Gaft's wife Olga Ostroumova. Valentin Iosifovich Gaft: biography, personal life, creativity. Valentin Gaft: personal life Long search for “his” scene

The name of Valentin Gaft was recognized by the whole country in the mid-seventies. But before the release of the film "Garage" and the performance of her first star role, the actor was widely known among connoisseurs of theatrical art. The work of this actor is a continuous struggle, numerous ups and downs. The fate of Valentin Iosifovich is a worthy subject for a dramatic work.

The life story of Valentin Gaft began in Moscow. His family was by no means acting. Father worked as a lawyer. Mother was a housewife. Despite the fact that the boy’s childhood was a difficult period national history, it was surprisingly happy and cloudless. The love for theater arose in the soul of the future actor very early. Back in the fourth grade, he watched a production of the play “Special Assignment.” What was happening on stage made a strong impression on the guy.

And later he got the opportunity to realize his powers in the art of transformation. However, the first roles of the most courageous actor Soviet cinema- these were, as a rule, female images. The fact is that Valentin Gaft began performing for the first time as an amateur performer within the walls of a school where mostly boys studied.

Theater

After school, the young man decided to enter the Moscow Art Theater School. There is a legend according to which the then famous actor Sergei Stolyarov helped Valentin Gaft get into one of the most prestigious theater universities. The future student allegedly met the performer of the role of Sadko on the street and asked to audition him and evaluate his acting abilities. The request was fulfilled. Perhaps this story is nothing more than fiction, but, one way or another, the future actor became a student at the famous theater studio.

The actor became widely known in quite mature age. And before Soviet audiences began to associate the name Valentin Gaft with the image of a characteristic and talented personality, he had to change several theaters, wait for many years for the long-awaited real role, and prove his professional worth.

After graduating from university, Valentin Iosifovich worked briefly at the Mossovet Theater. Then there was the Satire Theater. The roles were, as a rule, episodic and insignificant. The actor was not given a chance to express himself for a very long time. The first significant work in the actor’s career was the role of Count Almaviva. Over the course of ten years, Gaft changed several theaters. In 1991, he starred with Evgeny Evstigneev in the film “Night Fun”. He managed to truly open up only under the leadership of Oleg Efremov. The path to cinema was even more thorny for the actor.

Movies

In Russian cinema, perhaps, there is no second actor who would evoke such a mixed storm of feelings. His temper, according to his relatives and friends, is quite unpredictable. And since character is destiny, then life biography Valentina Gafta resembles a stormy stream.

Valentin Gaft ended up on the set of Eldar Ryazanov's film by accident. At the most crucial moment, the leading actor, Alexander Shirvindt, refused to work. And she suggested that the director invite Gaft, to which Ryazanov did not immediately agree.

The role of the obsequious, cunning and resourceful Sidorkin became significant in the fate of Gaft. The image of the chairman of the cooperative not only helped the actor take his rightful place in cinema. Participation in the filming of the film “Garage” also affected the actor’s personal life. It was then that Valentin Iosifovich met Olga Ostroumova, a woman with whom he could find happiness.

In the seventies, a number of events occurred in the acting biography of Valentin Gaft that affected his future fate. He played several striking roles, among which it is worth highlighting the unforgettable image of Brasset in the film “Hello, I am your Aunt.” The actor, as a rule, got difficult and contradictory roles, and therefore his talent was revealed in full force. This actor gained wide recognition among colleagues and spectators thanks to working together with Eldar Ryazanov.

Personal life of Valentin Gaft

Both in his profession and in his personal life, Valentin Gaft could not achieve harmony for a long time. He was married three times before he met a woman with whom he could find happiness. This woman became an actress. They met on the set of the film "Garage", but in those years both were not free. Therefore, their relationship began only many years later.

Valentin Gaft's first marriage was early and short-lived. His chosen one was a fashion model. The young couple did not strive to remain faithful to each other, and therefore this relationship did not last long.

The second wife was ballet dancer Inna Eliseeva. The woman had a complex character. In addition, Valentin Gaft has developed difficult relationship with his wife's relatives. From Inna, the actor had a daughter, Olga, with whom he did not communicate as closely as he should have. Olga followed in the footsteps of her mother. She performed for about ten years on the stage of the Kremlin Theater and graduated from Gitis. But her personal life was overshadowed by constant scandals with her mother.

The actor's daughter made several suicide attempts. The latter turned out to be successful... Valentin Gaft learned about Olga’s death late in the evening, after the next performance. The actor took the death of his daughter extremely hard. And a few years after Olga’s death, he learned that he had a fully grown son, whose existence he had no idea about.

