Natalya Vitsina: “Dad was more suited to his first profession – an artist”
Every year on October 22 marks the next anniversary of the death of Georgy Vitsin. This is what his daughter said in an exclusive interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the death of the brilliant actor. The nose is long, the figure is skinny and awkward. Film directors did not notice him until he was thirty. And then it exploded: the camera revealed an abyss of charm in this awkwardness of his... We might remember him as the Gogol he played. Or Hamlet, whom he almost played - the great Grigory Kozintsev wanted to give the main role in his famous film to Vitsin...
And not Innokenty Smoktunovsky. But Gaidai arrived in time. And the country unconditionally, instantly fell in love with the nervous, sentimental and weak-willed hypochondriac hero.
“That same Vitsin, that same Coward,” who always wraps himself in warm clothes and squeals in a piercing high voice in the company of the Dunce and Experienced, lived a long time - almost 84 years. During his lifetime he rarely gave interviews. He liked to repeat: “You can kill with both love and glory.” He realized early on: if popularity creeps up, you have to run. And he ran. Portraying a drunk on screen, he never drank or smoked in his life, and zealously practiced yoga.
When the pressure was serious, and Georgy Mikhailovich found himself in a hospital bed, newspapers began to write: they say that the People's Artist of the USSR is dying in poverty. “Recluse”, “hermit”, “unmercenary”. Where did they get this from? We asked Georgy Mikhailovich’s daughter Natalya Vitsina to tell us about what our hero was like off the screen. After her father's death, she did not give interviews on principle.
Natalya Vitsina says:
Dad received a normal pension. And all these articles in a disparaging tone that he read in the hospital greatly upset him. Against the backdrop of slander and rudeness, it is impossible to talk about good things. Overwhelms. The first publication with outrageous photographs from the hospital appeared back in 2001, when the father was alive. After his death there was another one in the same newspaper, this time insulting my mother. I wanted to sue, the documents were ready. But dad died, and there was no time for that.
I tried not to show the newspapers to my mother. But her neighbors still brought it to her. Mom is a person of the Soviet generation. She couldn’t understand: how? In a country where they loved their father so much, he was treated THIS way after his death? Mom had a stroke. From that moment on, she no longer moved; she lay there for almost nine years. I moved my mother to live with me.
The abuse of the family has not ended even now. My father's apartment is being renovated. Recently, having defrauded a builder, journalists stole books and a folder with my childhood drawings from my dad’s apartment. And then they had the audacity to write that I threw my father’s archives in the trash. One day they called me with a cynical question: “Is it true that you are selling Vitsin’s grave?” Then they reported that the pope’s grave had been plundered. It turned out that in the morning some people stole a portrait of the pope from the cemetery, in the afternoon they wrote that Vitsin’s grave had been looted, and in the evening they returned the portrait to its place. How do you like this turn? By that time I already had a sketch of the monument ready. But I realized that if I put it up, something will definitely be sawed off from it in order to come up with another reason for the “article.” Therefore, on Vitsin’s grave there is an ordinary slab and nothing more.
Youthful and almost ceremonial portraits...
For my birthday this year, I was surprised to read that he allegedly collected bottles on the street and was homeless. We didn’t immediately understand what we were talking about. After all, he really did collect bottles. Good cognacs that were given to him. By the way, they remained undiscovered. Dad rarely drank alcohol. Didn't like feasts. He joked: “If you talk and chew at the same time, you may get indigestion.” During my father’s life, I always helped journalists. Dad joked: “Are you doing this criminal activity again?” It turns out he was right.
Natalya Georgievna, there are legends that when fans recognized your father on the street, he answered: “I’m not Vitsin, I’m his brother!”
They made their father a hermit. But this is not so! If girls called him and asked naive questions, he did not like to answer. But if, for example, Wolf was on the phone, dad could talk to him for hours. As a child, I admit, I was even jealous of my father’s fans. We walk down the street and everyone greets him. In any city. By nature, dad was more suited to his first profession - an artist, a sculptor, an observer, a contemplator. He drew everywhere - on trips, between actions in plays, between filming hours.
Grave of Georgy Vitsin
Did the trio Vitsin, Nikulin, Morgunov communicate behind the scenes?
