Lyudmila Gurchenko, Joseph Kobzon... There is probably no person on the territory of the former Soviet Union who has not heard these names. Their romance began beautifully, romantically, lasted three years and ended with the stars not speaking for more than 40 years.
Young and impressionable Joseph fell in love with Lucy long before meeting him in person: like thousands of Soviet men, he was fascinated by the image she created in “Carnival Night.” In the 60s, Gurchenko was the standard of a Soviet girl: she became an object of adoration and a role model for a long time.
The first meeting of Joseph and Lyudmila took place in 1967: they met in the WTO restaurant after watching the film “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”. The melodramatic story put the singer in a romantic mood, and he decided that he must certainly conquer the first beauty of the Soviet screen. And a stormy telephone and touring romance began: Kobzon came to Gurchenko for filming, showered him with flowers, and brought expensive gifts. During long telephone conversations, his velvety baritone acquired charming intonations. And Lyudmila Markovna could not resist, especially since the singer belonged to the category of “dark eagles,” for whom the actress had a special weakness.
Soon they began to live together, but they were in no hurry to officially legitimize the union: Gurchenko had already experienced three divorces, Kobzon also had an unsuccessful experience of family life.
Intensity of emotions
Living together did not cool the initial love - violent passions boiled in the relationship between two temperamental personalities. There were legends about the love affairs of Joseph Davidovich, and Lyudmila was a very jealous person - she intuitively felt when he paid attention to another woman. The walls of their two-room apartment saw many hysterics, scandals, broken dishes, and then no less stormy reconciliations.
Lucy's fragile appearance hid an unbending, steely, masculine character. As Kobzon said in one of his interviews: two men in one family is too much! For him, life together with Gurchenko was never a quiet rear, but rather a front. But Kobzon liked this life: the singer’s pride was flattered that he had one of the most beautiful women in the country.
As Kobzon said in one of his interviews: two men in one family is too much!
The relationship between Kobzon and Gurchenko was never smooth - there were simply no conditions for this. Joseph spent almost 8 months a year on tour, Lyudmila went to filming and concerts. And if Kobzon came to his wife to surprise his beloved, then Gurchenko visited her husband on tour to check whether the singer had started another affair.
Why Kobzon didn’t talk to Gurchenko for 40 years
The death of the popularly beloved Lyudmila Gurchenko is mourned by the whole country.
Journalists from the publication “Secrets of the Stars” called the artist’s third husband, Joseph Kobzon, to ask him to say a few words about his ex-wife.
- What do you want to hear from me about Lyudmila Markovna? — the singer asked in bewilderment. “I haven’t talked to her for 40 years.” 40 years! We didn't talk on the phone! And I don’t know how she lived and what happened to her...
- Don’t you regret that you didn’t have time to make peace with her?
- No! What stupidity! I simply, having learned about this misfortune, express my deep condolences to everyone who loved and loves her. Goodbye!
Love story Why did Lyudmila Markovna offend Joseph Davydovich so much?
Kobzon and Gurchenko first met in 1964 in the corridor of the All-Union Theater Society. Joseph, with difficulty, got hold of Lyudmila’s phone number, called her and invited her to dinner.
She agreed.
“We met when Lyudmila Markovna was going through a difficult period in her life,” Kobzon said. “She was terribly depressed. After all, after takeoff in “Carnival Night” they suddenly stopped filming it. And just at that moment I appeared and offered her my shoulder.
... They dated for three years. According to Joseph Davydovich, they didn’t even think about starting a family. If not for one incident. During a tour in Kuibyshev, they categorically refused to be accommodated in the same room, since both of them did not have a marriage registration stamp in their passports!
“There’s nothing to do, I had to get married,” said the singer. “That’s how we became husband and wife.”
At first, everything was fine with the young people. Kobzon immediately found a common language with Masha, Gurchenko’s daughter from his first marriage.
- And then something happened...Lucy was leaving for filming. I'm on tour. “Good” people reported on some travel adventures, hobbies, novels... This caused irritation on both sides. In addition, Lucy categorically refused to communicate with my parents...
Cold War
One thing overlapped another...
“Maybe if we had a child together, it would change our relationship,” suggests Joseph Kobzon. “But that didn’t happen.”
Meanwhile, claims accumulated not only from the singer, but also from the actress.
“Our marriage was the biggest mistake of my life!” - she admitted. “You should have run away from Kobzon faster than a deer!” But it seemed to me that I would “rebuild” it. He knew how to hurt me. Every now and then he teased: “Why is everyone filming, but no one calls you?” What is it like to hear this from the man you love?! It was so offensive! And it couldn't last long.
