People's Artist of Russia died at the age of 80.
On one of the first days of the new year, fans of Russian cinema learned the sad news - an actor who played many roles in films and on the stage of the Taganka Theater.
His track record also included leading roles in films, such as the Russian soldier Ivan in the fairy tale “Ivan and Marya” and Andrei Nemchinov in “Mirror for a Hero,” but most viewers knew him as a bandit nicknamed Blotter from the film “Change the Meeting Place.” it is forbidden". Yes, thanks to his not too bright appearance, directors more often gave him minor roles. But his amazing talent allowed Bortnik to breathe so much life into each of these small roles that his images were remembered no less than the images of the main characters.
IN Lately he no longer acted or played on stage due to his age, problems with vision and health in general. In August, he went to the emergency room with serious pain, but he didn’t want to go to the hospital. A few days later he was still there, but the matter turned out to be different - Ivan Sergeevich was found to have a fractured femoral neck and gastric bleeding.
Late in the evening of January 4, Bortnik died. As doctors told his wife, Tatyana, the cause of death was most likely a detached blood clot. the site expresses sincere condolences to the family and friends of the outstanding actor, colleagues and all fans of his work. And we invite our readers to remember a few interesting facts from the life of Ivan Bortnik.
Intellectual from the back alley
Bortnik is a representative of an intelligent Moscow family. His father Sergey Vasilievich Bortnik was the editor-in-chief of Goslitizdat (now the publishing house " Fiction"), Mother Maria Sergeevna Goryachkina- Doctor of Philology, senior researcher at the Gorky Institute of World Literature. Vanya himself did not lag behind his parents; since childhood, he read a lot and studied music - he played the cello.
The parents, however, worked a lot, the boy was often left to his own devices and was raised on the street, like almost all Soviet children. He grew up in the Krasnoselsky district of the capital, between Sokolniki and three train stations, where there were a lot of punks. Together with his friends, Ivan was a hooligan, and once he even had to stand “on the sidelines” while they robbed a stall. This was the only criminal episode in his life, but the experience gained over the years of friendship with the street kids, after graduating from the Shchukin School, was useful to him in his acting work.
Gosha Kutsenko and Ivan Bortnik in the film “Antikiller” "Meeting place can not be Changed"
The role of the Black Cat gang member Blotter in the legendary Soviet TV series was not rich in words. We can say that they were not there at all. All the lines that Ivan Bortnik says on the screen, he came up with himself. As I said later Stanislav Govorukhin, Ivan essentially created this bright role himself, turning the scenes with his participation into a benefit performance, and the main thing was not to interfere with him.
“The director let me out onto the set and withdrew: “When Ivan waves his hand, then stop filming,” the artist himself told a correspondent for the publication “Soviet Screen.”
The beekeeper improvised, sparkled and sparkled. He got into the role so much that his Blotter even spat in Gleb Zheglov’s face, greatly surprising the entire crew. The actor, using slang, gestures and facial expressions, portrayed the thieves so well that the film’s consultant, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR Konstantin Nikitin insisted that the most striking lines be cut out during editing, otherwise such Blotters would appear in every Soviet yard.
But some important scenes, such as the arrest of the hero, remained in the film, although they tried to “muffle” Bortnikov’s bandit in it. Many words sound as if in the background, and if you listen carefully, you can hear, for example, the phrase “Volodya, open up, open up, you shameful wolf! I’ll gnaw out your Adam’s apple.”
One of Vysotsky's true friends
WITH Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky Bortnik became friends in 1967 when he came to work for Taganka. Over the next 13 years, they played together on the stage of this theater and became really good friends.
Not everyone knows, but Vysotsky nominated his friend Vanya for the role of Sharapov in “The Meeting Place...”. Govorukhin, however, he considered that with his talent Bortnik would stand out too much in this role, and made him Blotter.
Later, friends could star together in another film - “Ivan da Marya”. Vysotsky was supposed to play Nightingale the Robber in it, but due to disagreements with the director, he refused to participate in the project. But Bortnik got the main role.
"Sad! There’s no way he’s going to the resort...
