A friend showed the last footage of Gurchenko before his death. Lyudmila Gurchenko had plastic surgery despite the prohibitions of her doctors Last love and death of loved ones

“One day in 2000, I left my office and saw a woman in an elegant coat, hat and gloves walking along the school corridor. Turns around - Gurchenko! I'm just speechless! And Lyudmila Markovna calmly says: “Are you the director here now? And I studied here for 10 years. Would you like me to show you which desk I was sitting at?” This is how our acquaintance and our friendship began.

Lyudmila Markovna then came to Kharkov several more times, and we met and talked. She recalled her childhood in Kharkov with pleasure,” says Lesya Zub, director of Kharkov gymnasium No. 6.


Lyudmila Gurchenko in the film “Girl with a Guitar”. 1958
Photo: MOSFILM-INFO

I remember I really liked one story. Once in Moscow, a man approached Gurchenko and quietly said: “But you and I stole together...” Lyudmila Markovna was taken aback, but then she guessed what he was talking about and invited his fellow countryman to a cafe. This meant the episode when Gurchenko was not yet six years old - that’s when the war began. Her father went to the front, and she and her mother, Elena Alexandrovna, remained in Kharkov. We didn’t have time to evacuate because there weren’t enough seats on the train. In October 1941, the Germans entered the city. Raids, arrests, executions, food problems, curfew... And Lucy, you know, rushed around the city with the boys - just as hungry as she was. One day she was offered to stand “on the lookout” in the market - the spoils were then divided. It was from this company that the boy was from whom, having become an adult, many years later approached Gurchenko on the street in Moscow.

Lucy is five years old (right)

Her mother, having learned about what Lucy happened to do that day, simply locked her daughter at home. But there was something needed... Elena Alexandrovna herself was 24 years old at that time, she didn’t know how to earn money - she got married early and before the war she stayed at home, raising Lucy... When her husband went to the front, Elena Alexandrovna found herself alone, completely confused. Fortunately, Lucy already sang so well then that for her “performances” they cut off a piece of bread and poured a bowl of soup. Well, who had food in Kharkov in 1941? The Germans have it. So Lucy went to the German unit and sang songs. And in German. Since German films were shown in cinemas at that time, Lucy simply learned the songs from them by ear, without going into the meaning. The soldiers, who were homesick, were delighted! The earnings were enough for both Lyusa and her mother. This is how they lived for almost two years of occupation.”

Lucy was boycotted for “betrayal”

“Lusya and I were about eight years old when we met,” says Gurchenko’s school friend, Nina Sweet. - This was during the war. Life was hard, but the House of Pioneers resumed its work, and Lyusin’s parents came to work there. The recently demobilized father is an accordion player, the mother is a mass entertainer. Elena Alexandrovna had a subtle upbringing - as we later learned, she came from a noble family. Unlike Lyusin’s father, Mark Gavrilovich, who was a very simple man: with a frank Kharkov dialect and an eternal button accordion on his shoulder. It’s even strange how these two completely different people could love each other so much! For those harsh years, it was rare to express one’s feelings so ardently, as Lucy’s parents did towards each other. It seems to me that then all her life Lucy was looking for exactly the same love as her parents, and did not find...

Lyudmila Gurchenko with her parents Elena Alexandrovna and Mark Gavrilovich Photo: RUSSIAN LOOK

They adored their daughter, especially the father. Mark Gavrilovich told her almost from birth: “You are the most beautiful! You will be a famous actress!” And Lucy was completely in tune with this idea.

Those who did not feel any embarrassment when going on stage. There was no need to persuade her - Lucy herself was looking for an audience. I remember how she kept running to the hospital to sing: there the wounded were waiting for her, praising her... Perhaps only dad could stop Lucy when she started singing or dancing. She both loved and knew how to be noticeable! Being friends with someone like that meant forever being in the shadows. But I never intended to be an artist - so we were friends. What was she like then? Thin, nimble, sharp-eyed. Skin and bones. In those days it was considered ugly. A skinny girl is an unhealthy girl. By the way, when I later heard about Gurchenko’s wasp waist - they say the actress had some secrets, some diets - I grinned: “The secret, guys, is in the war!” Lucy went hungry at the age when a child should grow and develop. And because of this - painful thinness for life. Not from a good life!

