The artist did not suffer the consequences of the coronavirus and died at the age of 68
People’s Artist of Russia Valery Garkalin died on November 20. He more than once escaped death, which overtook him even during the tour performance “Boots with thick soles.” But then a miracle happened. Garkalin survived a heart attack, and more than one. It seemed that the coronavirus would now win too. While he was in Kommunarka since October, his condition changed, at some point there was an improvement, hope came, but now – a tragic outcome.
One day something phenomenal happened. During the tour in Klaipeda, Valeriy Garkalin suffered a clinical death right on the stage. The play “Boots with thick soles” was just beginning. I had to lower the curtain, and the artist was urgently sent to the operating table. He was often ill. Life did not spare him. He lost his beloved wife early, and it was such a grief that all those close to him experienced with him.
Valery Garkalin was born in Moscow on April 11, 1954 in the most ordinary family. My father worked in a car repair shop, my mother worked as a cashier in the cafeteria. And the son was led in a completely different direction. He was carried away by the stage, went to the people’s theater, where in the Soviet years people of all ages came – from schoolchildren to mature people who went to the stage after work somewhere at a factory. After leaving school, Valery entered acting, stormed all theatrical universities. And he didn’t go anywhere. I went to the Fryazinsky plant, worked there as a mechanic of control and measuring instruments, so that later I could do it again. As a result, he served in the rifle division near Chita, and there he did not forget about the theater, he led the army amateur performances.
And only in the late 1970s he graduated from Gnesinka, having received the profession of a puppet theater actor. Many who dream of becoming artists go to the puppet department if there is no opportunity to enter the drama department. Valery Garkalin studied with Leonid Khait and Sergei Obraztsov, and then became an actor of the then famous Kemerovo theater “People and Dolls”, which was directed by its master Leonid Khait.
He returned to Moscow later, having entered the Puppet Theater under the direction of Sergei Obraztsov to his second master. There he met his beloved wife Ekaterina, who worked in the teaching department. Ten years after graduating from Gnesinka, he received the specialty of stage director and mass performances at GITIS, entered the troupe of the Satire Theater, which in those years was directed by the legendary Valentin Pluchek. Garkalin was lucky with the roles: Khlestakov in The Inspector General, Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Peach in Brecht’s Threepenny Opera, Taper in The Bedbug by Mayakovsky. An excellent repertoire, which made it possible to show a comedic gift. In the 1990s, the heyday of the entreprise began, and Valery Garkalin became involved in it, traveled all over the country with his performances.
He made his film debut in “Katala” by Sergei Bodrov Sr. and Alexander Buravsky in 1989, playing the role of Grekov. Then he starred in the very popular in those years TV series “White Clothes” based on the just published novel by Vladimir Dudintsev. But the real discovery of a new name in cinema is nevertheless connected with the film “Shirley-myrli” by Vladimir Menshov. Although she was not received with open arms, it was impossible not to notice the Rabbit twins performed by Garkalin. And for those who knew its capabilities, it was a discovery. A completely new type of actor has appeared in the cinema. Even his appearance was controversial.
As a result, Valery Galkalin starred in more than seventy films. Among them are Poor Sasha, Silver Lily of the Valley, Andersen. Life without love ”,“ Dossier of detective Dubrovsky ”,“ Between us, girls ”. The last for the actor was the role in Maria Makhanko’s “Chess Queen” in 2018. His voice was expressive, special, so he was invited to animated films. He received the Icarus Prize in 2018 for one of them, for accurately and vividly voicing a character in the animated film A Quiet Dinner Without Salt. How he was eager then to the ceremony, how he was inspired by this award. But Nika’s caring daughter (she is a theater producer) did not dare to let her father go to a noisy event, because then serious health problems began. And so it was heatedly discussed in the animation community. Someone considered it a mistake: it was necessary to come, it would strengthen the actor’s strength. If only I knew …
For almost twenty years, Valery Garkalin directed a workshop in his native GITIS, became a professor at the department of pop art. Students loved him like a father. In general, he was a very gentle and touching person. The glory did not blind him. And he was also monogamous. After the death of his wife, Valery no longer married, and wrote a book about his beloved wife “Katenka. Memories”.
Love and death of Valery Garkalin: unknown footage of the actor
See the related photo gallery
.