The idol of millions of Soviet moviegoers - Alexei Smirnov - lived a very short, but vibrant life. Many of his talented film works were included in the Golden Fund of Russian cinema.
The outstanding actor of theater and cinema - the Honored Artist of the RSFSR Aleksey Smirnov - for many years after the war, delighted his compatriots with a talented game on the stage and film sets. And millions of young moviegoers still remember his comic role in the cult film Operation Y and Other Shurik Adventures.
Biography and films of Alexey Smirnov
On Yaroslavl land (the city of Danilov) on February 28, 1920, the future popular domestic actor Alexei Smirnov was born. At the age of six, his family moved to Leningrad, where his father died suddenly. After the tragedy, the mother had to take care of two sons: Lesha and his brother. Smirnov lived his whole life in a communal apartment received by his father.
Alexey had a passion for acting from his school bench when he attended a drama club. And then there was a studio at the Leningrad Theater of Musical Comedy, which he graduated in 1940, becoming simultaneously an actor of this troupe. The debut in the operetta "Rose-Marie" was marked by a call to service because of the outbreak of war.
In the dashing war years, Alexey Smirnov served as commander of a fire platoon and artillery battery in the Ukrainian and Belarusian fronts. I had to go behind enemy lines as a scout. The combat prowess of our hero is marked by numerous awards of the Motherland, among which there are two orders of Glory and the Order of the Red Star. Alexey met the Great Victory, being commissioned due to a serious concussion. It is because of this injury that he will not be able to subsequently have children.
With the establishment of a peaceful life in our country, Smirnov returned to his native Musical Comedy. The very appearance of a good-natured guy and a lump with an impressive complexion forced all directors to exploit his comedic role, which the actor himself did not quite like.
After filming the films “Baltic Glory” and “Kochubey”, Alexei received offers from directors for various roles. Now Soviet viewers loved his talented game very much and made him their real idol. In addition, it should be noted that Smirnov was very unpretentious on the set, where he had to work several times without stuntmen and climb into cold water, fall from great heights or come into contact with wild animals.
His films in the following films eloquently speak about the degree of his talent and professionalism: “Striped Flight” (1961), “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” (1961), “Business People” (1961), “Welcome, or Outsiders” no entry "(1964), Operation Y and other adventures of Shurik" (1965), "Aibolit-66" (1966), "Wedding in the Robin" (1967), "Seven Old Men and One Girl" (1968), “Scouts” (1968), “Only Old Men Go Into Battle” (1973).
The actor died on May 7, 1979. According to the official version, the news of the death of his best friend, director Leonid Bykov, killed Aleksey Smirnov in a car accident, who was undergoing treatment in a hospital for coronary heart disease. There is an opinion that heart failure occurred from a fatal glass of cognac, drunk in memory of a friend. But, one way or another, and both friends went to another world almost at the same time.
