From a hooligan to a pioneer leader: the writer’s childhood and youth
Eduard Uspensky. Photo: jewish.ru
Eduard Uspensky was born in 1937 in the city of Yegoryevsk, Moscow region. His father, Nikolai Uspensky, worked in the apparatus of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, where he was responsible for the construction of land storage facilities and grain reserves. Mother, Natalya Uspenskaya, was a mechanical engineer at a weaving factory. In 1938, the family moved to the capital, where they were given housing. Later, Eduard Uspensky recalled: “I vaguely remember the pre-war years. My father had a dacha, which he received for use from the Central Committee of the Communist Party, where his father worked. From the dacha I remember a tricycle with metal wheels, some water and greenery. That's all".
When the Great Patriotic War began, the father remained to defend Moscow, and the mother and her children were evacuated to the Trans-Urals. They lived in the city of Shadrinsk until 1943, about which time Uspensky said: “Somehow I also remember a kindergarten that was located on the river bank. I also remember how we, children, were sent parcels from the front - they contained German toys... These toys were given to those whose fathers died at the front. And I felt resentful that my father was alive.”
At the end of the war, Nikolai Uspensky fell ill with tuberculosis and died in 1947. All his party benefits and payments stopped - Natalya Uspenskaya had to support her three sons alone. A few months later, she sent Eduard Uspensky to a boarding school for children with poor health. The future writer lived there for a year. He recalled: “I remember that it was a wonderful boarding school in an old manor house... And the descendants of real manor hounds were running through the forests and around. I happily brought all kinds of food to all of them. He screamed there with some special hunting cry, like hunters scream. And the dogs came running to me.”
In 1947, Natalya Uspenskaya married again. Her chosen one was NKVD accountant Nikolai Pronsky. He had a child from his first marriage - Boris, the same age as Eduard Uspensky. In 1948, when the future writer returned from boarding school, the children went to the same class. However, they did not get along with each other and often fought. Ouspensky later said: “He was a good guy, and I’m annoyed that I quarreled with him then.”
Eduard Uspensky grew up as a hooligan. He skipped classes, often started fights and bullied his classmates. But in the seventh grade, Uspensky became interested in learning. He broke his leg while crawling in the attic of an abandoned church, and the schoolboy was admitted to the hospital. In order not to stay for a second year, he asked his mother to bring textbooks to the ward.
What happened was that they [the textbooks] no longer seemed particularly terrifying. In two months I read the books from beginning to end and understood what I read. Since then, at the beginning of each school year, I immediately read textbooks on mathematics and physics from beginning to end. As a result, I began to do really well in mathematics, physics and chemistry, participated in mathematical Olympiads and became the pride of the school.
Eduard Uspensky, writer
In the ninth grade, Eduard Uspensky became a pioneer leader for third-graders. For the first time he wrote humorous poems for his students. Uspensky recalled: “Sometimes I spent the whole day with them: we went skiing and went to the theater together... ...It was this fuss with children that made me a children's writer.”
Personal life
The family has always inspired the writer, especially in creating the most unexpected characters. The author came up with the bright and unforgettable Shapoklyak, remembering his ex-wife Rimma. According to the famous author, the wife was distinguished by harmfulness. Although the image, he continues, contains some of the writer’s own unsightly traits.
Uspensky copied the image of Shapoklyak from his first wife
And the daughter’s childish cry first served as the source of the name Cheburashka, and subsequently - the entire history of this character. This hero became legendary - at first he was loved by the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun, and then became a symbol of Russia at sporting competitions.
Eduard Uspensky was married three times. From his first marriage, which lasted 18 years, he left behind a daughter, Tatyana, who already has her own family and who gave dad a grandson and a granddaughter. The writer also had children from his second marriage: two twin daughters, whom the couple adopted.
Eduard Uspensky with his daughter Tatyana
For the third time, Eduard Nikolaevich married a popular TV presenter - Eleonora Filina became the author’s chosen one. Together with his beloved, the writer hosted the radio program “Ships Came into Our Harbor.” As a result, the office relationship grew into a real romance.
The divorce proceedings with the last wife turned out to be high-profile - the wife appeared on television and in the press with loud statements, and publicly discussed life with the writer.
