During his lifetime, he was called a brilliant lyceum, and this was proved only by the fact that tickets for performances in which this talented actor took part were sold out in no time. Well, the films where Nikolai Olimpievich Gritsenko played were becoming a kind of visual aid for theater students, a standard of brilliant work. Moreover, he was subject to absolutely diverse images, including: Prince Myshkin, Karenin, the gold miner Molokov, Don Guan … Nikolai Olimpievich Gritsenko until his last days was devoted to cinema and theater, playing an unimaginably huge number of roles on the stage and set. And at the same time, the vector of his professional activity could be directed not towards great art. But fate made its own adjustments. What interests us primarily about the actor, who is known as Nikolai Gritsenko?
Roles, films with his participation, of course. And, of course, the stages of a creative biography.
Curriculum Vitae
Gritsenko Nikolay Olimpievich (actor) was born at the Yasinovataya station (Donetsk region, Ukraine). It happened on July 24, 1912. Nikolai's father worked in the mine. Little is known about the time when the future lyceum studied at school. Diligence in studies, he did not differ and trouble for his teachers delivered a lot. But young Nikolai could compose the most true fiction on the fly, and even such that the teachers were simply torn with laughter and they forgave him all the pranks. Since childhood, the young man knew how to transform into any image in a matter of seconds. And he can develop this talent in himself after several decades.
Already at the age of 19, the young man became a graduate of the Dnepropetrovsk Transport Polytechnic, after which he got a job at the Mushketovo station as a ten's technician, and then transferred to the Yasinovataya station, where he held the position of building technician.
In the first half of the 30s, Nikolai Olimpievich Gritsenko worked at the Make Steel Metallurgical Plant "Steel" (designer of the technical department).
Studying acting
Nikolai's interest in the art of acting was awakened when he was twenty years old. First, he will graduate from the musical and dramatic rabfak in Makeevka, then he will go to study at the Drama College in Kiev. But this is not all educational institutions in which Nikolay Olimpievich Gritsenko will learn the basics of acting. In 1935, he entered the school at the Moscow Art Theater-2, and then became a student at the theater school at the Central Theater of Arts. But it should be noted that the members of the selection committee in the capital were not supportive of the young man, openly hinting to him that he would bring much more benefit at the factory than in the walls of the Melpomene church. And yet, Nikolai Gritsenko, whose biography is of interest to film fans of the Soviet period, was not going to give up so easily. He successfully passed the exams at the "Shchukin" school and, having graduated from this theater college in 1940, falls into the troupe of the Vakhtangov Theater.
But soon Hitler attacks the USSR, and the aspiring actor goes to Arkhangelsk, in which he comprehends the basics of military affairs at commanding courses.
First movie roles
In 1942, the first film with the participation of Gritsenko was released. The actor was approved for a cameo role in the melodrama "Mashenka" (dir. Yu. Raizman). In the film, he makes a toast in honor of Masha Stepanova. The biography of actor Nikolai Olimpievich Gritsenko is already interesting because he starred in 47 films, most of which were included in the "golden fund" of Soviet cinema. However, the lyceum got its second role only four years after the debut. In The Old Vaudeville (dir. I. Savchenko, 1946) Nikolai Olimpievich affirms the main role of the hussar Anton Fadeev. Then there was another success in the movie. In 1950, the director Rayzman removes the film "Cavalier of the Golden Star", in which Gritsenko filigree transforms into the image of the chairman of the collective farm. For this work, the actor is awarded the Stalin Prize.
Demanded in their profession
Throughout the 50-70s, Nikolay Olimpievich Gritsenko actively acted in films, trying on different roles.
Back in 1954, he played on the same stage with the luminaries of Russian cinema: Alla Tarasova, Mikhail Yanshin and Alexei Gribov. The film, in which Gritsenko will act as the manager, is called "The Swedish Match" (dir. K. Yudin).
And, of course, one cannot fail to note the brilliant work of the maestro in the historical drama “Walking through the agony” (dir. G. Roshal, 1957). In it, Gritsenko Nikolai Olimpievich appears in the image of Vadim Petrovich Roshchin.
And this is only a small fraction of what the actor played on the set. He was called "ordinary genius." Nikolai Gritsenko - the actor - was not one. His talent was just extraordinary. But in everyday life, as noted by his colleagues in the workshop, the actor was unpretentious, although he liked to dress stylishly.
Work as a director
On the stage of his native Vakhtangov theater, the maestro tried his hand and as a director. Together with his colleagues - Vladimir Shlesinger and Dina Andreeva - in 1956, the lyceum puts on the play "Sixth Floor". In terms of genre affiliation, it can be attributed to melodrama.
It is noteworthy that when they rehearsed this production, one of the actors was unable to convey the character of the hero, who was a cutesy Frenchman. And then Nikolai Olimpievich himself went on stage and showed a “master class” on the subject of how to play a resident of a country that is a trendsetter.
However, theater critics were not enthusiastic about the play “Sixth Floor”. First of all, I did not like his plot, they say, why follow the life of a little man who was brought up according to the laws of capitalist society.
Theater work
The performances in which Nikolai Gritsenko was involved for a long time appeared in the repertoire, since the theater audience went to them. His roles perfected to perfection and after years did not lose their brightness and filigree. Sometimes the viewer once again did not cease to be amazed at how on the stage an actor can improvise on a stage so uniquely and organically. At the same time, Nikolai Olimpievich simply worked titanically and hard, carving sparks of his remarkable talent. Gritsenko, like no other from the acting environment, could create and work out to the smallest nuances the image that he got and carefully put together the opposite traits in his character.
Colleagues reviews
Even his mentor and teacher Ruben Simonov, along with his colleagues in the workshop, came to see how Gritsenko works.
Each performance with his participation was a real discovery for them. He was called "theater in the theater." The actors spoke of his talent like this: “He always knew how to surprise. Each subsequent work of Gritsenko is completely different from the previous one and, as it were, reveals new facets of talent. Naturally, therefore, it remains a mystery in which image Nikolai Olimpievich appears and what variations of artistic expression the maestro will resort to this time. ”
Iconic roles in the theater
The Soviet audience massively went to Gritsenko not only to the cinema, but also to the Melpomene temple. I especially remember the work of Nikolai Olimpievich in the play “For Every Wise Man of Pretty Simplicity” (dir. A. Remizov, 1968). He was able to demonstrate the full potential of extraordinary acting techniques and adaptations, moreover, without completely overshadowing the game of other actors. Gritsenko appeared before the audience in the image of a wealthy gentleman in years, who strongly opposed the abolition of serfdom.
In the early 70s, the maestro was involved in the production of R. Simonov "Man with a Gun." Nikolai Olimpievich played in her the image of a soldier who possessed not only a sense of humor, but also ingenuity. In the play “A Woman Behind the Green Door”, Gritsenko was approved for the role of ex-chief Dashdamirov.
He was very upset by the death of his teacher Ruben Simonov, who died in the winter of 1968.
After this, Nikolai Olimpievich will say that the theater was orphaned without Simonov. The performances in which Gritsenko took part were gradually squeezed out of the repertoire, the work in the theater became less and less. And age significantly narrowed the number of roles.