The actor’s third wife was cellist Alla, and before meeting her he had a short-term affair with a thirty-year-old artist. The relationship didn't work out. And the woman soon gave birth to a son and left with him for Brazil. Dating the Soviet star and Russian cinema with his own son served for several years as a plot for numerous programs and talk shows. Gaft's son visited Russia for the first time after he learned about tragic death his half-sister. But they were destined to meet only a few years later.

For more than twenty years, Olga Ostroumova has played the role of wife, muse and friend in Valentin Gaft’s personal life. And, perhaps, despite the many vivid film images she has created, this role is the main one for her.

Next year family relations two national artists Valentin Gaft and his wife Olga Ostroumova will turn 20 years old. People close to this couple call their marriage ideal, noting the exceptional role that Olga plays in the family. Considering that this is a family of two actors, their whole life consists of roles: theater, film, concert. But Olga Mikhailovna’s main role, by her own admission, is that of a wife and mother. In her interviews, the wonderful actress has repeatedly said that she would never sacrifice her family for work.

It is rare that any prominent actress manages to be in order both in her profession and at home. Numerous examples demonstrate this. Fortunately, Olga Ostroumova manages to be a consistently in demand actress and the keeper of their home with Gaft. Who taught her to live like this, where are her roots?

Olga Ostroumova's childhood

Olga Mikhailovna is one of many provincial girls who came to Moscow to “study to be an artist.” It would seem that in childhood nothing foreshadowed that the daughter school teacher physicist and housewife, in a few years she will become one of the most recognizable actresses of the Soviet, and then Russian, theater and cinema.

Olechka was born in the city of Buguruslan, Orenburg region, in large family, where, besides her, there were 2 older sisters and a brother. Mom didn't work, she drove household and raised children. She raised me correctly: in love and affection, in observing family traditions and in respect for people. Dad taught physics in local school, was the breadwinner of a large family.
The children learned a lot from their grandfather, a local priest: a kind, cheerful, talented man in many respects, and from their grandmother, who was strict and economical. According to the actress’s recollections, a kind and calm atmosphere reigned in the house. Here everyone loved each other and everyone cared about everyone.
A happy childhood could not but influence Olin’s character. Having already become an adult, she more than once said that in difficult moments of life, good childhood memories kept her afloat.

The life of Olga Ostroumova before she became Gaft's wife

In 1966, after finishing school in Kuibyshev, where the Ostroumov family moved, Olya decided to try her luck in Moscow. Having gone to the capital on her own, she submitted documents to GITIS and entered the acting department. And the independent adulthood. Everything happened early for Olya: her first movie role, her first love, her first family. Her husband was fellow student Borya Annaberdyev, but their marriage was short-lived: the young wife fell in love with someone else.

This other turned out to be the director of the Youth Theater Mikhail Levitin, with whom Olga’s first theatrical experiences brought her together. The second love lasted a long time; the couple lived together for almost 24 years. Children were born - a daughter and a son, to whom their parents gave their names. Now Olga Mikhailovna Levitina is an actress, like her mother, and Mikhail Mikhailovich Levitin is a student at the Higher Directing Courses. She was very nice, intelligent and Friendly family. Was. It so happened that the couple separated. Olga Ostroumova called her husband’s “unbridled love of freedom” the reason for the divorce.

The story of how Gaft and Ostroumova met

For 3 years, the actress had a hard time with the breakup, and for three years she did not pay attention to other men. She was busy with work, home and raising her son and daughter. Once, at a joint performance in one of the cafes, she met a well-known actor, a favorite of the public, tall and broad-shouldered Valentin Gaft. They first met on the set of Ryazanov’s film “Garage”. There was no talk of any love. They each played their role and went to their own theaters.

But Valentin liked the modest beauty. He did not forget her later, when he successfully and unsuccessfully arranged his personal life. By the time they met for the second time, both were free men. And Valentin decided to court Olga. Nobody forced events, love captured hearts gradually. For a long time, Valentin did not dare to tell the woman he loved that she was loved. He even took a break from their meetings for a whole 4 months. And then one day he called Olga and said that he couldn’t live without her.

Marriage of Olga Ostroumova and Valentin Gaft

Soon Olga and Valentin got married. They did not register their marriage in the registry office, where each of them had already visited more than once. It so happened that Valentin became seriously ill, was in the hospital, and an invited employee of the registry office registered the couple right at the hospital bed. No witnesses, no Mendelssohn March.
It was not easy for a new husband to join the family: at first, Olga’s children did not understand what their mother saw in this man. They always actively communicated with their father, loved him, and Valentin Iosifovich could not replace their father. But he didn't even try. Soon the guys realized that the new mom's husband doesn’t encroach on her and dad’s space, and just make friends. They are still friends today. Now they have their own children, and a big a happy family Olga Ostroumova and Valentin Gafta often gather in an apartment on Arbat, consisting of three generations, with children and grandchildren.

