When the boy was very small, the biography of Leonid Gaidai was the first move - his family moved to Chita. Then they were in Irkutsk, then in the village of Glazkovo. As a child, Gaidai's biography coincided with the stories of many village children. They lived rather poorly, trying to get at least chickens. But, nevertheless, Leonid's father always had a sense of humor and never gave up.
If we talk about studies, Gaidai's biography tells us that after school he entered a railway school. He had to do this to help the family. Although, from the very childhood, Leonid loved movies. On Sundays he constantly went to the cinema, watched films about Chapaev. Of course, the boy did not have a lot of money, so between sessions he hid under the chairs to get to the next viewing.
Gaidai finished school just before the war. Of course, like many children of his age, he wanted to go into the army voluntarily, but they did not take the guy, saying that he needed to wait a little. Therefore, Gaidai began to work in the Irkutsk theater. At that time on tour in Irkutsk was the Moscow theater of satire. Leonid was lucky to see such great people as Henkin, Lepko, Paul, Doronin, Slonova, Tusuzov. Due to military actions, the theater remained in Irkutsk. Gaidai traveled with them on tour, watched all the performances and every day more and more became imbued with the desire to devote himself to theater and cinema. He himself played in amateur performances in the House of Culture and many noted that the guy is talented.
In 1942, Gaidai still joined the army. Initially, he served in Mongolia, but believed that it was wrong and ashamed. The future director wanted to protect his homeland. When part of the soldiers came to the front, Gaidai rushed to all the troops and all the questions were answered by the "I". It was this moment, only changed, he later inserted into the film "Operation Y", when the policeman calls the place for working off and asks to give him the entire list.
Once in the front, Gaidai often went to the enemy's rear and took his tongue. He was awarded several medals. This man has always been fearless and courageous. He had several bullet wounds, should have amputated his leg, but Leonid already saw himself as an actor and fought to the end to be cured without amputation. He spent a long time in hospitals, suffered many operations. In the end, Gaidai still put on his feet, but, nevertheless, the injuries responded to his health all his life.
After the war, Leonid returned to his native Irkutsk. Two years he played at the local theater and was a success. But Leonid was quite critical of himself and understood that his success here is nothing. Therefore, in 1949 Gaidai went to Moscow. He did not pronounce the letter "p", he was a very modest and calm young man. But, nevertheless, his talent was able to hit the admission committee of the VGIK. All the years of teaching teachers admired Gaydai. They liked his sense of humor, the ability to play various satirical roles. Gaidai had a natural talent. But, at the very beginning, because of the jokes, he was expelled from the educational institution for being unfit for work. However, the guy could persuade the administration and returned it, while setting a probationary period.
While studying at VGIK, Gaydai met the woman with whom he had lived together. It was Nina Grebeshkova. She was younger than Gaidai for eight years and was very shy of the young man who had seen much in life and had passed through the front. Therefore, with her, she constantly blushed, turned pale and did not know what to say. Soon they married, rented a room, they had a daughter Oksana. True, Leonid took offense for a long time because his wife did not want to take his name. But, nevertheless, he still resigned himself to this and loved his Nina until the last day.
In the movie, Gaidai began filming in the fifties. He played in the films "Liang" and "Wind". But after that Gaidai realized that he would rather not play, but to do directing. Since 1955, Leonid Gaidai has already been listed as one of the directors of Mosfilm. He immediately saw the talent of the comedic director, despite the fact that his first film was not a comedy. The first Gaidai films were not too popular. The thing is that Gaidai did not want to shoot something that the authorities should like. He wanted to laugh at the problems of society. Officials took his pictures with hostility. When he tried to shoot heroic novels, he realized that he simply can not work in this genre. For a while, Gaidai was very worried about this, but then luck smiled at him. Everything happened when Leonid decided to go to his parents in Irkutsk. There he accidentally found the feuilleton "The Dog of Barbos". It was he who became the basis for the film "The Dog of the Watchdog and the Unusual Cross". Gaidai found something that interested and amused the audience - he opened a magnificent trinity: Coward, Balbes, Experienced. After that, Gaidai's popularity began to grow literally before our eyes. He made films that all Soviet people laughed at, even those who held senior positions. Gaidai became one of the most beloved directors of the Soviet space. Gaidai was recognized as a master of comedy. But in the last years of his life he was no longer popular. His perestroika films did not have such an excitement as the previous ones. But, nevertheless, Gaydai remained happy, as there was a wife nearby who never left him. He was cheerful, not adapted to life, Nina understood this, always helped and supported. She was with him until her last breath, on November thirteenth, 1993, Gaydai died because the clot in the lung had come off.