March 4, 1992
Passed away Yevgeny EvstigneevAn actor and master of transformation, he created a whole gallery of characters—from Comrade Dynin and the underground millionaire Koreiko to Professor Pleischner and Professor Preobrazhensky.
I'm a character actor, so I've played a variety of roles, mostly minor ones. I believe an actor should be able and willing to play everything.
Born in 1926 Nizhny NovgorodHis father was a metallurgist, his mother a milling machine operator. Zhenya himself became a metalworker after finishing seven years of school. His father died, and then his stepfather, so he had to help his mother. In his free time, he played jazz in the factory band.
At one of his concerts, the rector of the theater school noticed him, a virtuoso drummer. He invited him to his office. Yevstigneyev declined—a mechanic's salary was twice his stipend. But he changed his mind. Now the school bears his name.
I am, above all, curious. And although it is impossible to love all people, an artist should never lose interest in them.
In 1954, 28-year-old Yevstigneyev was accepted straight into the third year of the Moscow Art Theatre School. His classmates were Oleg Basilashvili, Mikhail Kozakov, Tatyana Doronina.
A year later, the students created the "Studio of Young Actors"—the core of the future Sovremennik Theater. There, in 1960, the actor played the king in a production of Schwartz's play "The Naked King." And he became famous. Actors from all over the Soviet Union came to the Sovremennik Theater, and then to the Moscow Art Theater, to attend the Yevstigneyev Theater.
Theater will never die. It's the lifeblood of society, and it's impossible to cut it off. Just don't expect theater to solve any problems. It raises questions and makes you think.
In 1964 he played Dynin in his film debut Elema Klimova "Welcome, or No Trespassing." He has appeared in over 100 films, including "Beware of the Car," "17 Moments of Spring," "The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed," "Winter Evening in Gagra," "Heart of a Dog," and others.
He was married three times: to Galina Volchek, Lilia Zhurkina, and Irina Tsivina. He flew to Moscow with Irina in 1992. London — to have heart surgery. The cardiac surgeon honestly warned him there was no chance. The actor had a heart attack. They couldn't save him.