After decades of marriage, when the whole country considered this couple exemplary, Eleanor was offended by her husband who filed for divorce and began to tell what the union with the writer really was. Many unpleasant words were said to the now ex-husband, impartially characterizing the man’s character and behavior in everyday life.
Eduard Uspensky and Eleonora Filina
However, few people know that while his ex-wife was appearing on television, the writer himself was struggling with a serious illness - cancer. The man went to Germany, where he underwent chemotherapy. At first, Eleanor was next to her husband and took care of the writer, but the woman’s patience lasted for several months, after which Filina simply went back to Russia and left Edward alone in a foreign country.
Uspensky for a long time did not comment on Eleanor’s actions, but once made a statement that the reason for this woman’s behavior was huge financial debts, which, according to the writer, the ex-wife wants to pay off at the expense of Eduard Nikolaevich.
Scandalous “Live” with Eleonora Filina
However, Edward’s character was indeed difficult, as his relatives and colleagues confirm. Not everyone could cope with it and productively maintain personal and work relationships. Some individual character traits of Eduard Nikolaevich at some point even put an end to the then unknown story about Uncle Fyodor - they refused to publish the work, fearing sudden scandals and claims from the writer.
Eduard Uspensky
The writer rarely wrote to order, as he did not consider it necessary to make adjustments to stories at the behest of outsiders. This intransigence often spoiled the writer's working and personal relationships. On the other hand, maybe without her, Uspensky’s beloved characters would not have seen the light of day in the unique form that the author gave them.
As for the writer himself, the man adored animals and birds; parrots and dogs constantly lived in his house, which the writer took care of with pleasure. Eduard worked every day, composing in his country house and in Moscow. In his free time, he liked to watch foreign TV series, especially on medical topics. Uspensky’s favorite serial film was “Doctor House”.
Awards of Eduard Uspensky
It is known that Eduard Nikolaevich respected the work of Oleg Tabakov. That is why the charismatic actor was entrusted with dubbing the cat from Prostokvashino.
In April 2021, the writer gave an interview in which he said that his second wife, Elena Uspenskaya, was next to him. The woman forgave her ex-husband and returned. Recently, Edward and his wife lived in peace and harmony, supported each other and did not remember the past. The couple hoped that the writer would cope with the illness.
Eduard Uspensky with his family
And Eleanor Filina, it turns out, left for a young lover who is 30 years younger than her. The TV presenter took out a loan of 6 million rubles so that the guy could open a business, but the business failed.
Filina herself does not admit this. The woman only says that she could no longer be close to her oppressive husband. According to Eleanor, Filina wanted to divorce Uspensky for a long time, but she was stopped by her husband’s health condition and diagnosis.
“Written while the carp splashed”: an engineer during the day, a writer in the evening
Eduard Uspensky. Photo: uspens.ru
In 1955, Eduard Uspensky graduated from school and planned to enroll as an engineer. Before the entrance exams to the university, his mother and stepfather went south for the whole summer, and sent their son money every month. Uspensky recalled: “On the first day I bought a squirrel and a cage and something else with my own money. Then I no longer had any money. But I was saved by my friend Yuri Mitselsky, who asked me to go to the institute exams instead of him. For a five he will give 5 rubles, for a four 4. That’s what happened, he did it.” Eduard Uspensky also entered: he passed the exams at the Moscow Aviation Institute with excellent marks and began studying to become an instrument engineer.
At the institute, Uspensky met Felix Kandel, at that time the head of the MAI student theater “Television”. They became friends and in the evenings together they came up with skits and skits for holiday concerts. Soon the friends began to compose humorous poems and performance programs for pop artists. Ouspensky’s quatrains were read from the stage by Alexander Livshits and Alexander Levenbuk, a duo popular in the late 1950s.
I remember we worked in the same apartment in the bathroom, because the apartments were filled with people like cockroaches. There were still fish swimming there. She floated there for several years - some owner bought her, but could not kill her. And if someone wanted to take a bath, then the fish had to be removed and placed in a metal trough. And so we composed to the splash of a large carp.
