Brilliant hooligan Lev Durov

Today we remember the People’s Artist of the USSR Lev Durov: he could have turned 92 years old.

Lev Konstantinovich was not just a great artist, but also a virtuoso storyteller: stories literally poured out of him on the go. It was impossible to understand what actually happened from the story, and what he came up with right now to amuse the people gathered nearby. We bring to your attention one of the interviews under the heading “Old Dictaphone” in order to remember what the Master was like.

– Lev Konstantinovich, unforgettable Yuri Nikulin was once upset that you did not become a clown in his circus …

– More precisely, he said that I could become a good carpet. In our family, in general, there were people of different professions, sometimes simply paradoxical. For example. was a young lady-cavalryman, can you imagine? Naturally, there were priests, soldiers, merchants, artists. I studied our family archive: they were all united by a great love for life.

– Apparently because of this very love, you filmed so much for children? And what of the childhood impressions of the Soviet era warms your soul?

– I noticed that children are often smarter than us: moreover, each generation is smarter than the previous one. But that’s the way it should be. But we are not born with a bast, we have something to convey to them. From childhood experiences? I often remember the pioneer camp and consider it a grandiose invention of the Soviet government. We fell in love there for the first time, there for the first time we felt a boyish brotherhood, a comradely elbow. And what a wonderful game “Zarnitsa” was, what a feeling it was on the lineups, what excitement was present at sports competitions! And there was also an inner life – we arranged the “dark” for zhlobstvo and slanderous slanders. And how selflessly fought for the truth!

– Did you fight?

-And how! I messed up my whole childhood. And he regularly visited the Lefortovo 29th police station. Then they fought yard against yard, house against house, there was an unspoken, but harsh courtyard law: one must support one’s own. Somehow we were walking from the skating rink, and on the outskirts of the square itself we were attacked. I was less than comrades, I was not particularly taken into account. Therefore, when a patrol appeared in cars, and they took everyone away, they didn’t even pay much attention to me. I packed my skates and took them home. My father appreciated this circumstance and, after asking, sent me … to the police, to my comrades. I remember the surprise written on the face of the duty officer who tried to send me home. But I explained that they would not let me go home, he scratched his head, and sat me down with the others. The guys met my act with enthusiasm. And that night I felt like a real prisoner.

– But in your youth you settled down and stopped hooliganism?

– No, my enthusiasm all my life presented surprises to others. In the theater school of the Moscow Art Theater School, I remember, we showed a sketch – I, Anofriev and Goryunov. The theme was military, we were fighters during the battle, keeping the tanks on the outskirts of the hill. According to the contract, I had to fall after the first attack, my friends died later. But at the screening, inspired by the attention of the commission, I desperately did not want to die. What the hell?! And repelled the attack. My comrades looked at me indignantly from the trench. During the second attack, I won back the wound. My sidekick Goryunov was not at a loss, and crawled to bandage me: “Leva, are you crazy ?!” “Die yourself,” I hissed back. And, bleeding, crawled to the firing line. Probably, we would have fired until the evening, bringing the commission to hysterics, but then Anoufriev realized: “He, the poor fellow, is suffering, shoot him, shoot him!!!” Goryunov resolutely turned to me and fired at point-blank range. Having comprehended the situation, I realized that there was nowhere to go and collapsed under the feet of the commission.

– That is, growing up, what were you, and remained so?

– Well, why pose as something of yourself, God knows what? I still hooligan in high offices. I do not tolerate excessive pathos! Came somehow to the Kremlin by invitation. Everyone stands at attention – mannequins, and nothing more! But I can’t stand, I’m an artist! He began to joke to relieve tension and: “Who are we waiting for? Where are the girls? Where is the champagne? And for some reason the people began to shirk to the sides, a lot of free space formed around me.

– We once sat with you on the podium of a football match, where a team of Russian artists played. Do you love football?

– I’m an old football player. And in general I love sports: I have the second category in football, the second category in equestrian sports, I was quite successful in boxing. I played football in the institute’s team together with Nikolai Ozerov. And the brilliant actor Ktorov was the captain, then Kolya Ozerov became the captain. On the field I was fidgety, tenacious, opponents did not like me for this. And somehow I even entered the history of Soviet sports, a newspaper wrote about me. During the match, two bullies from the opposing team went at me with a “box”. All the men know that if you get between the opponent’s players, then you rarely succeed in continuing the game. And just then the ball flew at me, and without thinking twice, I pulled the elastic band of my underpants, and caught it in such a non-standard way. But at the same time I run to the gates of the enemy. Their goalkeeper begins to slowly crawl down onto the grass with laughter, and the referee runs next to me and does not understand whether to whistle or not. I don’t break the rules, I don’t touch the ball with my hands. Finally, he assigns “disputed”. And then a note was published in Sovetsky Sport: “A funny thing happened during a friendly match. Football player Durov caught the ball … with a form. The judge could not make a decision for a long time. We need to make a new paragraph in the rules of football that prohibits the use of uniforms.” That’s how I entered the history of Soviet sports.

– Lev Konstantinovich, many actors are worried that youth is leaving …

– Why worry? I really like my age. I played old people when I was young. By the way, the Italians say that the old man in himself must be killed in childhood. This is something that you cannot allow yourself to become an old man at any age.

– What is your personal recipe for dealing with despondency?

– You need to hide in a corner, shrink, dejectedly lower your head and, groaning, say: “What a horror, what a weather, what a government, what prices …” And then stand in the center of the room, raise your head high and exclaim admiringly in the highest voice: “Well what a weather! Well, what a government! What prices! I promise: you will immediately feel a surge of vivacity if you do it from the heart! And I advise you to sing more. I personally go and sing under my breath all the time. The watchman asks me: “Why do you sing all the time?” And I answer: “So as not to howl!”

Our most basic task is to smile at people more often, not to shift our troubles onto loved ones.

Elena Bulova.

Author’s photo