We all lived nearby and went for walks. But this does not mean that Vitsin, Nikulin and Morgunov drank together. This was not the case. If dad, going to the shoot, told me that Morgunov was also going there, I declared: “I’m going with you!” Traveling with Evgeniy Alexandrovich was very interesting. He was constantly acting out and coming up with something. Dad was the same. Mom sometimes suffered from the fact that you couldn’t talk to him seriously. Laughter from morning to night.
They said Vitsin was afraid of flying on airplanes?
He sometimes said ironically: “I can’t fly because I’m afraid to leave my mother alone.” Dad was a responsible man. All his life he supported both my mother and me, and his first wife, actress Nadezhda (Dina) Topoleva (at the age of 18, Vitsin entered the Ermolova Theater. And he immediately fell in love with the actress Nadezhda Topoleva. The feeling seemed hopeless. Topoleva was much older and married. And to artistic director of the theater Nikolai Khmelev, whom Vitsin considered his teacher. But Nadezhda responded to the feelings of young Gosha. It is surprising that Khmelev did not change his attitude towards Vitsin and continued to give him roles. - Ed.).
Vitsin's first wife Dina Topoleva
Was it easy for your mother (second wife Tamara Fedorovna - niece of the famous breeder Michurin - Ed.) with her husband?
I don't think so. It's difficult with talented people. It's hard to be on the lookout all your life. Perhaps it would be better for her to work, to get on with her life. But it so happened that my mother was only concerned with my father. Didn't achieve what I wanted. After the war, she graduated from college and thus ended up at the Ermolova Theater. She worked as a prop maker. There they met. For some time she was Wolf Messing's assistant.
Georgy Mikhailovich was a charming man. There is always a lot of talk about the personal life of such people...
- They always wrote about my father’s personal life with irony. And if you talk about the most subtle, highest feelings in such a tone, they are devalued and may seem obscene. His relationship with actress Nadezhda Topoleva is presented as an affair. When dad met Nadezhda, she was a young actress. And he is too young. For many years, Khmelev remained a beloved and close person, teacher, and leader for dad. Nadezhda lived with her dad not for a couple of years, as they say, but for twenty years. Having married my mother, my father did not leave his first wife.
The actor’s second wife Tamara is surprisingly similar to his first wife Nadezhda. And on Vitsin himself! Apparently, this similarity made everyone related
Did your father tell you this story?
You may be surprised, but I know this story from Nadezhda. We were friends with her. For example, it was easier for me to discuss my first love with her rather than with my parents. Dina talked about how she broke up with Khmelev. She let me read the letters. I can be proud that I basically learned what kind of high relationships people have. This is a generation of pure people. Nadezhda's intelligence, charm, and wit aroused admiration.
We must give credit to your mother, she accepted this situation.
Maybe there was room for jealousy early in the relationship. But I already know the mature relationship between them. Mom talked with Nadezhda. She and I were friends. When she passed away, it happened in the 70s, if a difficult situation suddenly arose in my life, my father would say: “What a pity that Nadya is no longer there. She would explain everything to you now...” Hope is a person. Communication with her is valuable.
Vitsin's daughter Natalya (she is the one in the photo behind Vitsin) became an artist under the influence of her father
Georgy Mikhailovich officially married your mother. Was Nadezhda a common-law wife?
It didn't matter to my father. Nadezhda did not want to sign officially. And dad didn’t insist. He did not believe that formalities were of great importance in life. This is a very sensitive issue. In any family, when people live nearby for a long time, the time comes to celebrate old age together. But a bright, proud actress at some point may not want this. And this is her decision. Subtle. It is impossible to characterize it unambiguously. I think the age difference played a role in this relationship. Nadezhda resolved the issue of her personal life differently. She was a wise woman and invited her sister and nieces to live with her. I was working on them. She left no room for her personal life...
There was a legend about dad that when he comes to filming, there will be no sun, it will rain! His favorite weather. I remember we arrived in Simferopol. We get off the train. The heat is terrible. And dad is with an umbrella and in autumn boots. Assistant director: “What are you doing?! We warned you that we have sun.” “We’ll see, we’ll see,” he answers slyly. We don’t have time to cross the pass when clouds roll in and a storm begins. Filming is cancelled. The actors are sitting at home, warming up. And dad walks along the beach in his boots, talking to the seagulls.
Vitsin does yoga on the balcony of his apartment. In the photo the actor is 70 years old
Is it true that Vitsin taught yoga to Savely Kramarov?
