MOSCOW, March 16 Artistic director of the Satyricon theater Konstantin Raikin, remembering People's Artist of Russia Alexander Shirvindt, called him a man of rare fantastic wit and a special gift of elegance.
People's Artist of the Russian Federation, President of the Satire Theater Alexander Shirvindt died on Friday at the age of 89.
«» Alexander Anatolyevich Shirvindt has died. A very close person. My senior comrade, my teacher, one of my favorites, a most decent person, a unique artist. A man of the rarest fantastic wit and some special gift of elegance, a special aristocracy of behavior, special sophistication and talent of himself lead, improvise and get out of the most difficult situations in the most elegant way. He never lost his dignity, and this never turned into arrogance. And he was equally welcoming, positive, kind-hearted, without familiarity with different people. With the highest representatives of power, he maintained his dignity , humor, some sometimes even risky simplicity of communication,” Raikin wrote in a message published on the theater’s website.
He noted that Shirvindt staged vaudeville “absolutely victoriously” at the Shchukin School — he turned out an old-fashioned and forgotten theatrical genre in a modern and dashing way. Among his memorable roles, Raikin highlighted his work in Anatoly Efros’s plays “Happy Days of an Unhappy Man,” “A Movie is Being Made,” and the role of Count Almaviva in “The Marriage of Figaro” by Valentin Pluchek. “How wonderful, talented and magnetically charming it was,” the artist added.
According to Raikin, he is proud that Shirvindt treated him very well.
«»And, in general, it is impossible to remember him without a smile and some very bright and funny feeling, because he is an incredibly witty person, this is some kind of divine gift. The kingdom of heaven to him! I lost a very close person, and our entire theater «I was in love with him. It is impossible to replace him with anyone, this is an irreparable huge loss in our lives,» Raikin concluded.
Alexander Shirvindt was born on July 19, 1934 in Moscow. After graduating from the Shchukin Theater School in 1956, he was accepted into the troupe of the Lenin Komsomol Theater (now Lenkom Mark Zakharov). Shirvindt has served at the Satire Theater since 1970, from 2000 to 2021 he was the artistic director of the theater, and in 2021 he became its president. In addition, the actor taught at the Shchukin Theater Institute. Shirvindt is widely known for his roles in films, including such films as “The Irony of Fate or Enjoy Your Bath!”, “Three in a Boat Not Counting the Dog,” “Circus Princess” and others.