Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin (Russian:Юрий Владимирович Никулин; 18 December 1921 – 21 August 1997) was a Soviet and Russian actor and clown who starred in many popular films. He is best known for his roles inLeonid Gaidai's comedies, such asThe Diamond Arm andKidnapping, Caucasian Style, although he occasionally starred in dramatic roles and performed inMoscow Circus.[2]
Nikulin was born just after the end of the Russian civil war, inDemidov, Smolensk Oblast. His father Vladimir Andreyevich was a critic, an author of satirical plays and a director in Demidov's local drama theatre. Yuri’s mother Lidiya was an actress there. They got married in the early 1920s and in 1925 moved to Moscow.[3]
In Moscow, Yuri entered a prestigious school No. 16 and soon received from the school pedologist an unfavorable characteristic of "a child with limited abilities". His father, insulted, came to the school and confronted the teacher, proving that Yuri was a bright kid. Vladimir Nikulin led a drama club in the school. They staged contemporary playwrights and Yuri was a passionate artist there. In the eighth grade he was transferred to the school No. 346 that was considered "a mediocre one". He graduated in 1939 and in a few months was called up for military duty.[3]
Yuri (second on the left, 1 row) with comrades, 1943-1944
Nikulin was drafted to theRed Army on 18 November 1939, at the age of 17. In December he was sent to theWinter War withFinland in an anti-aircraft battery nearSestroretsk. During fights at the Mannerheim Line he served as a wireman and once was ordered to lay 2 km of wire from reels on a backpack in -30 °C weather. On that night he was so exhausted after the mission that he fell asleep in the snow, fortunately rescued by the border patrol. He suffered from severe frostbite and for the rest of his life his legs froze easily. Upon recovery he returned to his division.[4]
In 1941, he was waiting for demobilization when theGerman invasion of the Soviet Union began. In 1942 his battery was located near the besiegedLeningrad. In 1944 he again escaped death by pure luck - a few seconds after he left a trench shelter it was hit by a heavy artillery missile. In the same year he was by his commander's mistake sent to set wire in an occupied village and wasn’t killed by German soldiers only by sheer luck. Upon the end of the war he was dismissed from the army only in 1946.[5][3][4]
Nikulin first tried himself as a comedian in 1944 when a political officer in his battalion, impressed by his repertoire of jokes, ordered him to organize entertainment for the division, which he did with resounding success. Encouraged, once the war ended, Nikulin unsuccessfully tried to enterVGIK,Russian Institute of Theatre Arts,Mikhail Shchepkin Higher Theatre School. Finally he was accepted into Noginsk theatre school, but soon changed his mind and entered the Moscow Сircus school.[3][6]
Nikulin's style and precise delivery, as well as his mastery of timing and his hilarious masks made him an outstanding comedian.[7] He started as an assistant ofKarandash, then the most famous clown in the USSR. In circus school Nikulin met Mikhail Shuidin. They formed a clown duo and performed together throughout their whole careers.[8]
In the ring, Nikulin played a phlegmatic, slow and unsmiling person, in the West he was compared toBuster Keaton andCharlie Chaplin. Rich in mimicry, doleful of expression, Nikulin was hailed as "a brainy clown" outside Russia.[9][10]
Nikulin, affectionately called "Uncle Yura" by Russian children, relied mainly upon his wits to earn his place in history as one of the best clowns of the 20th century.[11][12] He stopped performing as a clown at 60, explaining that "a clown shouldn’t be gray, it looks pathetic".[13]
In 1949, Nikulin met his future spouse, Tatiana Pokroskaya, an equestrian and a student ofTimiryazev Agricultural Academy. Tatiana brought to the circus a dwarf horse, requested by Karandash. During the rehearsal that day Tatiana witnessed Yuri get run over by a horse, suffer a concussion, a fractured clavicle and almost lose his eye. Tatiana visited him in the hospital, and in six months they were married. Since then she started working in circus, participated in many of his plays and traveled with Nikulin and Shuidin. Tatiana also plays minor roles in several of Nikulin’s films.[17]
Nikulin was remembered as a person of boundless kindness.[14] On a director’s post he rebuilt the Old Circus and established a foundation to help retired circus artists and performers.[3]
Yuri Nikulin died on 21 August 1997 and was buried inNovodevichy Cemetery inMoscow.[18] He was succeeded in his office at theMoscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard by his son Maxim.[19] After Nikulin’s death the Old Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard was renamed in his honor. A bronze monument to Nikulin was placed in front of the circus.[10]
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