Valentin Iosifovich began winning the heart of his wife by demonstrating his pumped up biceps; he still loves to surprise her: he often brings home all sorts of delicacies and goodies that Olga Mikhailovna loves. He also writes poetry (not epigrams!), dedicated to his “beloved Olenka.” Valentin Iosifovich believes that his wife has greatly changed his character for the better: he has become softer, kinder, and more disciplined.

In their family life main role performed by his wife, Valentin plays “in episodes” here. Olga Mikhailovna consciously took responsibility for the household, freeing up time for her talented husband for his personal creativity. This was the case in her parents' family and in her grandparents' house. Olga Ostroumova calls her husband a big child, says that she spoiled him herself, and now she is reaping the benefits. Very much in the traditions of Russian families, isn’t it?

Valentin Gaft's wife: beautiful appearance, beautiful soul

Despite the fact that Olga Mikhailovna became a grandmother and has crossed the age limit when young ladies play the roles, she still remains a real beauty, as she was in early years(remember Zhenya Komelkova from the film “The Dawns Here Are Quiet” - you can’t take your eyes off!) Over the years, the beauty of our beloved actress has acquired mature features. But no one would dare call her an elderly woman: the same open and clear eyes, a charming smile that suits her so well, a fit figure, gorgeous well-groomed hair. She dresses modernly and tastefully.
Olga Mikhailovna’s style has always been distinguished by charm and a special mysterious femininity. She always looks impeccable - discreet, elegant and distinctly neat. She often appears in snow-white blouses with ruffles and frills, which only emphasize her charm. Olga Mikhailovna is Virgo according to her horoscope. You may not believe in horoscopes, but Olga Ostroumova has many coincidences with her astrological description.

Before the war, the Gaft family lived in Moscow, in a five-story building on Matrosskaya Tishina Street. The Gafts lived more than modestly, in a communal apartment, like everyone else. They had one room and everyone was happy. Valentin's parents had nothing to do with the theater. Father, Joseph Romanovich (1907-1969), was a lawyer by profession. He was surprisingly modest, but strong and proud man. From his mother, Gita Davydovna (1908-1993), Valentin learned to be organized; she instilled in him a love of order.

A day that could have become fatal in the fate of the family was very clearly etched into Valya’s childhood memory. On June 21, 1941, they were supposed to go to Ukraine, to the city of Priluki. However, for some reason, the parents changed their tickets for Sunday the 22nd. The next day, Molotov spoke on the radio with a message about the beginning of the war... I remember seeing off my father, then my cousin, to the front. My father went through the entire war, ending it as a major.

His very first impression of the theater came in the fourth grade while watching Sergei Mikhalkov’s play “Special Assignment” in the children’s theater. He believed everything that happened on stage. But by his own admission, there was no desire to become an actor then. It appeared a little later, and he began to participate in school amateur performances, where Valentin had to play exclusively female roles, because only boys studied at school then.

Moscow Art Theater

But even when playing in school plays, Valentin was embarrassed to admit to anyone that he wanted to become an artist. Therefore, he decided to act in secret from everyone. Valentin decided to try his luck immediately at both the Shchukin School and the Moscow Art Theater School. Two days before the exams, Gaft accidentally met the idol of all moviegoers, Sergei Stolyarov, on the street and asked to “listen” to him. Stolyarov was surprised, but did not refuse. The lessons of the famous actor were not in vain. True, he only passed the first round of school. But Valentin entered the Moscow Art Theater on the first try, passing the exam with excellent marks. When he was accepted, he was shocked, he couldn’t believe what was happening.

Like all Moscow Art Theater students, Valentin Gaft dreamed of immediately getting into cinema. One day (this was in 1956) he was invited to join the film crew of the film “Murder on Dante Street,” where Mikhail Kozakov was cast in one of the main roles, and was given an almost wordless role. This is how Valentin Gaft made his film debut. That same year, he appeared in a cameo role in the romantic drama “The Poet.”

Parents reacted in their own way to their son’s artistic activity. When he was studying at the Moscow Art Theater School, his father told him: “Valya, what kind of artist are you? Look at Misha Kozakov - he has a suit and a bow tie, but what are you? This is what an artist should be.” His mother, seeing him in the play “The Marriage of Figaro,” said: “Valya, how thin you are!”

Best of the day

Theater

After graduating from the Moscow Art Theater School in 1957, Gaft could not get a job for a long time; he was not accepted into any theater. The famous reader, Dmitry Zhuravlev, helped. With his light hand, Gaft ended up in the Mossovet Theater. However, a year later he left the theater during a tour - he did not like the roles that were offered to play.

