April 13, 1994
Passed away Nikolay Kryuchkov. Actor. An idol of Soviet youth in the 1930s–1950s. Star of the films "Tractor Drivers" and "Heavenly Slow-Motor."
— First things first, first things first — planes!
- Well, what about the girls?
— And the girls — later!
He was born in late 1910 to a Moscow working-class family. He was born premature—his mother twisted her ankle, and the fall triggered premature contractions. Ultimately, he was the only survivor of his six siblings.
Why am I so resilient? Probably because my mother went to the cellar for sauerkraut and gave birth to me there at seven months old, and then nursed me back to health and raised me.
Kolya's father died early, before he was even ten. He also contracted typhus, which left him with a crooked neck, earning him the nickname "Crooked Kolya." Boxing helped him get back on track.
At 14, he began training as an engraver and reeler at the Trekhgornaya Manufactory School. He participated in amateur performances, singing, playing the accordion, and tap dancing. While still working, he studied acting at the TRAM (Workers' Youth Theater).
He made his film debut in 1933, in the film Boris Barnet "Outskirts." There's a story about how, when he auditioned for the role of Senka the shoemaker at the workshop, he didn't waste his time waiting for his turn—he grabbed a hammer and started hammering heels into his shoes. When the director called out, he grunted, "What do you want?" He was cast.
When I started auditioning for this role, it seemed to me that I had only been a shoemaker my whole life. The only thing I had was a hammer in my left hand—I'm left-handed.
The film was a success. Kryuchkov was invited back to appear in films again and again. However, the work didn't always go smoothly. They say that Mikhail Romm He cast Kryuchkov in his first full-length film, "Thirteen." When they arrived for filming in the Karakum Desert, the actor began drinking. The director was so annoyed by the director's violations of work discipline that one day he commanded, "Fall!" Kryuchkov fell. Romm announced that the scene in which Kryuchkov's character was killed by an enemy bullet had been filmed and that he could return to Moscow. The actor didn't even appear in the credits. The film, however, became one of the hits of 1936-1937.
The white streak began again in 1939 - Ivan Pyryev cast Kryuchkov in one of the leading roles in the film "Tractor Drivers." After its release, the lead actors became stars, and the director and actors Kryuchkov and Ladynina They also received Stalin Prizes.
In 1941, he asked to go to the front but was refused—the military recruitment office said he'd be more useful as an actor. He performed with concert bands for the military and continued acting. In 1945, "Heavenly Slow Walker" was released.
Both in life and on screen, he did everything with a dashing, heroic demeanor. When he had to get behind the wheel of a tractor or a motorcycle, he did. When he had to lie under a tank while filming "The Front," he did. He didn't, it seems, fully appreciate the risk. He broke his arms and legs 12 times on set, burning his eyes. Filmmaking was a kind of heroic pastime for him, a pastime for real men. He drank just as recklessly and recklessly. They say he'd drink an incredible amount of alcohol on a dare and never get drunk. Legends circulated about the wild sprees of the trio of friends—Kryuchkov, Boris Andreyev, and Pyotr Aleinikov. And now you can't tell the truth from the fiction in stories like how "three tankmen, three merry friends" spent the night in a furniture store window (Alexander Kolbovsky, film critic).
He was married four times. His first wife was an actress. Marina Pastukhova — They met on the set of "Tractor Drivers" (it was her film debut, she played in an episode). Her second wife was Alla Parfanyak — The affair with her began on the set of "Heavenly Slow Walker." A son was born. Ten years later, the couple separated. Alla married Mikhail Ulyanov. And Kryuchkov fell in love with a female skier. Zoya Kochanovskaya — They met on the set of the film "Home," got married, and three months after the wedding she was fatally hit by a car.
His fourth marriage, to Lydia, an assistant director at Mosfilm, lasted more than 30 years. He quit drinking and lived to be 83.