“The secret of Gurchenko’s wasp waist is in the war! Lucy went hungry at the age when a child should grow and develop. And because of this, painful thinness for life.” (Lyudmila Gurchenko is 12 years old. Kharkov)

I remember how Lyusya appeared at school No. 6 - she had neither a dress nor stockings. She wore trousers and a jacket made from a flannel robe. The war is not over yet, there is poverty all around. The schools did not have enough desks, notebooks, chalk, and there was only one textbook for five people. And already in 1944, several classes of the school were taken to a pioneer camp. And there - lo and behold! - fed four times a day. They even gave us “dessert” - a piece of refined sugar once a day. By September, evacuees began returning to Kharkov, and their children went to school. It was then that we all - those who survived the occupation - began to hear contemptuous words behind our backs: “German shepherds!” And Lucy got it especially hard: she sang in front of the Germans, which means she is doubly a “traitor.” The girls in her class (Lyusya and I studied in parallel classes at first) even boycotted her. They didn’t talk to her, they didn’t take her to play, it happened that they even pushed her painfully in the corridor... But gradually the situation was resolved: before the screenings in cinemas they began to show newsreels, where the atrocities of the Germans in the occupied territory were shown in every detail. And gradually the evacuees began to sympathize with us - those who survived the occupation. So they left behind Lucy.

“If I become an actress, I’ll have a thousand people like him!”

We spent all our school years under a separate education system - boys and girls were united only in 1954, and we graduated from school in 1953. Occasionally, school evenings were held with the boys, but this was clearly not enough for the boys and girls to get used to each other and learn to communicate. We could communicate with the boys only in the House of Pioneers. That's where Lyusya fell in love - with Vova Serebrisky. We all took ballroom dancing classes with Lucy's mother. Vova was the most handsome guy - we all liked him. But only Lyusya decided to somehow fight for his attention - to come up and speak. This was unheard of for us! Her mother, Elena Alexandrovna, apparently noticed Lucy’s childish feelings, because she often paired them with Vova. It was immediately obvious: Lyusya was trying very hard to please him: she looked expressively, and laughed melodiously, like a bell, and kept telling some funny stories... But nothing worked: Vova led her in a dance with a bored expression on his face. And in the end, he chose another girl as his girlfriend, who was considered the most beautiful in the House of Pioneers. Lucy shed a lot of tears because of all this. I remember how she would go on and on and sing another sad song from some movie. Or he’ll suddenly say: “If I become an actress, I’ll have a thousand people like him!”

“The news that Lucy was in Kharkov spread among my friends, and we gathered at school. We sat and listened with open mouths to her stories about the filming of “Carnival Night.” After that, Lucy disappeared for a long time.” (Lyudmila Gurchenko and Yuri Belov in the film “Carnival Night”. 1956). Photo: MOSFILM-INFO

The cinema was like a magnet for Lucy; she simply adored cinema. And almost the same - theater. From the first desk near the window where Lucy was sitting in the classroom, the Kharkov Ukrainian Drama Theater named after Shevchenko was clearly visible. Probably, this theater played a significant role in the fate of Gurchenko. There they began preparing the play “Yaroslav the Wise” and did not have time for the premiere with costumes. They asked the school principal to help the schoolgirls sew. The girls got down to business, and as a reward they got the opportunity to come to performances. As a result, Lucy learned the entire repertoire by heart. Her memory was incredible: she could reproduce any monologue from anywhere, including all the “ums” and “apchhi”. Gurchenko did nothing but imitate one of the actresses she had seen. I remember how she celebrated her 13th birthday and performed a melodic recitation to an oriental dance, which she learned from the film “The Indian Tomb” (her father, Mark Gavrilovich, accompanied her daughter on the button accordion). Our class teacher, whom we all loved and called Zebra for her striped sweater, was also at the birthday party.

“At school, everyone was discussing Lucy’s behavior when she, having mistakenly bitten off someone else’s bagel, said to the angry hostess: “You’ll still be proud that Gurchenko herself bit your bagel!” (Lyudmila Gurchenko, 1950)

Klara Abramovna understood art, especially poetry. But she absolutely did not like Lyusino’s performance - the dance and outfit looked too provocative for a Soviet girl. Well, all these conventions were incomprehensible to Lucy. The main thing is to be in the center of attention, to perform, but at the same time she looks Soviet or not Soviet - what does it matter? I remember how bored Lucy was in class - she sat on pins and needles, couldn’t wait for the bell to ring for recess. And here comes the call.