After some time, Erast Garin offered him a job at the Satire Theater. The debut was not a success, he was kicked out, but a few years later on the same stage Valentin Gaft played one of his best roles - Count Almaviva in "Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro", who was later played by Alexander Shirvindt for many years.

For some time Gaft worked at the theater on Malaya Bronnaya. Then new transition- to A.A. Goncharov, who then headed a small theater on Spartakovskaya Street.

In 1964, after working at the Goncharov Theater, Gaft came to Anatoly Vasilyevich Efros at the Lenin Komsomol Theater. This is a special page because it has become perhaps the most important in his artistic biography. The best performances of the Efros Theater have forever remained theatrical classics. Gaft worked for Efros for a relatively short time and did not play many roles. But it was precisely this experience that formed the foundation of his mastery.

He came to Sovremennik at the invitation of Oleg Efremov in 1969. Many of his roles in this theater are associated with the name of the main director of the theater, Galina Volchek. Gaft’s whole life is now connected with this theater, and he considers it his home.

Among his best roles: Glumov ("Balalaikin and Co"), Lopatin ("From Lopatin's Notes"), Gorelov ("Hurry to Do Good"), George ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"), Rakhlin ("Domestic Cat of Medium Fluffiness" ").

The hard road to cinema

To the cinema long years Gaft played only cameos or unimpressive roles. And although by the end of the 60s he increasingly appeared on the silver screen, there were practically no bright, memorable roles.

Valentin Gaft himself explains it this way: “Cinema did not spoil me. Not only did I have the wrong type. Non-Russian, strange appearance. In those days, the hero had to be different. This is natural. In the 50-60-70 years I "I was not suitable for any role, with rare exceptions. Most often it was like this - they did screen tests, and it seemed that they were about to take the role, but then someone came, and it was not me who was cast in the film."

Only in the 70s did the first notable roles begin to appear, such as Stewart in the political drama “Night on the 14th Parallel” (1971), Lopatin in the television production of the play “From Lopakhin’s Notes” (1975), Brasset in the comedy “Hello, I your aunt!"

Even then, Gaft’s creative style was evident, distinguished by intellectualism, subtle psychological elaboration of the image, freedom and sharpness of plastic drawing, and subtle humor. In each character, he revealed the depth of feelings and inner experiences, this applied even to small or ironic film roles: Kramin ("For the rest of my life" - 1975), Znamensky ("The Tale of an Unknown Actor" - 1976), fellow traveler ("Almost funny story" - 1977), Georges ("Circus Kid" - 1979).

Collaboration with Ryazanov

However, real popularity came to Gaft only after collaborating with Eldar Ryazanov. The roles played by Gaft in the films of this outstanding film director became the best in the actor’s biography.

In 1979, he played the chairman of the garage-construction cooperative Sidorkin in the comedy "Garage". The character is rather grotesque, farcical and ironic, thanks to Gaft’s artistic flair, he was played in such a way that it allowed him to take the entire film into the realistic direction desired by the director.

In 1980, Gaft starred in Eldar Ryazanov’s tragicomedy “Say a word for the poor hussar...”. Father-commander, selfless brave man, noble colonel, who conquered many cities and women, wild from barracks life, but with a heightened sense of honor, lonely, without family and home, a warrior who bows neither to bullets nor to his superiors, dashing cavalryman, hussar , devoted to his homeland - this is how the hero Gafta Pokrovsky appeared to the audience.

Odinokov, the hero of Gaft from Eldar Ryazanov’s film “Forgotten Melody for Flute” (1987), turned out to be completely different. The actor surprisingly richly created the image of a bureaucrat and servant from the Ministry of Free Time. With a great sense of humor, he performed the song of a bureaucrat who had been laid off from his job.

Finally, in Ryazyanov’s tragicomedy “Promised Heaven” (1991), Gaft managed to create an integral, pure character of the leader of the homeless, nicknamed “President,” for whom it is clear what is vile and what is noble in life. His hero is a truly intelligent and educated person, tender to friends and intolerant of bureaucrats.

Popularity

Many interesting roles were played in the 80s by other directors. Thus, in Alexander Muratov’s detective film “Vertical Racing” (1982), he appeared in the role of repeat offender Alexei Dedushkin, nicknamed Baton. The psychological duel between the investigator (A. Myagkov) and the charming thief keeps us in suspense throughout the entire film.

