Kramarov Savely Viktorovich (October 13, 1934 - June 6, 1995) was one of the most popular comic actors of the Soviet cinema of the 60-70s, a real favorite of the public. He has acted in at least 42 Soviet films and also starred in several American films after emigrating to the US.
Origin and difficult fate of parents
Where did Savely Kramarov start his life? His biography began in Moscow in a Jewish family: his father Viktor Savelyevich, a native of Cherkasy, was a lawyer. He failed to raise and raise his son, because three years after his birth, during the terrible period of "Yezhovshchina" (as it is customary to call the peak of Stalin's repressions in 1937-38), he was arrested and imprisoned in a camp in Siberia, first for eight years. They say that Viktor Kramarov was involved by the NKVD to participate in inspired trials as a defense lawyer. The organizers of the Stalinist trials, apparently, expected that he would, as they say, “grab on the fly” their instructions. However, an honest professional lawyer behaved differently, tried to truly protect his clients, for which he paid with his freedom. So only my mother, Benedikta Solomonovna, raised her son (in the family she was affectionately called "Basya").
Mother Savelia was forced to divorce her convicted husband (such was the time, because not only wives, but also children of the so-called "enemies of the people" were subject to persecution). At that time, a special simplified procedure was even invented for such divorces: no court session, you just advertise in the evening newspaper, come with it to the registry office and receive the appropriate certificate. So did Basya Solomonovna. Can you imagine what a blow it was for Victor, who felled the forest in the USVITLag?! But to do otherwise meant ruining both himself and his son.
Childhood and adolescence
Kramarov Savely Viktorovich often recalled how he hid from his classmates the fact of condemning his father, he was especially afraid of the almost mandatory admission to the Komsomol in the senior classes - after all, it was necessary to tell the biographies of his parents. Therefore, Savely deliberately studied and behaved worse so as not to be worthy of membership in this organization.
Basya and Savely lived in the same room in a communal apartment. They were lucky that their mother had brothers in Moscow who took care of them. Thanks to their help, Savely was able to survive during the war years, although he developed pulmonary tuberculosis, which is always the result of malnutrition and hypothermia. But an amazing thing, a familiar Jewish doctor helped the youngSavely to overcome a terrible illness. How he achieved the result is unknown, but Kramarov Savely Viktorovich was grateful to him until the end of his days.
Unfortunately, the blows of fate undermined the he alth of Basya Solomonovna, and as soon as Savely was 16 years old, she died. After her death, Viktor Kramarov, who was in a settlement in Siberia after eight years in the camps, was allowed to come to Moscow for a short time to meet with his son. What this conversation of the father, who for a moment emerged from the camp oblivion with his half-orphan son, was about, is not known for certain, but the fact that he left an indelible impression in Savely's soul is obvious. Returning to Siberia, my father soon received a new term (there was such a vile practice among Stalin's jailers - having once fallen into their claws, a person could no longer escape, even after serving the sentence originally awarded to him). Everything has its limit of strength, and Viktor Kramarov also had it - in 1951 he committed suicide in the camp.
Starting independent living
Striving to follow in the footsteps of his father and become a lawyer after leaving school, Savely Viktorovich Kramarov quickly found that this door was closed to him as the son of an enemy of the people. Then at the family council (in the family of my uncle by mother) it was decided to enter the Forestry Engineering Institute. The competition there was small, and the biographies of the parents of future foresters were not looked at as meticulously as in the legal one.
They say that Kramarov's first role in the movie was quite by accident. As a student, he somehowwalked past the set of a film on one of the Moscow streets. There was a small crowd, and Savely just came closer to look at the filming process itself. But the director's inquisitive eye immediately saw a boy with a non-standard face in the crowd, and suddenly Kramarov was offered to play an episode in the film. And he did a great job.
It is not known how Savely Kramarov's life would have developed if it had not been for the theater studio at the Central House of Artists. It was in it that he received the skills of the acting profession, met some directors, and finally just believed in his acting future.