Three years later, in 1970, the marriage of Gurchenko and Kobzon broke up. By that time, they already hated each other so much that even friendly communication after the divorce was no longer out of the question.
Lyudmila Markovna and Joseph Davydovich did not speak for 40 long years, but behind their backs they did not miss the opportunity to tease or offend each other.
Now it's all over. Lyudmila Markovna is no more. Kobzon has no one else to pry and offend. But even now Joseph Davydovich cannot muster the courage to ask his once beloved Lucy for forgiveness.
Spontaneous wedding
In January 1969, Joseph Davydovich was on tour in Kuibyshev. Gurchenko came to visit him, and the administration of the Sports Palace invited her to take part in the concert. After a successful performance, the artists headed to the Volga Hotel. There were no available rooms, and they categorically refused to put Lyudmila Markovna in Kobzon’s room. The reason was very valid at that time: the young people were not officially married.
Neither requests, nor persuasion, nor the star status of the artists helped - the hotel administrator was adamant. Gurchenko began to go hysterical, tears flowed in a stream. Then Kobzon called the director of the Philharmonic and said that he was stopping the tour and leaving immediately. Mark Blumin listened to the singer and proposed a solution to the problem: he invited him to spend the night in his apartment, and in the morning he organized a wedding.
Despite the fact that the registry office was not working that day, the head of the institution, Antonina Voronova, personally came to the Kuibyshev Philharmonic to conduct the wedding ceremony. The groom's witness was director Mark Blumin; the bride did not have a witness. To Voronova’s question: “Why such a rush?”, Kobzon replied: “I want to make a man out of Lucy.” For which Gurchenko earned a reproachful look.
Kobzon replied: “I want to make a person out of Lucy.” For which Gurchenko earned a reproachful look.
The night's hysteria did not affect Lyudmila's appearance in any way: she amazed those around her with impeccable makeup and perfect hairstyle. The bride did not have a wedding dress with a veil: she wore a lace dress and a velvet jacket. Since the wedding was spontaneous, there are only a few photographs left of this celebration, taken in the restaurant where the newlyweds and guests went to celebrate the event.
The reasons for the divorce of Kobzon and Gurchenko have been revealed
Lyudmila Markovna was in love and wanted to grow old with Kobzon, despite the betrayals. She promised the singer that he would be hers in his old age, when he had walked up and become “sick.” Joseph Davydovich himself was “fascinated by women” and was married to Ninel, who threatened to pay him with the same coin.
Kobzon was famous not only for his songs, but also for his lifestyle. Not a little was known about Joseph Davydovich’s love for the opposite sex, as his friends and acquaintances repeatedly testified. The artist actually divorced Gurchenko because of infidelity on his part, and although he did not admit to infidelity with his “main” wife Nelly, he hinted.
In an interview, Kobzon recalled that he often wanted to flirt with women in his marriage to Nelly. According to the singer, although he had such “relationships” in his life, he did not have frequent hobbies. At the same time, he could not remember more than one such serious hobby in his entire life together with Nellie. Kobzon was afraid of losing his family.
Joseph Davydovich noted that one day his “hobby” wanted commitment. Of course, he broke off the relationship, but rumors reached his wife, who promised: “You will receive change in the same amount.”
Kobzon’s relationship with his ex-wife Lyudmila Gurchenko was much more tragic. He cheated on her with her friend while the artist was on tour. According to Joseph Davydovich, he then had many fans and was interested in women. At the same time, the singer liked to “own” the most beautiful actress of that time. However, the spouses began having a relationship on the side, Kobzon pointed out, which led to the breakup.
According to Joseph Davydovich and Gurchenko’s daughter, Lyudmila Markovna eventually suffered for her ex-husband all her life, saying she only loved him. She wanted to take revenge on him for his betrayal, and subsequently said a lot of unpleasant things to Kobzon. However, the artist in an interview recalled Gurchenko’s words during the breakup: “If you have enough fun, you will become old and sick, useless to anyone - you will be mine.”
Perhaps Gurchenko really, in her old age, planned to take Kobzon away from his family, from Nelly, whom, by the way, the singer was not yet familiar with. Such words may indicate that Joseph Davydovich was really not indifferent to Lyudmila Markovna, who wanted to grow old with him. However, in any case, this was not destined to happen. Gurchenko died on March 30, 2011, and 7 years later, on August 30, Kobzon himself died, who still remained faithful to Nelly and wanted to live only with her, and remembered his ex-wife as a thing of the past.
Let us remember that Joseph Kobzon was married three times. The first wife of the famous artist was singer Veronica Kruglova
, whose marriage broke up in 1967.
his third wife, Nelly Kobzon
, a year after breaking up with Gurchenko, and this marriage lasted until the death of the famous performer.
