who was this mysterious character

Who was hiding behind the beard and dark glasses? Interestingly, many representatives of the Soviet press, when they were students, repeatedly encountered him. Rather, with the fruits of his work.

So, Leonid Pleshakov. Of course, the work of non-professionals in the cinema is not such a rare phenomenon. But usually these are one-time roles. And Leonid Petrovich, although he was not an actor, managed to act in 12 films. Which is a clear proof of Pleshakov’s talent.

It was the role of the mysterious “biker” that allowed him to get into the general file cabinet, from where they later invited actors corresponding to a certain texture.

And you can’t argue with the texture of Leonid. Lenya was born in 1932 and, in general, was a child of the war. Having received a school certificate, he went to work as a journalist in Komsomolskaya Pravda. Quite quickly managed to gain fame and respect of colleagues in the journalistic environment. You can even call him the king of interviews of that time.

Pleshakov really wanted to interview Nikulin. The well-known illusionist Igor Kio, with whom Leonid had already worked, helped organize the meeting. Somehow, the whole trinity, after solving work issues, went to a restaurant. And then Yuri Vladimirovich, apologizing for the uncomfortable question, asked Leonid if he had hair growing on his chest. The journalist was not taken aback, and, jokingly, unbuttoned his shirt on his chest.

And Nikulin said he was perfect for a bit part in The Diamond Arm. For a 20-second episode, I had to sweat a lot: it was filmed in an underground toilet for 4 hours! The fee and reward for Pleshakov was an interview with the leading actor.

Subsequently, Leonid was invited to shoot several more times. The films were not so famous, but worthy of attention.

How was our colorful biker related to future journalists? For some time he wrote for the Ogonyok magazine, both in the era of the USSR, and now his texts are studied as reference texts by novice journalists and students.