“After Carnival Night we didn’t see her again.”

I knew that since my friend dreams of becoming an actress, sooner or later our paths will diverge. But we were friends as long as possible. I remember how we celebrated New Year, 1953, at her house. On the table there was compote, vinaigrette, potatoes... Not a gram of alcohol! None of us even tried smoking then. We sat, Lyusya sang to us, then after twelve we went into the yard to ride a sled. That's the whole program... And six months later was our graduation.

“If they spit in your back, it means you are moving forward!”

“Soon after the dizzying success in the film “Carnival Night,” Lucy began to have big troubles,” says the actress’s fellow countryman Konstantin Sherdits.

The fact is that the whole country already considered her a movie star, and therefore a rich and prosperous girl. Lucy received many letters asking her to send money. Meanwhile, she was a poor student, had only one coat and rode a trolleybus. There weren't enough scholarships. Naturally, Gurchenko wanted to earn extra money. And then they just started inviting her to all sorts of concerts and for the song “Five Minutes” they gave her money in envelopes - in addition to the official fee. This fact came out and was exaggerated. They say that the Minister of Culture himself then said: “There won’t be such a surname - Gurchenko, we’ll grind it into powder!” And so, first, articles about a dishonest, greedy artist appeared in Moscow newspapers, then ours in Kharkov got involved. Well, of course, after all, they commanded from above: “Face!” One can only imagine what it was like for Lyudmila Gurchenko to read in the Kharkov newspapers about the “upstart from Klochkovskaya Street” (that’s what it was written!), who became arrogant and began to behave like a star. Well, the last straw was a letter that someone sent to Gurchenko: “Why have you disgraced us, fellow countrywoman?” That’s when she vowed not to come to her hometown again. Her parents themselves visited her in Moscow - so who should she go to? She was proud. She said: “If they spit in your back, it means you are moving forward!”

Well, then, already in 1996, when I, as the head of the Kharkov Department of Culture at the mayor’s office, created a club of fellow countrymen, I called Lyudmila Markovna and invited her to come. At first she doesn't care! I barely had time to say: “This is a call from the Kharkov mayor’s office,” and she already went on the attack: “What-o-oooo? Did Kharkov remember me? Oh, just don’t need these loud words: “We are fellow countrymen,” “We love you.” I won't believe this! And she hung up. But I called her several more times. In the end, Lucy relented. And she arrived! And she even admitted to me: “You know, Kostya, I’ve been waiting for such a call for many, many years!” It turned out that she even dreamed of the city, and Gurchenko woke up in tears, with the thought: “Lord, am I really going to die without visiting my homeland?”

I remember we met her at the station with bread and salt. Moreover, the bread was black, freshly baked. Lucy broke off a piece, sniffed it and said: “What a smell! What kind of Dior is that?” She survived the war and the occupation. And bread is everything for her! Lucy later told us: “For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to eat!” We treated her wonderfully: she loved fish dishes and waffle cake. But everything in moderation! I vomited my figure.

The culminating moment was her appearance on stage. Gurchenko was terribly worried. And later she admitted why: “I kept thinking: what if some idiot shouts from the audience: “An upstart from Klochkovskaya!” After all, I couldn’t stand it - I would die of shame!” Forty years later, already a famous actress, she was still vulnerable and fragile... And she had no psychological protection. But no protection was needed - when Lyudmila Gurchenko entered the stage, the audience stood up and applauded her for about ten minutes. And she just stood there and cried. Yes, it was reconciliation! After that, Gurchenko came more than once, both on tour and just for a walk.

Each time she occupied the same hotel room. And we tried to ensure that the room was free for her arrival. Sometimes I had to ask the guests: “Sorry, but could you please move? Gurchenko is coming." She also loved for us to greet her with a bouquet of wildflowers. That's all her demands. She and I walked a lot around the places of her childhood, and Lyusya talked about everything: about the occupation, how they survived, how they were saved. She did not like to talk about her Moscow life: neither about her husband, nor about her daughter. Although it was immediately obvious that everything was fine with her husband, Senin. But something didn’t seem to be going well with my daughter. I once asked Lucy about this, but she stopped: “Please, let’s not talk about this topic!” She could talk about her childhood endlessly - and as if it was a very happy childhood... But no wide-brimmed hat helped - Gurchenko was instantly recognized by everyone, and she was never able to calmly walk around the city or take the subway. But most of all, Lucy loved to walk on the paving stones in high heels. I was just clicking my heels! It turns out that even as a girl she dreamed of how, having become a famous actress, she would walk, dressed up, along these paving stones - and everyone would admire her. And so it happened...”

