Stanislav Lyubshin celebrated his 90th birthday – MK

On April 6, Stanislav Lyubshin turned 90 years old. Look at this handsome, cheerful, intelligent and ironic man. What 90? Working with directors who are sometimes half a century younger, he asks to be called Slava. He introduced himself to Fellini as well. True, he was then 30 years old, and he starred in Ilyich’s Outpost, a great film by Khutsiev, which the officials wanted to consign to oblivion. But this is impossible. So Fellini saw the painting at an underground show in Moscow.

Lyubshin did not plan any special celebrations on the occasion of the anniversary. I decided to celebrate it with my family, with my beloved wife Irina. Fanfares died down a little earlier in the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov, where he has been working for over forty years. Lyubshin was awarded a new award from the Art Theater – a copy of the high relief “The Swimmer” by Anna Golubkina. It was invented to support the young. But still, they started with the patriarch. The nomination is called “No Comments” and does not require explanations. Without that it is clear who is who. It is known for sure about Lyubshin that he is a long-distance swimmer. He stepped onto the stage with a light gait. How much power is in it! About eighteen years ago, he went through difficult days, was in a coma, the forecasts were disappointing. He went through rehabilitation, did not let himself down, even went to film festivals. Since then, he has experienced a second youth.

On a festive evening, the capital’s beau monde, noisy youth, many arrogant and ambitious people gathered at the Moscow Art Theater. Lyubshin does not tolerate all this rubbish in colleagues. He was urged to be brief and keep within two or three minutes. “How am I going to read Shukshin?” – heard in response. Lyubshin constantly reads it – his favorite author. As a result, he kept within a minute and a half, went out and announced: “Vasily Makarovich Shukshin. “Call me into the distance of light.” Decided to play. He did not read, he was glad for the youth, who have a lot of work, he added sarcastically: “And even we, veterans, were given a video”. It turned out to be an excellent divertissement. And the film “Call me into the bright distance” based on the film story by Shukshin Lyubshin, as a director, was shot in 1977. On anniversary days, he rehearses at the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov.

Lyubshin is a village man, he often recalls this. He lived in Vladykino, then not a densely populated area of ​​Moscow, but a distant outskirts. It was there that the war found him. At the age of eight, when the Germans were approaching Moscow, he and a friend rushed to the front in forty degrees of frost. Childhood memories largely determined his starring role as the Soviet intelligence officer Belov in the film “Shield and Sword” by Vladimir Basov.

Mom Lyubshina was a milkmaid, participated in amateur performances, played Katerina in Thunderstorm. Her partner was a local groom, with whom, according to the role, it was necessary to kiss. The husband was very jealous. On the day of the performance, he drank out of grief, and in the kiss scene he went out with a mandolin, played “Internationale”. Slava guarded the state farm garden, dreamed of being a pilot, a scout, even wrote a letter to the Lubyanka, and entered the oxygen-welding technical school. They paid a scholarship there, it was possible to help the family. I got interested in theater early. At the age of 12, I went to the Bolshoi Theater on foot with a friend. Lemeshev made such a strong impression on him in Eugene Onegin that he wanted to be like him. I went to the Three Sisters at the Moscow Art Theater five times. All this prompted me to participate in amateur performances and enter the Theater School. Shchepkin. Wash cried when she found out about it. And when the Zastava Ilyich was brought to their state farm and the inhabitants of neighboring villages came together, then all the women all cried when they saw Slavka on the screen.

Surprisingly, one well-known director told Lyubshin at the dawn of a foggy youth that he would never act in films – his face was too intelligent. He did not know about the rural origin of the young artist. And Khutsiev approved him for the role in Ilyich’s Outpost without a trial. Marlen Martynovich once told MK what a colossal importance the origin in acting nature has. “Lyubshin is the finest actor. He brought his democratic origins to the screen,” he said in our interview. And he saw him in Sovremennik. Lyubshin came on stage that day by accident. He worked in the theater only for the third day, looked in on his own business, and he was ordered to urgently replace the sick actor. Lyubshin believes that everything began in his professional life with Zastava Ilyich. On the day of Khutsiev’s visit, the performance “Continuation of the Legend” was on. A thin, ungainly guy in crimson trousers appeared on the stage. With an experienced eye, Khutsiev caught a “peculiar” in him, remembered. And when I was looking for an actor for the role of Ivan, I saw Lyubshin, immediately remembered the raspberry pants and called the hero Slavka.

