The man with the "diamond hand" Yuri Nikulin

Viewers of the older generation remember the smiling good man from the old Russian films “The Diamond Hand”, “Caucasian Captive”, “The Twelve Chairs” and others. His smile was able to make you laugh to tears, and another time to make you cry. It was as if the whole range of human feelings was written on his face. Yuri Nikulin’s acting presence was a guarantee of laughter, but also of reflection. He was a true legend, and he remained so.

Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin was born on December 18, 1921.

It has been 100 years since his birth.

For nearly four decades, this man has worked in the cinema and circus, devoted entirely to the public, and in one of his last interviews he said he wanted to remain in people’s memory “just as a good man.”

His business card says “actor and clown.” Yes, Nikulin’s creative destiny is inextricably linked to both cinema and circus art. He could laugh at the role of the clown in the circus, but he could also cry – with the deep thought that provoked even the most “funny” roles.

Yuri Nikulin, in a frame from the movie “The Diamond Hand”

He recreated the images of good people, rightly considered naive – people with a pure soul and full of cheerful optimism, good-natured and trusting “idiots”. In fact, Yuri Nikulin was like that in his life. As one critic put it – “man of light”.

Yuri Nikulin, in a frame from the movie “The Diamond Hand”

He had not yet reached the age of majority, and almost immediately after his prom, young Yuri found himself in the army. He fought at the front in the 115th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment and the 72nd Anti-Aircraft Division. He took part in two wars – the Soviet-Finnish and the Great Patriotic War.

“Leningrad. Life under siege” – “fresco” of the martyrdom of a city

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In one of the battles near Leningrad he fell ill with pneumonia and was sent to a field hospital. The city is besieged and trapped in hunger. It is a real miracle that he survives, and then, without being asked if he feels recovered, they bring him back into battle. A new blow of fate followed – he was wounded in a bombardment by a plane. And he survives again. The service is protracted – he has been driving the barracks for 7 years! He received orders for bravery, but as he later said – this is not the most important thing, but that he stays alive and matures quickly.

Yuri Nikulin / Source: Archives of the Union of Artists in Russia

Nikulin was awarded the title of People’s Artist of the USSR (1973) and a hero of socialist labor (1990). Such were the former awards. But hardly anyone will deny that Russia has always been one of the first places in the world in several fields of art, including circus art. Yuri Nikulin, a boy from the provincial town of Demidov in the Smolensk region, became director of the Moscow Circus on Tsvetniya Boulevard, and is now named after him.

Yuri Nikulin / Source: Archives of the Union of Artists in Russia

Among his roles in the film are very memorable incarnations as a police officer in “Man out of nowhere”, the leader of the church choir in “Taming the Shrew”, the driver in “Young Green”, the salesman in “Give the book of complaints” and many more. etc. Nikulin has participated in over 40 films, including: “Old Men-Robbers”, “Dot, period, comma”, “They fought for the Motherland”, “Twenty days without war”, “Scarecrow” and others. Films that remain in the golden classics of Russian cinema.

Actor s 9 orders for bravery – We have no other!

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You’ll be surprised, but this incredible actor and war hero was “torn” at the GITIS entrance exams in 1946 due to a “lack of acting talent,” according to the committee. However, Nikulin did not despair and went to a clown school, where there was no jury. He was determined to take the stage at all costs, no matter what. And in Moscow, where his family moved to live when little Yuri was 4. Until his death, the actor adored the city, even its “air”, as it was once said.

Clown…

In an interview, with his inherent sense of humor, he said he wanted to “show his crushed face” to more people. So he went to the clowning studio of the Moscow Circus on Tsvetny Boulevard, where he was spotted by the famous circus artist with the pseudonym Karandash, and invited him to be a clown in the troupe of Mikhail Shuidin.

Life as a circus in the paintings of Jose de la Barra

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At that time, Nikulin did not have big creative plans and thought that he should not expect any spectacular career. He married an actress, and their meeting also resembles a comedy film. The girl went to study riding in a circus with trained horses. Nikulin liked her so much that he invited her to the evening show. In the evening, instead of shining with his number, Nikulin tried so hard that at one point he fell under the horse in the arena, and in front of everyone was kicked. The injured clown was hospitalized before explaining his love for his future wife.

However, she visited the patient herself and everything was arranged in such a way that “it was worth kicking him a horse”, Nikulin himself laughed later in this case. He and Tanya have a son, who succeeds his father as director of the world-famous Moscow Circus on the Color Boulevard. The son gives Nikulini three grandchildren.

Yuri Nikulin, in a frame from the movie “The Diamond Hand”

Yuri Nikulin made his film debut at the age of 37. His first success did not come quickly. According to critics – only on his 16th film – “Operation y”, and the triumph is undoubtedly in “Caucasian Captive”, which turns him into a megastar.

The audience literally adores him. His song “If I Were a Sultan” remains legendary to this day. Andrei Tarkovsky invited him for photos in “Andrei Rublev”, and so Nikulin gained international fame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf2Dc-MkhsE

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Yuri Nikulin became a favorite of the Bulgarian audience mainly with the film “The Diamond Hand”. The unique work of the director Leonid Gaidai is recognized as a world comedy classic. The rebellious 1968 turned the film from funny to very curious and for another reason – that it is a bold critique of society. Soviet censors were firmly against the release of the film, but what a surprise – Leonid Brezhnev himself laughed heartily at the film. From this film is the catchphrase with which the Soviet leader began to joke, imitating Nikulin: “You me, do you respect me?”

Yuri Nikulin, in a frame from the movie “The Diamond Hand”

Yuri Nikulin began to refuse roles in cinema when he took on the great responsibility of leading the Moscow Circus. His authority also played a role during his rule in allocating millions of rubles to the construction of a new circus building, which was completed in 1989, with the personal assistance of Mikhail Gorbachev.

Yuri Nikulin, in a frame from the movie “The Diamond Hand”

Placido Domingo said he enjoys singing in Moscow

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Yuri Nikulin remains in office until his last breath. In December 1996 the big celebration of the 75th anniversary of the actor took place. But he will not wait 76 – he died in August 1997. He was sent with honors as a People’s Artist of Russia and a hero of the Soviet Union, as well as one of the last heroes of the socialist labor of the USSR. But a greater recognition than the awards is that people walk the streets of Moscow and cry for their pet – his favorite city of Moscow is in mourning.

“Fame came to me late,” Nikulin said in an interview. “I never got drunk on that fame. No, I just worked, I just lived, I just interacted with people, and I read …”

Throughout his life, Nikulin collected anecdotes, which were published in the collection “Anecdotes from Nikulin” with an autograph by the author: “For joy and consolation”. His book “Almost Seriously” has been republished several times.

Cover of Yuri Nikulin’s autobiographical book

For many years, Yuri Nikulin was also the host of the TV show “White Parrot”, where his guests were many famous people, and the mood in the studio – full of kindness and humor. Nikulin will be missed not only by the Russians, but by the world.

From 1992 until his death, he was chairman of the Peace Foundation. He also set up the Circus and Charity charity fund to help circus art veterans and young circus artists. It is fair to say that his cherished dream, to remain in everyone’s memory not only as an actor but also as a good man, has come true.