How am I without Vanya Bortnik!
I would highlight Vanya.
What about Vanya without me?!”
(V. Vysotsky, impromptu - I. Bortnik, 1973)
He was much less lucky with leading roles in the theater and only once was the director Yuri Lyubimov invited him to replace Vysotsky in the role of Hamlet. This was a serious career opportunity, but accepting it and agreeing meant betraying Volodya. The beekeeper refused this offer without hesitation.
2003 Ivan Bortnik and Nikita Vysotsky at the funeral of Vladimir Semenovich’s mother. Source: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS Their friendship was strong, they helped and motivated each other, and exchanged advice. Vysotsky often took Ivan with him on trips and during one of them, on October 13, 1978 in Leningrad, he announced on stage that he would now perform a sketch called “Letter to Vanya Bortnik from Paris.” Many people know this song as “Letter to a Friend,” but not everyone knows to whom it is dedicated.
“Ah, dear Vanya! I'm walking around Paris
And what I hear and what I see
I’m writing in a notebook to catch up with my impressions.
When I get old, I’ll publish a bookAbout the fact that, Vanya, you and I are in Paris
You need them like pliers in a bathhouse...”
Contrary to the words from the song, Bortnik was still able to walk around Paris with Vysotsky. This happened in 1977, when the Taganka Theater went on tour to France. In 45 days, Ivan Sergeevich played roles in 65 performances in Paris, Lyon and Marseille. At the premiere performance, the audience gave the Russian artists a standing ovation for 30 minutes.
“The meeting place cannot be changed” became the only film where Bortnik and Vysotsky appeared in the frame together Smoktunovsky considered him a genius
According to colleagues, Bortnik has always stood out for his honesty, openness and decency, which frankly infuriated some. And everyone, of course, admired his incredible performance.
Let's remember Bortnik's roles in films. , Hitler from “Mother, Don’t Cry,” Klop in Konchalovsky’s film. Myself Nikita Mikhalkov, seeing Bortnik at the premiere of the film “Antikiller,” stood up and said, addressing the audience in the hall:
“Do you know who this is? This is a great Russian artist!”
Innokenty Smoktunovsky and even considered Bortnik a genius. When a new leader appeared at Taganka in the early 80s Anatoly Efros, then Smoktunovsky told him that in their troupe there is only one genius and this is Ivan Bortnik.
Ivan Bortnik. Still from the film Two great loves of Ivan Bortnik
Unlike many popular people of our time, Ivan Sergeevich did not change wives like gloves and there were only two great loves in his life. The first of them was the actress Inna Gulaya. These two were madly in love and happy, but the clash of too strong characters did not allow them to get along under the same roof. After the breakup, Inna suffered from paranoia; she could not work and was tormented by inexplicable fears. One day, unable to bear it, the woman swallowed pills and died.
The beekeeper suffered, but everything changed when he met Tatyana Nikolaevna Borzykh. This girl graduated from the theater and art school, after which she began teaching sound engineering at the same school. She loved her husband, supported him in everything and was with him until the very end.
The genes of the famous actor continue to live on in new generations. Their son with Tatyana Fedor Bortnik, born in 1969, did not follow in his father’s footsteps, but became a lighting artist. Fedor is married, and together with his wife Elena they are raising a daughter.
The actor’s son is Fyodor Bortnik. Shura Bi-2: “We never beat journalists”
Initially, the members of “Bi-2” simply wanted to show several journalists the studio of their dreams, which they found not in Australia or the UK, but in the near Moscow region. The music laboratory called Stasrecords, located in a private mansion, really produces a very favorable feeling. Right in front of the press, the musicians recorded a new song in just two takes, and some time later they showed the mixed version.
