Leonid Yengibarov is a famous clown of the Soviet circus, a juggler, an acrobat, a balancer, an actor in cinema, theater and writer. In the arena, the clown-mime depicted comedic and tragic scenes, various funny and sad situations, human characters. All his miniatures had a deep philosophical meaning, and touching novels written by Yengibarov are filled with special tenderness and sadness.
Biography "clown with autumn in the shower"
Leonid is a native Muscovite, he was born in 1935 in the family of George and Antonina Yengibaryan. The father of the future clown worked as a chef, and his mother was a housewife, sometimes working as a tailor. Leni's childhood fell on the years of the war, and in his interviews he often recalled how the family had to hide from the bombing. Yengibaryan lived in an old wooden house, which was located in Maryina Roshcha.
At school, Leonid became interested in boxing and even entered the Institute of Physical Education after finishing ten years. But he soon realized that boxing was not his thing and entered another university - the Institute of Fisheries, which he also abandoned. Subsequently, Yengibarov decided to study for the department of clowning at the School of Circus Art. Even in his student years, Yengibarov began to act as a mime, but he failed his debut in the circus arena. The clown did not give up and continued rehearsing. Perseverance and hard work were rewarded. Just five years after graduating from college, Yengibarov was recognized as the "best clown of the world" at the international competition in Prague.
The circus path of the "clown with soul in the autumn", as his colleagues called it, began in Yerevan, since 1959 Leonid Yengibarov worked in the Armenian circus band, with whom he toured all over the USSR and abroad. The young clown was noticed by filmmakers and already in 1963 he starred in the main role in the film "The Path to the Arena." This was followed by work in the documentaries "Leonid Yengibarov, get acquainted!" and "2-Leonid-2."
In 1971, Yengibarov, together with his teacher and director Yuri Pavlovich Belov, created a performance called "Star Rain", which premiered in Yerevan and Moscow. In the same year, he decided to leave the circus to the stage and created his own theater, directed by Yu. Belov.
Leonid toured the country with his theater for more than six months, but suddenly his life ended. The body could not withstand serious loads, and the heart of a sad clown stopped when he was only 37 years old. After the concert, Yengibarov returned home and felt bad (he had a sore throat on his feet), his mother called an ambulance, but the doctors could not help. Clown mime Leonid Yengibarov is buried at the Vagankovsky cemetery.
