May 6, 1922
Vladimir Etush was born - theater and film actor, the inimitable Karabas-Barabas, comrade Saakhov, dentist Shpak.
Everything, everything I'd acquired through backbreaking labor, was lost! Three tape recorders, three foreign movie cameras, three domestic cigarette cases, a jacket... suede... Three. Jackets.
Born into a Moscow Jewish family. Twice:
Back then, some families used to register a newborn boy a year later. They thought he'd be stronger when he was drafted into the army. That's what they did with me.
He fought and was decorated. After being wounded, he received a second-degree disability and was discharged. He graduated from the acting department of the Shchukin School. He became a leading actor at the Vakhtangov Theater.
If ideology is involved, you can be sure the book will be published and the film will be funded. And when they were filming "Buratino," they weren't concerned about the children, but about their heads.
He could act in any genre, from buffoonery to tragedy. He was especially popular with the general public in comedic roles. After Kidnapping, Caucasian Style, he gained particular favor with the people of the Caucasus.
Friends warned me to be careful—they said Caucasians could beat me up. But it turned out quite the opposite. One time I went to the market, and they practically started carrying me around.
As a teacher at Shchukin, he graduated his first class in 1961, including Alexander Zbruev and Veniamin Smekhov. In 1987, he became the school's rector.
Film actors are sprinters, theatre actors are long-distance runners
One day, Etush's apartment was burglarized. Some time later, the thieves returned everything—with a note reading, "Dear Etush! We apologize..."
Why are people being detained at the "Dissenters' Marches"? What are they afraid of? They're not risking anything—it's clear where the majority is. Give people the opportunity to speak freely—you'll learn something too.
In 2016, Etush won the Best Actress award for playing the old woman in the play "Benefit." In 2018, he performed this role for the last time. He died in March 2019, just short of his 97th birthday.
Death is something that is, of course, unexpected, but expected.