Savely Kramarov came to his dad to practice acting. He came modestly, wrote everything down, and did his homework. It's funny that Savely was very scrupulous about his health. Sometimes this crossed reasonable boundaries. Sometimes you ask: “Savely, do you want some tea?” And he: “Do you have tap water? Then I'd rather use kefir. Do you have kefir from the market? No? Then I'd rather drink some juice. Is your juice freshly squeezed? No? To be honest, I don’t want to drink at all.” Dad responded to this: “Savely, any bad thing can be neutralized with the power of thought. Yogis drink water from the river in which they stand!” Dad ate very simply. It seemed that he could recycle energy from thin air. He knew how to control his, as he said with a smile, “organon.”
Please tell us about Vitsin’s favorite dog named Boy. They say that when the phone rang during the day, your mother would answer: “Don’t disturb Gosha. A dog sleeps on it. She's a mongrel. She suffered so much. Let him sleep...”
The boy is such a healthy shepherd. It happened like this: dad is getting ready to go to bed. If the Boy understands this, he runs and settles down in his bed. And dad, feeling sorry for the dog, went to sleep on the floor on such days. Dad also loved birds. And they knew him by sight. They flew after him, escorting him through alleys and over the roofs of houses. Dad also had a favorite parrot, Borya. I bought it the day Yeltsin became president. The parrot was talking. Father sat down to drink tea, and Borya hammered at him: “Why are you running around, go get some sleep!” When the parrot died, it was a tragedy for my father...
Laughing at the adventures of the unlucky Coward from Leonid Gaidai’s famous “troika,” we often don’t think about the fact that in life Vitsin was absolutely nothing like his on-screen character
He never had the bright appearance of a hero-lover; he played mostly funny and even slightly pitiful people. However, fans wrote to him all his life, declaring their love and expressing their desire to have a child with him.
Truly high relationships
This may seem incredible, but at the very beginning of his acting career, as an 18-year-old inexperienced young man, Georgy Vitsin took the wife of his teacher, the director. Nikolai Khmelev, artistic director of the theater studio, which later became the Theatre. Ermolova.Dina(Nadezhda)Poplar was 35 years old at the time. Dina reciprocated the ardent love of young Vitsin and left her influential husband. They lived together for 20 years without registering their relationship, as Georgy Mikhailovich’s daughter says, Natalia, Dina herself did not want this.
After everything that happened, Nikolai Khmelev found the strength and nobility to forgive both his departed wife and his student who took her away. He never tried to take revenge: he continued to give roles to Vitsin and maintained good relations with Dina.
Vitsin continued to work at the Theater. Ermolova and treated Khmelev with respect all his life. Probably, at that time there were more such people - truly noble, sensitive, capable of sincere, high relationships.
Happy Easter
She worked as a prop maker in the same theater. Tamara Michurina, niece of the famous plant breeder Ivan Michurina. For some time she was even an assistant to the famous Wolf Messing. And one day Vitsin fell in love with her. As soon as they saw each other, a spark flared up between them. And this happened on Easter - into the prop room, where Tamara was in charge, the actors brought colored eggs and Easter cakes. Georgy Mikhailovich also came in. He looked into Tamara's eyes and disappeared...
Yakov Kostyukovsky, the screenwriter who created scripts for Gaidai’s comedies later said in an interview that Georgy Mikhailovich looked after Tamara very beautifully. The artist liked Tamara’s plumpness - he generally preferred curvy, appetizing women, saying that they were much more attractive than thin women - they reminded him of a pencil. It’s interesting that both Dina Topoleva and Tamara Michurina have the same type; Tamara is very similar to Dina in her youth.
Georgy Mikhailovich and Tamara got married and had a daughter, Natasha. But Vitsin did not forget his former common-law wife. Dina was left alone, she soon began to get sick, and Vitsin helped her, looked after her during her illness, brought medicine and food.
It is interesting that Dina and Tamara became friends, the family often invited Dina to their dacha, and Natasha was more likely to trust some girlish secrets to Dina than to her own mother. She even told her about her first love - charming, wise, kind Dina always gave practical advice, understood the girl, listened to her.
And Tamara Fedorovna always enjoyed communicating with her husband’s first wife. When Dina passed away, Vitsin sometimes said with grief to his daughter, who found herself in difficult life situations: “It’s a pity that Dina is not here, she would have explained all this to you better...”
By the way: The Screen Coward made Vitsin famous throughout the country. But the actor could be remembered by us for completely different roles. For example, the role Gogol, which he played with talent. Or role Hamlet- director Grigory Kozintsev at first he wanted to invite Vitsin to his film, but he was “intercepted” by Gaidai, and Hamlet played Innokenty Smoktunovsky.
