At the magnificent Kremlin reception, where the masters of culture were present, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin approached the famous director Aleksandrov and said with a smile …
Stalin: Grigory Alexandrovich, I recommend that you take care of your wife Lyubov Orlova. Groom, cherish, take care of her, carry on her hands! And do not offend in any way! Otherwise, - the leader paused, during which his face became sinister, and firmly finished: Otherwise, we will hang you!
Alexandrov: How? - gasped the director.
Stalin: By the neck! - Stalin threw and walked away.
A GREAT THREAT
Everyone knew that the leader liked the work of Lyubov Orlova. Iosif Vissarionovich watched the films "Funny Guys", "Circus" and "Volga-Volga" with a brilliant actress in the lead roles many times and knew them by heart. And for millions of Soviet people, Orlova became an adored celestial.
She was just that: bright, bewitching, charming. She sang beautifully, danced, played the piano, dressed tastefully and fashionably, shone with wit. She was the face of the Soviet country, on behalf of which she sang at the top of her voice: “I don’t know of any other country like this, where a person breathes so freely!”
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The most paradoxical in this situation was that the beautiful musical movie fairy tales dominated by Orlova were strikingly different from reality. The peak of the universal fame of the actress, which came in the 30s of the last century, coincided with the unprecedented activity of the Stalinist meat grinder, when millions of Soviet people were ground by the GULAG. But Orlova preferred not to notice the disappearance of many talented colleagues, and lived her own life. The life of a prima, which was revered and loved not only by compatriots, but also by foreign stars.
Charlie Chaplin, for example, said: “I can't imagine how such an extraordinary personality could have formed in a country tormented by revolutions, ravaged by wars. It seems to me that she was sent to Moscow by space! And the messenger of the Universe herself touchingly believed in omens and always returned if a black cat crossed her path.
HAPPY DREAM
Before fame spread its wings over her, Orlova had to go a long way. She was born on January 29, 1902 in the city of Zvenigorod. Her mother was distantly related to Leo Tolstoy. As a child, Lyuba was taken to the estate of the great writer, and he gave her his book with a touching inscription: "To dear Lyuba from Leo Tolstoy." And surrounded by Lyuba's father - Pyotr Fedorovich Orlov - there were famous acquaintances. Fyodor Chaliapin shone among them. Once, seven-year-old Lyuba performed before him with a beautiful song and received the most flattering praises. The famous bass player said: “This girl will become a great actress in the future. I hope my intuition will not deceive me!"
Chaliapin's words became for her a kind of landmark in life. Purposeful and diligent Lyuba received an excellent musical education at an elite gymnasium and dreamed of a conservatory.
But the 1917 revolution confused all plans. In order not to die of hunger, Lyuba worked part-time as a pianist in cinemas in the evenings, and during the day she sold milk in an open pavilion. In the harsh winter of 1920, she froze her hands and developed inflammation of the joints. Then for many years she suffered from a chronic illness and was ashamed of her hands.
A chance acquaintance with a high-ranking employee of the People's Commissariat, Andrei Berzin, changed her life. Andrey fell in love with the beauty, married her and moved her entire family to his spacious apartment in the center of the capital. In 1926, Lyuba (not without Andrey's patronage) entered the troupe of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater, where she went from an ordinary chorus player to a soloist. But her husband did not have a chance to witness her triumph - in 1929 he was arrested and disappeared in the Stalinist camps.
In 1932, Orlova met the director Grigory Alexandrov. He came to the theater because he was looking for an actress for the female lead in the movie "Funny Boys". “Colleagues strongly recommended seeing Lyuba Orlova in the play. I did it and realized: you are the very actress that I need! " - the director said soulfully.
Then she told her friend that Gregory had dreamed about her the day before they met. “I saw in a dream a golden-haired blue-eyed god and woke up with a feeling of happiness! And then my dream became reality! - Lyuba whispered. Therefore, she took the director's courtship for granted.
FATAL DIAGNOSIS
Their romance was gaining momentum right during the filming. The piquancy of the situation was that Aleksandrov at that time was married to an actress of the Musical Theater, and they had a son, Vasily.
Having learned from well-wishers about her husband's betrayal, the spouse left home, thereby opening the way to the heart of the handsome Lyuba Orlova. Aleksandrov set himself a difficult task: to make a star of a planetary scale out of a talented, unknown beloved. He succeeded. The film "Jolly Fellows" was screened with great success. Viewers took the cinemas by storm. But the main thing was that he conquered the leader.
Two weeks after the premiere of the comedy, in January 1935, when the 15th anniversary of Soviet cinema was celebrated, a decree was placed on Stalin's writing desk to award the country's leading cinema luminaries.
Reading the document prepared by the assistants, the leader muttered: "Why did they forget Orlova?" And he personally entered her name on the list of awardees. While the main character of the comedy Leonid Utyosov, under whom the film was made, did not receive any awards or titles.
The leader's attention opened the way for Orlova and Aleksandrov to new creative projects, prosperity and well-being. The couple often traveled abroad and met there with the most famous people of the era. At the direction of the leader, they were allocated a luxurious apartment in Glinishchevsky lane and an elegant dacha in Vnukovo, which the hostess furnished to her liking. The house was famous for its hospitality and exquisite cuisine. The guests were amazed at the harmony of their family union. Love and Gregory never quarreled and turned to each other strictly on "you".
After the "Jolly Fellows" the inspired Alexandrov directed the film "Circus" with Orlova in the title role. And again the picture was a resounding success. In 1938, the director began work on a new comedy film Volga-Volga. Later he admitted: “It is my directorial happiness that Lyubov Orlova, who could do everything, was filmed in the film“Volga-Volga”. In the role of Strelka, she revealed in all her brilliance the wonderful qualities of her talent: the ability to combine an eccentrically comedic external picture of the role with a genuine lyrical feeling, with the truth of human experiences."
In subsequent years, Orlova continued to act in films, played in the theater, but could not repeat the triumph of the 30s. In the 70s, Orlova and Aleksandrov, subtly feeling the changed situation, stepped into the shadows and did not remind anyone of their great past. The couple led a quiet measured lifestyle, enjoying each other's company.
"This girl will become a great actress in the future"
In early January 1975, Lyubov Petrovna felt unwell. She ended up in the hospital, where doctors made a terrible diagnosis: advanced cancer.
“Absolutely not afraid to die. I'm tired of living,”Orlova confessed to a friend who came to visit her. The great actress passed away on January 26, 1975. Thousands of people accompanied her on her last journey.