Stanislav Lyubshin has played many bright roles since then. Among the best films in cinema are the films “Shield and Sword”, “Ilyich’s Outpost”, “Five Evenings” by Mikhalkov, “Theme” by Panfilov. For the sake of Andrei Rublev, he left the Taganka Theater, as Tarkovsky asked to be freed from everything. Refused other paintings. Marianna Vertinskaya, who starred with Lyubshin in Zastava Ilyich, told MK how Tarkovsky and Konchalovsky, while still working on the script for Andrei Rublev, wanted to invite him to the main role. Lyubshin himself admitted that he had experienced difficult moments: Tarkovsky promised him a role for two years, then he invited another artist. In general, no work, no money, no dreams. He did not play in Tehran-43 against Alov and Naumov, something did not match. In “Short Encounters” by Kira Muratova, he was assigned the role played by Vysotsky, but Lyubshin then left to shoot the film “Shield and Sword” in Germany.

What is special about the nature of Lyubshin? Why does the camera love him so much? This question was well answered by his son, operator Yuri Lyubshin: “He has a fire inside. A talented person glows from the inside, and the screen captures it all.

But one talent is not enough. Stanislav Lyubshin is a very responsible, meticulous person. Marlen Khutsiev and Nikolai Dostal are no longer in the world, for whom he played Patriarch Joseph in Split, and they told MK how Lyubshin asked for additional takes, wanted to bring the role to perfection at the beginning of his career, and already becoming a master. Dostal appreciated him very much, considered one of our best artists from a galaxy of such masters as Innokenty Smoktunovsky and Oleg Efremov. “He is a doubtful actor, always worried about whether he played well enough, asking:“ Let’s do another take. And since he can bring everything to perfection, make it even better and thinner, I went to meet him, and we shot an extra take, ”he said in our conversation about Lyubshin.

During our joint trip to Irkutsk, Stanislav Lyubshin said: “At some age, a person wants to see what is happening in his life. Such thoughts come when you meet serious people who think about the fate of the country. Seriously, not for show. Here Shukshin managed to tell a lot about the Russian man, and through him his own life. For some reason, a person appears on earth. He gets up in the morning, does business, thinks about how others live. Who today worries about the fate of a woman with many children who does not have an apartment, and she huddles in the basement? It is very important when there is a person ready to help. Sometimes I also helped someone, and my son believed that I could do anything. He said: “Dad, this one doesn’t have an apartment either, and that one either.” When my youngest son was three years old, I was afraid to tell him what I was doing, I was afraid to admit that I was an actor. When dad builds, flies – this is understandable to the child. What is an artist? He plays. And the child is playing. Once, my son looked at me for a long time and asked: “So you are an artist, then?” I was so confused, I didn’t know what to say. For two days my son looked at me suspiciously. I was going to Mosfilm, and he asked: “Where are you going? What are you doing at Mosfilm? I replied: “We play there.” – “Well, okay. What are you doing there? – “I’m playing!” “You play all the time, but when do you work?” – such was the conversation. The kids are playing and we seem to be playing. And we are working.”

Interestingly, Vadim Lyubshin graduated from the course of Oleg Efremov at the Moscow Art Theater School, acted in films, worked in the theater until 1995, but the time was difficult, there were no prospects. Many young people then, as if by a wave, were knocked out of the profession. And the older generation is not all survived. Lyubshin endured everything, went through everything, was not disappointed in the profession and often justifies its importance against the backdrop of wholesale zeroing.