Evgeny Zharikov

Evgeny Ilyich Zharikov (Евге́ний Ильи́ч Жа́риков; 26 February 1941 — 18 January 2012), also spelt Yevgeniy Ilich Zharikov and variants, was a Soviet and Russian film actor.

Zharikov was born on February 26, 1941, in Moscow as the sixth and last child of the Soviet writer Leonid Zharikov (Ilya Milahievich Zharikov).

He had a sister called Nina.

He spent his childhood in the Moscow suburbs, near Zagorsk (now Sergiev Posad), with his grandparents, and from the age of four rode horses and mastered crafts.

In 1959, he entered the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography and first appeared in a film in his second year of study.

His first marriage (1962-1974) was to figure skating coach Valentina Zotova, who was several years older than he was, but they only lived together for a year, and got divorced after 12 years.

He had affairs with other women, and infected her with syphilis, which led to a hysterectomy.

In 1964, after graduation, he went to East Germany, where for two years he starred in the title role in the local series Russian for You.

After his return in 1966, he acted in theater, television, and film in Moscow.

He became a member of the CPSU in 1970.

He came to fame appearing in the 1970s television series Born by the Revolution about the formation of the Soviet militia and its fight against crime in the 1920s.

In 1970, at the height of his career, he was injured on the set of the film Death No, Guys! when he fell from a horse at full gallop, which injured his hip and caused a compression fracture of the spine.

He married actress Natalya Gvozdikova (who was married at the time) after they met on the set of the TV series Born by the Revolution (1974-1977).

They had a son Fyodor (also spelt Fedor) Zharikov (born on 2 August 1976, who studied languages. Fyodor worked for a few years at an aircraft manufacturer, for social services, and later was appointed to a leadership position in the information security service.

He was awarded the USSR State Prize in 1978, and the title People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1989.

From 1988 to 2000, he was President of the Guild of Actors of Soviet Cinema (Russian Film Actors Guild from 1991), and founded the Sozvezdie International Film Festival, organised by the Guild and called "Constellation" in English.

He appeared in nearly 70 films and participated in the dubbing of more than 200 films.

He was sometimes compared to French actor Alain Delon, on account of his perceived attractiveness to women.

From 1994 to 2001, Zharikov had an affair with journalist Tatyana Sekridova (born 1960), who in 1995 gave birth to his son Sergei and daughter Katya.

After Sekridova went public with their relationship (reportedly having discovered the existence of a third woman in his life), Zharikov ended it, and Gvozdikova forgave her husband.

Zharikov ceased contact with the children of this affair.

In 1999 he underwent two complex operations with prosthetics.

He died on 18 January 2012 of rectal cancer at the oncology center at Botkin Hospital in Moscow.

He was buried on January 21 in the actors' section in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery.

Zharikov's nickname was Zhenya.