There, among the forests near Moscow, a few days ago, Shura and Lyova met a television group. According to the musicians, the journalists wanted to record an interview about the star vacation, but the conversation quickly turned to alimony, which Leva Bi-2 apparently does not pay to her ex-wife. The artists did not like this topic, they refused to comment and quickly left the scene. As befits experienced sensation hunters, television crews decided to film the “retreat” of rock stars and rushed after them. But, to our misfortune, we ended up in a room that the owner of the studio asked not to rent due to unfinished renovations. Security intervened there. “Actually, we never beat journalists,” Shura noted, commenting on everything that happened. “Besides, in this case we were in different weight categories with them, so we simply could not harm them even if we wanted to.” The police who arrived also laughed at this.” There is now talk that the television company may demand compensation for damages, referring to the damaged light fixture on the camera, torn cords and the confiscated tape.
Leva Bi-2: “I still hope that the dispute with my ex-wife will be resolved peacefully"
However, despite all the circumstances surrounding this unsuccessful interview, there is a suspicion that the trial of the century does not threaten anyone. Another thing is unpaid alimony, which inevitably becomes not the best entry on a resume. Previously, only Irina Makeeva, Leva’s ex-wife and the mother of his son Fedor, spoke about the problematic divorce. In various comments, she pointed to multimillion-dollar debt and stubborn reluctance ex-husband reimburse her. Until this moment, there had been no comments from the “Bi-2” camp, but for “MK” the team decided to make an exception.
“All this time, Leva did not want to wash his dirty laundry in public and really hoped that the problems would be resolved peacefully. After all, he and Irina have a common child who needs a full-fledged upbringing, and Leva is ready to take an active part in this,” group lawyer Igor Dzherapov told MK.
In 2007, a divorce judgment was made, which indicated Leva’s alimony obligations as Fedor’s father in the amount of 50 thousand rubles. Since then, according to Mr. Dzherapov, all alimony has been regularly paid, which is documentary confirmation. However, after the indexation of the minimum wage, on the basis of which alimony is calculated, the musician had to pay 200 thousand monthly.
“As a result, my client has a three-million-dollar debt that his income does not allow him to pay,” says the team’s lawyer. “At the same time, Ms. Makeeva puts the possibility of communicating with the child and financial debt on the same plane and does not allow the father to see his son.”
Now the court has confirmed the monthly income of the leader of the Bi-2 group. It is equal to 100 thousand rubles. According to the defense, even paying 50 thousand in alimony puts Leva’s children from different marriages in an unequal position. It is no secret to the public that Leva’s beloved woman, Asya Melnik, gave birth to the musician another son, Aviva, in 2008, and in the fall she is preparing to become a mother again. All this, according to the group’s lawyer, is sufficient grounds for a counterclaim to reduce the debt. In addition, the lawyer is perplexed by the threats emanating from Irina Makeeva to Bi-2.
“She constantly writes emails (and I can provide them) in which she claims that she has a prosecutor she knows and that she will imprison the entire group for concealing income,” says Igor Dzherapov. “And to prevent this from happening, she demands to buy her an apartment and pay 6 thousand euros for Fedor’s studies in Italy, without explaining the expediency of such a step. Our arguments about the lack of financial capabilities do not make any impression on her.”
Probably, this summer for “Bi-2” will not be a serene time of relaxation and accumulation of creative impressions, although the musicians themselves still hope that everything will end well. “MK” is monitoring developments.
Father - Bortnik Sergei Vasilyevich (1895–1979), deputy editor-in-chief of Goslitizdat (now the Khudozhestvennaya Literatura publishing house). Mother - Goryachkina Maria Sergeevna (1912–1987), Doctor of Philology, senior researcher at the Gorky Institute of World Literature. Wife – Borzykh Tatyana Nikolaevna (born 1947), head of the department, teacher of sound engineering at the Theater and Art College. Son - Bortnik Fedor Ivanovich (born 1969), lighting artist, senior engineer of the Binar company.
Ivan Bortnik was born in the area of three train stations, on Krasnoselskaya Street. He grew up very shy, and this quality, amazing for the profession of an actor, has remained in him to this day. Ivan’s mother, Maria Sergeevna, studied the 19th century, wrote about the populists, about the work of N.S. Leskova, M.E. Shchedrin. Ivan was very proud that his father, Sergei Vasilyevich, studied at the St. Petersburg Institute of Technology, then graduated from the famous Bryusov Institute in Moscow, and saw the Tsar.