Famous photographer Aslan Akhmadov appeared in the new episode of Dmitry Borisov’s program “Let Them Talk.” He published several videos and photos of Lyudmila Gurchenko taken shortly before her death. “I was given a DVR for my car, it stuck to the glass like a suction cup, constantly fell, but continued to record something. At some point I got angry, threw it into the glove compartment, and only remembered about it when I decided to sell the car. I took it apart. "I found it and found a flash drive. What it contained shocked me, there were videos of Lyusya," admitted a friend of the artist.

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The fixer filmed Gurchenko philosophizing about her death. Thus, the artist said that she had completely thought through her image for the day of the funeral. “To die... But it’s still too early. I haven’t sewed the last dress yet, there’s still a kilo and a half of beads. Aslan, you have to make me up, put this dress on me. I want everything to be very polite, delicate at the funeral. There should be a lot of flowers, but not on the face! Let people sort them out later, I always give out bouquets. I just want everything to be quick, my face should be fresh. Some, of course, will say: “Well, with age she has become nothing, she has become wiser, but That freshness is no longer there,” Gurchenko said.

A friend said that the actress hated the film “Carnival Night,” which brought her fame and love throughout the country. Even the song “Five Minutes,” performed by her in 1956, made the artist hysterical.

In conclusion, Aslan spoke about Lyudmila Gurchenko’s relationship with her last sixth husband, Sergei Senin. “She loved him very much, it was clear what kind of energy there was between them... Next to Sergei she was very thoughtful, absorbed in her thoughts and incredibly modest. I am grateful to her for everything! When next to you is a person who has given you so much in life ... Lucy discovered music for me, a big, boundless world,” said a friend of the actress.

USSR theater and film actress was born on November 12, 1935 in the city of Kharkov. Lyudmila's father, Mark Gavrilovich Gurchenko (1898-1973), was a peasant. Mother - Simonova-Gurchenko Elena Alexandrovna (1917-1999) of a noble family. The future spouses met at school, where Elena studied in the ninth grade, and Mark worked part-time in musical accompaniment. Without receiving approval from her mother, Elena left home. She married Mark and gave birth to Lucy. Subsequently, Lyudmila’s mother never finished school and helped her husband organize events at the Philharmonic. My father was a musician: he sang at holidays and played the accordion. The family lived in a modest one-room apartment.

When the war came, Lyudmila’s father went to the front, despite the fact that he did not pass the selection due to health reasons. Lyudmila and her mother ended up in occupied Kharkov. After the Nazis occupied the house of the Gurchenko family, mother and daughter had to live in an apartment with a balcony. Until the end of her life, Lyudmila hated balconies, which reminded her of hunger, cold, war and fear.

From a young age, Lyudmila Markovna showed talents that helped the family survive the war famine. She sang songs from German films and danced in front of enemy troops, in response to which the Germans gave away the remaining soup and bread.

Education

Despite the difficult war years, six-year-old Lyudmila went to the first grade of Ukrainian school No. 6 on September 1, 1943.

The following year, Lucy transferred to the Beethoven Music School. During her school years, she was the life of the party, a bright star at matinees and skits. She was known as a fashionista, altering her mother’s outfits to suit her own. From an early age, Lyudmila understood that she had one path in life - the path of an actress.

In 1953, immediately after graduating from school, she moved to Moscow. Having passed the entrance exams, she entered the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography under the leadership of Sergei Gerasimov and Tamara Makarova (graduated in 1958).

The beginning of a creative journey

The young student first appeared in the film “The Road of Truth” in 1956. She got a small role as a Komsomol activist. The game of the novice star was not noticeable. In the same year, Eldar Ryazanov’s famous New Year’s film “Carnival Night” was released, which glorified the young student with a wonderful voice and acting skills. This wave of success ended. Having become a hostage to the image of a girl who can only sing and dance. The career began to turn into part-time work at “hack jobs.”

