Vladimir Vysotsky once wrote: "The death of those of us all first catches those who pretended to die." And not without reason - there is a sign among the actors - if your hero dies, then you will not live long. Those who do not believe in these omens and still play deadly roles are paying with their lives - both Vysotsky himself and Shukshin, to whom this poem was dedicated …
The curse of Macbeth
Once the profession of an actor was considered unworthy of a decent person. They say that the actors are buffoons, actors, they were buried behind the church fence, like suicides …
And in time immemorial, legends and superstitions about this "unclean" craft were formed. And one of the most common is about deadly roles. Perhaps it dates back to the days of serf actors. The famous Praskovya Zhemchugova, shortly before her death, rehearsed the roles of Ophelia and Cleopatra - both heroines, as you know, die tragically. A seer came to Zhemchugova and predicted the death of the actress, if she did not refuse to participate in the production, the two deceased would inevitably "attract" the third - Zhemchugova herself. But Praskovya did not believe the prediction - and died in childbirth at the age of 35.
Foreign actors also have their own superstitions, going back to ancient times. For example, they are of the opinion that a curse is imposed on Shakespeare's play Macbeth. Few dare to stage it in the theater, and if such a fantasy came to the brave director, then it is very difficult to choose the actors for it. But when the troupe is still recruited with difficulty, the rehearsal is painful - there are a number of prohibitions.
For example, you cannot pronounce its name aloud - only “play”. In no case should you rehearse at home or on the street … According to the legends, the play was cursed even at the time of writing - because of three witches who brewed a witch's potion during the action. They say that Shakespeare wrote down the monologues of real witches, which angered the evil forces …
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Devilish romance
In our time, Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita is considered such a cursed work. Woland told the Master: "This novel will bring you surprises yet," but he brought surprises not only to the Master, but to all directors of films and performances based on this work. However, there weren't very many of them, because the most mystical circumstance was that the directors dreamed of staging The Master and Margarita, but various circumstances prevented this. And I must say that such luminaries as Vladimir Naumov, Igor Talankin, Georgy Danelia, Rolan Bykov, Gennady Poloka, Andrei Tarkovsky, Elem Klimov, Eldar Ryazanov could overcome all difficulties, but not in this case - the performances broke down one after another. Those who nevertheless began work on The Master and Margarita faced dire consequences.
In 1972 Andrzej Wajda directed the film Pilate and Others. And although this picture very vaguely resembled "The Master and Margarita", mystical events were not long in coming. After the end of filming, under more than mysterious circumstances, the performer of the role of Yeshua died. At the same time, a Yugoslav-Italian film based on the novel was shot. But the picture was banned, and the director was expelled from the country and died in poverty.
In the mid-90s, the play "The Master and Margarita" was staged at the Moscow Theater in the South-West. Actor Viktor Avilov played the role of Woland and felt discomfort from this, and in order to protect himself from the action of unclean forces, he put on crosses and medallions. But it was after this performance that it was discovered that he was sick with cancer …
Actor Dmitry Dyuzhev considers this novel to be his evil fate. When he studied at GITIS, he rented an apartment on the Patriarch's Ponds. In his last year, he rehearsed a role in the graduation performance "The Master and Margarita". And it was at this time that his younger sister died. A few years later he started working in the theater and got the role again in The Master. And soon his father died first, and then his mother …
The long-suffering film by Yuri Kara, filmed in 1994, never reached the audience. Even during the filming, devilry was going on around - pipes exploded, films were flooded with water, cars broke down, diseases fell on the crew. And when the film was edited, litigation began between the director, producers and Bulgakov's heirs …
It is interesting that during the filming of the film "The Master and Margarita" by Vladimir Bortko, much devilry did not happen. But after filming, one after another, the actors who starred in the series died - Kirill Lavrov, Alexander Abdulov, Ilya Oleinikov, Vladislav Galkin and Valery Zolotukhin …
However, dramatic stories are connected not only with "Macbeth" and "The Master and Margarita". The first Soviet "horror film" was the film "Viy", based on Gogol. As you know, the hero deals with evil spirits there. But it was not Leonid Kuravlev, who played Brutus, who had to suffer on the set, but his partner Natalya Varley, who played the role of the lady. In one of the scenes, the coffin was worn through the air - the trick was performed with the help of cables. And on one bend Varley fell out of the coffin at a great height. But Kuravlev managed to pick her up in his arms. However, the misadventures of the actress did not end there. After filming, she became seriously ill. As she claims, she was saved from death only by the fact that she went to church, repented and asked for forgiveness for this role …
Formidable king
It's not just mystical films that have an impact on the lives of actors. Nonna Mordyukova in the film "Russian Field" played an ordinary woman whose only son dies - and her own son Vladimir Tikhonov starred in this role. Several years later Tikhonov died of heart failure.
Anatoly Papanov played his last role in the film "Cold Summer of the 53rd". His hero was killed at the end of the picture. After returning from filming, the actor died of a heart attack - another person had to voice the film.
Vasily Shukshin shot the film "Kalina Krasnaya", where his hero Yegor is killed by bandits. And soon he died himself …
The last film by Leonid Bykov was the picture "Aty-baty, soldiers were walking." Corporal Svyatkin, played by Bykov, died under the tracks of a German tank. Soon, Bykov had an accident, crashing into an asphalt roller.
Viktor Tsoi “died” in the film “Needle”. And after 2 years he died in an accident at the age of 28.
In the film "White Sun of the Desert" Vereshchagin, beloved by many generations, dies. Pavel Luspekaev, who played it, died when the picture was just released. In the same picture, Petrukha is killed with a bayonet in the chest. Actor Nikolai Godovikov was soon seriously wounded in the chest by a fragment of a bottle.
Nikita Mikhailovsky played the young Romeo-Roman in the film You Never Dreamed of. In the book on which the film was filmed, Roman will die at the end - it is not known in the film whether the hero who fell from a great height will survive. But Nikita himself died a few years later from leukemia.
Vladimir Vysotsky died in the cinema more than once. But the last one for him was the role of Don Juan, which has a very unkind fame - for this hero challenges higher powers. The actors also do not like the role of Ivan the Terrible. In 1945, actor N. P. Khmelev died on stage in the make-up and costume of Ivan the Terrible.
In 1992, the TV series "Ermak" was filmed, where the Terrible was played by Evgeny Evstigneev - this was his last role. Oleg Borisov also played the role of Grozny in the film "A Thunderstorm over Russia" and soon died.
In 2009 the film "Tsar" was released. Let's wish the performer of the role of Ivan the Terrible, Pyotr Mamonov, good health and long life - let's hope that the bloody tribute of higher powers has already been collected from this film. Oleg Yankovsky, who played the assassinated Metropolitan Philip, died without waiting for the premiere …
Natalia Trubinovskaya