The actor loved to write, both books and paintings. Under his brush appeared portraits of Oleg Efremov, Galina Volchek and Mikhail Gorbachev. Photo: Vladimir VYATKIN / RIA Novosti
Myagkov dreamed of a stage since childhood, but he entered the Leningrad Institute of Chemical Technology: his father, who was also a scientist, asked his son to get a “normal profession.” Fortunately, amateur performances were superbly organized at the institute, performances could be arranged. And they were so good that one of the teachers of the Moscow Art Theater School, after watching “Hunting in the Forest” with the participation of Myagkov, suggested that he go to Moscow and enter. Myagkov did exactly that, was immediately accepted, and his career began, which lasted more than forty years.
“WE DON’T TAKE HIM, HE’S DRUNK!”
He flew to the cinema quickly, like a bullet, in 1965. There were unexpected roles in his filmography. For example, Lenin in the film “Hope” (which spoke mainly about Krupskaya). Or Arkady Gaidar in Silver Trumpets. But all this was immediately overshadowed by Alyosha Karamazov in The Brothers Karamazov, the last film by Ivan Pyryev. Myagkov got into the image so accurately that until the end of his life he had no problems with invitations to roles.
27-year-old Andrei played his first film role in the film The Adventures of a Dentist. Photo: Still from the film.
But he gave up a lot. He finished the script for “Big Break”, but the director Alexei Korenev seemed the ideal Nestor Petrovich, he convinced him for a long time, but gave up and invited Mikhail Kononov. At the same time, Myagkov did not offend Korenev, they continued to be friends. And it was Natalya Koreneva, the director’s wife, who suggested that Eldar Ryazanov call him for the role of Lukashin in “The Irony of Fate…”. At the same time, the president of Goskino, Philip Yermash, after looking at the samples, said: “Eldar, do not take this artist in any case. He came to the audition drunk!” It was the highest praise (of course, Myagkov was sober, he just played great).
Andrei Vasilyevich became Ryazanov’s favorite artist. The director said: “It is not difficult to undress, climb into someone else’s bed and even be rude to this hostess. But at the same time, to be charming, funny and to evoke the love of the audience, perhaps, it is far from possible for everyone.
With his wife, actress Anastasia Voznesenskaya, Myagkov played in “Garage” and in the melodrama “You wrote to me …”. Photo: Still from the film.
“THE UNCLE GOT BALD”
Well, on the set of “Cruel Romance” when I was working on the episode where Karandyshev comes to the “Swallow” on a boat, a tragedy almost happened. “And when he rows away from the shore, past his boat, to emphasize the moment of action, the era, the Samara wheeled tug floats,” Ryazanov recalled. – Myagkov was told to row closer to the tugboat … No one suspected that the huge three-meter-long cast-iron blades of the steam wheel form a strong current not far from them, something like a funnel of water tornado. .. Literally in two seconds, the boat with Andrey disappeared under the rudder blades… The captain ordered: “Stop the car”, but it was too late… There was no one and nothing on the surface of the water. . We froze in shock… Finally, after a few seconds (minutes, hours?), the shredded boards floated to the surface: what was left of the boat. And finally it became clear that Andrey was dead … A terrible pause hung over the Volga. And suddenly Andrei emerged from the depths. He snorted and swam to shore. It was a true miracle!
The filming of this episode of “Cruel Romance” almost led to the death of the artist. Photo: Still from the film.
When Andrei’s head emerged from the whirlpool, a boy on the shore suddenly shouted: “Look, my uncle has gone bald!” Somewhere in the depths, the water washed the wig from the head … “
Myagkov himself recalled in an interview how he came to the hotel, and then his wife, actress Anastasia Voznesenskaya, called him long-distance: “What happened, you have blood on your arm!” How he saw her for hundreds of kilometers remained a mystery…
At the audition for “The Irony of Fate…” he incredibly convincingly played a drunk. Photo: Still from the film.
Unfortunately, Zhenya Lukashin and Novoseltsev overshadowed most of Myagkov’s filmography, and these are dozens of roles. At the same time, he still refused many paintings. For example, his relationship with Ryazanov deteriorated after he refused to star in their “Still Pools”. He especially often refused himself in the nineties and zero: he complained that both on the screen and in the theater sheer vulgarity. Hardly he was persuaded to star in the sequel “The Irony of Fate …”, then he played the chairman of the KGB Kryuchkov in the series “The fog is lifting.” And that’s it. During the last ten years of his life, he did not appear on the screen and left the stage. He painted pictures and books (Myagkov was the author of detective novels, united in the Gray Gelding series). It seems that he was not bored and did not suffer. He passed away in February 2021. In the last interview he talked about his wife, with whom he lived for 56 years in perfect harmony. Anastasia Voznesenskaya survived him by only a year …
