Smirnov Aleksey is an actor whom a rare admirer of Soviet cinema does not know. This man is famous for his ability to create a wide variety of images in films - from a clumsy booze to a hero who sacrifices himself for the well-being of his native country. Rare people from his entourage knew how difficult the life of the artist was, he also modestly was silent about his military merits. What path has this outstanding man traveled?
Actor Alexei Smirnov: biography of the star
The native city of the USSR movie star is Danilov, located in the Yaroslavl region, where he was born in February 1920. A few years after the birth of a son, the family moved to Leningrad, in which the boy grew up. Smirnov Alexey is an actor who, as a child, had a chance to face numerous difficulties. He was still a child when the family lost his father. Lesha and his younger brother remained in the care of their mother. The three of them were forced to huddle in a communal apartment and survive despite chronic lack of money.
Smirnov Alexey is an actor for whom the theater became a kind of outlet in his teens. Rising to the stage, the boy forgot about his problems, getting used to the image of the next character. He enjoyed attending the school drama circle, then became a student at the studio working at the Leningrad Theater of Musical Comedy. Having received a diploma from this institution, he declared himself by playing one of the main characters in the musical play “Rose-Marie”. Unfortunately, World War II made him forget about his profession for several years.
Years of war
Smirnov Alexei - an actor who did not like to remember his military past, never boasted of military achievements. Nevertheless, back in 1941, the artist voluntarily came to the front.
His service began as a chemical instructor; after some time, Alexei was promoted to commander of a fire platoon. He happened to become a direct participant in many large-scale battles in which the actor miraculously survived. Smirnov was among those soldiers who reached Berlin. At the very end of the war he received a serious wound and was transported over the front line. Numerous medals and orders awarded to him can be considered proof of the courage shown by this man during his military service. Among them is the Order of the Red Star.
Filming a movie
Having recovered from the wound received at the front, actor Alexei Smirnov returned to his profession. The biography of a star of domestic cinema shows that at first he tried to succeed in the theater field. However, the man needed to take care of his mother, who became practically incapacitated after the death of his younger brother. Trying to free up time spent on tour and earn more money, Smirnov switched to shooting a movie. Popularity came to him almost immediately.
The directors quickly discovered a unique gift to make the audience this person possessed. He began to be actively invited to small comedic roles. Viewers remember Smirnov in the film "Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures, " in which he played a parasite and a lazy man called Verzil, trying to fight a bespectacled student. Other films with his participation made a sensation at that time: “A Wedding in the Robin”, “Seven Old Men and One Girl”.
Alexey Smirnov is an actor whose height was 186 cm, the former owner of a smile that captivates the audience. The images of a clumsy muddlers, delinquents, perfectly fit him. However, dramatic characters also succeeded to this person, as a proof of which the film “Only Old Men Go to Battle”, in which he played the mechanic Makarych, can serve.
Personal life
Unfortunately, the actor could not start a family, although, according to the memoirs of his contemporaries, the children adored. The concussion acquired at the end of the war “awarded” him with problems in the male sphere; he could not have children. Having discharged from a military hospital, he broke off relations with a girl who became his bride in the pre-war years and was waiting for his return. She found out the real reason for this decision only many years later; Smirnov did not like to share his problems with others.
Several times Alex tried to build a relationship with the opposite sex, but nothing came of it. The man spent his whole life in a communal apartment, sharing it with his mother. He even refused the opportunity to get housing, taking advantage of his military merits.
