Actor Vadim Tonkov - the idol of the seventies, who created the image of Veronika Mavrikievna

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

15 years ago, the Honored Artist of Russia Vadim Tonkov, a member of the comic duo Veronika Mavrikievna and Avdotya Nikitichna, the owner of truly all-Union glory, died. It is hard to imagine that the performances of artists raised stadiums of many thousands, the Brezhnev family invited them to private parties, and the dialogues were sorted into quotes after each appearance on the blue screen. Who is Vadim Tonkov, whose photo is presented in the article, and how did he become deafeningly popular?

Bio Pages

Vadim Tonkov was lucky enough to be born into an intelligent family. Having been born in 1932, he no longer found his grandfather alive, whom he looked like, the outstanding architect Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel. His mother and aunt were artists, his father worked in the State Planning Commission, and the young man was predicted to become a lawyer. A visit to the theater circle changed everything, where the future stage partner Boris Vladimirov and a girl named Martha, who later became his wife, worked with him. Vadim Tonkov and Boris Vladimirov, upon entering GITIS, were enrolled immediately in the second year, which was very rare.

Speaking together atskits and in student skits, after graduating from high school in 1953, friends parted for some time: Tonkov was sent to the army, and Vladimirov, who graduated from the directing department, began to implement the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a variety theater, which went down in history under the name Komsomol Patrol. Vadim Tonkov began his career with the Moscow Lenkom Theater under the direction of M. Zakharov. Having a family by that time, he needed funds, so he agreed without hesitation to Vladimirov’s offer to join the staff of his new theater with a good fee.

Star duet

The beginning of the duet was the performance in the television program of A. Shirvindt "Terem-Teremok" on January 1, 1971. Representing themselves in the form of two old women: intelligent, not of this world (they say “God's dandelion” about such people), and malicious, rustic, not distinguished by knowledge, Vadim Tonkov and Boris Vladimirov had a dialogue under the tree in anticipation of the grandchildren they brought to the holiday. The next morning they woke up as famous people whose statements were quoted in all Soviet kitchens. The author of the text was Tonkov himself, although later reprises were also written by G. Gorin, A. Arkanov, V. Ardov. Characteristically, the female images were created without the help of dressing up, on the heads of the actors appeared a headscarf, glasses, and a ridiculous hat with a wig.

The success of the duo was based on great humor, built on the contrast of two grandmothers, entering into constant polemics and falling into ironic situations. Tonkov's wife describes that the types were written off from Vadim Sergeevich's aunt, who was born beforerevolution and poorly understanding what country she has to live in, and the housekeeper Varya, her absolute antipode. A. Shirvindt, on the other hand, believes that his grandmother and nanny, leading comical conversations in the common kitchen, became the prototype. This once again confirms that the actors brilliantly got into the image, recognizable and loved by the audience.

“Grandmothers said in two…”

Performing in all significant concerts and regularly appearing at the festive "Blue Lights", Vadim Tonkov, an actor of the drama school, soon became a hostage to the created image of Mavrikievna, however, like his partner - Nikitichna. Being at the peak of deafening popularity, both are faced with the fact that without makeup they remain completely unrecognizable to the average viewer. In this contrast, V. Kharchenko and Y. Klebanov filmed the comedy film “Grandmothers said in two…” in 1979, which premiered on television on the eve of the New Year 1980.

The plot is built on the magical transportation of images by a brilliant inventor (Vladimir Basov), who created two "Galatey" - Mavrikievna and Nikitichna. Actors encounter their characters while on tour. Watching from the outside the love and recognition of the public for their heroines, they themselves suffer hardships and inconveniences, which causes sincere laughter from the viewer. Wonderful actors starred in the film: in addition to Basov, Oleg Anofriev and Nikolai Rybnikov, Yevgeny Vesnik and Natalya Bondarchuk, which indicates the recognition of the talent of a unique duet. For the first time, Tonkov and Vladimirov wear women's costumes for the role, which puts them on a par with the bestmasters of impersonation in the history of cinematography.

Duo breakup

Despite the promising words of Mavrikievna Tonkov and Vladimirov in the 1979 feature film: “We are rushing through the years and we will be together forever”, in 1982 the creative union of two outstanding actors broke up. Although the image remained forever in the hearts of the audience. Friends did not quarrel and even continued to cooperate, but since this year the duet has ceased to exist. Contemporaries talk about Vladimirov's addiction to alcohol, which led to the disruption of concerts and worries about this more responsible partner. Vadim Tonkov dubbed radio plays, wrote books on art, made variety programs, staged plays for children, recited poetry superbly. But the audience again and again wanted to see him in the image of Mavrikievna.

The actor tried to perform alone, starred in the film "Old Stuff About the Main 2", but this was already perceived not as brightly as in a duet. So he tried to find a partner in the person of Harry Grinevich, but it was a repetition, which is always inferior to the original.

Departure

In 1988 Boris Vladimirov passed away. This death took a heavy toll on Tonkov. He suffered another heart attack, the first of which happened at forty-six. He managed to outlive his friend by 12 years, but his departure was unexpected and painful for the family and the audience. During the preparations for a tour in the United States, where he was to give several concerts as part of a creative group, the actor had a heart attack, from which Vadim Sergeevich would no longer be destinedrecover. The group flew away without him, returning the due fee to the widow and daughter of the artist upon their return.

Vadim Tonkov, whose family has always come first, who has lived in a happy marriage for more than fifty years, left a wonderful song for his admirers, which became the intro for the TV show “So far, everyone is at home.”