Actor Nikolai Yakovchenko: filmography

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

Nikolai Yakovchenko is an actor whose photo can be found on many posters of popular Soviet films. He was remembered by the audience for his bright roles in cinema. One of the most famous and popular actors of the USSR, who was not given the title of People's Artist for a long time, Yakovchenko did not receive a professional theatrical education, but this did not prevent him from entering his name into the history of cinema forever.

Year and place of birth

Nikolai Yakovchenko was born on April 20 (or May 3 according to the old calendar) 1900 in the Ukrainian city of Priluki, which at that time belonged to the Poltava province (today it is the Chernihiv region). His father was Fedor Yakovchenko, he was a hereditary Don Cossack and all his life he was engaged in the fish trade. His mother is Paraskeviia Yakovchenko, she, like her father, had a simple origin and was a peasant woman. In total, the family had five children, except for Nikolai, his brother Sergei and three sisters: Maria, Elena andAlexandra.

The first steps in the acting profession

Nikolai Yakovchenko never entered or graduated from educational institutions related to the profession of an actor. But at the same time, according to the professionals with whom he had a chance to work, from birth he knew how to ingeniously transform, thanks to which Nikolai was easily given a variety of roles. The first performance of Nikolai Yakovchenko took place on the amateur stage of his hometown. After that, he finally realized that it was this craft that would become the main thing for him in life.

After the theater in Priluki, Nikolai Yakovchenko also played roles in Simferopol, Cherkasy, Luben, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Chernigov. In addition, the actor was remembered by the visitors of the famous Philip Khmara Theater for his participation in plays based on the works of the famous playwright Leonid Andreev.

Many years later, the actor recalled with pleasure how he ended up in Kyiv in the late 1920s. At the same time, in his hands was a string bag with butter, lard, a piece of bread and beetroot. He was very lucky, he was able to win the trust of the director of the famous capital's theater named after Franco and enter his troupe. After this event, he received an apartment in the center of Kyiv. Which for a young man in those years was a very big achievement. Moreover, the most famous actors of the city lived in the house where his apartment was located at that time.

Professional activities

Since the beginning of the 30s, Nikolai Yakovchenko has been in the newly created Kharkovtheater of the revolution. Here he is extremely in demand and plays roles in a variety of productions. Among the most famous works of the actor are the roles:

• Zhihareva "This";
• Zakharova "Fear";
• Nikolay Pronashko "Girls of our country";
• village chief Vojta "Gendarme";
• John Falstaff "Falstaff";
• Wurm "Cunning and Love";
• Hirsch "Fight in the West".

In 1934, Nikolai Yakovchenko returned to Kyiv's Franko Theater again, where he worked for the next five years. After that, in 1939, Yakovchenko went to serve in the armed forces of the Soviet Union. It should be noted that as a soldier, he participated in the so-called winter war.

After the army, Nikolai Fedorovich returns to his favorite profession. He begins to work at the Kiev Comedy Theater, where he successfully plays in such productions as:

• "Night in Venice";
• "Colombina";
• "Mr. X".

However, soon Nikolai Yakovchenko again receives a job offer at the Franko Theater. This place becomes for him the love of his life, where he will work until the very last days. Among the performances and plays in which the actor participated, there are works by both domestic and foreign authors. Among the most famous works of the actor, his roles in performances stand out:

• "Chasing Two Hares" (Prokop).
• "Natalka Poltavka" (Mikola).
• "Last" (Liasch).
• "Pharaohs"(Overko).
• "Martyn Borulya" (Protaisiy Penenzhka).
• "Kalinova Grove" (Matros Krym).

War years

During the Great Patriotic War, the theater in which Yakovchenko worked from the first days began to form the first front-line brigade of artists, which was soon sent to the front. At the same time, Nikolai Fedorovich, although he strove for the front, could not get into this formation. He left with his family for the city of Tambov.

In the future, he ends up in Semipalatinsk, where he joins the troupe of the local theater and works on its stage, periodically going on tour to the front. However, soon he also goes to the war zone already as part of the second brigade, assembled from the actors of the Franco theater. With this team, he, among other things, finds himself near Stalingrad, where he speaks to the soldiers of the Red Army. It was during the Great Patriotic War that Nikolai Fedorovich was awarded the title "People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR". It happened in 1943.

Yakovchenko found the end of hostilities in Hungary, where, together with his brigade, he participated in the liberation of the capital of this country, the city of Budapest. Returning to Kyiv, Nikolai Fedorovich again comes to work at the Franko Theater. Here he gets several rooms in a large communal apartment, and here he celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Franco Theater.

Nikolai Yakovchenko: movies

It is worth noting that the majority of viewers know the famous artist precisely from his roles in cinema. The firstThe actor Nikolai Yakovchenko had filming experience back in 1939. He got a small role in the cult film Shchors. Of course, few people noticed him in this picture. However, the next role in the film "Maxim Perepelitsa" has already brought fame to the actor. This film was a huge success among various segments of the population of the then USSR.

And yet, when people hear about the actor Nikolai Yakovchenko and his filmography, the first thing that pops up in their memory is the unforgettable comedy "Chasing Two Hares". This picture has been pleasing the audience for many decades with excellent humor, the quality of shooting and, of course, acting and directorial work. This also applies to the role played by Nikolai Fedorovich. The photo above shows Nikolai Yakovchenko in roles that are considered the most important in his filmography.

In the future, the actor continued to appear mainly in comedy films, among which one can especially note:

• "Viy";
• "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka";
• "Funny Toadscream".

Moreover, his characters always turned out to be quite special and original. Perhaps that is why Yakovchenko's game was so remembered by many generations of Soviet citizens.

Actor's personal life

The personal life of Nikolai Fedorovich has developed quite tragically, and this applies not only to his fate, but also to his children. The actor married a beautiful woman named Tatyana. She also worked at the Franco Theater and was ten years younger than her husband. Unfortunately,Tatiana passed away early because she got cancer.

Children of actor Nikolai Yakovchenko also inherited the tragic fate of their mother. Nikolay had two daughters, and both of them died early from the same illness as their mother.

Death of Yakovchenko

Actor Nikolai Yakovchenko died in September 1974. It is worth noting that the last years were very difficult for him. He began to drink a lot, apparently, the tragic fate of his wife, as well as other events that he had to endure, had a strong effect on him.