Georgy Vitsin is one of those actors who know and remember a million. He is one of those actors who, during his career, gives people simply unrealistic emotions, and amazes all his colleagues with his talent. He lived a wonderful life, earned the title of a great actor, but died in poverty. Such a fate often develops among famous and at the same time not selfish people. He died in poverty, but left behind an unimaginable wealth in the form of his creativity, which is still relevant today and will be liked by the public even after many years.
Height, weight, age. Years of life of Georgy Vitsin
Fit and handsome George has always been interested in the weaker sex. Information such as height, weight, age is not known about the actor. The years of life of Georgy Vitsin are the only information from such parameters that is available. He died at the age of 84 on October 22, 2001. The nationality of the actor is also of interest to many and it is worth saying that he is Russian. During his career, he gave the world a record number of works and took part in 300 works. This figure makes us think about Vitsin’s great talent and the fact that acting was his true calling.
Biography and personal life of Georgy Vitsin
Georgy was born in the city of Zelenogorsk. According to official data, the actor was born in 1918, but his mother changed the date a year in advance because she wanted her son to be taken to a health camp, but he did not meet his age.
Before Vitsin turned one, the family moved to the capital of Russia. Georgy grew up as a very shy boy, and when he announced that he wanted to become an artist, the surprise of those around him knew no bounds. But during his school years, Vitsin realized that he needed to fight his character and went to study at a local theater club.
After school, the guy entered the Maly Theater School, but before he even had time to complete the first year, he was expelled and accused of not taking his studies seriously. Of course, this moment in the biography did not leave our hero indifferent and he was so offended by such a remark during his expulsion that he subsequently submitted documents to as many as three universities. Later he was invited to study at all three institutions, but Georgy chose the Vakhtangov School. And after studying for several months, he transferred to the Moscow Art Theater.
The guy began acting in the theater immediately after finishing his acting training. For thirty-three years he worked at the Ermolaeva Theater. During his career, the actor played many roles in this theater, but the most significant, which gave Vitsin unprecedented success and love from the audience, is the production: “The Taming of the Tamer.”
Filmography: films starring Georgy Vitsin
The actor began acting in films in 1951, when his first work was a cameo role in the film “Ivan the Terrible.” And a little later he managed to get the main role in the film “Belinsky”, where the man played the writer Gogol. The interesting thing is that during his career he will play this writer three more times, due to the similarity and convincing transformation.
The actor’s filmography is filled with both dramatic, serious and comedic roles. Although he became famous more as a comedian, and the reason for this was such famous films as: “Replacement Player”, “12 Chairs”, “Gentlemen of Fortune”.
The biography and personal life of Georgy Vitsin has always proceeded calmly. The actor did not like to gather noise around himself and did not consider himself anything special. All he wanted was to bring joy to people. In his personal life, the actor had only 2 loves, with the first he lived in a civil marriage for many years, and the second woman became his legal wife.
Family and children of Georgy Vitsin
Georgiy's mother is a heroic woman because she raised her family almost on her own. Vitsin’s father went through the war, returned with serious injuries, was very sick, and therefore died early. The mother had to work hard and raise her son.
The man also had his own family. From his second wife he even had a beautiful daughter and already has grandchildren. His wife Tamara tried to stay near her husband until his death. The family and children of Georgy Vitsin have always been his main support.
Daughter of Georgy Vitsin - Natalya Vitsina
The daughter of Georgy Vitsina, Natalya Vitsina, was born in the actor’s second marriage. The woman worked as an artist and decorator for a long time. Now Natalya is already retired, but she still continues to draw, although this activity no longer brings any income. She lives in a large Moscow apartment, which her father left her, and has no contact with her relatives. Many of her father’s relatives are trying to contact Natalya, but she lives an independent and quiet life. Natalya was very close to her father, and since childhood she remembers only the best and most reverent moments.
Ex-wife of Georgy Vitsin - Nadezhda Topoleva
George's first love worked with him in the same theater. The ex-wife of Georgy Vitsin, Nadezhda Topoleva, was also an actress and devoted about 30 years to the Ermolaeva Theater. It is interesting that at that time she was already married to Vitsin’s teacher. But, despite this, the actors later reconciled, and the teacher, Nikolai Khmelev, forgave his wife for his betrayal. The couple lived in a civil marriage for 20 years, and that was all until Vitsin met his future wife. Although even after the separation, Georgy still helped Nadezhda both financially and morally.