An equally interesting role went to Gaft in another detective series, “A Visit to the Minotaur” (1987). Again a psychological duel, this time between the investigator played by Sergei Shakurov and Ikonnikov, a suspect in the theft. Gaft's character, a former musician who never became the first violin, not coming to terms with the second role, switched to breeding snakes.

Gaft also played notable roles in the musical comedy "Sorcerers" (1982), the tragicomedy "On Main Street with an Orchestra" (1986), the action film "Thieves in Law" (1988), "The Lady's Visit" (1989), "Night Fun" (1991), "Anchor, more Anchor!" (1992).

In 1994, Valentin Gaft played Woland in the film “The Master and Margarita,” which was never released.

An actor of wide creative range, Valentin Gaft is distinguished by freedom and naturalness of stage and screen behavior, and internal nervousness. With voice recognition and expressiveness sharp features face, he is fluent in a variety of genres in the profession. As stated in the theater encyclopedia, “Gaft is characterized by a sharp and accurate embodiment of the image of a modern intellectual, a combination of analyticalness and temperament, a depth of identification of dramatic conflict, and an affinity for major problems and characters.”

Master of Epigrams

In parallel with his rise as an actor, Gaft gained another fame. He became famous as the author of sharp, sometimes poisonous epigrams. At the suggestion of Oleg Efremov, Gaft suddenly, completely unexpectedly both for himself and for others, began to compose epigrams. It was irony over oneself, over others. He did not want to offend, expose or quarrel anyone. I just wanted to tell some of my truth in this way.

Among them were ironic ones, such as to Dzhigarkhanyan:

There are much fewer Armenians on earth,

Than the films where Dzhigarkhanyan played.

or Oleg Efremov:

Oleg! Not a century - half a century has been lived!

Look at that face!

And there were also very sharp ones, like, for example, Irina Alferova:

You won't be successful

After all, you, beauty, are not Piekha.

Make your success in bed -

Doing this on stage is a sin!

And among the most intimate pleasures

Irina is better than everyone else.

Stop walking through torment,

Play with art you separation.

or Mikhail Boyarsky:

Why are you yelling like that?

Like a robbed Jew?

Don't bother D'Artagnan,

He is a nobleman, not a plebeian.

Now Valentin Gaft says that he no longer writes epigrams - his hobby is over. However, he still writes poetry. He published several collections of lyric poems.

Personal life

Gaft was married four times. Valentin Iosifovich's first wife was fashion model Elena Izorgina.

The marriage with the ballerina Inna Eliseeva was unsuccessful. They had a daughter, Olga. But in the early 80s, Gaft and Eliseeva divorced.

Currently, Valentin Gaft is married to actress Olga Ostroumova. With Ostroumova, he found true happiness, although the relationship between the actors did not improve immediately. Valentin Iosifovich liked Olga Mikhailovna a long time ago, even during the filming of the film “Garage”. However, she was married, and he did not court her...

One day Gaft saw her on TV. “I felt so bad,” says the actor. “I realized that I was tired of lying, tired of hearing lies from others, I was tired of the contradictions in which I was entangled. And suddenly Olya appeared on the screen - I just stared at the image, could not take my eyes off from her wondrous face."

Olga Mikhailovna had just separated from her husband at that time, and she needed support. They met at some event, and from that moment Gaft began to court her.

Despite the considerable age of both, Gaft and Ostroumova are childishly happy.

Tragic death of daughter

After Valentin Gaf’s divorce from Inna Eliseeva, his daughter Olga remained to live with her mother, taking her last name. But throughout her life, Olga maintained a warm relationship with her father. After graduating from the Moscow Choreographic School, Olga danced in the Kremlin Ballet troupe, and not so long ago she entered the Russian Academy theatrical art.

But suddenly a tragedy occurred... “My daughter’s relationship with Inna did not work out since childhood,” the concierge in former house Valentin Iosifovich. - And who could bear it? She has a terrible character, although she is a real beauty." Inna Sergeevna, who had never been distinguished by an angelic disposition, with age increasingly began to take her anger out on Olga. The reason was her dependence on the beauty and youth of her daughter. Humiliation alternated with beatings... The poor girl could not stand it in September 2002 year she committed suicide, blaming her mother for the suicide note. Inna Eliseeva did not survive much longer than her daughter. On January 31, 2003, she died of stomach cancer.

After the misfortune, Valentin Gaft withdrew into himself. For a whole year he refused any interviews...