The beginning of the Soviet film career
In the late 1950s - early 60s, a new movie character performed by Savely Kramarov appeared on the Soviet screen. He was a hooligan and reckless guy who could not be called an exemplary Soviet movie hero. Rather, it was even his antipode, since he was often in trouble with the law and in general was very unlike the stereotype of a young Soviet man that had developed in those years. And at the same time, Kramarov's characters invariably evoked sympathy from the public - such was the strength of his acting talent. At the end of his life, when Kramarov Savely Viktorovich, at the request of his colleagues, listed his favorite films, he named among them the picture of that period “My friend, Kolka!”, Where he played the hooligan Vovka, nicknamed Pimen. In the same row, one can also name such films as “Guys from our yard” (hooligan Vaska Rzhavy), “Farewell, pigeons”(hooligan Vaska Konoplyanysty), "The First Trolleybus", etc.
Flourishing Talent
In the second half of the 1960s, the actor Savely Kramarov became popularly known. And although the roles that he played in the cinema were not the main ones, it was often his secondary, often episodic, character that was most remembered by the audience. So it happened with his Ilyukha from "The Elusive Avengers" dir. Edmond Kersayan. Just a couple of minutes on the screen, a short story with a unique "Kramarov" facial expression - and now the whole country, laughing, repeats the words of his Ilyukha: "And the dead with braids are standing …. And silence.”
The undoubted acting successes of the 1960s include the images of the chauffeur Ivashkin from "Krosh's Holidays", Vasya-Grandfather from "The Tale of Lost Time", Klik-Klyak from the "City of Masters" and many others.
Supercomic of the Soviet cinema
In the 1970s, Kramarov's comic talent flourished in full force. He created a number of film characters that entered the treasury of cinematography. So, the master of Soviet film comedy Leonid Gaidai filmed him as the deacon Feofan in the comedy based on the play by Mikhail Bulgakov "Ivan Vasilyevich Changes Profession". The audience also remembered his characters from the films "Trembita", the series "Big Break", etc. The pinnacle of Kramarov's acting success was the image of Fedka (Slanting) from "Gentlemen of Fortune" dir. Alexander the Gray.
Behind the scenes
But with all the external signs of success, Kramarov's acting fatigue from the continuous exploitation of one and the samethe same image, although in different modifications. He was tired of portraying a funny bum, constantly playing up the features of his appearance (Kramarov had a slight squint, which gave a special comical expression to his face). This is probably why he sought to change his acting role, get a job in a theater where he could play more serious roles. The same goal was served by his studies at GITIS, which he graduated in 1977. But not a single Soviet theater opened its doors to him.
And although Kramarov was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR in 1974, he felt resentment and irritation. Probably, under their influence, he became defiantly religious, openly attended the synagogue, and refused to work on Saturdays. This irritated the Soviet cinematographic authorities, and they began to “clamp” Kramarov, as they say. In the late 1970s, the number of proposals for filming was sharply reduced, they refused to release it abroad, even on tours. Kramarov more and more acutely felt his life disorder and uselessness in the future. His family life was also unimportant. Having lived with his wife Maria for thirteen years in a civil marriage, Kramarov never felt the joy of fatherhood, remained childless. The emigration of Soviet Jews to Israel, which began in the late 70s, contributed to the formation of his desire to leave his homeland.
Life in exile
People of the older generation remember how in the 80s the famous actor Savely Viktorovich Kramarov suddenly completely disappeared from the screens of Soviet cinemas. His filmography by that time already included more than 40 paintings. Many were lost in conjecture,Rumors spread that Kramarov had left for the United States. Finally, in one of the central Soviet newspapers, a large article appeared en titled "Savel in jeans", which confirmed that Kramarov left his homeland in pursuit of a "long dollar" and now lives in the United States. The author of the article expressed confidence that Kramarov abroad would face complete degradation as an actor. Today we know that this did not happen.
How did Savely Kramarov live in the USA? His biography for almost a decade and a half of his life in America was not too remarkable. He starred in several comedy films with limited success (most notably Moscow on the Hudson). But, having married for the third time, Kramarov finally became the father of a charming daughter, in whom he did not have a soul.
However, he did not have long to enjoy family happiness. In the mid-1990s, he was diagnosed with cancer, an operation was performed, which turned out to be unsuccessful. Savely Kramarov's death occurred in the summer of 1995 as a result of postoperative complications. He passed away at the age of 60, but managed to leave behind a whole galaxy of wonderful film images that still continue to warm the souls of moviegoers.
