At the end of September, the 89-year-old director of the television series “Eternal Call”, “Shadows Disappear at Noon” and “Two Fates” Vladimir Krasnopolsky was buried at the Troekurovsky cemetery in Moscow. He shot these and many other tapes together with his second cousin Valery Uskov.
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Moms Valery and Vladimir are cousins. The difference between Uskov and Krasnopolsky is two months. Since childhood, they lived in the same apartment and lay next to each other in beds.
– Relatives recalled that when one of us started to roar, he would wake up the second one, – Uskov smiled. – So, since childhood, we have developed a creative duet, which quite impressively influenced those around us.
When the boys were put to bed, they waved their arms, from which shadows ran along the walls. In addition to an impromptu shadow theater, the brothers also made a home puppet theater.
– The figurines were sewn by ourselves and showed “Treasure Island”. Krasnopolsky always played positive roles, and I played negative ones, – Uskov said. – At school they participated in amateur performances and staged the play “Two Captains”. For ten years, Volodya and I sat at the same desk. If we were given gifts for a birthday, then definitely one and the second. And then, when we grew up, we began to give each other envelopes with money.
“Live as you want”
Uskov was known as a very loving man. At first, he connected his life with a classmate at VGIK, Lyudmila Shlyakhtur, who later played Verka the milliner in “The meeting place cannot be changed.” Their marriage was short-lived. Valera could not endure the inexplicable outbursts of aggression of his beloved. And after the divorce, he took off Lyudmila in the series “Shadows Disappear at Noon” in the role of Natalia Menshikova. In the credits, she appeared under the name Davydova (after her next husband, an employee of MGIMO). Later, the actress worsened mental problems, and at the end of 1996 she committed suicide.
The second wife of Uskov was the ballerina of the Leningrad Music Hall and classmate of Mikhail Baryshnikov Yulia Gerard.
– She was only 23, but she managed to be married and give birth to a son. There were always a lot of men around her, but I beat them all off, – Valery Ivanovich recalled his student hobby. – Julia said: “I don’t want to dance, but I want to feed you and all my friends.” I was in no hurry with the proposal – the sad experience of the first marriage taught me not to commit rash acts. This is probably why Julia decided to have an abortion. She just told me that she was in the hospital. I rushed to her, did not find her, but learned everything from the doctors. On emotions, he wrote her a note with the words “live as you want” and left.
Then he connected his life with the CT announcer Natalya Chelobova, whom he fell in love with, looking at the TV screen.
– Immediately began to call the television center. At that moment, I had “Eternal Call”, and “Shadows Disappear at Noon”, and the State Prize behind me, but she did not want to get to know me. He tormented the girl with calls for several weeks, dialing her number 20 times a day. As a result, she took pity and became my wife. We are together to this day.
The spouses have no children.
Council of Abdulov
Vladimir Krasnopolsky, unlike his brother, was devoted all his life to one woman – costume designer Vanda Yasenetskaya.
– His personal life has always been more coherent than mine, – shrugged Uskov. – Once Volodya and I were riding in a trolleybus, a very beautiful girl came in. Krasnopolsky noticed her and rushed to see her off. The girl’s name was Wanda, and soon she married Volodya. True, she always said: “I am the wife of Uskov and Krasnopolsky.” Nobody was surprised by these words. In character, Wanda and I were closer than she and Volodya. But if we lived together, of course, there would be smoke like a rocker! Krasnopolsky’s wife, like me, loved to party, invite a lot of guests. Volodya is also restless, but more restrained. He always makes sure that the dishes are not broken, they drink in moderation.
Wanda Nikolaevna died four years ago. Now her famous husband is gone. The couple had an adult daughter, Elena. She is under 60. Like her mother, she graduated from the Moscow Theater and Art School, worked for Mosfilm for two years. Then she went into equestrian sports, becoming a famous trainer. Gave the parents of grandson Vasya. As a child, he starred in several films.
“The grandson opened a direct road to almost any theater university, but after graduating from Shchukin, he went into the army,” his venerable grandfather said. – In our TV series “Kapkan” with my brother, my grandson played the son of Alexander Abdulov. After filming, I approached Sasha and asked him to write a wish on a joint picture with Vasya. Sanya brought out large: “Vasenka, run away from the cinema! And the farther and faster, the better!” So he ran … The kid saw how I work, what happens behind the scenes. Who argues – the work of an actor is very difficult. It depends on many circumstances, often on the occasion or even the whim of the producer.
Photo source: Boris Kudryavov