Joseph Kobzon died on August 30, 2020 at the age of 80 as a result of a serious and long illness, about two weeks short of his 81st birthday. Since 2005, he has been struggling with cancer, undergoing several surgical operations, including in foreign clinics, and courses of chemotherapy.
Painful separation
The stamp in the passport did not bring happiness to the young family - their marriage was destined to last only a year after registration. Probably, the union of two extraordinary, creative, temperamental personalities was initially doomed to failure.
Lyudmila Markovna was too uncompromising and straightforward person. She was hostile to her husband’s good-natured teasing and comments and was jealous of him not only for his fans, but also for his success. Moreover, her career began to stagnate - there were no suitable roles. Pride prevented him from asking Kobzon for help, and he himself did not think of helping to promote his wife. Subsequently, he repented of this: “I really regret that I did not devote my life to her! Then everything would be completely different."
Later Kobzon about Gurchenko: “I really regret that I did not devote my life to her! Then everything would be completely different."
In addition, she could not forgive Joseph Davydovich for his constant betrayal. And the last straw was Kobzon’s connection with Lyudmila’s best friend, Tatyana Bestaeva. The actress was on set at the time and asked her friend to look after her daughter. Instead, Kobzon and Bestaeva went to celebrate the New Year at the Composers’ House in Ruzu. Well-wishers immediately appeared who informed Gurchenko about the betrayal. Over the phone, she told her husband that she had decided to get a divorce.
Joseph Kobzon about Lyudmila Gurchenko: Lyusya divorced me when I cheated on her with my best friend
Kobzon was in love with the image of young Gurchenko from Carnival Night.
Photo: still from the film
Many times I heard from Joseph Kobzon: about anything, but not about Lyudmila Gurchenko.
...But here it is - a November night. We have just arrived from Donbass. We are sitting at the airport of one of the southern cities, waiting for a scheduled plane. Joseph Davydovich thinks out loud...
- 2 hours before departure. Maybe mineral water and sandwiches. Will you? - 2 hours before departure. Maybe mineral water and sandwiches. Will you?
- Yes you can...
We sit down at the table. I turn on the recorder just in case. Kobzon looks at my equipment indifferently...
“I took Masha to first grade”
— Joseph Davydovich, recently the film “Lyudmila Gurchenko” was shown on TV. There is a singer named Vadim. And everyone immediately recognizes him as Kobzon. — Joseph Davydovich, recently the film “Lyudmila Gurchenko” was shown on TV. There is a singer named Vadim. And everyone immediately recognizes him as Kobzon.
- And they offered me to play myself in this film. But I immediately refused.
—You haven’t even read the script? —You haven’t even read the script?
- I didn’t want to. For what? For example, an interview is a documentary genre, this is a normal phenomenon. And fiction about a star... I don’t think it’s right. Someone came up to me, to Nelya (Nelya Kobzon - the wife of Joseph Davydovich - A.G.). What is the name of the artist who was supposed to play me? It seems like Derevianko. He said to Nelya: “Can I watch Joseph Davydovich a little?” It was at Kinotavr. She says: “Why?” - “And I need to play it.” And Nelya says to me: “The artist Pavel Derevyanko will play you.” “Not my type,” I answer. True, he didn’t play.
— There are shots of you taking Masha, Gurchenko’s daughter, to the circus, because Lyudmila Markovna had to go sing at a concert. — There are shots of you taking Masha, Gurchenko’s daughter, to the circus, because Lyudmila Markovna had to go sing at a concert.
— Masha was a very charming child, very good.
-Did you really go out with her? -Did you really go out with her?
“I took him to the circus and went for walks.” And he took me to first grade.
— Did Masha study well at school? — Did Masha study well at school?
- Badly.
- And how did you deal with her? - And how did you deal with her?
- Yes, I only lived with Lyusya for three years. But I worked with the child, yes.
-You didn’t do your homework with her? -You didn’t do your homework with her?
- No. God bless. Kuperweis (another Gurchenko’s husband, next. - A.G.) got it.
— Gurchenko is so explosive in the film. You are so kind there, you give everything to everyone. — Gurchenko is so explosive in the film. You are so kind there, you give everything to everyone.
“She had a masculine character, like Lucy.” You give her her word, she gives you ten. She felt it with her back. Just look at a beautiful woman, she seems to be sitting with her back, she can’t see. He immediately turns around... I knew what to say. And she knew how... But she was kind. And incredibly talented, of course.
“I didn’t help with washing and vacuuming”
— How did Lyudmila Markovna’s parents treat you? — How did Lyudmila Markovna’s parents treat you?
