The main Soviet uncle Zhenya It was a warm June of 1996. Exactly twenty years ago... A group of schoolchildren sent by their parents to a summer camp were taken for a daytime session to the Shipka cinema in Samara. On the screen was an almanac of good Soviet cartoons, which was announced by the presenter, who introduced himself as Uncle Zhenya. However, none of the viewers needed an explanation of who he was, because the tapes “Gentlemen of luck” and “Striped flight” saw everything. But it was at that session that Zhenya's uncle - Evgeny Pavlovich Leonov - finally won dozens of young hearts, because he did not act on the screen as a bandit, head of a kindergarten or an imaginary trainer - he kindly addressed each child, just as he was his son or daughter. At that time, the outstanding actor had been dead for two years, but the author of these lines only had to really discover him for himself, and this process will be completed very soon. How could it be otherwise? You'll learn genius again and again.
About one of the most gifted actors of Soviet cinema filmed several documentaries, and each of them can rightfully be called successful. Probably, this is fair – about such a person as Yevgeny Leonov, it is simply impossible to tell without a soul. The film “Fear of loneliness”, chronologically the last of this series, begins with shocking footage – we see the idol of millions lying helplessly in a hospital ward, leading an unequal battle with death. For three weeks, Uncle Zhenya was unconscious, and all this time with him were the closest people whose warmth he so lacked in life - his beloved wife Vanda and only son Andrei. Then God did not take the people’s artist and gave him a chance to live at least the last years without feeling deprived of affection. An amazing and terrible thing: a man whose sly smile lit countless hearts throughout the Union was unhappy in his personal life, and in every role he suppressed personal pain. How did this happen, where is justice? Didn't Evgeny Pavlovich deserve the love of those who were everything to him? If it were that simple...
Biography of Leonov now almost does not hide white spots, but the creators of “Fear of loneliness” still return us to the origins. The actor met his future wife in Sverdlovsk, and, like a medieval knight, stunned her with instant recognition at the price of life. Of course, he was completely unprepared for the refusal of the girl, he did not receive it. I didn’t get love from Wanda Stoylova either. No, from the outside it was a harmonious and prosperous family, the wife took care of her husband, was a wonderful mother, but tenderness, sincerity in their house was not enough. One can only guess about the feelings of a man who has reached all-Union fame with hard work, but is deeply unhappy within himself. Probably, there was no true love between the spouses in all the years of marriage, and methodically exploring the stages of life picture makes this clear. Much was mixed in the relations of close people, and the heavy burden of national fame became a wall through which Evgeny Pavlovich could not get. Meanwhile, the roles were a river full of water, he was in demand and respected, was filmed continuously and invested himself in each work. But to say that it was easy for him was impossible.
Now it can cause a slight shock, but the beloved actor was very worried that somewhere he did not finish or missed something in the images of his characters. He thought his assistant professor wasn't good enough! For this role, Leonov was recognized by all Soviet convicts, gave him his own painted shell, but even this did not calm him down. Painfully, he also perceived criticism for the role of the sleazy Uef from Daniel’s Kin-dza-dza! Of course, this stiffness and suspicion came from personal experiences, which were also added to the workers. In the picture of Natalia Kuznetsova mentioned and the famous conflict with art director Andrei Goncharov because of filming in advertising, and the stubborn disposition of the people’s artist, which brought him a lot of problems in the future. The emphasis on problems, of course, is fair, because all our idols are primarily people like us, and their fame does not guarantee a serene existence. Meanwhile, the life of Uncle Zhenya was not a struggle with the system, and there was no full-fledged confrontation with his own complexes. This wonderful man was just living and trying to be a little happier than life allowed him to be. For a long time there is no beloved Winnie the Pooh, Shuleikin, Troshkin, Associate Professor, Uef and others, but Leonov still seems alive and talking to you through the big screen. Like back in '96. The cruel fate did not give the happiness of Uncle Zhenya, but the memory somehow compensates. He'll never be alone.