Eduard Uspensky
In 1961, Uspensky received a diploma and got a job as an engineer at the Second Moscow Instrument Plant, where they created guidance units for Soviet missiles. However, he did not give up his evening classes with Felix Kandel: they still wrote feuilletons for the stage. And in 1964, Eduard Uspensky left the plant. The management promised to increase the salary, but in the end the writer only had additional responsibilities. He recalled: “I was deceived. I got angry and left, and thought first about looking for another job. Then I saw that I managed to earn money through literary work, so I remained free and free.”
First works and books for children: the story of Cheburashka
Eduard Uspensky with Cheburashka. Photo: newokruga.ru
In 1965, the Writers' Union of the RSFSR began publishing the magazine "Children's Literature", which published articles about children's authors and reviews of their works. In the spring of the same year, an article about Eduard Uspensky appeared in the publication: “The poetess Irina Tokmakova wrote about me that I am fresh. I grew, developed and appeared as if out of nowhere, secretly and suddenly. But “suddenly” was the wrong word.” The largest book publishing houses listened to the magazine's employees, and in 1965, Uspensky's first book was published - a collection of poems, “The Funny Elephant.” And a year later, the anthology “Four under one cover” appeared on library shelves with stories by Arkady Arkanov, Grigory Gorin, Felix Kandel and Eduard Uspensky.
In 1966, Uspensky wrote the book “Crocodile Gena and His Friends”, it contained illustrations by Valery Alfeevsky. The work, which later brought popularity to the writer, was not immediately accepted. Uspensky recalled: “He [Boris Zakhoder] said something like this: “What can I say. You wrote, Edik, such a light fairy tale. It won’t do you any special honor, but they wrote and wrote.” Zakhoder’s opinion was always interesting to me, but deep down I felt that this piece of mine was not exactly an “easy fairy tale.” Critics viewed this story through the lens of socialism. They did not approve of the idea of the “House of Friendship” that the heroes were building, and the Cheburashka, unknown to science, from a box of oranges was called a “rootless cosmopolitan.” But the children liked the book.
They scolded me for my poems, it looks so ridiculous now that people today cannot understand how it is possible not to miss Cheburashka, how it is possible for the house that we built to be called the “House of Wedding,” the house of pimping.
Eduard Uspensky
When in 1968, Soviet journalist Alexei Adzhubey asked his son to bring his favorite book, he brought “Crocodile Gena and His Friends” and said: “Here is a book that should be used to make a cartoon.” At this time, director Roman Kachanov was visiting the family: he and Adzhubey discussed ideas for a new children's film. A few months later, work began on the film adaptation. Uspensky and Kachanov wrote the script for the cartoon together: the author helped adapt the book for filming. In 1969, “Crocodile Gena” was seen by Soviet viewers. The writer recalled: “That’s where it all started. The cartoon was made and it became a great success.” The characters were voiced by actors Vasily Livanov, Klara Rumyanova and Vladimir Rautbart.
The cartoon was different from the book. According to Uspensky's idea, the main character of the fairy tale was the crocodile Gena. The writer described his biography in detail: first he served in the airborne troops, then he worked at a chocolate factory, in the police, and from there the crocodile was taken to the zoo. Gena also had a partner - the crocodile Valera. But all these details are not familiar to the viewer; the emphasis in the cartoon has shifted to Cheburashka.
In one of his interviews, Uspensky told where his hero got his name. Once, while visiting Felix Kandel, he watched as a friend’s niece tripped over a fur coat that her parents bought for her to grow into. “She screwed up again,” Kandel said once again. The writer really liked this word, and that’s how the name Cheburashka appeared.
Cheburashka acquired its familiar appearance - large ears, short legs and huge eyes - only with the release of the cartoon by Roman Kachanov. In a fairy tale, Uspensky described the animal: “Its eyes were large and yellow, like those of an eagle owl, its head was round, hare-shaped, and its tail was short and fluffy, such as is usually the case with small bear cubs.” But nothing was said about Cheburashka’s ears. They were drawn by the cartoon director Leonid Shvartsman. The artist worked on the sketch of the hero for almost three months: at first Cheburashka had ears on the top of his head, but then they began to slide down and grow larger.
The last heroine, the mischievous old woman Shapoklyak, got her name in honor of a folding top hat. It was in this headdress that the artist Shvartsman depicted the character. A formal dress, white lace cuffs and heeled pumps completed the look. But if in the cartoon Shapoklyak gradually improves and begins to help Gena and Cheburashka, then in Uspensky’s book she is forever carried away by a bunch of balloons.
