Leonid Gaidai facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Leonid Gaidai
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| Леонид Гайдай | |
Gaidai in 1941
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| Born | 30 January 1923 Svobodny, Soviet Union
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| Died | 19 November 1993 (aged 70) Moscow, Russia
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| Resting place | Kuntsevo Cemetery |
| Years active | 1955–1992 |
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| Title | People's Artist of the USSR (1989) |
| Spouse(s) | Nina Grebeshkova |
Leonid Iovich Gaidai (Russian: Леонид Иович Гайдай; born January 30, 1923 – died November 19, 1993) was a very famous Soviet and Russian film director, writer, and actor. He was known for making hilarious comedy movies. People loved his films so much that they broke records for how many tickets were sold in the Soviet Union. Many of his movies are still popular today. He was often called "the king of Soviet comedy."
Contents
Early Life and First Films
Leonid Gaidai was born on January 30, 1923, in a town called Svobodny, Amur Oblast. There's even a statue there to remember him! His father, Iov Isidorovich Gaidai, came from a Ukrainian family. His mother, Maria Ivanovna Lubimova, was from Russia.
Leonid was the third child in his family. His older brother, Aleksandr, became a well-known poet and war reporter. Leonid loved acting from a young age and took part in plays at school. He finished school on June 20, 1941. Just two days later, a huge war, known as the Great Patriotic War, began.
In February 1942, Leonid joined the Red Army. He served in Mongolia and later became a squad leader in military intelligence. He was even awarded a medal for bravery in battle. In March 1943, he was badly injured by a land mine and spent nine months in hospitals. He was sent home in 1944 because of his injury.
After the war, Gaidai studied acting in Irkutsk and graduated in 1947. He then acted in plays. Later, he went to the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow to study filmmaking. He finished his studies in 1955. He married actress Nina Grebeshkova, who appeared in small roles in his movies. His first film as a director was A Weary Road in 1956. His 1958 comedy, A Groom from the Other World, had some parts cut out by people who checked films (censors). After this, he focused more on comedies that weren't about politics.
His big breakthrough came in 1961 with a short film that was part of a collection called Absolutely Seriously. This film introduced a funny group of three crooks: Coward, Fool, and Pro. These characters, played by Georgy Vitsin, Yuri Nikulin, and Yevgeny Morgunov, became super popular. People loved Gaidai's characters and his unique comedy style.
Amazing Comedy Films
Between 1961 and 1975, Gaidai directed many incredibly successful films. Each one made a lot of money and became hugely popular in the Soviet Union. During these years, he made more adventures with the comic trio in Bootleggers (1961). He also directed Strictly Business (1962), based on short stories by O. Henry.
He continued the adventures of a character named Shurik in Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures (1965) and Kidnapping, Caucasian Style (1966). Later, he stopped working with one of the trio's actors, Morgunov. He then cast Yuri Nikulin in what became one of the most beloved Soviet comedies ever, The Diamond Arm (1968).
In the 1970s, Gaidai often worked with a group of comedians from his own studio. This group included actors like Vitsin, Kuravlyov, Pugovkin, Kramarov, Seleznyova, Krachkovskaya, and his wife Nina Grebeshkova. They all appeared in his film It Can't Be! (1975). He also made movies based on famous books and plays, such as Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (1973) and The Twelve Chairs (1971).
Huge Success at the Box Office
Gaidai's most successful film, The Diamond Arm, sold an amazing 76.7 million tickets in the Soviet Union. This made it the third highest-grossing Soviet film ever. If you compare it to today's movie ticket prices, it would have made as much money as huge Hollywood blockbusters! In a 1995 survey, it was even voted the best comedy film ever made.
Other films by Gaidai also did incredibly well. Kidnapping, Caucasian Style was the fourth highest-grossing film with 76.5 million viewers. Operation Y and Other Shurik's Adventures was seventh with 69.6 million viewers, and Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future was 17th with 60.7 million viewers. These numbers show just how popular his movies were!
