Arkady Isaakovich Raikin (1911-1987) - Soviet theater, stage and film actor, theater director, entertainer and satirist. People's Artist of the USSR and Lenin Prize Laureate. Hero of Socialist Labor. He is one of the most prominent Soviet humorists in history.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Arkady Raikin, which we will talk about in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Arkady Raikin.
Biography of Arkady Raikin
Arkady Raikin was born on October 11 (24), 1911 in Riga. He grew up in a simple Jewish family.
The humorist's father, Isaac Davidovich, was a port broker, and his mother, Leia Borisovna, worked as a midwife and ran a household.
In addition to Arkady, a boy Max and 2 girls - Bella and Sophia were born in the Raikin family.
Childhood and youth
At the beginning of the First World War (1914-1918), the whole family moved to Rybinsk, and a few years later to St. Petersburg.
Arkady became interested in theater at an early age. Together with the courtyard children, he arranged small performances, and later enrolled in a drama club.
In addition, Raikin was interested in drawing. In high school, he faced a dilemma - to connect his life with painting or acting.
As a result, Arkady chose to try himself as an artist. It is worth noting that the parents reacted extremely negatively to the choice of their son, but the young man still insisted on his own.
Having received a certificate, Raikin entered the Leningrad College of Performing Arts, which greatly angered his father and mother. It got to the point that he was forced to leave his home.
In his student years, Arkady took private lessons in pantomime from the famous artist Mikhail Savoyarov. In the future, the guy will need the skills that Savoyarov will teach him.
After graduating from the technical school, Arkady was accepted into the troupe of the Leningrad Variety and Miniature Theater, where he was able to fully reveal his potential.
Theatre
While still a student, Raikin took part in children's concerts. His numbers evoked sincere laughter and general jubilation among the children.
In 1939, the first significant event took place in the creative biography of Arkady. He managed to win the contest of pop artists with numbers - "Chaplin" and "Bear".
At the Leningrad Theater, Raikin continued to perform on stage, mastering the genre of entertaining. His performances were such a great success that after 3 years the young artist was entrusted with the position of the artistic director of the tetra.
During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), Arkady gave concerts at the front, for which he was nominated for various awards, including the Order of the Red Star.
After the war, the comedian returned to his native theater, showing new numbers and programs.
Humor
At the end of the 40s, Raikin, together with the satirist Vladimir Polyakov, created theatrical programs: "For a Cup of Tea", "Don't Pass By", "Frankly Speaking".
The guy's speeches quickly gained all-Union popularity, which is why they began to be shown on television and played on the radio.
The audience especially liked those numbers in which the man instantly changed his appearance. As a result, he managed to create a large number of different characters and prove himself as a master of stage transformation.
Soon, Arkady Raikin goes on tour to foreign countries, including Hungary, the GDR, Romania and Great Britain.
Wherever the Russian satirist came, he was a success. After each performance, the audience saw him off with loud ovations.
Once, during a tour in Odessa, Arkady Isaakovich met with local young artists. After that, he offered cooperation to the then little-known Mikhail Zhvanetsky, as well as Roman Kartsev and Viktor Ilchenko.
With this team, Raikin created many bright miniatures that were well received by the Soviet public. One of the most famous scenes was "Traffic Light".
It is worth noting that Arkady Raikin was almost the only artist who, at that difficult time, dared to talk about politics and the state of affairs in the country. In his monologues, he repeatedly focused on how power can spoil a person.
The satirist's speeches were distinguished by their sharpness and sarcasm, but at the same time they were always correct and intelligent. Watching his numbers, the viewer could read between the lines what the author wanted to say in them.
The leadership of Leningrad was wary of the humorist, as a result of which there were very strained relations between local officials and Raikin.
This led to the fact that Arkady Isaakovich made a personal request to Leonid Brezhnev himself, asking him to settle in Moscow.
After that, the comedian with his troupe moved to the capital, where he continued to create at the State Theater of Miniatures.
Raikin gave concerts and presented new programs. A few years later, the State Theater of Miniatures was renamed "Satyricon".
An interesting fact is that today the head of "Satyricon" is the son of the great artist - Konstantin Raikin.
Films
Over the years of his biography, Arkady has starred in dozens of films. For the first time on the big screen, he appeared in the film "First Platoon" (1932), playing a soldier in it.
After that, Raikin played minor characters in such films as Tractor Drivers, Valery Chkalov and Years of Fire.
In 1954, Arkady was entrusted with the main role in the comedy "We've met you somewhere," which was well received by the Soviet audience.
The paintings "Yesterday, Today and Always" and "The Magic Power of Art" received no less popularity.
However, Raikin received the greatest fame after the premieres of the television performances "People and Mannequins" and "Peace to Your House". In them he presented many interesting and, as always, poignant monologues on the most pressing topics.
Personal life
With his future and only wife, Ruth Markovna Ioffe, Raikin met in childhood. True, then he did not have the courage to meet the girl.
Later, Arkady again met a beautiful girl, but to come up and talk to her, then it seemed to him something unreal.
And only years later, when the guy was already graduating from college, he plucked up the courage and met Ruth. As a result, the young people agreed to go to the movies.
After watching the film, Arkady proposed to the girl. In 1935, the couple got married. In this marriage, they had a boy Konstantin and a girl Catherine.
The couple lived together for nearly 50 years. Their union can rightfully be called exemplary.
Death
Raikin experienced health problems throughout his life. At the age of 13, he caught a bad cold, earning a severe sore throat.
The disease progressed so quickly that doctors no longer hoped that the teenager would survive. Nevertheless, the young man managed to get out.
After 10 years, the disease returned, as a result of which Arkady had to remove the tonsils. And although the operation was successful, he developed rheumatic heart disease for life.
For the last 3 years, the artist was haunted by Parkinson's disease, from which he even took away speech.
Arkady Isaakovich Raikin died on December 17 (according to other information December 20) 1987 due to exacerbation of rheumatic heart disease.
Photo by Arkady Raikin