- Very good. We had the warmest relationship. At first they lived with us on Mayakovka, when they moved to Moscow, and then I changed their Kharkov apartment to Moscow, on Ordynka. When Lyusya went somewhere to film, her parents Lelya and Mark Gavrilovich lived with us on Mayakovka to look after Masha. There, of course, the most colorful person in the family was Mark Gavrilovich. He was an accordion player, and he and Lelya, Lucy’s mother, worked part-time in the summer at a pioneer camp; he worked as a mass entertainer. He was very jealous, he was jealous of Lelya, he chased her in this communal yard in Kharkov. And when I transported them to Moscow, he was already calm.
— And that’s when you got your tattoos, at that time? — And that’s when you got your tattoos, at that time?
- No, much earlier. I joined hands at the very beginning of the 60s, and I met Lyusya and we started living in 67. We met at the VTO restaurant (All-Russian Theater Society - Ed.). The film “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” was shown at the WTO, we went down to the restaurant, and an acquaintance began there.
Kobzon had many affairs until he met his Nelya. They have been together for 45 years.
Photo: Personal archive
- Did you fall in love with her or did she fall in love with you? - Did you fall in love with her or did she fall in love with you?
“I think it was such a mutual attraction.” At first, I was in love, like the whole country, with Carnival Night.
- Did you look after her? - Did you look after her?
— I went to her for filming. She starred in the film “White Explosion” in Crimea. There I met Slava Govorukhin.
- Why didn’t you have children? Still, they lived for three years. - Why didn’t you have children? Still, they lived for three years.
“Apparently she couldn’t.”
— Did you help Lyudmila Markovna around the house - cooking, peeling potatoes, vacuuming? — Did you help Lyudmila Markovna around the house - cooking, peeling potatoes, vacuuming?
- Rarely. I didn't vacuum. We had a small apartment.
“I didn’t like it when I drank”
— Was there any creative jealousy? Which one of you is cooler? — Was there any creative jealousy? Which one of you is cooler?
- Who is cooler? She, of course, was spoiled by her popularity and appearance. She wanted to play in the theater. But wherever she offered her opportunities, everyone immediately offered a bed. Both in cinema and in the theater. Everyone first offered her physical intimacy. This made her angry. She was so angry.
— How did you divide the fees? Did you have a common budget? — How did you divide the fees? Did you have a common budget?
- Absolutely general. I made money. She didn't make any money then. Back then she was rarely invited.
— Was there any idea that she would change her last name from Gurchenko to Lyusya Kobzon? — Was there any idea that she would change her last name from Gurchenko to Lyusya Kobzon?
- Never. By the time we met, she had a very ringing last name.
- Were you a jealous husband? - Were you a jealous husband?
- In general, not very much. Here we go one day. At this time, someone walking behind her had his eye on her. She immediately stands up. And Masha goes and says: “Mom, mom.” She wanted ice cream. Lucy says: “Don’t be a mother.” And he moves on. Masha looked at me (she was smart): “What should we call you now?” I laughed, came up, and said: “Mashul, let’s go.”
— When you two appeared, they recognized you? Who got more autographs? — When you two appeared, they recognized you? Who got more autographs?
- Can not say. Did not pay attention. She and I once went on vacation to Sochi. The first time I allowed myself, I went to the trade unions and bought two vouchers. Sanatorium named after Ordzhonikidze "Shakhtar". We arrived, the weather was amazing, the room was luxury. We settled in, let's go have lunch. But the miners needed to be known. They see Kobzon, Gurchenko. They come over right away at dinner: let’s pour some and drink. I say: “Wait, this is our first day, we haven’t been to a doctor’s examination yet.” “Okay, welcome.” And Lyudmila herself loved champagne, but she really didn’t like it when I drank. And here I am at the table once - a glass. It’s not that I was an alcoholic, but I loved to drink. Then the retreat, one of the miners has finished resting and covers the clearing - farewell. She didn't go. In the morning we had breakfast and went to Matsesta (a resort with hydrogen sulfide springs. - Ed.). And then the miners are already pouring. Right there at Matsesta's. Lyudmila was on a regular bus that carried vacationers. While I was sorting things out with Matsesta with the miners, she packed her suitcase. And when I arrived at dinner, she was no longer there, she had flown away.
That same Lucy's best friend Tatyana Bestaeva, who became the reason for her divorce from the singer.
Photo: kinopoisk.ru
I was glad that I was free again, and realized that, of course, I would not rest, but die in this mode. And he moved to the Primorskaya Hotel. I rested for exactly one and a half days from the trip.
“She gives me a telegram: “The grave will correct the hunchback.”