Georgy Vitsin's wife - Tamara Fedorovna
It is interesting that Georgy Vitsin’s wife, Tamara Fedorovna, also worked in the theater, but she was a costume designer. Their acquaintance happened by chance and completely turned their whole lives upside down. This happened on Easter, when Tamara went into the costume room with the actors, and at that moment Vitsin came in with colored eggs to “show off.” They just looked into each other's eyes and realized that they fell in love. Stories like this bring a smile to your face. Later, Georgy left his common-law wife, married Tamara, and two years later they had a daughter.
Cause of death of Georgy Vitsin. Actor's funeral
He died due to heart and liver disease, the man had been ill for many years, this is the cause of death of Georgy Vitsin. The actor's funeral took place at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. Not only his family came to say goodbye to Vitsin, but also famous actors who admired the actors’ work. Vitsin was a legendary person and therefore a monument to the actor was erected in his hometown of Zelenogorsk. Many young people who dream of becoming great learn from his example. After himself, he left the world real wealth in the quality of his works.
Wikipedia Georgy Vitsin
Georgy really did not like the hype around his name. He was modest since childhood and even though he overcame his character in his youth, many of his traits still remained. But this was the behavior of a true lover of his craft. He lived not for fame, but to do what he so sincerely loved. Few people know that George did yoga and watched his diet, which is of course difficult to imagine, given the roles of drunkards that he often played. But friends remember how he often stepped aside during breaks and did a couple of yoga asanas. Wikipedia Georgy Vitsin will tell you more interesting facts about his biography. After his passing, the world lost a great actor, but many thanks to him for the creativity that he left behind.
Georgy Vitsin (1917-2001) is a famous actor, beloved by Russian audiences under the pseudonym “Coward.” Despite the fact that in many films he played alcoholics and fools, the actor himself did not drink or smoke, and did yoga. It happened that after the command “Motor!” Vitsin politely but firmly stated: “Sorry, I need to stand on one leg for seven minutes and sit in the lotus position.” Despite his unprepossessing appearance, the ladies loved him and showered him with love letters.
Vitsin was born in the Vyborg province. Soon the parents moved from Moscow. George's father, poisoned by gas during the war, soon died, and his mother bore all the responsibilities around the house. She changed many professions, and even worked as an usher in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions. Sometimes she took her son to concerts and performances, and perhaps then his interest in the acting profession awoke. At the age of 12, Georgy began playing in amateur performances at school.
Recalling his childhood years, Vitsin wrote: “I grew up as a very shy child. And in order to get rid of this complex, I decided to learn how to perform. I went to a theater club in fourth grade. By the way, it’s a very good remedy; even psychologist Vladimir Levi wrote about it. I know him, this is how he treats stutterers and people with all sorts of complexes - he sets up a theater at home, assigns roles, and they improvise. So I was cured...” After school, Georgy entered the Maly Theater School, but was expelled with the wording “For a frivolous attitude towards the educational process.” In the fall, he passed tests in three studios at once and was accepted into all of them. The choice fell on the Vakhtangov School, where Vitsin studied from 1934 to 1935. In 1936, “The Taming of the Tamer” was staged at the Ermolova Theater, where young Vitsin brilliantly played a sexually preoccupied old man. The audience was delighted with the actor. True, one day an angry general burst backstage demanding that the “indecent text” be cut. 
Vitsin later went into cinema, but all his life he valued theater and believed that there was no such thing as a film actor. At first, Vitsin starred in films of various genres, but became famous thanks to comedies. He got into the comedy genre almost by accident when, after unsuccessful auditions for the role of Gadfly, he walked along the corridor of Lenfilm and met assistant director Semyon Timoshenko. This time the young actor’s test was successful, and Vitsin was immediately approved for the role of “Replacement Player”. True, the director was amazed that the “young actor,” as he believed, was almost 37 years old. It is worth noting that Vitsin looked very young for many years and at the age of 40 he could play a 17-year-old boy and a 70-year-old man. Vitsin took the role of an athlete very seriously, and trained daily at the stadium for a month. Once, during a rehearsal for a boxing match with Pavel Kadochnikov, he suffered a rib injury, but did not leave the site, but continued filming, covering his chest with a towel. 
