People's Artist of the Russian Federation Emmanuel Vitorgan began his theatrical and cinematic career back in the Soviet Union, actively acting and at the present time at the age of 80. Over the years, he participated in the filming of more than 120 films and played roles in many performances. He was married three times, has children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Biography
Emmanuel was born in 1939 in the capital of the Azerbaijan SSR in the city of Baku into the family of a prominent Soviet economic manager and housewife. The elder brother of Emmanuel, Vladimir, was born 4 years earlier than him.
Father's position was respected and highly paid, but troubled. He was often transferred from one object to another, so Emmanuel, having started his studies at a school in Baku, graduated from school already in Astrakhan.
After school, he went to Moscow to enter the theater, but without entering any of the capital's universities, he moved to Leningrad, where he ended up at the Ostrovsky Leningrad State Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography, where he completed his studies in 1961. At the same institute he meets his first wife Tamara.
During his career, he managed to work in a variety of theaters:
- from 1961 to 1963 - at the Drama Theater of the city of Pskov;
- from 1963 to 1967 - Leningrad Drama and Comedy Theater;
- from 1967 to 1971 - Leningrad Theater named after Lenin Komsomol;
- from 1971 to 1982 - at the Stanislavsky Moscow Drama Theater;
- from 1982 to 1984 - at the Taganka Theater;
- from 1984 to 2005 - the Mayakovsky Moscow Academic Theater.
After 2005, he collaborated with the Quartet I, the Moscow Variety Theater and the Israeli Gesher Theater in Jaffa.
In 1990 he earned the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR, and in 1998 he was awarded the title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation.
Tamara Rumyantseva
The first wife of Emmanuel is Tamara Rumyantseva, a Soviet theater and film actress, 3 years younger than her husband. He currently lives and still works in the city of Petrozavodsk in the Republic of Karelia. Divorced from Vitorgan since 1970. From this marriage, the daughter of Emmanuel, Ksenia Vitorgan, was born, who gave birth to grandchildren to her father, and those, in turn, great-grandchildren.
Emmanuel met Tamara while studying at the Leningrad Theater Institute. 24-year-old Emmaunil and 21-year-old Tamara got married already in Pskov, where they settled for a short time in the early sixties. Later he returned to Leningrad and each got a job in his own theater. Emmanuel went to the Musical Comedy Theater, then to the Lenin Komsomol Theater. Tamara - to the Theater on Liteiny.
Alla Balter
The second wife, Alla Balter, theater and film actress, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, gave birth to Emmanuel a son, Maxim Vitorgan, who later became an actor and director of cinema and theater and became the husband of Ksenia Sobchak.
Emmanuel fell in love with Alla, being a married man. It is for this reason, in order not to deceive his wife, in 1970, Emmanuel leaves his first family. Xenia's daughter at that time was 4 years old. The first wife, Tamara, after the divorce, did not allow the father to see his daughter, and he did not aspire. Moreover, the second wife Alla was against their meetings. Over the years of separation, Tamara managed to turn her daughter against her father so that after receiving a passport, Ksenia Vitorgan changed her surname to her mother's maiden name - Rumyantseva.
Emmanuel and Alla did not get married immediately, but only 4 years after they met. Together they moved to Moscow and got a job in the capital's theaters. The decision to legalize the marriage was made after Alla became pregnant. The wedding was extremely modest. The wedding ceremony was attended only by the witnesses of the bride and groom.
According to Emmanuel, Alla proved to be a wonderful wife and mother. During his tours, she took over all the household chores. At that time, he participated in 30 performances and 3 films every year, and Alla often refused roles for the sake of her son and home.
In the nineties, Vitorgan was diagnosed with lung cancer. Only thanks to the cares of Alla Emmanuel was able to overcome a serious illness and, after the operation, live a full life again. However, three years after recovering from spinal cancer, Alla fell ill. This time Emmanuel threw all his strength to help his wife.
Unfortunately, Alla Balter was unable to overcome cancer and died in 2000. Emmanuel grieved the death of his beloved. After the death of his wife, Vitorgan fell into severe depression and began to drink often, but his third wife saved him from this.
Irina Mlodik
The third wife, Irina Mlodik, is 23 years younger than her husband, who managed to give birth to his daughter Ethel in 2018. The wedding of Emmanuel and Irina took place in 2003 after, according to Vitorgan, she was able to "drag him back into life."
Former violinist Irina dedicated her life to her husband Emmanuel. Together they opened the "Emmanuel Vitorgan Cultural Center" and run a network of dry cleaners.
The current wife reminds him of Alla with her amazing peacefulness. For more than 15 years of marriage, lovers have never quarreled, although moments of misunderstanding have happened more than once.
It was thanks to this woman that Emmanuel was able to establish relations with his eldest daughter from his first marriage, Xenia, and get to know his grandchildren.
Ksenia in 1987 did not want to become an actress and, having received a vocational school diploma, went to work on the island of Valaam, in a museum-reserve. Subsequently, she graduated from the St. Petersburg Institute of Culture as a director of folk theaters, became the director of one of the Valaam clubs, as well as the head of the theatrical studio "Window".
Xenia's personal life did not work out. Two unsuccessful marriages left her daughter Alexander and son Nikita, who also dream of becoming artists. But in 2004 they made up with their father and grandfather and came to visit him.
According to Emmanuel, his grandchildren, who grew up outside the big city, became wonderful children who retained amazing light and openness in themselves.