The first time Ivan Bortnik performed in front of an audience was at the age of 6 – at the New Year’s party in Goslitizdat, where his father worked. The boy was placed on a chair, and in the presence of K.I. himself. Chukovsky, he read his poem entitled “Song of the Sailor,” to which Korney Ivanovich jokingly remarked: “Song of the sailor Ivan Bortnik,” putting the emphasis in his last name on the last syllable.
Until the 5th grade, Ivan studied in the village of Kratovo near Moscow, and then moved to Moscow and graduated in 1957 high school No. 317. Parents worked a lot, and Vanya was often left to his own devices. In the Moscow city House of Pioneers in Stopani Lane, he studied in a theater studio and visited a film studio in the Central Park of Culture and Leisure. His parents wanted their son to study music and sent him to cello class. There was a huge library at home - Ivan started reading early, fell in love with books, wrote poems, imitating A. Blok and S. Yesenin.
But Bortnik did not turn out to be a musician or writer. He chose the acting profession and immediately after graduating from school he entered the acting department of the Shchukin School, which came as a complete surprise to his parents. Ivan Bortnik ended up in V.A.’s workshop. Etusha.
Yu.P. Lyubimov staged an excerpt from A.N.’s play during the course. Ostrovsky's "Guilty Without Guilt", in which Ivan played the role of Neznamov. Working with Lyubimov became an unexpected discovery for Bortnik. In the graduation performance “Warm Heart” directed by V.A. Etush I. Bortnik played Khlynov. Took part in excerpts on A.P. Chekhov, K.A. Trenev, A.M. Gorky.
In 1961, after graduating from the Shchukin School, the talented actor was invited to many theaters. But Ivan, on the advice of A.G. Koonen chose the N.V. Gogol Theater, where he began working with the excellent director P.P. Vasiliev and talented actors - V.I. Khokhryakov, A.S. Krasnopolsky, A.N. Tolbuzin, P.V. Krylov, I.A. Smyslovsky, E.P. Kalinina. Ivan Bortnik played leading roles in the plays “Pass a Smile”, “Date at the Bird Cherry Tree”, “The Robber Sisters”, “Taras Bulba”, “Little Red Devils” and others and over time became the leading artist of the theater. Unfortunately, P.P. Vasiliev left after some time, and, as often happens, directors in the theater began to change frequently.
Having worked at the Theater named after N.V. Gogol for six years, in 1967 Ivan Bortnik came to Yu.P. Lyubimov to the legendary Taganka Drama and Comedy Theater and became one of its luminaries. Everyone wanted to go to the Taganka Theater; there was a special atmosphere in which the creative life of the actors took place, performances were staged, each of which became an event. Art critics have been writing dissertations about the productions of the Taganka Theater for many years. I. Bortnik found himself in the theater at the peak of its rise and played many brilliant roles in Lyubimov’s productions. Yu.P. Lyubimov says: “The gift of an improviser is a happy and rare gift. Bortnik fantasizes uncontrollably.”
Ivan began with the main role of Pavel Vlasov in the sensational play “Mother” based on the play by M. Gorky. In “Pugachev” he played two roles – Shigaev and Chumakov. Participated in the plays: “What to do?”, “Ten Days that Shook the World”, “Fallen and Living”, “Three Sisters” (Salty), “Revision Tale” (Akakiy Akakievich Bashmachkin and Korobochka), “Feast in the Time of Plague” "(Mozart), "Alive", "Hamlet" (Laertes), "Wooden Horses" (Paul), "Boris Godunov" (Pimen), "Vladimir Vysotsky".
In 1977, the Taganka Theater went on tour to France. At the opening of the tour in Paris, the audience gave a standing ovation - the ovation lasted for half an hour. Ivan Bortnik was involved in the performances “Mother”, “Hamlet”, “Listen!”, which were successfully received in Paris, Lyon and Marseille and performed 65 performances in 45 days. The actor visited Paris ten years later - in 1987, when the Taganka Theater’s play “At the Lower Depths”, staged by A.V. Efros, was brought to France, where Bortnik brilliantly played Satin. Vladimir Vysotsky once said about Ivan Bortnik: “He can work endlessly, and this is also a happy gift - to be in a creative state all the time.”
