Irina Pavlovna Asmus

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Irina Pavlovna Asmus ( Russian Ирина Павловна Асмус ; born April 28, 1941 in Leningrad , † March 15, 1986 in Homel , Belarusian SSR ) was a Soviet actress and circus performer .

Theater, circus and television career

Asmus was born to a civil engineer and a housewife . She became interested in art at an early age and, due to the frequent relocation of the family, played in various theater groups.

After school Asmus got a place at the Choreografieschule of the Bolshoi Theater , due to their small size, it was but no career as a prima ballerina predicted. She then switched to the State Circus and Variety School , where she graduated by performing a Neapolitan dance and interpreting the song Bésame mucho . After graduation, her fellow student , who later became the folk artist of the RSFSR Leonid Leonidowitsch Kostjuk (* 1941), invited Asmus to take part in his equilibrist number , for which he won several national prizes and was also honored in Monte Carlo . One participant balanced on a pole held by another artist. However, while performing in Riga , Asmus fell and suffered a concussion . She then moved to the Leningrad Youth Theater , but was not satisfied with the roles offered there, which were limited to travesty performances. Due to the departure of Alissa Freindlich at the Kommisarschewskaja -Theater in 1961, she was able to take her place there and gave well-known characters such as Cinderella , the princess in a stage version of The Prince and the beggar boy , Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Eva in Mr. Puntila and sein Servant Matti .

At the suggestion of the tightrope dancer Vladimir Alexandrowitsch Wolschanski (1917–1983), Asmus also tried her hand at being a clown, which was a first for the Soviet Union. From then on she appeared in this role under the stage name Iriska , which supposedly goes back to Alexander Wolodin . From 1977 she was in the television program АБВГДейка ( ABWGDeika ), in which Eduard Uspenski was involved as a screenwriter , to see. This engagement helped her to gain nationwide popularity. In addition, she appeared on the program Дискотека ( Diskoteka ).

In the mid-1980s, however, the makers and actors of АБВГДейка came under criticism from the authorities and Asmus was eventually replaced by a younger actress, which aroused displeasure among the audience. Furthermore, Asmus was not planned for a foreign tour of the circus in which she was performing at the time. In order to be able to take more care of her son, she finally planned to quit her job in the ring at the age of 45.

Movies

In addition to her theater and television engagements, Asmus also appeared in films from 1957. She made her debut , a double role , while she was still a student in Alexander Rous The Adventures of Puss In Boots . This was followed by five television films by 1973 , including the works 12 стульев ( 12 stulew ), an adaptation of the novel Twelve Chairs , and Элиза Дулиттл ( Elisa Dulittl ) based on the musical My Fair Lady in 1966 and the 6th and 7th parts in 1973 the film series Старая крепость ( Staraya krepost ). She also appeared in the documentaries На манеже Ириска ( Na manesche Iriska , 1981) and Представление ( Predstawlenije , 1982). Her life was also the subject of the documentary Смертельный номер ( Smertelny nomer ) and an episode of the documentary series Как уходили кумиры ( Kak uchodili kumiry , 2006).

Accidental death

During a circus performance in Homel in the early evening of March 15, 1986, Irina Asmus fell from her harness from a height of several meters. She suffered serious internal injuries and died immediately after the impact. Her body was removed from the ring and the show continued. In the subsequent legal proceedings, the cause of the accident was traced back to a material defect and the responsible security engineer and the arena inspector were sentenced to two and a half years in prison for negligence. Both had previously pleaded innocent. For his part, Anatoli Bogomas, the former personnel manager of the Gomel circus, accused Asmus of not checking the condition of the equipment. Asmus 'then husband Mikhail Sychev, however, took the view that Asmus' assistant had not properly reassembled the rotary press used in the number after cleaning and lubricating it. On the other hand, there were also rumors that the artist's death was not an accident.

Asmus was buried in the city of her birth in the Bolsheochinskoye cemetery .

Private life

Asmus was married three times. Her first husband was the actor Alexander Jurjewitsch Chotschinski (1944-1998) Then she was married to a circus inspector, but according to other sources he was Asmus' assistant. This marriage soon failed too, the artist and her ex-husband are said to have had a phone call the evening before her death about the former apartment in Leningrad. Most recently she was married to the circus artist Mikhail Sychev. Both met in Chisinau in 1967 . In the same year Asmus gave birth to her son Andrei Michailowitsch, who never met his biological father, Asmus' second husband. Sychev adopted Andrei as his son, from whom Andreis' father's name and surname are also derived .

Andrei became a drug addict as a teenager. He lived at times apart from his family with other addicts, with whom he broke into his mother and stepfather's apartment and stole money, furnishings and jewelry, including his mother's engagement ring. When Irina Asmus died, Andrei was serving in the Soviet Army and was stationed near Homel. The last time they saw each other was the day before her death.

Andrei Sychev now lives in St. Petersburg and works as a freelance cameraman . He has a son and a daughter. As a result of his drug problems and the death of his mother, he had an increasingly bad relationship with his stepfather since the 1980s.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1957: The Adventures of Puss in Boots (Nowy pochoschdenija Kota w Sapogach)
  • 1966: 12 stulev (12 stulew)
  • 1966: Элиза Дулиттл (Elisa Dulittl)
  • 1973: Старая крепость (Staraja krepost)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Biography of Irina Asmus on stuki-druki.com (Russian), accessed on June 28, 2020
  2. ↑ a b c Biography of Irina Asmus on rusactors.ru (Russian), accessed June 28, 2020
  3. ↑ Leonid Kostjuk's biography at kino-teatr.ru (Russian), accessed on June 27, 2020
  4. ↑ a b c d Obituary for Irina Asmus in Russkaja planeta (Russian), accessed on June 28, 2020
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Article about Irina Asmus in the Express-Gaseta (Russian), accessed on June 28, 2020
  6. ↑ Brief portrait of Irina Asmus on nekropol-spb.ru (Russian), accessed on June 28, 2020
  7. ↑ Vladimir Wolschanski's biography on kino-teatr.ru (Russian), accessed on June 27, 2020
  8. ↑ a b Biography of Irina Asmus on kino-teatr.ru (Russian), accessed on June 28, 2020
  9. ↑ Film data for 12 стульев on kino-teatr.ru (Russian), accessed on June 28, 2020
  10. ↑ Film data for Элиза Дулиттл on kino-teatr.ru (Russian), accessed on June 28, 2020
  11. ↑ a b c d Biography of Irina Asmus at 24smi.org (Russian), accessed June 28, 2020
  12. ↑ Filmography by Irina Asmus on kino-teatr.ru (Russian), accessed on June 28, 2020
  13. ↑ Biography of Irina Asmus on only-holiday.ru (Russian), accessed on June 28, 2020
  14. ↑ Alexander Chotschinski's biography at kino-teatr.ru (Russian), accessed on June 28, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Asmus, Irina Pavlovna
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Асмус, Ирина Павловна
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Soviet actress and circus performer
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH Leningrad
DATE OF DEATH March 15, 1986
Place of death Homel , Belarusian SSR