In the film “The Marriage of Balzaminov” he became the only candidate for the role of the undersized Misha, but the film was launched when the actor was already 48 years old. Vitsin at first flatly refused to play the young man Balzaminov, but director Voinov insisted: “Your passport says you’re 48, but you don’t even look 30. We’ll remove it with makeup for another five years, and then with lighting, etc., etc.” Vitsin recalled that he did his own makeup back then. Where I drew a mesh of paint, where I made freckles so that there would be no wrinkles. I came up with a wig and tightened my nose. I mixed the putty with red paint to make my face “thinner.” Vitsin later, laughing, called the painting “The Marriage of the Embalmed One.” In fact, Vitsin took great care of his health. After taking a drag on a cigarette on the stairs at school at age 8, he never smoked again. Once, after drinking too much on New Year's Day, he also realized that it was better not to drink at all. “The worst thing that humanity has come up with is the feast,” he said. 
On the set of “Prisoner of the Caucasus,” he was hardly persuaded to drink a glass of beer. At first he categorically refused: “I won’t have beer, pour some rosehip.” After several takes with the rosehip, someone from the crew remarked: “It won’t work! There is no foam! Then Nikulin suggested putting cotton wool in the mug, but Vitsin couldn’t resist: “Yes, the sixth mug won’t fit into me anymore. Either with or without cotton wool!” In the end, the teetotaler Vitsin had to drink a whole mug of real beer. The most amazing thing is that at a time when many did not know what yoga was, Vitsin was actively involved in it. He was introduced to yoga by Savely Kramarov, whom he met on “Gentlemen of Fortune” and then became friends. Savely Kramarov sometimes went beyond reasonable limits in his concern for health. When they asked him: “Savely, do you want some tea?”, he asked: “Do you have tap water? Then I'd rather use kefir. Do you have kefir from the market? No? Then I'd rather drink some juice. Is your juice freshly squeezed? No? To be honest, I don’t want to drink at all.” Vitsin told him: “Savely, any bad thing can be neutralized with the power of thought. Yogis drink water from the river in which they stand!” 
However, despite the fact that both played “idiots” in films, in life they were intelligent, well-read people. When Kramarov left for America, he gave all his photocopies of articles about yoga (yoga was semi-banned at that time) to Vitsin. Vitsin regularly cleansed the body and tried to eat right. The actor meditated regularly, and strictly on schedule. Sometimes, after the next command “Motor!” he looked at his watch and politely but firmly stated: “Excuse me, I need to stand on one leg and sit in the lotus position for seven minutes.” 
Savely Kramarov recalled that Vitsin was convinced that the key to success in cinematography lay precisely in these activities. “The filming process is a very difficult, dreary thing. You can sit there all day waiting to be filmed, and become so tired that all the humor will drain out of you on its own. How to play then? But during filming, despite the noise and screaming, I often fell asleep for exactly ten to fifteen minutes, thereby giving my body a rest and relaxation,” said the favorite of Russian viewers. Not everyone approved of George’s “overseas” hobby. Nonna Mordyukova, playing the role of the merchant Belotelova, after kissing Balzaminov, told Vitsin: “Are you a man? You don't drink, don't smoke, don't bother women. You're dead! 
However, not all women called him a “corpse.” Some even believed that Georgy Mikhailovich had a truly magical charm and literally bewitched women. Ladies wrote letters saying that they wanted to have a child with him and declared their love. Many actresses also tried to seduce their popular colleague, but he was never a supporter of fleeting relationships. True, he once stole his boss’s wife. In 1936, 19-year-old actor Vitsin fell in love with 35-year-old actress Dina Topoleva. She reciprocated his feelings. Everything would be fine, but Dina was the wife of People's Artist of the USSR Nikolai Khmelev, artistic director of the theater. Ermolova. She left her husband. They lived together for almost 20 years, but never officially married. 
Surprisingly, Khmelev forgave his wife and the “mean” student Vitsin, still giving him new roles. Many years later, he again acted nobly when Topoleva was left alone and very ill. Nikolai Pavlovich brought food, bought medicine, paid for nurses. Vitsin was already with another woman, who became his legal wife. It was Tamara Michurina, who worked as a props maker in the theater. Tamara was an appetizing woman, in the taste of thin Vitsin. Friends remember that he said: “A plump woman is more attractive than a thin, pencil-shaped woman.” They met Tamara on Easter, when Vitsin entered the office where Tamara worked with a colored egg in his hand to say goodbye to Christ. After kissing three times, they looked into each other’s eyes, and after that they began dating, and Vitsin looked after his passion very beautifully. They later got married and she gave birth to his daughter. 