In Lyubimov’s play “A Feast in the Time of Plague,” based on “Little Tragedies” by A.S. Pushkin, I. Bortnik played the role of Mozart superbly. Their duet with Leonid Filatov became truly unique - the actors seemed to be charged by each other and left an indelible impression on the audience. Ivan Bortnik’s magnificent performance in this production was noted by all the capital’s newspapers, and the actor was always appreciated by critics.
In the cinema I.S. Bortnik began acting in 1962, playing the main role of the seminarian artist Vasily in the film “Confession”. He played his next film role after a long break. In 1970, Pavel Lyubimov’s drama “The Day Ahead” was released, and in 1974 the actor played the main role in the fairy tale film “Ivan and Marya”. From that time on, directors increasingly began to invite Bortnik to the movies. He played in Ilya Averbakh’s films “Other People’s Letters” (1975) and “Declaration of Love” (1977), Nikolai Koshelev’s film story “Starshina” (1979) and others.
Ivan Sergeevich often comes up with texts for his characters, and this is a special talent, because you need to have the gift of feeling the character and write in the style of the character played by the actor. Bortnik took part in working on the text of the play “Alive” based on B. Mozhaev’s work “From the Life of Fyodor Kuzkin”. When the author republished the book, he included text invented by the actor.
In the film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed” (1979), his Blotter was listed simply as “a silent guy in a six-blade,” but during the filming, the actor created a bright character out of almost nothing, came up with all the words himself and made the role incredibly authentic. Ivan Sergeevich came up with the scene where the bandits come out of the basement to surrender while he was changing clothes - he wrapped a scarf, put on a cap and boots. His appearance with the song “And on the black bench, on the dock...” came as a complete surprise to everyone. The spectators who gathered behind the fence of the set gave the actor a real standing ovation.
When Ivan Bortnik starts playing, he forgets about everything. The wonderful actor Viktor Pavlov, who played the role of Levchenko in the film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed,” once said: “...I think that the most striking role in the film was played by Ivan Bortnik.” Govorukhin unquestioningly trusted Bortnik, never rehearsed with him - he simply narrated the scene, described the proposed situation, and the actor himself decided what he would do next. Ivan Sergeevich generally has a rare gift of surprising his colleagues. Stanislav Govorukhin said after filming the film: “Ivan Bortnik always amazes, he is a phenomenal actor with untapped potential.”
After the release of the film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed,” Ivan Bortnik began receiving letters. One of the spectators, who worked in court, wrote: “When I saw you in the film, I was amazed. Many wonderful actors played in the film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed,” but it was clear that they were playing well, excellently... But you didn’t play. I have worked in court for many years, and have seen many criminals... Where did you find this gait? How to dress?.. I understand that artists worked on the picture with you, but all this had to be seen and done... You were not an actor, you were a real criminal... There was something flawed, dead-end, hopeless about you.”
In 1980, Nikita Mikhalkov approved I. Bortnik for the role of Vovchik in the film “Relatives”. Ivan Sergeevich considers this role one of his best works. In 1987, Vladimir Khotinenko invited I.S. Bortnik for one of the main roles in the film “Mirror for the Hero”, and the film again revealed the talented actor to the audience.
Ivan Sergeevich prefers to work with directors whom he knows and loves. He always improvises, freely manages the text and his actions. With particular warmth, the actor remembers working with N. Mikhalkov, G. Poloka, V. Khotinenko. For him, acting is not a profession, but a way of life. Ivan Bortnik, who has played roles in films, many of which are not the main ones, takes a place next to the brightest screen masters. He has a rare property - to merge with his characters so organically that the audience is sure: Blotter from the film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed” (1979), Vovchik from “Rodney” (1981) and his other characters are real “twin brothers” "favorite actor. While filming the film “Death in Cinema” (1990), Bortnik wrote the texts for his role every night, and in the morning he checked what he had written with the film’s director K.P. Khudyakov, who almost always approved his version.
