Arkady Inin remembers Shirvindt: “For me Shura was immortal”

“True humor is a mystery. And he had it”

On March 15, Alexander Shirvindt, an artist by the grace of God, a man with an excellent sense of humor, died. Sorrow and joy are always nearby in life. When we called his longtime friend, screenwriter and satirist Arkady Inin, it turned out that he was celebrating the recent anniversary of actress Larisa Luzhina at the film company. People were having fun, and Yining cried when he learned about what had happened. One can imagine how Alexander Shirvindt would react to this.

– My God! Shura is beloved, unique,” ​​said Arkady Inin. – Shura was immortal for me. Everything is gone. And there is no more Shirvindt. Shura, Shura… We were together for fifty years. Well, how are we together? He is great, and I am somewhere at his foot.

– Do you remember the first meeting?

– Yes, I have no idea where and how we met for the first time. Where did I meet Zhvanetsky, Zadornov, Derzhavin, Shirvindt? Don’t know. This is life, our cinema and theater party. Shura and I once met and got hooked on each other and got involved. We started with skits at the House of Cinema. Shura made them brilliantly. I was still a beginner, although not much younger than him. And then we lived our brotherly life for a long, long time. He performed at all my anniversaries. An amazing artist and person. There are no words. They say about such people “unique” and “irreplaceable.” And this is the case when it is so. Very precise words. Not-for-me!

You won’t find such humor, an epicurean outlook on life, calmness, smiling, and goodwill. At some evening or presentation, he comes out and utters simple words, and the audience laughs.

I always remember how I gave him my next book, and he told me: “Arkasha, just be sure to leave an autograph. God forbid, someone will think that I bought the book.” Shura was such a wonderful person. I’m just shedding tears. Yes, I’m just an orphan. It seems like a stock phrase: “We are orphaned without him.” But this is the absolute truth. Yes, they were orphaned.

– He was an extremely good person.

– Exactly. I’m not even talking about what kind of actor or director Shura was. He was unique, inimitable, amazing…

– Fame didn’t seem to touch him. Having reached such heights, Shirvindt was simple and democratic. There was not a drop of arrogance in him.

– Absolutely. No fanfare. When they tried to elevate him at some anniversary, to pronounce pompous words in his honor, he immediately stopped this matter. He never allowed a hymn to be sung in his honor or a eulogy to be read. Never!

– Alexander Anatolyevich has a special sense of humor. Why was it so funny when he made jokes? Because he kept his cool?

– Don’t know. True humor is a mystery. And he had it. At one of the presentations of his book, when Shura was congratulated, he said: “What’s the book? I reached the heights of people’s love not when I became popular, not when I headed the Satire Theater. Recently I was walking from the Shchukin Theater Institute (he was a professor there – A.I.) and went to public places on Arbat. Even though I’m a professor, I still go there. I was greeted by an intelligent Arbat old lady. I wanted to put money on the plate as expected, and she said: “Well, what are you talking about, Alexander Anatolyevich! No need. Your visit is such an honor for us!” And then I realized that I had reached the heights of people’s love.” This is what Shura is all about.