Fairy tales are an integral part of Christmas. We have been seeing Mrazik on the screens for decades, a Russian fairy tale about the smug Ivanka, the hardworking Nastěnka and the spoiled Marfuš, which dates from 1964. How are the sixty-year-old stars of the popular fairy tale doing now?
Eduard Izotov alias Ivanek (†66)
In the folk tale, Ivan did a lot of good, overcoming evil and above all himself. However, the same cannot be said of his representative, Eduard Izot. The representative of the smug Ivánek was born on November 11, 1936 in the Uraz district of the Vitebsk region of Belarus. Since 1954 he has been studying at the Moscow Film University, where he finds the woman he will later marry. After completing his studies in 1960, he became a father. He had a daughter, Veronika, who later became an actress as well. The marriage was long, both lasted 24 years, but they remained friends even after the divorce.
He entered the film industry with the film Tiché stepi (1959) and in the following years he was involved in several other films, he shot the adventure drama Stronger than the hurricane (1960) and the film Hello, children (1962). The turning point in his career, however, was the fairy tale film Mrázik (1964), where he played the role of Ivan in his life.
The burly actor was gutted by his time behind bars. With his second wife Irina, he was arrested by militiamen in Moscow, near the famous Lyra cafe on Gorky Street. They tried to exchange gold medals from Irina’s inheritance and about a thousand US dollars for rubles. He spent two and a half years in prison. After being released from prison, he was destroyed and suffered six strokes which left lasting effects. He couldn’t remember lyrics, slurred words and had poor hand control. He became explosive and developed a mental illness which forced him to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital. His condition was so serious that he didn’t recognize his own daughter during visits, he didn’t understand where she was or why. Eduard Izotov died on March 8, 2003, but according to his relatives, his soul left him much earlier.
Inna Churikova alias Marfusha (79)
Marfuška’s representative was born on October 5, 1943. From a young age she devoted herself to the theater, where she was very successful. She has been active in the film industry since the 1950s, first appearing in the drama Mother (1955), followed by a role in the comedy Walking in Moscow (1963). Like Ivan, however, she only became famous for her role as Marfuš in 1964.
Her life was radically changed by meeting with director Gleb Panfilov, who brought her several more major roles and later also became her husband. At one point, she considered abandoning the film for her most famous role. It was her husband, who cast her in most of her films, that helped repair her reputation. Right now, her fans probably wouldn’t recognize her, which is to be expected fifty years after her premiere.
Natalja Sedych aka Nastěnka (74)
Natalya Sedych was born on July 10, 1948. She graduated from a ballet school and at the age of fourteen she was cast in a famous film fairy tale. She is still involved in acting, albeit very rarely. The successful Russian film was followed by eight more films, the last of which was shot in 2010. He starred, for example, in the fairy tale Ohněm, vodo a trubky (1967), in the comedy Po ulicam komod vodili… (1978 ) or in the drama The best season of the year 2007. The last film was the Russian drama Peremirie (2010).
He wasn’t doing very well in his personal life. She is divorced and her son remained with her ex-husband. She has changed several partners during her life. One of them tried to strangle her during the argument and even pointed a knife at her. She’s also fallen for plastic surgery, which is quite evident on her face.
Viewers can watch Mrážik on New Year’s Eve at 3:35pm on Nova.
Sources: Refresher, eXtra.cz, TV Nova
