Oleg Konstantinowitsch Popov
Oleg Popov ( Russian Олег Константинович Попов ., Scientific transliteration Oleg Popov Konstantinović ; * 31 July 1930 in Wirubowo at Kuntsevo , Moscow Oblast , † 2. November 2016 in Rostov-on-Don ) was a Russian clown and pantomime . He was considered one of the last great circus clowns of the world.
Life
Popov was born in a suburb of Moscow in 1930 and grew up in a middle-class family. His father - a watchmaker by trade - was arrested in 1941 for allegedly "disregarding" the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and died in prison. The time of the Second World War was marked by shortages for young Popov and his mother. Often the food was scarce. To make ends meet, he had to lend a hand early on.
After a few temporary jobs, at the age of twelve he began an apprenticeship as a locksmith at Pravda, the CPSU party newspaper . This had a youth sports group that Popov joined in 1944. As a member of this group, at the age of fourteen, he took part in a sporting event that was also attended by the director of the Moscow State Circus . He noticed Popov's talent and offered him a place at the prestigious Moscow State School of Circus Arts. A daily training of up to ten hours at the state school for circus arts followed. His specialty there was wire rope juggler. In 1951 he appeared as a clown for the first time. In 1955 he got his first engagement at the Moscow State Circus.
He asserted himself and achieved world fame. Popow appeared in the costume of the Russian Ivanuschka , a figure that roughly corresponds to the German Hans im Glück : checkered sports cap, black velvet jacket, dark striped trousers that are too short, small sticks, red socks, very pointed shoes in the front and only a few spots of make-up on Face. Popov was a masterful tightrope walker and juggler .
In 1952 he married Alexandra, a violinist in the circus orchestra. The marriage resulted in Olga, his only child. While he was performing in Marburg , his wife died of serious cancer in Moscow in April 1990. During the upheaval of the fall of the Soviet Union, he lost his savings. His dream of becoming the ringmaster of the state circus also fell through. In 1991 he moved to Germany disappointed from Russia. Chancellor Helmut Kohl offered him German citizenship. Popov refused and said: "I suffer with Russia". In 1991 he met the 32 years younger German Gabriela Lehmann and married her on September 1st in Breda ( Netherlands ). Both moved to a farm in Egloffstein ( Franconia ). He continued to act as a clown. He did not visit Russia for 21 years. From 2012 he traveled to Russia for guest appearances. He died while touring in the Rostov circus dormitory .
Before the corpse was transferred to Germany, his fans were able to say goodbye on November 7, 2016 in Rostov-on-Don in a public memorial service, first in the circus, where Popov's last appearance was planned, and then in the Rostov Church of St. John of Kronstadt. After the decision of his wife and daughter from their first marriage, both of whom live in Germany, he was buried in a clown costume on November 9, 2016 in accordance with his last will in Egloffstein .
Awards
year | Award |
---|---|
1956 | Honored Artist of the RSFSR |
1958 | People's Artist of the RSFSR |
1980 | Order of Lenin |
1980 | Order of the Red Banner of Labor |
1981 | "Golden Clown" at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo . Princess Gracia Patrizia ( Grace Kelly ) presented him with the "Oscar of the Circus World". |
1993 | Induction into the Clown Hall of Fame |
1994 | Order of Friendship |
2010 | Certificate of Honor of the President of the Russian Federation |
Movies
Documentation
- 1966: В городе клоун. Олег Попов в Ленинграде (Eng .: a clown is in town, Oleg Popov is in Leningrad).
Cinema & TV
- 1959: Kosolapyy Drug (German: a clumsy friend)
- 1966: Posledniy zhulik (German: The last crook)
- 1966: Knight without armor ( Ritzar bez bronya )
- 1970: The Adventures of the Yellow Suitcase ( Priklyucheniya zhyoltogo chemodanchika )
- 1970: Dve ulybki (German: smile twice)
- 1971: Polchasa na chudesa
- 1972: Headless rider ( Vsadnik bez golovy )
- 1972: Carnival
- 1976: The Blue Bird ( The Blue Bird )
- 1976: About the wolf and the smart little goat ( Ma-ma )
- 1976: Vesyoloye snovideniye, ili smekh i slyozy (German: funny dream or laughter and tears)
- 1987: Dog Theater ( Free Admittance ) ( Postoronnim vkhod razreshyon )
Works
- Ma vie de clown . Stock, Paris 1968 OCLC 3080061 (French).
- Russian clown . Macdonald, London 1970, ISBN 978-0-356-02940-5 (English).
- My dog Mischka, illustrated by Carolin Gaiser, translated from Russian by Gabriele Popov, Mayer, Stuttgart / Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-932386-04-3 .
- with Melle van der Velde, Alexander Kalmykov: Popov - Mijn Leven Als Clown . Lannoo Uitgeverij, Tielt 2006, ISBN 978-90-209-6521-6 ( autobiography , Dutch).
literature
- Roswitha von dem Borne: The clown: story of a figure , Urachhaus, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-87838-969-8 .
- Hans Joachim Pietrula: Clear the ring, homage to Oleg Popov . Calendar 1998, Ruck, Stuttgart 1997 (24 pages).
- Alex Kats: Sun clown Ivanuschka: Oleg Popov cartoons . Engelsdorfer Verlag, 2014, ISBN 978-3-95744-333-5 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Oleg Konstantinowitsch Popow in the catalog of the German National Library
- Oleg Popov in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- The state clown . In: Der Spiegel . No. 6 , 1959, pp. 45-55 ( Online - Feb. 4, 1959 , cover story).
- Holger Reischock: Heart in hand (article in the magazine of the Berliner Zeitung from September 8, 2001)
- Giuseppe Paletta: Au revoir Oleg Popow (report in the online feature section Leipziger Almanach from March 4, 2011)
- Oleg Popow on tour of Germany with the Great Russian State Circus
- Biography of Oleg Popov (PDF, free of charge, 7 pages, 162 KB)
Footnotes
- ↑ FAZ.net Russian circus star Oleg Popow has died . Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- ↑ a b c Der Spiegel: Oleg Popow, 86 , Obituaries, Der Spiegel 45/2016, p. 141.
- ↑ Famous Clowns ; Retrieved November 4, 2016
- ↑ Elective Francs and world famous. Clown Oleg Popow is dead ( Memento from November 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), br.de from November 3, 2016
- ↑ Олега Попова похоронят в Германии 9 ноября (Russian) . In: ТАСС , November 7, 2016. Accessed November 26, 2016.
- ↑ За час до смерти Олег Попов планировал поехать на рыбалку (Russian) . In: rostov.kp.ru , November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
- ↑ Попов хотел, чтобы его похоронили в клоунском костюме ( Russian ) www.aif.ru. November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Popov, Oleg Konstantinowitsch |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Попов, Олег Константинович (Russian); Popov, Oleg Konstantinovič |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Russian clown and pantomime |
DATE OF BIRTH | July 31, 1930 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Wirubowo near Kunzewo , Moscow Oblast |
DATE OF DEATH | November 2, 2016 |
Place of death | Rostov on Don |