Born December 24, 1946, in Kazan. His early childhood was spent traveling with his parents (Alexei Yeremeyevich and Klavdia Nikolaevna) around the country - his father worked as a radio operator in a geological expedition. When the child was 5 years old, they divorced. Mother and son left for relatives in Ashgabat (according to other sources, the boy lived in Ashgabat with his father). At school, Lenya wrote poetry and played in school plays, but this did not prevent him from participating in all kinds of teenage “showdowns”. Once in a fight, his nose was broken, which has since remained “wavy”.
The beginning of a theatrical career
After graduating in 1969, Leonid was accepted into the troupe of the Taganka Theater, which at that time was the most progressive social institution. Vladimir Vysotsky, Valery Zolotukhin, Nikolai Gubenko, Zhanna Bolotova, Nina Shatskaya, Lidia Savchenko played on its stage (the fate of some of them will later be connected not only by work but also by confusing personal relationships). The artistic director and founder of the theater - Yuri Lyubimov, was looking for his own path in art. His productions were distinguished by bold aesthetic experiments and free-thinking.
“On Taganka” Filatov served a total of 22 years and eventually became one of the leading artists of the troupe. When Lyubimov was forced to leave the theater in 1983 (first he was sent to England under a work contract, and then deprived of citizenship), Leonid, like most of the creative team, warmly supported the disgraced director and did not accept Anatoly Efros, who was appointed to be the artistic director.
Why didn’t they want to film a talented actor
Despite a successful theatrical career, the actor was not known to the general public. His film debut in the film “City of First Love” (1970) went unnoticed by anyone. Only 8 years later, thanks to the patronage of his friend and film director Konstantin Khudyakov, Leonid will receive the main role in his drama “Ivantsov, Petrov, Sidorov”. According to Khudyakov, “it was worth a lot of blood” to push through the candidacy of Filatov, whose extraordinary appearance frightened the officials from the cinema. Of course, with such recognized beauties as, for example, Evgeny Zharikov or Vladimir Ivashov, he could not compete. But after watching the picture, the management of the film studio became convinced that “this actor can play anything”.
Leonid will no longer have a shortage of directorial offers.
One of the main roles of flight engineer Skvortsov in the first Soviet film-catastrophe directed by Alexander Mitt “Crew” (1979) brought Filatov all-Union fame. Oleg Dahl was approved for this role, but he did not like the script and the actor refused to star (according to another version, Dahl left shooting due to a serious illness). Abandoned the role of the commander of the ship and Alexei Petrenko - it was brilliantly performed by George Zhzhenov.
How Filatov starred in erotic scenes
The picture became a cult one, the performers of leading roles became famous, and Filatov got the status of a sex symbol. In fact, the actor was a very modest and shy person. In a bold (at that time) erotic scene with actress Alexandra Yakovleva, he agreed to act only if he remained in trousers. So he played the bed scene - in jeans covered with a sheet. “Well, which of me is a playboy?” - the actor was surprised. “I don’t even risk getting undressed on every beach.” But Soviet women were of a different opinion.
Not all of Leonid’s work was equally successful, but it depended solely on the quality of the films in which he starred. The best films where the actor starred were “Who will pay for good luck”, “From evening to noon”, “Rooks”, “Chosen”, “Success”, “Forgotten melody for flute”, “City of Zero”.
Recent years, cause of death
In 1995, Filatov’s health deteriorated sharply. Doctors said that this was due to the condition of the kidneys, but they made the wrong harmless diagnosis and advised me to be treated in a sanatorium. There, the actor was visited by a colleague Leonid Yarmolnik. The patient’s appearance shocked him. Without hesitation, Yarmolnik took Filatov to the Research Institute of Transplantology, where the true cause of his illness was revealed - renal failure, which provoked a stroke.
In October 2003, Filatov's temperature rose. In his condition, any infection could be fatal. Shatskaya unsuccessfully tried to arrange a husband at the Research Institute of Transplantology, and then was taken to the Central Clinical Hospital. Doctors could not save him: pneumonia caused rejection of donor organs. 10 days after hospitalization - October 26, Leonid died at the 57th year of life without regaining consciousness.
The funeral service for Leonid Filatov took place in the Church of the Resurrection of the Word on the Assumption Enemy, a civil funeral service - in the Central House of Cinema. They buried the People's Artist at the Vagankovsky cemetery in Moscow.