Kramarov Savely Viktorovich (October 13, 1934 - June 6, 1995) was one of the most popular comic actors of Soviet cinema of the 60-70s, a real favorite of the public. He played in at least 42 Soviet films, and also starred in several American films after emigrating to the United States.
The origin and difficult fate of parents
Where did Savely Kramarov begin his life? His biography began in Moscow in a Jewish family: his father, Viktor Savelyevich, a native of Cherkassy, was a lawyer. He did not manage to raise and raise his son, because three years after his birth in the terrible period of “Blacksmithing” (the so-called peak of Stalinist repressions in 1937-38) he was arrested and imprisoned in a camp in Siberia, first for eight years. It is said that Viktor Kramarov was involved in the NKVD to participate in inspired trials as a defender. The organizers of the Stalinist courts, apparently, hoped that he would, as they say, “snap on the fly” their instructions. However, an honest professional lawyer behaved differently, tried to truly protect his clients, for which he paid with freedom. So only her mother raised her son, Benedikta Solomonovna (in the family she was affectionately called "Basia").
Savely’s mother was forced to divorce her convicted husband (this was the time, because not only the wives, but also the 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 hearing, you just advertise in the evening newspaper, you come to the registry office with her and get the relevant certificate. So did Basya Solomonovna. Can you imagine what a blow it was for Victor, who was felling a forest in USVITLag ?! But to do otherwise was to destroy both himself and his son.
Children's years and youth
Kramarov Savely Viktorovich often recalled how he hid the fact of his father’s conviction from classmates, especially feared the admission to the Komsomol, which was almost obligatory in high school, because you had to tell the biographies of your parents. Therefore, Savely intentionally studied and behaved worse, so as not to be worthy of membership in this organization.
Basia and Savely lived in the same room in a communal apartment. They were lucky that their mother in Moscow had brothers who took care of them. Thanks to their help, Savely was able to survive the years of war, although he earned pulmonary tuberculosis, which is always the result of malnutrition and hypothermia. But an amazing thing, the familiar Jewish doctor helped young Savely overcome a terrible ailment. 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 health of Basi Solomonovna, and as soon as Savely was 16 years old, she died. After her death, Viktor Kramarov, who was after eight years in a settlement camp in Siberia, was allowed to come to Moscow for a short time to meet with his son. What was this conversation of his father, who emerged for a moment from the camp non-existence, with his half-orphan son, is not known for certain, but the fact that he left an indelible impression on Savely’s soul is obvious. Returning to Siberia, his father soon received a new term (there was such a vile practice among the Stalin jailers - once in their claws, a person could not escape, even after serving his original sentence). Everything has its own ultimate strength, he came to Victor Kramarov - in 1951 he committed suicide in the camp.
The beginning of an independent life
Seeking to follow in his father's footsteps and become a lawyer after graduation, Kramarov Savely Viktorovich quickly discovered that this door was closed for him as the son of an enemy of the people. Then at the family council (in the family of uncle's 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 as meticulously as in the legal one.
They say that Kramarov’s first role in the movie was completely accidental. As a student, he somehow walked past the set of a movie on one of Moscow streets. There was a small crowd, and Savely just came closer to look at the process of filming. But the director’s inquiring eye immediately saw a guy with a non-standard face in the crowd, and suddenly Kramarov was offered to play an episode in the film. And he did an excellent job.
It is not known how the life of Savely Kramarov would have developed further if the theater studio at the Central House of Artists had not appeared in it. It was in her that he received the skills of the acting profession, met some directors, and finally, he simply believed in his acting future.
The beginning of the Soviet film career
In the late 1950s and 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 film hero. Rather, it was even his antipode, because he was often at odds with the law and generally was very unlike the stereotype of a young Soviet man that had developed in those years. And at the same time, the characters of Kramarov invariably evoked sympathy among 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 bully Vovka, nicknamed Pimen. Such films as “Guys from Our Yard” (bully Vaska Rusty), “Farewell, pigeons” (bully Vaska Konoplyanisty), “The First Trolley”, etc.
The flowering of talent
In the second half of the 1960s, the actor Savely Kramarov became popularly known. And although the roles that he played in the movie were not the main ones, but often it was his minor, often episodic, character that was most remembered by the audience. So it happened with his Ilyukha from "Elusive Avengers" dir. Edmond Kersayan. Just a couple of minutes on the screen, a short story with a unique “Kramarovskaya” facial expression - and now the whole country, laughing, repeats his words Ilyukha: “And the dead are standing with braids …. And silence".
The undoubted acting successes of the 1960s include the images of the driver Ivashkin from “Vacation Krosh”, Vasya-Grandfather from “Tales of Lost Time”, Click-Klyak from “City of Masters” and many others.
Supercomic of Soviet cinema
In the 1970s, Kramarov’s comic talent flourished in full force. He created a number of film characters who entered the treasury of cinema. So, the master of the Soviet comedy Leonid Gaidai shot him in the role of clerk Feofan in the comedy based on the play by Mikhail Bulgakov, "Ivan Vasilievich is changing his profession." The audience remembered his characters from the films “Trembita”, the series “Big Change” and others. The peak of Kramarov’s acting success was the image of Fedka (Skew) from “Gentlemen of Fortune” dir. Alexander Gray.
What was behind the scenes
But with all the outward signs of success, Kramarov was growing in actor fatigue from the continuous operation of the same image, albeit in different versions. He was tired of portraying a ridiculous nonsense, constantly playing out the features of his appearance (Kramarov had a slight squint that gave his face a special comic). This is probably why he sought to change his acting role, to get a theater, where he could play more serious roles. His studies at GITIS, which he graduated in 1977, served the same purpose. But not a single Soviet theater opened its doors to it.
And although Kramarov was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR in 1974, he was offended and irritated. Probably, under their influence, he became demonstratively religious, openly attended the synagogue, refused to work on Saturdays. This annoyed the Soviet cinema authorities, and Kramarov began to “clamp”, as they say. In the late 1970s, the number of proposals for filming was sharply reduced, they refused to let him go abroad even on tourist trips. Kramarov more acutely felt his life’s disorder and uselessness in the future. His family life did not develop well. 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.