From 1958 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1990 she played in the Film Actor's Studio Theatre. In 1963-1966 she performed at the Moscow Sovremennik Theater, and then until 1969 she was an artist at the State Concert.

New wave of popularity

In 1974, the role of Anna Smirnova (director of a weaving factory) in the melodrama “Old Walls” turned Gurchenko into the most filmed actress in Soviet cinema. Two years later, she appeared in a complex and tragic image in the drama “Twenty Days Without War”, her partner on the set was Yuri Nikulin, who strongly supported Lyudmila during filming. After completing the painting, they remained fast friends. At the same time, another film “Mama” was released, where Gurchenko was seen in the role of a charming and attractive mother goat.

In 1982, Lyudmila Markovna played the waitress Vera in the drama “Station for Two.” The plot of this film is known not only to Soviet people, but also to the modern generation, how an elderly woman found the love of the prisoner Ryabinin.

Well, how can we forget the extravagant and unique homewrecker Raisa Zakharovna in Vladimir Menshov’s tragicomedy “Love and Doves”. Initially, this image belonged to Tatyana Doronina, but during filming the director changed his choice in favor of Luda.

Personal life

Officially, our popular artist was married four times. There were common-law spouses, short-term romances. Such a life developed due to the difficult character of the actress. She is a woman who knew her worth and was afraid to depend on men.

Legal husbands of the actress

The first husband in 1954 was the director of the film “Peers” Vasily Ordynsky. We met while studying at VGIK. We lived together for a year and no longer remembered our relationship with each other.

The second husband in 1958 was the writer Boris Andronikashvili. During two years of marriage, Lyudmila Gurchenko gave birth to a daughter, Maria, and was immediately left alone. I didn’t keep in touch with Boris.

The third husband was actor Alexander Fadeev. Alexander was distinguished by his quarrelsome character and unhealthy addictions. The marriage took place in 1962. The star duo met in the iconic restaurant of that time, WTO. And again the union was short-lived, lasting only two years. People around gave rise to many rumors about this separation. Someone blamed Alexander’s bad character; according to another version, he cheated on Lyudmila with Larisa Luzhina during the filming of “Vertical”.

The fourth chosen one was Joseph Kobzon. He tried to make friends with Larisa's daughter Maria, to become a real father. But the marriage cracked three years later. This test was not easy for both of them. After breaking up, the actress and singer did not communicate for four decades.

After short-lived marriages, Gurchenko pinned her hopes on an unregistered union with musician Konstantin Kuperweiss. And, oddly enough, this union lasted for twenty years. But even here the relationship has outlived its usefulness.

Last love and death of loved ones

Gurchenko found her next happiness in the person of producer Sergei Yesenin, who was twenty-five years younger (she was already 58). She lived with him until the end of her days. Sergei did not get along with Masha, her daughter Lena, named after her grandmother, and her son Mark, named after his grandfather. By age 14, he became addicted to drugs while attending boarding school. Alas, Mark’s life was cut short at the age of 17 due to cardiac arrest when he injected heroin. Lyudmila Markovna's relationship with Maria was not smooth, but after her death the situation became tense. The mother did not forgive her daughter for keeping silent about the death of her grandson.

Maria died in 2017 at the age of 58 as a result of heart failure.

Hobby

Lyudmila Markovna loved to dress fashionably. She collected beautiful things: clothes, dishes, souvenirs. But she didn’t indulge in expensive delights; she turned even the cheapest thing into a masterpiece. From childhood, I could redesign clothes myself and make jewelry for them that everyone would admire. I sewed about 200 outfits myself, matching them with scarves, brooches, and belts. She tasted like another gift in her face.

Contribution to Russian culture

In 2007, the actress was awarded the “Order for Contribution to Culture.”

In 1983 she received the title of People's Artist of the USSR. She was not only an actress, but also a singer and composer. She has recorded about ten music albums. The songs “Prayer” and “Do You Want” are especially praised, where there is a complete combination of voice control and acting skills.

Death

On November 12, 2010, Lyudmila Gurchenko celebrated her 75th birthday on stage. She was congratulated by President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and Belarusian leader Lukashenko.