The audience liked the cartoon “Crocodile Gena” so much that Roman Kachanov decided to make another one. In 1971, he completed work on the film “Cheburashka” with already beloved characters.
Brief biography of Eduard Uspensky for children
Uspensky is known in narrow circles as a writer of cult children's works.
His stories excite the hearts of adults and make children smile. He burst into the creative world through such works as Crocodile Gena and Cheburashka, Uncle Fyodor. Born in Moscow on December 22, 1937. His family was not very special by those standards. His father is a member of the CPSU Central Committee, and his mother is an ordinary engineer. After graduating from school, Uspensky expressed a desire to enter the Moscow Aviation University, where he received a degree in engineering. There were no recommendations from his parents at that time, and all the actions he took in life were done on his own initiative.
He did not use his knowledge in his acquired specialty to earn money, but on the contrary, he was engaged in creativity, writing scripts for theatrical scenes, and writing poetry. Fame overtook him in 1960, just when he first began publishing. His works began to appear in various newspapers of different directions, and his poems were heard from all houses in the area.
The characters he invented, their destinies and stories, were remembered for a long time by many generations, and still arouse the interest of different people. From 1980 to 1990, Uspensky released a couple more works, which brought him even greater popularity. Based on his works, films and cartoons began to be made, which brought new colors to his personality and work.
He took part in the creation of radio and television programs. The author's works have been published in 25 languages and are popular in many countries. Winner of various awards in the field of creative achievements. Awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th degree.
Uspensky connected his life with three women, and was married 3 times. His first marriage gave him a daughter, Tatyana, and his second marriage gave him twin daughters, Irina and Svetlana.
Uncle Fyodor, Mitya and the plasticine crow: famous heroes of Uspensky
Eduard Uspensky. Photo: jewish.ru
In 1972, Eduard Uspensky wrote and hosted the first episode of the educational program “Baby Monitor”. The program was broadcast on All-Union Radio: its presenters on the first Sunday of the month explained to children the rules of the Russian language, the laws of physics, chemistry, and taught politeness and etiquette. The editor of “Baby Monitor” Elena Lebedeva recalled: “They invited everyone who at that time successfully wrote for children. We sat and came up with ideas, but the task was one: how to find the way to the hearts of children, our radio listeners? But our “Baby Monitor” must have special concerns: entertain, joke, even play mischief, but at the same time teach wisely.” Eduard Uspensky also wrote the text of the show's opening song. Until the very end of the program, the writer was its permanent author.
In the same year, Uspensky’s book “Down the Magic River” was published. The writer in it combined Russian folk tales and modernity: Mitya comes on vacation to her grandmother in the village and helps Vasilisa the Beautiful, Uncle Domovoi and Tsar Makar solve their problems.
In 1974, one of Uspensky’s most famous stories was published - the book “Uncle Fyodor, the Dog and the Cat.” An independent city boy left home and settled with a cat and a dog in the village of Prostokvashino. The idea for the work came to the writer at school, when he was a counselor for third-graders. Initially, Uncle Fyodor was an adult forester, but the writer Boris Zakhoder advised Uspensky to make him a child. Matroskin’s cat had a prototype - this was the editor of the film magazine “Fitil” Anatoly Taraskin.
I called him and said: “Tolya, I’m writing a cat, he’s economical, smart, hard-working - I’m writing him from you. I gave him your last name - it will be Taraskin the cat.” He says: “You're crazy! Do you want to make fun of me throughout Moscow?” I had to change it to Matroskin. And then Tolya told me: “What a fool I was, I should have shared my last name.”
Eduard Uspensky
Already in the next year, 1975, a film adaptation of the story was shown on the screen. The cartoon “Uncle Fyodor, Dog and Cat” was created by Yuri Klepatsky and Lidiya Surikova. And a few years later, based on the work of Uspensky, director Vladimir Popov made three more films: “Three from Prostokvashino”, “Vacation in Prostokvashino” and “Winter in Prostokvashino”. The script was written by Eduard Uspensky himself, but Matroskin’s famous phrase was added to the text by Popov: “You’re eating a sandwich wrong, Uncle Fedor!” The characters were voiced by famous actors: Uncle Fyodor spoke in the voice of Maria Vinogradova, the cat Matroskin was voiced by Oleg Tabakov, and Lev Durov was voiced by Sharika.