Tamara communicated with Vitsin’s former lover. She recalled: “She and I were friends. When she passed away, it happened in the 70s, if a difficult situation suddenly arose in my life, my father would say: “What a pity that Nadya is no longer there. She would explain everything to you now...” Nadezhda is a person. Communication with her is valuable.” In 2001, the actor had a heart attack on stage and soon died. After his death, an ugly mess began around his name. Newspapers wrote that he died in poverty and loneliness, that he was homeless and collected bottles. Natalya Varley objects: “How can it be - his beloved wife was next to him!” 
Vitsin’s daughter writes that the bullying of the family has not ended even now. “Recently, having defrauded a builder, journalists stole books and a folder with my childhood drawings from my dad’s apartment.” They wrote that Vitsin’s daughter threw her father’s archives into the trash and began to spread rumors that his relatives were even selling his grave. 
Natalya Varley believes that in recent years Vitsin lived the way he already wanted - he did not look young, he fed cats and dogs. “He walked around the yards and fed them. He just loved animals and was very worried about them. He was a very kind and gentle person. Despite the fact that he loved obscene jokes, I have a feeling of such a tender depth of soul.” Ivan Dykhovichny wrote about Vitsin: “Vitsin lived for many years, but the most important thing is that he managed to leave an image that was so loved by people of all tastes, which is also unique.”
Georgy Vitsin, according to many, is one of the most underrated Soviet and Russian artists, and there are still inaccuracies in information about his biography and personal life.
The first inaccuracies associated with the biography and personal life of Georgy Vitsin relate to the place and year of birth. According to official data, he was born in 1918 in Petrograd, but later researchers clarified that he was actually born in 1917 in Terijoki.
George's family was in no way connected with the theater. There is little information about the ups and downs in the biography and personal life of Georgy Vitsin’s parents, it is only known that both are Russian by nationality, and their father passed away quite early.
Actor Georgy Vitsin
Childhood and youth
In 1918, Vitsin and his mother moved to Moscow. He felt early on that he wanted to be an actor. While still at school, he began attending a drama club, where he became assigned the role of negative heroes.
After school, Vitsin entered the Shchepkinsky Theater School at the Maly Theater. Unfortunately, there is practically no reliable information and photos about this period in the biography and personal life of Georgy Vitsin.
According to the existing version, Vitsin was expelled from the first year of college for “frivolity” and lack of talent, which was clearly not true. It is almost impossible to imagine Vitsin taking the acting profession lightly.
Georgy Vitsin in childhood
In 1934, Vitsin entered another famous theater school - Shchukinsky. For reasons that are still unclear, he transferred from this school to the studio of the Second Moscow Art Theater, where one of his teachers was the then famous Serafima Germanovna Birman. She treated Vitsin in a special way, feeling his enormous potential, and even then she noticed with a trained eye his characteristic acting trick - the “Voltaire smile.”
Actor career
From 1936 to 1969, Georgy Vitsin played on the stage of the Ermolova Theater. The most significant roles he played in the performances:
- "Taming the Tamer"
- "As You Like It"
- "Happiness"
- "People with a clear conscience"
- "Savages"
- "Twenty Years Later"
This was the time when spectators went to the theater specifically “to see Vitsin.” Even then, the gift of his unfading youth manifested itself. It was absolutely impossible to guess how old he really was? In the play “Good Hour,” he played a seventeen-year-old for several seasons in a row, although he himself had long since crossed the forty-year mark.
Georgy Vitsin in the film “Business People”
His partners in the theater loved and respected him, but at the same time they easily called him “Gosh,” which, however, he was not offended by. Vitsin did not approach any role formally, he always came up with something new and made adjustments to the mise-en-scène, with which the leading directors agreed. Paradoxically, the stunningly young-looking Vitsin was best in the roles of tragicomic old men.
Unfortunately, video of the performances in which Vitsin played has not survived.
Filmography
Georgy Vitsin played his first film role in 1945 in the film “Hello, Moscow!” Then in three films in a row - “Glinka”, “Spring”, “Belinsky” - Vitsin plays the role of Gogol, he turned out to be so similar and convincing.
Real fame came to Vitsin in 1954 after the role of Vasya Vesnushkin in the film “Replacement Player”. Thirty-seven-year-old Vitsin brilliantly played a twenty-five-year-old novice athlete, and immediately became a people's favorite.
