Leonid Georgievich Yengibarov ( hy, Լեոնիդ Ենգիբարյան; russian: Леонид Георгиевич Енгибаров; March 15, 1935 – July 25, 1972) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

clown and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Biography

Leonid Yengibarov was born in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

to an Armenian father and a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

mother. He started his career as a boxer. In 1955 he joined the State School of Circus Art, Clownship department. He graduated from Circus school with skills in juggling, acrobatics, and hand balancing. After graduation in 1959 he moved to

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

and joined the Armenian state circus. He was one of the first Soviet clowns to create the poetic, intellectual clownery, which made spectators think, not only laugh. Leonid Yengibarov, 'the clown with sad eyes', revolutionized the art of clownery by introducing lyrical tones into traditional buffoonery and grotesque sequences. According to the ''Spectacle'' journal,

he has shown the direction. He was the innovator. He began to do clown gags that were not funny, but very sad. They ended sadly. He felt that life was not funny anymore.

After initial incomprehension, his popularity grew immensely. After that he was invited to work in cinema. His first film, ''A Path to the Arena'', was in fact about himself. By the end of the 1960s he was known as one of the best clowns in the country and in the countries of the Eastern bloc, where he was permitted to travel. His circus career came to a halt in 1971: he left the State Circus when his partner was banned from international touring. He created a Variety Pantomime Theatre (Estradniy teatr pantomimi) instead. However officially he was forbidden to call his company “theatre”, only allowed to use the term “

troupe Troupe may refer to: General * Comedy troupe, a group of comedians *Dance troupe, a group of dancers ** Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers * Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games * Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical perform ...

” (ансамбль). He managed to stage only a single piece, “Star Rain” before his untimely death from a massive heart attack. His work continues influencing other artists including

Slava Polunin Vyacheslav Ivanovich “Slava” Polunin PARVladimir Vysotsky Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky ( rus, links=no, Владимир Семёнович Высоцкий, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr sʲɪˈmʲɵnəvʲɪtɕ vɨˈsotskʲɪj; 25 January 1938 – 25 July 1980), was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor ...

wrote a shrill poem "To memory of the actor; To Yengibarov from the audience".

Alla Pugacheva Alla Borisovna Pugacheva, ) (born 15 April 1949), is а Soviet and Russian musical performer. Her career started in 1965 and continues to this day, even though she has retired from performing. For her "clear mezzo-soprano and a full display o ...

dedicated her song "Arlekino" to Yengibarov: "He was my favourite clown and even died while working. Just think: he died from laughter".''Red Stars: Personality and the Soviet Popular Song, 1955–1991'', by David MacFadyen - 2001, p. 216

Filmography

Films about him

*''Please meet Leonid Yengibarov'', ''Знакомьтесь: Леонид Енгибаров'' *''2 Leonid 2'', ''2 Леонид 2''

Honors

* The E. Bass Cup (first prize) of the 1964 European Clown Competition in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

; * People's Artist of Armenia (1971).

References

External links