Filmography:

1956 Murder on Dante Street

1958 Oleko Dundich

1960 Russian souvenir

1961 Submarine

1965 We, the Russian people

1967 First courier

1968 Intervention

1968 Kalif-Stork

1968 New Girl

1969 Wait for me, Anna

1969 Avenger (K/a "Family Happiness")

1970 Road to Rübetzal

1970 About love

1970 Ordinary story

1970 The Man on the Other Side

1971 Night at the 14th parallel

1971 Allow takeoff!

1973 Just a few words in honor of Monsieur de Molière

1973 Seventeen Moments of Spring - TV series

1973 Cement

1974 Dombey and Son

1974 Lot

1974 The Pickwick Papers

1974 Ivan da Marya - lyrics, actor

1974 Moscow, my love

1974 Sergeev is looking for Sergeev

1974 Miracle with pigtails

1975 Hello, I'm your aunt!

1975 From Lopakhin's notes

1975 For the rest of my life...

1975 Olga Sergeevna

1976 Crazy Gold

1976 Day Train

1976 The Tale of an Unknown Actor

1977 Girl, do you want to act in films?

1977 Almost a funny story

1977 Fight in a Blizzard

1978 Players

1978 Centaurs

1978 Kings and cabbage

1979 Men and Women

1979 Today and tomorrow

1979 Morning Walk

1979 Circus Kid

1980 History of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut

1980 Say a word for the poor hussar

1980 The Mystery of Edwin Drood

1980 Three years

1980 Black chicken, or Underground inhabitants

1982 Vertical Racing

1982 If the enemy does not surrender...

1982 The Adventures of Count Nevzorov - reads the text

1982 Hurry to do good

1982 Saturday and Sunday

1982 Customs

1982 The Magicians

1983 Romeo and Juliet

1984 Eight Days of Hope

1985 Contract of the Century

1985 About a cat...

1986 Year of the Calf

1986 My dearly beloved detective

1986 Along Main Street with an orchestra

1986 The Journey of Monsieur Perrichon

1987 Bolsheviks

1987 Visit to the Minotaur

1987 Time to Fly

1987 Life of Klim Samgin

1987 Forgotten melody for flute

1988 Aelita, don't pester men

1988 Thieves in law

1988 Expensive pleasure

1989 A Lady's Visit

1989 Feasts of Belshazzar, or a night with Stalin

1990 Suicide

1990 Footballer

1991 Lost in Siberia

1991 Promised Heaven

1991 Night fun

1991 Terrorist

1992 Anchor, more Anchor!

1992 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

1993 I want to go to America

1994 The Master and Margarita

1994 I'm free, I'm nobody's

1996 Career of Arturo Ui

1997 Orphan of Kazan

1999 Sky in Diamonds

1999 The Mystery of Nardo, or the Dream of a White Dog

2000 House for the rich

2000 Tender Age

2000 Old nags

2001 Clock without hands

2002 Beyond the Wolves

2006 The Master and Margarita - TV series

The famous and beloved actor Valentin Gaft became famous in the mid-seventies. Although his creative biography began much earlier. We paid attention to the actor thanks to his roles in the films: “Garage”, “Hello, I am your aunt!” The actor’s personal life will be of interest to his fans. The life of Valentin Iosifovich, his wife and children will be discussed in the article.

Valentin Iosifovich Gaft was born in the capital of Russia. His biography began in 1935. Personal childhood memories are associated with Matrosskaya Tishina Street (here Jewish family, where the future actor was born, came from the Poltava region). It housed several important different institutions (a mental hospital, a market, a student dormitory and a prison). “All life is in miniature,” the actor himself later joked.

Valentin remembers well the morning on which the war began. He and his parents were then planning to go to Ukraine to visit relatives. But then an unexpected announcement changed everything.

Valentin studied at boys school. At that time, children were educated separately. Already in school years Valya showed his artistic talent. He performed in amateur performances, playing female roles in plays (because there were no girls at school).

Valya wanted to become an actor after watching the play “Special Assignment,” although before that no one in the family was associated with the world of cinema or theater. The father of the family worked as a lawyer, the mother was a housewife.

After receiving secondary education, Valentin decided to enter the Moscow Art Theater School. But, he was not confident in himself and was very worried before the exams. The famous actor Stolyarov helped him enroll. Many remember him in pre-war films and films about the war.

One day Valentin noticed Stolyarov walking down the street. He caught up famous actor and asked to spend a few minutes with him in order to evaluate his artistic abilities. The actor was surprised, but did not refuse. Thus an acquaintance took place, which turned out to be very useful.

The beginning of a creative career

Valentin Gaft entered the Studio School on the first try. Although before that I tried unsuccessfully to enter the Shchukin School. V. Toporov became his teacher.

In 1957, Gaft graduated from the Theater University, and his eventful career began. actor's biography. The famous actor Zhuravlev helped the aspiring actor get a job at the Theater. Mossovet. Gaft worked there for only a year and left at his own request. But during this year of his life he managed to perform many roles in this theater. These were the performances:

• "King Lear";
• "Lizzy McKay"
• "Cornelia";
• "Profitable groom."