Two months after the death of Ivan Bortnik, his widow told how difficult it was for everyone’s beloved artist to pass away, and how many trials befell him. A few years before his death, the star of the film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed” lost his sight. His eyes became his wife, who never left his side.
Blindness was the result of retinal detachment. The actor underwent three operations to restore his vision before doctors said there was nothing more they could do for him. Since then, Ivan Bortnik has been within four walls and no longer received guests.
“At first he began to see poorly, he could only distinguish between black and white, and then he became blind. I felt very sorry for him. You can’t read, you can’t watch TV, nothing. He only listened to the radio. I didn’t communicate with friends, I didn’t want to be remembered in this way,” the actor’s widow said in the “You Won’t Believe” program.
A few months before his death, the artist suffered a misfortune: he broke his hip. But the doctors in the hospital could not perform an operation on him for a long time; a whole bunch of diseases interfered with him, in which surgical intervention threatened him with death. Therefore, the actor, according to his wife, spent too long in the hospital, which worsened his general condition.
After the operation, Ivan Bortnik perked up for a while and even mastered a walker so as not to be a burden to his wife. But the miracle did not happen. The People's Artist contracted pneumonia and died in the arms of his beloved wife.
“His temperature started to rise, he asked for a drink. I gave it to him once, then a second time. And suddenly he wheezed. I started turning him on his side, and that was it. The heart stopped,” the widow said about her husband’s death.
Let us remind you that People's Artist of Russia Ivan Bortnik died on January 4. The funeral of the star of the film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed” and “Relatives” took place at the Troekurovskoye Cemetery in Moscow. Relatives, colleagues and fans came to say goodbye to him. Ivan Bortnik and Tatyana Borzykh lived together for 50 years. The only son, 31-year-old Fedor, who works as a lighting technician in the theater, now supports his mother in everything.
The brilliant actor Ivan Bortnik was “sewn up” from alcoholism together with Vladimir Vysotsky
Oh, Vanya, Vanya Bortnik - a quiet gentleman, how proud I am that I am on a first-name basis with you,” Vysotsky dedicated these lines to the actor Ivan Bortnik.
He is known to viewers primarily for his film roles as Vovchik from “Rodney” and Blotter from “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed.” Although in life he bears little resemblance to his heroes: a native Muscovite from a family of intellectuals, an extremely erudite person. His colleagues immediately warned me that interviewing Bortnik was not realistic. Like, he will fool his head, and then refuse...=
And indeed, when everything had already been agreed upon, the actor suddenly declared: “There is no courage.” But my persistence paid off. We met at the metro, just like in the movie “Meeting Place...”. I had the Express Newspaper in my hands. I was identified by it.
Fight with Inna Gulaya
Ivan Sergeevich, where are you from?
He was born in the capital, but spent until the sixth grade with his grandmother in Kratovo, near Moscow. My maternal grandfather is a full Knight of St. George, and my grandmother was completely illiterate - from the city of Sapozhok, Ryazan region. Father, born in 1895 (saw the Tsar!), studied at the famous Technological Institute in St. Petersburg, then graduated from the Bryusov Institute in Moscow, was deputy. editor-in-chief of Goslitizdat. And my mother is a doctor of philological sciences. It was a complete surprise for them when I entered the Shchukin School. Looking at me, Inka Gulaya became an artist, although at first she wanted to enter a foreign university: she and I studied at the same school. We had a first love that was completely crazy. We were friends with Sasha Zbruev and Valya Malyavina. Valya was only 16 years old; he and Sasha were not married. She wrote in her book “Hear Me, Pure in Heart”: “Sasha and I got married, but Vanya and Inna did not.”
- Why?- If this had happened, there would have been daily fighting. She and I have very similar personalities: both nervous. They fought constantly. I was monstrously jealous of her: she was charming. - Does your wife Tatyana have a different character?- Normal. She is a decent woman, not an actress. From the nobles. She graduated from the Institute of Communications and now teaches at a theater college. This is my first and only wife, with whom we lived for 35 years. We have a son Fedor and a grandson Alyosha. He is 12 years old. - Have you been seriously involved in raising your son?- Makarenko is made of me like a bullet made of shit. I had no time to educate, 30 performances a month, and rehearsals in the morning.
