The life of the author of the monologue "In the Greek Hall", artist and satirist Arkady Isaakovich Raikin

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Arkady Raikin, the founder of the Moscow theater "Satyricon", was remembered by the audience for his vivid comedic roles and monologues. In his arsenal is a huge list of received orders and titles. They wrote about him as a “Russian Chaplin”, he was called a master of satire, a genius of disguise, “a man of a thousand faces.”

Raikin's children's talents

Arkady Raikin was born in Riga in October 1911. He was the eldest child in a simple Jewish family, later he had sisters and a brother. His first passion was the circus, later theater. In small skits, he began to play at the age of six. Another great talent of the boy was drawing, later he had a choice - stage or painting.

Even at school, when the family moved to Rybinsk, Arkasha began attending a theater group, while he was madly in love with the stage, trying not to miss a single new performance. Parents, especially father, were against such hobbies, but after graduating from school, the future actor, against his will,he chose the theater technical school of Leningrad as a place of study, where the family moved in 1922. This decision cost him his parental home - Arkady had to leave it and break ties with his family for a while.

Career and achievements of the artist

During his studies, Raikin performed a lot on stage for children. Even then, the viewer appreciated his ability to make the audience laugh. After graduating from a technical school in 1935, the artist was taken to the Leningrad Theater of Working Youth (now the theater-festival "B altic House"). A few years later, Raikin became the artistic director of the Theater of Miniatures.

In 1939, a promising young man became a laureate of the All-Union competition of variety artists, performing with the numbers "Chaplin" and "Mishka". This brought fame to Arkady Raikin.

In the same year he acted in films, in total there are 17 films in his track record. During the war, the artist gave concerts for soldiers, raising their morale. National fame came to Arkady Raikin after the film "Concert to the Front" in 1942, where he played himself. But variety art and satire have always fascinated him much more.

Despite the demand in Leningrad, a large number of roles in productions and films, Arkady Raikin was not entirely comfortable working in this city. The artist had disagreements with the authorities because of his nationality. And on occasion, when asked by Brezhnev about what he would like, he asked for a transfer to Moscow, where he founded the Satyricon Theater on the basis of the Leningrad Theater of Miniatures. Raikin toured with concerts inRussia and abroad. In his native country, he always collected full houses, was a huge success with the people of Great Britain.

Satyristic miniatures by Arkady Raikin

The artist was not without reason called the master of instant reincarnation, his talent was multifaceted, but he fully manifested himself in the genre of satire. Raikin spoke in very politically difficult years, he was familiar with Stalin and Brezhnev. But he knew how to joke on such topical issues as drunkenness, parasitism, bureaucracy, bribery, so subtly and skillfully that he earned the respect of the ruling circles.

Raikin's most famous miniatures are "In the Greek Hall", "Beer House", "Deficiency", "Avas", "Thoughts of an Innovator", "Familiar Cockroach", "Bachelor", "Specialist" and others.

But perhaps the most beloved and famous scene was and remains written by Mikhail Zhvanetsky for Arkady Raikin "In the Greek Hall". The viewer has seen this miniature on TV, probably hundreds of times, but each time it is simply impossible to keep from laughing, hearing “Who is Apollo? Am I Apollo?”, “In the Greek hall, in the Greek hall!”, “White mouse!”. These words still pop up in my head in a voice and with the characteristic intonations of the artist.

Artist's big love

Arkady Raikin had only one marriage in his life. He saw the bride at the concert from the stage in the 15th row. A few months later they collided again on Nevsky Prospekt. And although the young man was even more fascinated by her, he did not dare to approach. A few more years laterRoma - that was the name of the girl by all her relatives - spoke to him herself in the student cafeteria. Here Raikin no longer lost his head, he invited Ruth to the cinema, and as soon as the lights went out in the hall, he proposed to her. Two days later, Ruth - Roma, Chamomile, as he called her - agreed.

They were close all their lives until the golden wedding, having experienced serious illnesses of both, coped with them together, raising a son and daughter.

Son Konstantin also became a famous theater and film actor, succeeded his father as artistic director of the Satyricon.

Arkady Raikin had heart problems since childhood after a severe sore throat. At the age of 13, the artist was on the verge of life and death, battling an illness for 9 months. The doctors assumed the worst. But he got out, and after a relapse of the disease, at the age of 26, he became completely gray-haired, which, however, only added to his charm. When Raikin was 61 years old, the disease caught up with him right after the concert - he had a heart attack … It was on the eve of 1973.

People's love

The miniatures and the voice of Arkady Raikin live in the hearts of millions of people. Phrases from his skits "gone to the people", turning into anecdotes that are told without fail with imitation of his pronunciation. What is the phrase “Deficiency, specific taste” from the monologue “Deficit” worth. His fate is proof that the character and will of a person can make life full and help to live it brightly, despite illnesses, wars and difficult times for the country.