Eduard Uspensky wrote scripts for television programs. Since 1975, he has worked on the educational television program “ABVGDeyka”. The writer came up with an interesting format for lesson-performances, where the role of students was played by clowns. Uspensky published the most successful poems from “ABVGDeyka” in the book “School of Clowns”.
In the late 1970s, the writer worked as the artistic director of the creative association Ekran. Uspensky traveled around the country and found young talented animators. In 1980, he came to Kyiv and there he met directors Alexander Tatarsky and Igor Kovalev. He invited both of them to Moscow.
In 1981, already in the capital, Tatarsky released the cartoon “Plasticine Crow” based on Uspensky’s poem “Or maybe, or maybe...”, which he composed in half an hour on the train. Composer Grigory Gladkov recalled: “They took Krylov’s fable as a basis and wrote it as if a poor student remembers a poem, but cannot remember.” This was the first film in the USSR using the plasticine animation technique. Three-dimensional images were sculpted from ordinary children's plasticine, which were gradually broken, and the film was then released in the reverse order. The filming took 800 kilograms of material.
Animated film by Alexander Tatarsky “Plasticine Crow” (1981)
The song to Gladkov’s music was performed by the presenters of “Baby Monitor” Alexander Levenbuk and Lev Shumelov. When the composition was recorded, it turned out to be longer than planned: instead of five minutes, it was seven. Tatarsky had to speed up the song, but the characters acquired a cartoonish sound that is recognizable today.
Eduard Uspensky collaborated a lot with Alexander Tatarsky. In 1987, the director filmed the writer’s story “Kolobok is on the Trail.” The story of two detectives who unravel crimes and catch bandits was appreciated abroad: the cartoon “The Koloboks Are Investigating” received a prize at the prestigious Varna Film Festival.
Last years of life: new country - new heroes
Eduard Uspensky. Photo: armmuseum.ru
Since 1991, Eduard Uspensky has been the host of the radio program “Ships Came into Our Harbor.” The writer recalled: “We started our program as a program of children’s romantic songs. But it turned out that children do not know these romantic songs and do not really perceive them. And people my age and younger began to thank me for these songs.” The air played student, military, prison songs - any compositions that people sang in the kitchen in the evenings. Many listeners sent notes and recordings on cassettes to the editor.
In the 1990s, Uspensky's heroes changed along with the situation in the country. In the 1990 book “Uncle Fyodor, the Dog and the Cat (Dialogues on Political Issues),” the characters discussed the military situation, and the postman Pechkin dreamed of becoming a KGB minister. In 1992, the book “The Business of Gena the Crocodile” was published, where Cheburashka, Shapoklyak and the girl Galya thought about investments, shares and profits. At the same time, the writer came up with a new character - Zhab Zhabych Skovorodkin. Uspensky published a series of books with him: “Zhan Zhabych Skovorodkin”, “Son of Zhab Zhabych”, “Zhan Zhabych aims for president”. Eduard Uspensky also wrote a textbook on radio engineering for children, “Lectures by Professor Chainikov.”
In 2010, Eduard Uspensky received the Korney Chukovsky Prize “For outstanding creative achievements in Russian children’s literature.” In the same year, the cartoon “Fixies” based on the writer’s story “Guarantee Men” was released.
During the last years of his life, Uspensky was ill. The writer died on August 14, 2021. He was buried at the Troekurovsky cemetery.
Work and awards
In addition to his literary work, Uspensky often appeared on radio programs in the 70s, and in 1986 A.V. Maslyakov invited him to join the KVN jury. On television, he participated in the creation of such children's programs as “ABVGDeyka” and “Good night, kids.”
The author continues his work in the 21st century. Some of his plays were staged in theaters and were successful.
In 1991, the writer was awarded a diploma. A. Gaidar, and in 2010 he was awarded the Korney Chukovsky Prize. In 1997, by decree of Russian President B.N. Yeltsin, the writer was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th degree.
