distances between herself and people, but she absolutely clearly knew her own worth. And everyone knew this price - the authorities never touched her, even despite the fact that after the war her younger sister Tatyana was arrested. And again, Vera Petrovna sent parcels and letters of support, ran around the authorities, and nevertheless achieved her sister's release two years later, however, without the right to reside in the capitals. They only got together in the 60s.

And again, a happy, rich creative life (Vera Petrovna tours a lot, including abroad, acts in films, works in the theater) does not really harmonize with her personal life. After the death of his wife, R. Ya. Plyatt proposes to Vera Petrovna, but she refuses, citing her age, although she still looks great. Witty, sharp-tongued, charming Vera Maretskaya (photo attached) has always been liked by men. And if anyone drew Maretskaya's attention to himself, sooner or later he always fell at her feet. She is credited with affairs with men much younger than her. But who can be surprised by this now? The main thing is that they sought her attention, and not she ran after young men. Maretskaya was the queen.

Post-war films

Post-war film roles in the films "Mother", "Country Teacher", "They Have a Homeland" bring her to the Olympus of the greatest actresses of our time. After the war, there was also a wonderful comedy role in the cinema, in no way inferior to Anna Zmeyukina - Vasilisa Sergeevna in Easy Life (1960). Great movie! The phrase of F. Ranevskaya from this film “Hello, I am your aunt, I will live with you” - went to the people. V. Maretskaya played brilliantly as always.

In the theater, things were also going as well as possible - Y. Zavadsky staged almost all performances with the expectation of her. Yes, and marriage proposals from him also came repeatedly. Vera Petrovna was the face of Soviet cinema, she hosted foreign guests - Jean Marais, maniacally watching her figure, ate pancakes withcaviar and salmon.

Recent years

She was called "the Madonna with sad eyes", she herself believed that she realized herself in her work by only 30%. This speaks of the modesty of the great actress. The film "Mother" (1955) made her not just famous - she was idolized, Nilovna entered every house.

Yuri Zavadsky was shocked, although he had never encouraged filming a movie before. Vera Petrovna's last film was Night Call, filmed in 1969. She was already sick, but she did her best to hide it. Life was not good again. Suddenly, the daughter's happy marriage ended tragically - the son-in-law, a young, promising scientist, hanged himself. Mashenka did not take the incident well and ended up in the hospital with a severe nervous breakdown. The children lived with Maretskaya in her beautiful apartment on the street. Nemirovich-Danchenko.

Last role

All the difficulties of the previous personal life and this event could not but affect the he alth of Vera Petrovna - severe headaches became constant. The doctors diagnosed a brain tumor. Vera Maretskaya, a biography whose personal life now bore the stamp of a serious illness, did not leave the theater. The last role she played on the stage of her favorite theater was the strange Mrs. Savage in the play of the same name. Theatrical Moscow brought down performances with her participation (she played this role alternately with other actresses). At the last production, the audience wept, V. Maretskaya herself wept, Y. Zavadsky sobbed backstage. The strength of the character of this woman, the devotion to her beloved work, is evidenced by the fact that beingeven bedridden, she read favorite poems of Russian poets, and her son Evgeny recorded them on tape - they sounded at the coffin of the great actress.