playing Vereshchagin on prostheses, died immediately after the premiere of “White Desert Sun”
Pavel Luspekaev is an actor of one role, but the role of brilliantly played. His Vereshchagin became one of the movie heroes most beloved by the Soviet people, and before the courage of a real person, I want to bow my head. He lived only 42 years, almost half of which fought with a serious illness for the right to engage in his favorite profession.
Pavel Borisovich Luspekaev (at birth - Pavel Bagdasarovich Luspekyan) was born on April 20, 1927, in the city of Lugansk in Ukraine (according to other sources, the place of his birth is the village of Bolshoi Saly in the Rostov Region). His father, Baghdasar Gukasovich, was an Armenian, and his mother, Serafima Avraamovna Kovaleva, was a Don Cossack (although her middle name causes some doubts about this). After completing elementary school, Pavel entered the Lugansk Vocational School, with whom he was evacuated to Frunze when the war with Germany began.
Beginning of the creative path
Pavel returned to Lugansk and got a job in the troupe of the local drama theater, in which he served for 2 years (it is amazing how he succeeded without any education and experience). In 1946, the young man came to Moscow and entered the Shchepkinsky Theater School on the course of Konstantin Zubov. The undoubted talent of the applicant forced the admissions committee to turn a blind eye to his southern accent, rude manners and ... tattoos on both hands (soon, Luspekaev had to get them out - the teachers simply refused to let him into the audience). Having finished his studies, Pavel hoped to get into the troupe of a metropolitan theater, but for 4 years he was never able to get rid of his accent. I had to leave Moscow.
In 1950, Luspekaev entered the service of the Tbilisi Theater of Russian Drama. He quickly becomes one of the most prominent actors and attracts the attention of filmmakers from the Georgia-Film Studio. Pavel is offered small roles in two films at once - “They came down from the mountains” (1954) and “The Secret of the Two Oceans” (1955-56). Unfortunately, neither the picture nor the debut of Luspekayev had great success.
For several years, the actor will successfully play on his stage until in 1959 he receives an invitation to the troupe of the Leningrad BDT from the main director Georgy Tovstonogov. The famous actor Kirill Lavrov will contribute to this event. Visiting his father in Kiev, Lavrov got to the play “Second Wind” with the participation of Luspekaev and was so impressed by his play that he convinced Tovstonogov to accept the talented actor in the BDT. This theater will be the last in the creative biography of Paul.
How was the shooting of “White Desert Sun”. First and last starring role
The actor agreed with joy to the role of Vereshchagin. Given the condition of Pavel Borisovich, Vladimir Motyl was ready to change the script so that the actor could act on crutches. But Luspekaev rejected his offer, saying that "he still has time to take off on crutches." For the shooting, he was designed with special boots that should at least partially facilitate walking.
Filming began in Dagestan, on the deserted coast of the Caspian in August. The heat and hot sand became a real test for everyone who participated in the creation of the picture, what can we say about Luspekaev, who most recently had another heavy leg operation! The entire film crew daily traveled on foot to the shooting facilities for about a kilometer, and then there was still a way back. And when the scenes were shot on the longboat, October had already arrived and a strong icy wind blew.
It remained a mystery to everyone how Pavel Borisovich was able to stand on a swinging deck, where even healthy actors could hardly keep their feet. All scenes of a fight, at his request, were shot without an understudy, except for the one in which Vereshchagin kicked the bandits with kicks overboard. The water was so cold that after the casts of the actors were soldered with alcohol.
Now a little about fun. Most of us remember the scene in which Vereshchagin disgustedly eats black caviar with a large spoon from a deep wooden bowl. In fact, there was only about a kilogram of caviar and it was only on top, and the rest of the dishes were filled with boiled rice. Pavel Borisovich ate it with great pleasure ...
Unexpected ending
After the brilliantly performed role of Vereshchagin, Pavel Borisovich was offered the main role of the politician Willy Stark in the television series based on the novel by Robert Warren “The entire royal army”. The actor agreed and came to Moscow, where he settled for the time of filming at the Minsk Hotel. He managed to star in only part of the picture. On the afternoon of April 17th, Luspekaev called actor Mikhail Kozakov from his room, with whom he was filming, complained of boredom and said that he was looking forward to tomorrow's shootings. A few hours later it became known that Pavel Borisovich passed away. According to the conclusion of forensic examination, death occurred instantly from the rupture of the cardiac aorta. The actor did not live up to his 43rd birthday for several days (the role of Willy Stark will be played by George Zhzhenov).