The last work in cinema was “Legend. Lyudmila Gurchenko in Kyiv.” An autobiographical project starting from the singer’s student years.

She died on March 30, 2011 at the age of 75. She experienced a hungry childhood during the war, arthritis, which caused deformed joints and caused unbearable pain, lost loved ones, suffered from loneliness and misunderstanding. In February 2011, she underwent surgery to replace a hip joint that was broken in a fall. On March 30, she began to have difficulty breathing, lost consciousness and collapsed on the floor in the house where she cohabited with her last lover.

The doctors did not have time to help. The cause of death was given as heart failure. She was buried in her last masterpiece: a champagne-colored dress, decorated with beads, at the Novodevichy cemetery near Vyacheslav Tikhonov and Oleg Yankovsky.

Lyudmila Gurchenko was born in Kharkov into the family of Mark Gavrilovich Gurchenko and Elena Alexandrovna Simonova-Gurchenko. My parents worked in the Philharmonic: my father played the button accordion and sang, and my mother helped organize holidays and extras in schools and factories.

Lyudmila Gurchenko's talent for music and acting manifested itself very early. She recalled: “There were always sweets in a vase on the top shelf in the buffet. I received them for my “performances.” And I performed in front of everyone who came into our house.” During the war, when her father went to the front and the future actress remained with her mother in occupied Kharkov, performances before the Germans helped the family not die of hunger.

In 1944, Gurchenko entered the Beethoven Music School, impressing the admissions committee with her performance of the song “About Vitya Cherevichkin.”

After graduating from school in 1953, Lyudmila Gurchenko went to Moscow and entered the VGIK course for People's Artists of the USSR S. A. Gerasimov and T. F. Makarova. Three years later she made her debut in Jan Fried's film "The Road of Truth." In the same year, Eldar Ryazanov’s comedy was released, which made the young actress famous throughout the country.

However, after the release of the film “Girl with a Guitar” in 1958, Gurchenko gained the role of an actress of the “light” genre, and devastating articles began to appear in the press. Only years later did it become clear what the real reason for the bullying was. In 1957, Gurchenko recruited the KGB to work at the World Festival of Youth and Students. “I couldn’t believe it. I refused, and it destroyed me for many years,” the actress admitted. And although Gurchenko did not stop acting over the next ten years, she did not have any truly interesting roles.

A new stage in the work of Lyudmila Gurchenko began in the mid-1970s. By that time, she not only successfully played in musical comedies, but also emerged as a dramatic actress. In 1976, Gurchenko starred with Yuri Nikulin in the film by Alexei German, and in 1979 she received the main role in the film by Nikita Mikhalkov. At the same time, Andrei Konchalovsky's film "Siberiada" with her participation was awarded the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 2009, the film “Motley Twilight” was released, where Lyudmila Gurchenko not only played the main role, but also acted as a director and composer.

Lyudmila Gurchenko performed in duets with many famous artists. In particular, she recorded songs with Andrei Mironov, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Alla Pugacheva, the group Uma2rman, and Boris Moiseev. Shortly before her death, the actress starred in the video for Zemfira's song "Do you want?"

Lyudmila Markovna Gurchenko died on March 30, 2011 at the age of 75. She was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Personal life

Lyudmila Gurchenko was married six times. She got married for the first time at the age of 18. The last husband, Sergei Senin, was with the actress until his death.

Gurchenko’s relationship with his daughter Maria caused a lot of misunderstandings. The tabloid press did not miss the opportunity to delve into dirty laundry. Lyudmila Markovna herself spoke about it this way: “To be honest, I’m no mother at all. An actress cannot be a mother. Everything must be given either to the profession or to the children. I never understood how you can combine work and children. Personally, I chose the first path. Although This may be cruel."