Then, Valentin Gaft moved to the Satire Theater. The theater was very popular at that time; famous actors worked there, whom even children knew: Andrei Mironov, Anatoly Papanov, etc.

But Valentin Iosifovich did not stay in this theater for long, however, he managed to play the famous role of the Count in the play “Crazy Day or The Marriage of Figaro”. The aspiring actor’s mother assessed her son’s performance in a unique way: “You’re so thin, Valya!”

The peak of the actor's popularity

The next page in the creative biography of Valentin Gaft was the Moscow Drama Theater. The actor worked there for just over five years. It was there that Valentin Iosifovich attracted the personal attention of director Anatoly Efros. He invited the actor to his Lenkom Theater, where he worked for two years.

Then, in his life there was the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya, where the actor was again destined to not last long. And finally, he met Oleg Efremov, who lured the actor to his Sovremennik theater.

It seems that Valentin Iosifovich liked this theater. Because he stayed to work there forever. It was there that the actor received professional recognition. Now he is known and loved by adults and children, viewers of any age and gender. In this theater the actor performed many roles, from classics to plays by modern authors.

With Liya Akhedzhakova in the production of “The Gin Game”

Among them:

• "The Cherry Orchard" by Chekhov;
• "The Inspector General" by Gogol;
• “The Scaffold” by Aitmatov;
• "Three Sisters" by Chekhov;
• “Valentin and Valentina” Roshchina;
• “Pygmalion” by B. Shaw and many others.

IN last time the actor appeared on stage in 2013. He was 78 years old! He played Martin in the play The Gin Game.

Now Valentin Iosifovich is 82 years old. He no longer plays in the theater and is on well-deserved rest. However, last year he still starred in a movie. The actor became famous thanks to his work in cinema.

Work in cinema

Valentin Gaft's film debut took place immediately after graduation theater university. His cinematic biography began with the film “Murder on Dante Street”. There he played a very small role, but it was the first time in his life, and he was very happy.

For a long time, the actor played minor roles in films. Usually he got negative heroes, however, with personal charm.

Still from the film “Say a word for the poor hussar”

In the early seventies, the actor appeared in leading roles. Popularity came to him after participating in the films of Eldar Ryazanov. In 1979, the film “Garage” was released, where Gaft played the role of the chairman of the cooperative. After this, the actor became famous, even children recognized him.

The role of the butler in the television play “Hello, I’m your aunt!” was no less talented. The audience also remembered the role of Gevernitz in “Seventeen Moments of Spring.” In 1980, the musical comedy “Say a Word About the Poor Hussar” was released, where Gaft wonderfully played the colonel.

Still from the movie "Garage"

In the film “The Black Hen or the Underground Inhabitants,” the actor talentedly played the role of the teacher of the French king.

The musical “Sorcerers” is still popular, where Gaft played Sataneev, a very cunning hero. In Ryazanov’s wonderful film “Forgotten Melody for the Flute,” the actor stunningly played the role of an impoverished official who sang in the carriages.

One cannot help but recall Gaft’s roles in the TV series “The Life of Klim Samgin” and “Thieves in Law”. And of course, “The Master and Margarita”, where the actor played the wise and mysterious Woland.

Valentin Gaft in the film “Anchor, more anchor!”

Gaft knew how to play comic and serious roles with equal talent. In 2013, the elderly actor played a lonely pensioner.

Gaft also worked a lot on dubbing cartoons. He took great pleasure in voicing Noble in the popular cartoon “Dog in Boots,” the King in “The Magic Bell,” and the Raven in “The New Adventures of Grandma Yozhka.” And in the cartoons: “Like Cats and Dogs” and “The Birth of Hercules” the actor reads the text.

Once Gaft tried himself as a director on the stage of his favorite Sovremennik theater.

Literary works

Actor Valentin Gaft, in addition to artistic talent, also has poetic talent. Many are familiar with his poems. These are mainly epigrams on famous actors. They have quite caustic humor, even satire sometimes.

For this, many disliked him. Some wrote epigrams in response to him. Gaft wrote one of the epigrams about himself. It's called "Auto-epigram".

Gaft also has several collections of poems. A song was written for one verse and performed by Sati Casanova. It's called "Me and You". The author has a lot of lyrical poems. Some of them are dedicated to his beloved wife Olga Ostroumova.

Awards

For the whole creative biography Valentin Gaft has many personal awards received in different time life. He has various degrees Order "For Merit to the Fatherland". And also the Order of Friendship. He has become a truly beloved folk hero, revered by adults and children.