Georgy Vitsin in the film “Hello, Moscow!”
Other significant roles of Vitsin in films of the 50s:
- "Maxim Perepelitsa"
- "Twelfth Night"
- "Murder on Dante Street"
- "Don Quixote"
- “Girl with a Guitar” and others.
Despite his enormous popularity, Georgy Vitsin always remained an extremely private and modest person; he did not particularly like it when fans asked him to sign a photo, and avoided comments regarding his biography, personal life, children, etc.
1961 was a special year in Vitsin’s life. After the release of Gaidai’s film “Dog Barbos and the Unusual Cross,” the unique, legendary trinity Coward, Dunce and Experienced was born. It is interesting that immediately, without screen tests, only Vitsin was approved for the role of the Coward, and Nikulin and Morgunov had to compete for these roles.
Georgy Vitsin in the film “Barbos the Dog and the Unusual Cross”
In total, the trio took part in nine feature films. Of course, the most famous of them are Gaidai’s comedies “Operation “Y” and Shurik’s other adventures” and “Prisoner of the Caucasus or Shurik’s new adventures.”
Subsequently, Georgy Vitsin played roles and took part as a voice actor and dubbing actor in a great variety of projects. Vitsin's most significant roles:
- "The Marriage of Balzaminov"
- "12 chairs"
- "Gentlemen of Fortune"
- "Incorrigible Liar"
- "Can't be!"
- "The Journey of Pan Blobs"
After 1994, he no longer acted in films.
Georgy Vitsin in the film “Operation “Y” and other adventures of Shurik”
Georgy Vitsin - Honored Artist of the RSFSR and People's Artist of the USSR, awarded the medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." and other awards.
Personal life
In his personal life, Vitsin’s contradictory nature was to a certain extent revealed. A quiet, highly tactful man, whose motto was “to remain unnoticed,” he nevertheless took the wife of the director of the Ermolova Theater, Nikolai Khmelev.
He lived in a civil marriage for twenty years with Dina Topoleva, an actress. It is difficult to say what caused the separation. Perhaps Georgy Vitsin began to think that there should be children in his biography and personal life, and Dina was sixteen years older than him and could not give birth for natural reasons. But even after breaking up and already being a family man, he did not forget her, supplied her with food and medicine until her last hour.
Georgy Vitsin with his wife Tamara Michurina
Vitsin also met his official wife, Tamara Michurina, at his native theater, where she got a job as a props maker. Soon after the wedding, the couple had a daughter, Natalya. Georgy Vitsin was never a participant in scandals or affairs, and remained faithful to his wife all his life.
Surprisingly, there are many interesting details associated with the personality of Vitsin, who has strived to remain invisible all his life, and only a few can be mentioned:
- The box office collected around the world by “Dog Barbos” and “Moonshiners” is about 150 million rubles. In Hollywood, Vitsin would certainly be a millionaire.
- Vitsin did not eat meat, seriously practiced yoga and meditation, and this helped him maintain his youth for many years.
- Vitsin was kind to animals and regularly fed cats, dogs and birds. Many homeless animals gathered at his funeral - they said goodbye to their benefactor.
- Vitsin did not touch alcohol. The only time he had to drink was in the famous scene near the beer barrel in “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, when the dialogue “- Life, as they say, is good!” - A good life is even better!" No other drinks, except natural beer, wanted to foam, and Vitsin had to drink it for the only time in his life.
- Many famous scenes and lines in Gaidai’s comedies are Vitsin’s improvisations on the set. He is the author of the words “Whose shoe?”, the human shield on the road blocking the path of the car in “Prisoner of the Caucasus” and many other finds.
- Vitsin was an excellent graphic artist. His caricatures and cartoons are done masterfully.
Vitsin gave his large apartment in the center to his daughter, and he and his wife lived in a small “Khrushchev” building.
People's Artist Georgy Vitsin
Death of Georgy Vitsin
Georgy Vitsin's health deteriorated sharply in 2001. At one of the concerts in which he participated, he became ill. His daughter managed to place him in an elite clinic, but the years took their toll, serious heart problems played a role, and on October 21, the great actor passed away.
Surprisingly, the most modest star of our cinema left one of the most noticeable marks in the history of cinema. Vitsin is remembered, Vitsin is loved, and will be loved as long as theater and the art of cinema are alive.
