People's Artist of Russia Aristarkh Livanov was remembered by the audience for the roles of noble, courageous, sedate heroes. These screen images brought the actor fame and love of women. However, Livanov found personal happiness only on the third attempt. He has been together with his beloved wife Larisa for over 40 years. Aristarkh Evgenievich admits that if he had the opportunity to return to the past and change his life, he would immediately marry for the third time.
First marriages
The first wife of Livanov was his contemporary actress Olga Nikolaevna Kalmykova. They studied together at the Academy of Theater Arts of St. Petersburg, which was formerly called LGITMiK. In 1969, they simultaneously left the walls of the educational institution and left for distribution to the Volgograd Youth Theater. After a short time, the paths of the spouses parted forever.
On the way to fame and success, Aristarkh Livanov had to wander around provincial theaters for years. Another colleague in the acting workshop, Tatyana Anishchenko, became his second wife. In the early 70s, fate threw the young couple to Ryazan, where their son Yevgeny, the namesake of Livanov's father, was born. The actor recalled that he learned about the birth of a child during a children's New Year's party. At that time, reincarnation as Santa Claus was a good part-time job for a novice artist, and every year he regularly took over the "watch".
A little later, the family moved to Rostov-on-Don. Livanov and his wife worked together at the Rostov Youth Theater. Moreover, his future third wife Larisa Petrovna also worked as a director. She said in an interview that the cause of the collapse of the artist's second marriage was treason. According to her, everyone in the theater knew about the novel of the married actress Tatyana Anishchenko. As often happens, the team secretly divided into those who supported Livanov and those who tried to justify the behavior of his wife. By that time, the actor had already started acting in films, played simultaneously in three Rostov theaters, which could not but affect family life. As a result, the second marriage ended in divorce.
At first, Livanov maintained good relations with his former family. Soon he married a third time, went to Moscow and became famous. But the second wife harbored a grudge against him, the reasons for which are still unclear to Aristarkh Evgenievich. As often happens, his son Eugene became the instrument of revenge. The ex-wife through the court changed his last name and made every effort to make the boy's communication with his father extremely rare.
Many years later, the artist does not hide how hard it is for him to come to terms with the absence of an older heir in his life. Of course, he made attempts to improve relations when Eugene became an adult, even gave him an apartment. Alas, he still does not know the address of this apartment. Although the son himself repeatedly came to visit him, he did not invite his father to return visits. Moreover, Livanov does not know the name of his grandson and has never seen the child. Friends of the actor talk about an unhealing wound, which for him was the loss of family relations with the closest person.
Third marriage
The third attempt to build a family was the happiest for the artist. As a result, more than 40 years of marriage. Larisa's wife is 6 years younger than Livanov, she gave her husband a second child - daughter Nina.
They met at the Rostov Youth Theater, where the girl worked as an assistant director. Back in her school years, she fell in love in absentia with the charming brunette from the film "These Innocent Fun", which became the acting debut of Aristarkh Evgenievich on the movie screen. And of course, Larisa was very surprised to see him in the walls of her native theater. True, Livanov came with his family, but after the divorce and the departure of his ex-wife, he became the focus of the female part of the team.
Among those who supported him after the divorce was Larisa. They began a relationship, but the artist was in no hurry to marry for the third time. When he was invited to Moscow, the woman he loved was already expecting a child. Some colleagues advised Livanov to leave her in Rostov-on-Don, since the relationship was not formalized. But he was not capable of such meanness, so they moved to the capital together. The marriage was registered here, while the friends were sitting with their little daughter.
When popularity came to Livanov, he had many fans. They wrote letters to him, kept watch at the entrance to the theater and under the doors of their own apartment. Sometimes even the actor's wife had to calm down the deranged persons. But she put up with these inevitable consequences of fame, because Aristarkh Evgenievich always remained a caring husband and father.
Many years later, the Livanovs still cannot imagine life without each other. The actor says that as soon as his wife leaves home, he immediately begins to get bored. Larissa has long become his right hand, a faithful friend, helper and love of his whole life.
Daughter and grandchildren
One of the main reasons for the sadness of the Livanovs is the separation from their beloved daughter Nina and grandchildren. The heiress of the actor, a psychologist by training, has been living in Thailand for several years, being a follower of the philosophical downshifting movement. This way of thinking involves giving up the pursuit of material wealth and opting for a calm, measured life away from big cities.
With daughter Nina
Nina Livanova, like many downshifters, uses the rent of a Moscow apartment donated by her father as a source of income. She also conducts remote psychological consultations via Skype. However, her father does not hide the fact that he sometimes gives his daughter financial assistance for no reason. Particularly hard for Livanov is the separation from his grandchildren - Katya and Elisey, so he and his wife try to fly to Thailand themselves whenever possible.
Sometimes during the holidays, their beloved granddaughter comes to them, who is already quite an adult. Then the grandfather makes a lot of efforts to please or surprise her. For example, he once took Katya to Disneyland Paris during summer vacation. And in Moscow they attend the best theatrical premieres together.
The difference in worldviews with his beloved daughter saddens the actor. However, he is still saved by his favorite work, without which Livanov simply cannot imagine life. Having reached considerable heights in the profession, he does not leave hope to surprise himself and the audience with a new interesting role or creative project.