The text was invented by the Weiners
- Ivan Sergeevich, whether you like it or not, many people remember you for your role as the drunkard Vovchik from “Rodney”...
Nikita Mikhalkov tried several people for this role, including Oleg Borisov. But he stopped at me. Moreover, Nonna Mordyukova was on my side. We have already played husband and wife in the same film by Andrei Smirnov. I came up with all the text for my character myself. Merezhko, the author of the script, was terribly indignant. I couldn’t find Vovchik’s character until I remembered one heavily drinking man who said: “I look at the rr-r-r-fish in the aquarium - and I cry!” That’s where it came from: “Mar-r-Rus, I’ll take the medicine right now...” - Why didn’t you act with Mikhalkov anymore?- He was asked this question, he answered: “Well, there are no roles for Ivan yet.” We recently met at the premiere of Antikiller at Pushkinsky, where I starred with his nephew Yegor Konchalovsky in the role of a thieves nicknamed Bedbug. I saw Nikita come in in a white suit with his daughter Nadya, he saw me and started shouting: “Do you know who this is? This is a great Russian artist!” By the way, after looking at the picture, Nikita said to Yegor: “Why the fuck did you film that?!”
Your other “calling card” is the Blotter in the “Meeting Place...”. After all, Vysotsky recommended you to Govorukhin?
In fact, Vovka wanted me to play Sharapov. And we filmed in Ukraine, in Odessa. Konkin just played Pavka Korchagin at the Dovzhenko studio and received the Lenin Komsomol Prize. Govorukhin was told: “You will film Konkin. Say thank you that Vysotsky was approved.” Govorukhin says to me: “Vanya, maybe you can play Blotter? True, there is no text there...” In general, here too I came up with all the text myself. - What did the Weiners say?- Nothing. But the text I came up with was not even inserted into the book, which was reprinted several times.
Sew it into a... spiral!
Is it true that you like to drink?
Every Russian person loves to drink. “Fear the artist who doesn’t drink,” said the great actor Alexei Denisovich Dikiy. Unfortunately, as a Russian person, I don’t know the limits. Well, you drink for three days... And then what’s it like to get out of this abomination?! And that’s why I don’t drink for a long time, just like now.
- I guess you often drank with Vysotsky?
Just rarely with him, more and more they “tied up” as a couple. I didn’t drink for two and a half years. Marina Vladi brought us both the medicine “Esperal” from Paris. And Yuri Lyubimov thought that it looked like a spiral from an electric stove. That’s what he told us: “If you don’t sew a spiral up your ass, you’ll be fired!” On a postcard from Spain Volodka wrote to me: - I miss you, Vanya, I’m surrounded by Spain, They drink bitters, sip gin, Without understanding or fear, They, Vanya, are all without SPRINGS.
Resuscitators committed suicide
When was the last time you saw Vladimir Semenovich?
In the evening, two days before his death, the doorbell rang. He came in wearing a smart corduroy suit with the keys to a Mercedes. He saw a bottle of St. John's wort vodka and immediately: “Come on, pour it!” I quietly say to my wife Tanya: “Hide the car key.” They drank, he became prettier: “Let’s go,” he says, “to continue with me!” Let’s take some alcohol from Nisanov (the photographer). Then he realized: “Where are the car keys?” I say: “They hid it, we’d better take a taxi.” We went to his girlfriend Oksana on Gruzinskaya (she later became Yarmolnik’s wife)… By the way, not everyone loved her. I heard: he and Oksana almost got engaged. This is not true! Before his death, he wrote the last lines to his wife Marina: “I am alive, I will keep you and the Lord for 12 years!”