• After the triumph of “Carnival Night,” Lyudmila Gurchenko became one of Eldar Ryazanov’s favorite actresses. But he did not approve her for the role twice - neither in “The Irony of Fate”, nor in “The Hussar Ballad”.
• The success of "Carnival Night" did not bring money to the actress. After the film was released, she rented a small room, which she called a corner.
• Lyudmila Markovna was very proud of the fact that she did not join any political or artistic organization. She was the only one who became a People's Artist of the USSR without having a party card.
• Even after her first resounding success in cinema, Gurchenko was short on funds for quite a long time. The actress had to sell her first concert dress, which her father returned from the war, to pay off the family’s debts. However, a few years later, friends gave her an almost exact copy of the outfit. Lyudmila Markovna kept it until her death.
• Gurchenko was never offended if fans called her Lyusya. On the contrary, she was proud that even after becoming a star, she remained her own for millions of people.
• The actress adored her two dogs - Pepa and Gavrik. In the last years of her life, Gurchenko even took them with her on tours and filming.
• Lyudmila Markovna wrote songs herself and performed them on tour. But she openly admitted this only after the release of her directorial debut, the film “Motley Twilight,” in the credits of which she was also listed as a composer. In 1965, at the All-Union Music Festival, the song “Victory Holiday” written by her caused a real sensation and took first place. But critics accused Gurchenko of speculating on people’s feelings, after which the actress did not admit that she wrote songs for more than 40 years.

Titles and awards

Best actress of 1983 according to the results of a poll by the magazine "Soviet Screen"
People's Artist of the USSR (1983)

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" IV degree (2000)
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" III degree (2005)
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II degree (2010)

Filmography

• Legend. Lyudmila Gurchenko (2011)
• Speckled Twilight (2009)
• Goldfish (2008)
• First Home (2007)
• Carnival night-2, or 50 years later (2007)
• 1st ambulance (2006)
• Capital punishment (2005), TV series
• Gorynych and Victoria (2005), TV series
• Be careful, Zadov! (2005), TV series
• Take Tarantina (2005)
• ATC-2. In Power (2004)
• 12 chairs (2004)
• Shukshinsky stories (2004), series
• Women's happiness (2000)
• Old nags (2000)
• Prokhindiada-2 (1994)
• Listen, Fellini! (1993)
• Love (1993)
• Midshipmen-3 (1992)
• White Clothes (1992)
• Farewell Tour (1992)
• Sextale (1991)
• Forgive us, stepmother Russia (1991)
• Vivat, midshipmen! (1991)
• Inhuman, or No Hunting in Paradise (1990)
• Our dacha (1990)
• Copycat (1990)
• My Sailor (1990)
• Road to Hell (1989)
• Was there Carotene? (1989)
• A young man from a good family (1989)
• Burn (1988)
• The Contender (1987)
• Applause, Applause (1985)
• Prokhindiada, or Running in Place (1985)
• Love and Doves (1984)
• Recipe for Her Youth (1984)
• Highway (1983)
• Shurochka (1983)
• Station for two (1983)
• Flying in dreams and in reality (1982)
• Vacation at your own expense (1981)
• Beloved woman of mechanic Gavrilov (1981)
• An Ideal Husband (1981)
• Particularly Important Assignment (1981)
• Sibiriada (1980)
• Experiencing White Light (1980)
• Going away - go away (1978)
• Five Evenings (1978)
• Handsome Man (1978)
• Feedback (1978)
• Mom (1977)
• Family Melodrama (1977)
• Second attempt by Viktor Krokhin (1977)
• Twenty days without war (1977)
• Sentimental Romance (1977)
• Strogoffs (1976)
• Sky Swallows (1976)
• Crime (1976)
• Step forward (1976)
• Diary of a School Principal (1975)
• Straw Hat (1974)
• Old Walls (1974)
• Children of Vanyushin (1974)
• Open Book (1973)
• Dacha (1973)
• Circus Lights Up (1973)
• Door Without a Lock (1973)
• Karpukhin (1973)
• Tobacco Captain (1972)
• Summer Dreams (1972)
• Shadow (1971)
• Crown of the Russian Empire, or Elusive Again (1971)
• Road to Rübetzal (1971)
• One of Us (1970)
• My Good Dad (1970)
• White Explosion (1970)
• No and Yes (1967)
• Hell Blast (1967)
• A Bridge is Being Built (1966)
• Workers' Village (1966)
• Balzaminov's Marriage (1965)
• Bicycle Tamers (1963)
• Walking (1961)
• Nowhere Man (1961)
• Baltic sky (1960-1961)
• Roman and Francesca (1960)
• The Captured Monk (1960)
• Girl with a Guitar (1958)
• Carnival Night (1956)
• The Heart Beats Again (1956)
• Road of Truth (1956)

Filmography: Director

• Speckled Twilight (2009)