In 1978, Valentin Iosifovich became an Honored Artist, in 1984 - People's Artist Russia.

He is a winner of many awards. Among them are “Crystal Turandot”, “Golden Eagle”, the award named after. Andrey Mironov “Figaro”, “Star of the Theatre”, etc.

Valentin Gaft: family

There were four marriages in the biography of Valentin Gaft. The actor’s personal life was not very successful before meeting his last beloved woman. Two children were born from the marriages: a daughter, Olga, and a son, whose existence Valentin did not suspect for a long time. But first things first.

Gaft's first wife is fashion model Elena Izorgina. But soon the marriage broke up due to adultery.

The second marriage in the biography of Valentin Gaft took place with ballerina Inna Eliseeva. The actor had a daughter, Olga. He loved children. Personal life seems to have improved. However, the constant rehearsals of both spouses, being very busy, and performing led the marriage to collapse. In addition, the wife turned out to have a non-peaceful character. The relationship was completely undermined by the in-laws' relatives.

The parents' divorce had a bad effect on the daughter's psyche. In addition, she constantly experienced misunderstanding from her mother. In the end, Olga committed suicide. The mother did not survive her daughter long. She soon died of cancer.

After the divorce, Valentin had an affair with the artist. But she left the country. As it turned out later, in Brazil a woman gave birth to a son from Gaft. But she didn’t tell him anything about it. The actor learned about the existence of his son many years later, when he came to Russia on a talk show to meet his father.

Later, Valentin married for the third time. Alla became his wife; she played the cello. But this marriage also turned out to be unsuccessful.

Finally crushed by everyday tragedies, Valentin unexpectedly met with Olga Ostroumova. He confessed to her that he had loved her for more than twenty years, since the filming of the film “Garage”. By that time, the actress had also suffered a personal setback and even tried to commit suicide.

Many people know the beautiful Olga Ostroumova from her roles in popular films: “The Dawns Here Are Quiet,” “We’ll Live Until Monday,” etc. The actors got married right in the hospital where Valentin was lying after an operation. Last marriage significantly influenced the actor’s life. The woman she loved was able to resurrect Gaft’s dying soul. Thanks to her, he converted to Orthodoxy and now lives, enjoying the remaining days of his life.

Personal life of Valentin Gaft was interesting and diverse, but he found happiness only in his last, fourth marriage with actress Olga Ostroumova. He liked her for a long time, since the time when they starred in the film “Garage”, but Valentin Iosifovich did not even think about getting to know her better - he knew that the actress was married and faithful to her husband. Yes, and he was married to his third wife, Alla. Fate brought Gaft together with Olga Ostroumova when she was going through a difficult divorce from her husband, and by that time he had managed to separate. They started dating, and they got married only a few years later, and to this day Valentin Iosifovich is happy with his wife.

In the photo - Valentin Gaft and Olga Ostroumova

Previous marriages in Valentin Gaft’s personal life were not so long and successful. His first wife was the fashion model Alena, a girl of incredible beauty who worked in the famous House of Models on Kuznetsky Most. But their family life it didn’t work out - Gaft had other women at that time, Alena also did not strive to remain faithful, and they separated. The second marriage in the actor’s biography was with Inna Eliseeva. She was a spectacular woman, but with a very difficult character. Valentin Gaft's second wife was from a wealthy family, she did not work anywhere, but Gaft did not have a good relationship not only with his wife, but also with her parents, and he felt uncomfortable in their house. Despite the fact that Inna gave birth to his daughter Olga, Valentin Iosifovich separated again.

He still cannot forgive himself for losing contact with his daughter and not taking part in her fate. Twenty-nine years later, Olga committed suicide after another quarrel with her mother, and this grief crippled the actor’s health, and his wife, Olga Ostroumova, helped him survive. And in those years, after breaking up with Inna, Valentin Gaft could not arrange his personal life for a long time until he met cellist Alla. They lived in civil marriage, and everything was going great for them, but Alla was incredibly jealous, and, despite the fact that Gaft constantly convinced her of his fidelity, she constantly staged scenes of jealousy for him, and after one of them, which Alla staged in public, slapping the actor in the face in the presence of numerous colleagues and acquaintances, he broke up with her completely.

In the photo - with family

In the actor’s biography, even before meeting his third wife, there was a short-term affair with one, as he says, the noblest woman, as a result of which she gave birth to a son, Vadim, but Valentin Iosifovich found out about this only forty-six years later, and this news, literally, shocked him. The woman told Gaft that their son, with whom she had lived in Brazil for many years, was in difficult situation- he was severely beaten and maimed, and Valentin Iosifovich did everything he could to help Vadim recover.

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