- So, you have arrived at Gruzinskaya...- He took out alcohol, drank, and talked until late. In the morning he wakes me up: “Vanyatka, I need a hangover.” I ran to the store and brought two bottles of Stolichnaya for 0.75 each. Oksana caused a scandal and broke one in the kitchen sink. But we still got a hangover from the remaining bottle. I said goodbye to Volodya, took a taxi, went home, turned off the phone and went to bed, because the next day I had an important performance - “Ten Days That Shook the World.” As Tanya later said, in the evening Volodya came completely sober, took the car keys from her and left. He didn't wake me up. - How did you find out about Vysotsky’s death?- On the day of the play “Ten Days...” my Tanya came home and said, “Volodya has died!” Everything went dark before my eyes. When I saw a portrait in a mourning frame at the theater, I became hysterical. Somehow we performed the performance... Lyubimov and I went to Volodya’s apartment, there were already a lot of people there. Volodya was lying in the bedroom dressed all in black... I started sobbing. His mother, Nina Maksimovna, came up behind him: “Cry, Vanechka, cry...” I spent three nights in Volodya’s apartment.
- Is it true that Vysotsky was tied up before his death?
They say that they tied him up - as if they didn’t want him to drink a lot. On that last night, there were two resuscitators in the apartment on Gruzinskaya - Candidate of Sciences Tolya Fedotov and Igor Goryaev from Sklif. They are no longer alive - both committed suicide. Mystic…
- Did you like Marina Vladi?
I liked it. Volodya loved her very much. He even had a “personal” telephone operator on the international line; Lyusya kept connecting him to Paris to talk to Marina. In 1977, our first trip to Paris took place on tour. He lived with Marina, and I lived in a hotel. Marina packed food for me there. We led a nocturnal lifestyle, went to the Rasputin restaurant. Once, after the play “Mother,” I was waiting for Marina on the street, and suddenly I heard someone meowing behind me: “Mom, mom.” I looked back: a very beautiful mulatto girl was looking at me with enthusiastic eyes. She saw the performance and tried to show me her admiration. It turned out that this girl named Fouzia was from the Moroccan royal family and studied in Russia. She followed me to Lyon, Marseille... She persuaded me: “Let’s go to Morocco, there you will be a capitalist!” Vovka grabbed his head: “What are you doing?!” An affair with a foreigner is the worst crime for a Soviet person! It would be better if you drank vodka every day.” In Marseille we parted ways. They both cried. They became very attached to each other.
- Is it true that Vysotsky has an illegitimate daughter from your theater actress Tatyana Ivanenko?
Is it true. One day at half past three in the morning, a drunken Volodka came to me with an open bottle of whiskey in his hand and said: “Let’s go to Tanka, I want to see my daughter.” We arrived, we rang the doorbell - no one was there. We decided that Tatyana was with her mother and went there. And next to the police station - that’s when the cops grabbed us: “Oh-oh-oh! - they say, “Zheglov, Blotter!” And to the department. And Volodka goes to the bench and goes straight to sleep. But in the end we were released. After his death, Tatyana admitted to me that she was at home then and did not open it. “What a fool!” - I told her. After all, Vysotsky never had such an impulse again. And this happened six months before his death. - Ivan Sergeevich, what have you been rehearsing at the theater lately?
The role of Nerzhin from the dramatization of Solzhenitsyn’s novel “In the First Circle.” Each rehearsal for three months began with a scandal. Lyubimov shouted to me: “You are an evil boy!” And I understand that I basically have nothing to play with... At some point, it suddenly broke through me: I was sitting in my underpants on a bunk and loudly speaking into space: “And everything went to the f... mother!” Lyubimov did not communicate with me for a month. Now, thank God, everything is fine.
By the way
Vysotsky’s famous poem, which later became a song: “But in general, Vanya, you and I are needed in Paris like pliers in a Russian bathhouse,” is dedicated specifically to Bortnik.
Reference
* Starred in the films “Confession”, “The Day Ahead”, “Relatives”, “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed”, “Mirror for the Hero”, “Other People’s Letters”, “Antikiller”, “Declaration of Love”, “Death in the Movies” , Mom, don’t worry”, “Ivan and Marya”, “Starshina”, “Muslim”, etc.