Ivan Gorbunov is a Russian prose writer and actor of the second half of the 19th century. He was closely acquainted with the playwright Alexander Ostrovsky, was engaged in rewriting his plays. Fame among his contemporaries brought him humorous accusatory stories about the life of the townspeople, which he read from the scene.
Biography: early years
Ivan Fedorovich Gorbunov was born on September 22, 1831 in the village of Ivanteyevka, on the border of the Moscow and Vladimir regions. Father was a serf at the landowner Batasheva, worked at her linen factory, then received a free. Soon he began to work at the same factory as a clerk. Only by that time Batasheva had already sold it to another landowner, Shchekin. Later, Gorbunov’s father ran the Glazunov paper mill in the capital. Mother was also a freed peasant.
Three more children grew up in the Gorbunov family. Father did everything possible so that they lived in abundance and were educated. As a former bonded peasant, he wanted a different life for his children.
Ivan first attended a parish school. There were no other educational institutions in Ivanteevka. A local teacher saw certain inclinations in his writing profession and recommended that his parents send Ivan to study in Moscow. So, in 1840 he began to study at the Nabilkovsky Commercial School. Then Gorbunov continued his education at gymnasium No. 2 on Yelokhovskaya Street (now the Basmanny district of the capital).
After graduating from high school, Ivan became interested in drawing. He entered the school of painting and architecture. In parallel, Gorbunov studied history and the Old Russian language.
Creation
In 1850, he met with Alexander Ostrovsky. He invited him to be a scribe of his plays. Gorbunov agreed and settled in the playwright's house. Soon Ostrovsky put him in the magazine "Muscovite."
In 1853, Gorbunov wrote his debut short story, “Just an Event.” Then followed the "Artisan", "The morning of the quarterly overseer."
Soon Gorbunov became friends with the famous artist Prov. Sadovsky. He was considered the best performer of roles in Ostrovsky's plays. Thanks to this acquaintance, Gorbunov first appeared on the stage, where he played the role of a merchant in one of the plays. A year later, he moved to St. Petersburg and entered the Imperial Theater. On his stage he went for 40 years.
Gorbunov went down in history as a pioneer in reading his own stories on stage. He was a brilliant actor. He was able to convey the character character with amazing accuracy. Thanks to artistry and wit, he quickly became a favorite of the public.
At the end of his life, Gorbunov studied the history of Russian theater. On this subject, he wrote several articles.
