Valeriy Zolotukhin

Valeri Zolotukhin, one of Russian cinema's most popular faces, who was
disabled in his childhood and had to walk with crutches, is now a
renown actor, singer, and writer.He was born Valeri Sergeevich Zolotukhin on June 21, 1941, in Bystry
Istok village, Altai region, Russia. His father was chairman of a local
collective farm; a powerful man in that remote Siberian region. His
mother was a homemaker. At the age of 7 Zolotukhin fell out of window
and suffered a severe trauma. He had to wear a cast and used crutches
for several years, but he was dreaming of becoming an actor, because he
was inspired by touring drama troupe. Upon his graduation from the
village school, Zolotukhin went straight to Moscow. In spite of being
lame he was admitted to the Department of Musical Comedy at the Moscow
Theatre Institute (GITIS). While being a student he made his name as a
singer of popular folk songs. His songs, peppered with risqué
vernacular lyrics and funny jokes, soon made him one of the most
popular singers in Russia. Zolotukhin married his girlfriend from the
acting class, Nina Shatskaya, on the
Valentine's Day, February 14, 1963. That same year he graduated from
the Department of Musical Comedy of the Moscow Theatre Institute
(GITIS).Zolotukhin was hired by Yuriy Lyubimov
almost simultaneously with the famous singer-songwriter
Vladimir Vysotskiy and the two actors
became best friends. From 1964 Zolotukhin has been a permanent member
of the legendary troupe at the Taganka Theatre, working mostly with the
famous director Yuriy Lyubimov. His stage
works include leading roles in such plays as 'Medeya', 'Marat i Markiz
de Sad', 'Dobry chelovek is Sezuana', 'Tsena', 'Teatrlny roman',
'Faust', 'Pavel Pervy', 'Vladimir Vysotsky'. Zolotukhin shines on stage
and in film as an actor of multifaceted talent and great versatility.
He is particularly proud of his works in
'Sharashka', written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn,
and in
'Zhivago', based on the novel by Boris Pasternak.Valeri Zolotukhin was once asked by the Taganka director
Yuriy Lyubimov to play the role of Hamlet
instead of Vladimir Vysotskiy, who
was very busy with concert tours and traveling abroad. Zolotukhin had
several rehearsals as Hamlet, and he was confronted by Vysotsky,
"Valery, if you ever play Hamlet, I'll leave this theatre on the day of
your premiere. I'll leave and go to the worst theatre." Hamlet was a
dream role for any actor. Finally Vysotsky won. Zolotukhin generously
stepped aside and never played Hamlet. Later Vysotsky summarized:
"Zolotukhin is aware that he is the best. That's why he is never
jealous."He shot to fame after starring in popular films
'Khozyain taygi' (1968)
and 'Interventsiya' (1969), where his film partner was Vladimir Vysotskiy.
Zolotukhin was best known for the leading role in 'Bumbarash' (TV
1971). His latest film works are the role of father-vampire in 'Nochnoi
Dozor' (The Night Watch, 2004) and its sequel 'Dnevnoi Dozor' (The Day
Watch, 2006). He also played a small, but beautifully performed role as
Bosoy in the popular TV-series _Master i Margarita (2005)_ based on the
eponymous novel by
Mikhail A. Bulgakov and directed by
Vladimir Bortko. Zolotukhin created his
character in a masterful interplay with a stellar ensemble of actors;
such as Oleg Basilashvili,
Aleksandr Abdulov,
Kirill Lavrov,
Anna Kovalchuk,
Aleksandr Galibin,
Sergey Bezrukov,
Aleksandr Filippenko,
Valentin Gaft,
Vladislav Galkin,
Aleksandr Bashirov, and other Russian
film stars.Zolotukhin recently published a two-volume edition of his memoirs. He
presented many revelations and unusually candid observations in his
well-written memoirs; sincere, sharp, generous and insightful comments
about his career and about some of his stage and film partners. This
included such stars as
Vladimir Vysotskiy,
Venyamin Smekhov,
Leonid Filatov,
Anatoli Efros,
Yuriy Lyubimov, and many other Russian
celebrities. He was the closest friend of the famous singer-songwriter
Vladimir Vysotskiy, who was arguably
the biggest star in the 60's and 70's Russia. Zolotukhin was asked to
say the last word when Russia buried Vysotsky.In 2011, after resignation of Lyubimov, Valery Zolotukhin was appointed
artistic director of the Taganka company. He was designated People's
Actor of Russia in 1987 and received numerous awards for his film and
theatre performances. In the course of his acting career he appeared in
more than 40 feature films, 20 TV works, and played over 60 roles on
stage. Valeri Zolotukhin is a proud father of three sons. He is living
and working in Moscow, Russia.