Later Years and Legacy
After 1975, Gaidai's films were not as popular as his earlier ones. One notable film from this period was Borrowing Matchsticks (1980), which was a joint project with Finland. After the Soviet Union ended, he directed only one more film, There's Good Weather in Deribasovskaya. In this movie, he had a small role as an old gambler.
Leonid Gaidai was recognized for his amazing work. He was named a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1974 and a People's Artist of the USSR in 1989. He passed away in Moscow on November 19, 1993, and was buried at the Kuntsevo Cemetery.
Filmmaking Style
Gaidai's comedies are very visual. They use a lot of slapstick and physical humor, where funny situations happen through actions rather than just words. His dialogue was often short, memorable, or silly. He was a master of fast-paced comedy, similar to how some Hollywood directors like Stanley Kramer made movies.
Even though his films seemed to show Soviet ideals, they often had clever jokes and hidden meanings that made fun of society. He sometimes faced problems with censors, but he continued to use comedy to point out things that he felt were wrong in Soviet life.
Impact and Recognition
Gaidai is most famous for the incredible comedies he made between 1961 and 1975. During this time, nine out of ten of his films became Russian classics. Each of these movies sold millions of tickets and were box office hits for many years.
He is not as well-known outside of the former Soviet Union. This is because his comedies were often very specific to Soviet culture and daily life. However, his talent was recognized internationally. His short film Dog Barbos and Unusual Cross was nominated for an award at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival. He also won the Grand Prix Wawel Silver Dragon award at the Kraków Film Festival in Poland in 1965 for a segment in Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Original title | |||
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| Director | Screenwriter | Notes | |||
| 1955 | Lyana | Ляна | Actor (Alyosha) | ||
| 1956 | A Weary Road | Долгий путь |
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| 1958 | The Wind | Ветер | Actor (Naumenko the Red comissar) | ||
| A Groom from the Other World | Жених с того света |
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| 1960 | Thrice Resurrected | Трижды воскресший |
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Cameo (inventor) | |
| On the Way | В пути | Actor (Tolya) | |||
| 1961 | Dog Barbos and Unusual Cross | Пёс Барбос и необычный кросс |
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Actor (bear in a tent, deleted scene) |
| Bootleggers | Самогонщики |
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Actor (Pro's wife, deleted scene) | |
| 1962 | Strictly Business | Деловые люди |
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| 1965 | Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures | Операция «Ы» и другие приключения Шурика |
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| 1966 | Kidnapping, Caucasian Style | Кавказская пленница, или Новые приключения Шурика |
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| 1969 | The Diamond Arm | Бриллиантовая рука |
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Cameo (drunkard / Gorbunkov's arm in Kozodoyev's dream) |
| 1971 | The Twelve Chairs | 12 стульев |
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Actor (Varfolomey Korobeinikov) |
| 1973 | Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future | Иван Васильевич меняет профессию |
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Yakin's light assistant |
| 1975 | It Can't Be! | Не может быть! |
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| 1977 | Incognito from St. Petersburg | Инкогнито из Петербурга |
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| Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained | Риск — благородное дело | Cameo (film director) | |||
| 1978 | Along the Streets a Commode Was Led | По улицам комод водили | Creative director | ||
| 1980 | Borrowing Matchsticks | За спичками |
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Soviet-Finnish co-production |
| 1981–1988 | Fitil | Фитиль |
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A total of 14 shorts | |
| 1982 | Sportloto-82 | Спортлото-82 |
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| 1985 | Dangerous for Your Life! | Опасно для жизни! |
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| 1989 | Private Detective, or Operation Cooperation | Частный детектив, или Операция «Кооперация» |
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| 1992 | Weather Is Good on Deribasovskaya, It Rains Again on Brighton Beach | На Дерибасовской хорошая погода, или На Брайтон-Бич опять идут дожди |
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Cameo (mad gambler); Russian-American co-production |
See also
In Spanish: Leonid Gaidái para niños
