The son of peasants
Let's start with the fact that Mikhail's real name is not Pugovkin at all. The family name of the artist is Pugonkin. But it's not that important that Pugovkin moved Pugovkin to change a few letters in the surname. And now we better remember where his biography began. Date of birth of Michael - thirteenth of July 1923. At that time, the Pugovkin family lived in the village of Rameshki, Chukhlomsky district of the Yaroslavl region. The artist's family did not have much money. His parents' biography is the story of ordinary peasants who worked from morning till night to feed three children. The artist still had two older brothers. In childhood Mikhail was affectionately called Minka and was very fond of him, because he was the youngest. And very artistic. When Minka was still a child, even then everyone paid attention to the fact that he was very artistic. Of course, the fellow villagers did not realize that the future People's Artist of the USSR, the general favorite and the star of TV screens, was before them. But, nevertheless, they really liked how Minka sang and danced at weddings, told all sorts of jokes and jokes, in general, amused the audience with might and main. Mikhail was very fortunate in the sense that before the war his parents took their children to Moscow. Of course, they did not know what would happen in a few months. Their motivation was much simpler - Mikhail's father and mother wanted the children to get a good education, rather than squandering their whole lives on earth. But it was this decision that helped save the sons from the horrors of the occupation.
Love of the theater
Having moved to Moscow, Michael together with his brothers went to work at the brake factory as an electrician. And after work Michael from all legs rushed to the drama club, whose leader was a real master of his craft, the artist Shatov. It was thanks to him that Pugovkin's acting career began. Shatov was able to see the potential in the guy. When they put Ostrovsky's play "His People Are Considered," the performer of the role of the Bolshoi suddenly fell ill. But this was the main character. And then Shatov said that the role of the merchant would be fulfilled by Pugovkin. The guy took it with great joy and seriousness. Only overnight he learned both his role and, in general, the entire play. After this role Pugovkin got to the Moscow Drama Theater. The fact is that the young talented and savvy guy was noticed by the director of this theater Kaverin. Looking closer to Pugovkin, he decided that the guy should try himself on the big stage. Of course, this was a huge success for a novice actor. Very rarely this happens when a person without education is taken to drama theater. Pugovkin understood this perfectly, that's why he gave all the best. Naturally, initially he was given episodic roles to understand if he was as talented as he had originally thought. In addition, Pugovkin had some problems with the diction, however, he soon coped with them. Kaverin greatly respected the young man for his diligence and perseverance. Gradually, Pugovkin began to receive major roles, and not only spectators, but also the press paid attention to him. So Pugovkin, an ordinary rural boy, thanks to his perseverance and love of art, achieved recognition on the stage.
Brilliant roles
But, at that time the cinema was actively developing and, like any other actor of that time, Pugovkin, of course, wanted not only to play, but also to appear in films. By the way, his first debut took place before the war. Then he burned the role of Stepashi in the film "The Artamonov Affair". It was supposed to be a musical film, in which it is necessary to sing and dance. Of course, Pugovkin coped with his task perfectly. Together with him in this film debuted Olga Orlova. But, unfortunately, the film did not have time to sound, as the Second World War began. Parents never managed to completely save their sons from this horror, and life in the capital did not help, because all of them were already draft age. Therefore, Mikhail's father, his brothers, and, of course, himself, went to the front. Pugovkin was a scout in a rifle regiment. He went through a lot and the bullets bypassed him. But, in the end, there was a wound in the leg, from which Mikhail started gangrene. The guy barely discouraged the doctors from amputation, explaining to them that he was an artist and could not play on one leg. Thank God everything worked out, Michael recovered, and while lying in the hospital, finally realized that without a scene and filming, he can not live. He studied at the Nemirovich-Danchenko Studio School, by the way, at the introduction very much surprised the commission with a desire to learn. The fact is that Pugovkin was already a fairly well-known artist, and he also had only three classes of education. But Michael did not stop anything. He studied, played in the theater of drama, and every year became more and more successful actor. In the fifties, Mikhail Pugovkin managed to appear in sixteen scenes, among which are "Admiral Ushakov", "Soldier Ivan Brovkin", "Earth and People", "Oleko Dundich". Well and then on screens there was a fine comedy "wedding in Малиновке". The role of Yashka-gunner was one of the most memorable in the filmography of Pugovkin. Although his role consisted of only two big episodes, they became almost central in the picture. People just fell in love with Pugovkin.
After that, he played many more diverse roles in comedies and fairy tales, for which we all remember and love this amazing artist, who impressed with his brilliance and originality.