- Which of you was the first to leave? Why did you get divorced? - Which of you was the first to leave? Why did you get divorced?
- Lyusya was leaving for filming and left her closest friend Tanya Bestaeva (actress of the Mossovet Theater - Ed.) to look after Masha. Bestaeva was incredibly beautiful, with satin skin. And she and I went to Ruza, to the House of Composers, to celebrate the New Year. They sent Masha to her parents and left. When Lucy returned, her friends told her about us.
- So you and her friend... Why are you so careless? Could this be done secretly? - So you and her friend... Why are you so careless? Could this be done secretly?
— I really wanted to (laughs). When Lucy was told about me, I was on tour. She called and cursed again: so and so. I hung up. She gives me a telegram: “The grave will correct the hunchback. Bone." I called her Kostochka. I answered her: “As I was, I will remain so. Hunchback." And that's it, we got divorced.
- But it turns out that you are to blame. - But it turns out that you are to blame.
- What does it have to do with guilt or not guilt? The lifestyle was like this, 8 - 9 months a year on tour. Well, what would we do without it? Young, healthy.
- Beautiful. I understand you... - Handsome. I understand you…
— There were definitely hobbies. Sometimes they forgive, sometimes they don’t.
-Did you ask for forgiveness? -Did you ask for forgiveness?
- No.
— Have you ever had any regrets that this happened? — Have you ever had any regrets that this happened?
“It was the first time, of course, but it passed quickly. I then began an affair with Lena Ryabinkina from the Bolshoi Theater. Then with Natasha Varleya. Therefore everything was forgotten. It spun and spun. And then I met Nelya and stayed for 45 years... We met with Lyusya at the traditional ball at the Central House of Arts. We danced with Nelya, and she danced with Sichkin Borey (famous Soviet actor, played Buba Kastorsky in “The Elusive Avengers.” - Ed.). And she began to push Nelya. I was very jealous. I stopped her and said: “Touch her again...” Well, and mate. She then came up to the table and said: “Nelechka, how I sympathize with you, how can you live with such a monster.”
— Did Nelya Mikhailovna answer anything? — Did Nelya Mikhailovna answer anything?
- No. Nelya was patient about this. Nelya is smart.
“Between me and you is the hum of nothingness...”
- But you still had a lot of bright things in this marriage. - But you still had a lot of bright things in this marriage.
- Certainly. There was a lot of joy... I haven't talked to her since we broke up. Neither when she was with Kuperweiss, nor when she married Senin.
- But you were at the evening in her memory? - But you were at the evening in her memory?
“I performed there and sang her song “Maria.” And then they asked me from the audience, I dedicated Babajanyan’s “Nocturne” to her - “Between me and you is the hum of nothingness...”.
— When were you most worried about Gurchenko? — When were you most worried about Gurchenko?
— When she was filming a film at the skating rink, Oleg Popov skated into her and crushed her leg. She spent a lot of time in the hospital and then suffered.
According to Joseph Davydovich, the actress had a completely masculine character. Photo: Igor GNEVASHEV
—You weren’t married then? —You weren’t married then?
- Not anymore.
— Was there a desire to help somehow? — Was there a desire to help somehow?
“Next to her was another man’s shoulder.
— When Lyudmila Markovna passed away, how did you feel? — When Lyudmila Markovna passed away, how did you feel?
“I think everything has turned upside down, like the whole country.” She was loved very much...
FROM THE KP DOSSIER
Lyudmila Gurchenko was born in 1935 in Kharkov. Her father was a professional musician, played the button accordion and sang at holidays, and her mother helped him. After graduating from school, Gurchenko went to Moscow and entered VGIK. Success came after Eldar Ryazanov’s film “Carnival Night”. Then there were such films beloved by the audience as “Girl with a Guitar”, “Straw Hat”, “Twenty Days Without War”, “Beloved Woman of Mechanic Gavrilov”, “Station for Two”, “Love and Doves”. People's Artist of the USSR.
Lyudmila Markovna was married six times. Her first husband is director Vasily Ordynsky, Gurchenko married him at the age of 18, the marriage lasted a year. The second is Boris Andronikashvili, screenwriter, cousin of Georgian directors Georgiy and Eldar Shengelaya. In this marriage a daughter, Maria, was born. The third husband is actor Alexander Fadeev, adopted son of the writer Alexander Fadeev. The fourth husband is singer Joseph Kobzon (married from 1967 to 1970). The fifth husband is Konstantin Kuperweis, a musician and accompanist of the actress, the couple lived for 18 years. The sixth husband (since 1993) is producer Sergei Senin.
Donetsk - Moscow.
