Stars All about the life of the first clown of the USSR, Irina Asmusova, who died in the circus arena

Children of the seventies could not imagine their day off without “ABVGDeyk” with their favorite clowns. Of course, Iriska was the sweetest of the boys and girls. Irina Asmus was a real Soviet celebrity. The children adored her and obeyed without question.

Irina Asmus was born on April 28, 1941 in Leningrad. Despite the fact that the girl’s childhood fell on the war and post-war years, she had a big dream and aspired to become an artist. At the end of school, Irina established herself as an actress, singer and circus artist, so she had to choose.

The girl entered the Choreographic School of the Bolshoi Theater, but there she was warned that she could not become a prima due to her short stature. And then she decided in favor of the State School of Circus and Variety Arts.

During the years of study, Asmus mastered several disciplines: acrobatics, walking on a rope or wire, tricks on a motorcycle, balancing (acrobatic exercises without losing balance in the most unstable body positions). Irina settled on the second and at the age of 19 began working in tandem with Leonid Kostyuk.

Together, they rehearsed a dangerous number: Irina, as a top tightrope walker, climbed a perch (a pole 2 to 10 meters long) under the very dome of the circus and performed various stunts at a height. Unfortunately, one of the trainings ended badly: Asmus fell from a height and seriously injured her head. And the doctors forbade her to walk the tightrope forever.

Irina was sure that this was the end of her circus career, and then she entered the drama studio at the Leningrad Youth Theater. Right to the second course.

There, Asmus met her first husband, actor Alexander Khochinsky. The lovers got married within 2 months of meeting, but unfortunately broke up just as quickly. Perhaps Irina’s second husband, about whom no one knows anything, became the couple’s lover.

In the Youth Theatre, Asmus mainly played children, which she was terribly tired of at a certain point. Fortunately, she was noticed by the Komissarzhevskaya Theater, where she moved.

After several games, the talented artist was invited to the cinema. And there, on the crest of a wave, Asmus got married for the third time: the 27-year-old girl said “yes” to the artist Mikhail Sychev. The couple raised a son Andrei together, but only in 2015 it became clear that Irina gave birth to a boy from her second husband.

Irina was successful both in the theater and in the cinema, but she was attracted to the circus. And then she began to occasionally perform in the arena on days off from work. She mainly played the pioneer Volka ibn Alyosha from “Old Man Hottabych”, the boastful Dunn or the old woman Shapoklyak. At the same time, the nickname – Toffee – stuck to her. As a result, she made it her stage name and… remained in the circus forever, never being able to leave this colorful world.

stay stay And I didn’t know what to do. Tightrope walker Vladimir Volzhansky offered Asmus to try out as a clown, although in those years they were only men. The idea of ​​being the first attracted Irina and she decided to try. The prank was successful: Asmus became the first Soviet clown, who was literally loved from the first performances.

The love of the whole USSR came to Asmus at the age of 37. In the seventies, the children’s educational program “ABVGDeika” appeared, the main characters of which were the clowns Iriska and Klepa. The transfer was a hit. In these years, Shabolovka received a record number of letters – about two million. Can you imagine?

Unfortunately, a few years later, in 1985, the 44-year-old artist was replaced and the audience was told that Iriska “grew up, learned and left”.

After leaving television, Asmus returned to the theater. She planned to retire in April 1986, when she was 45 (the retirement age for circus performers). Irina wanted to devote all her time to her 19-year-old son, who was a drug addict.

In order to get a decent pension and pay for her son’s treatment, Asmus resorted to the most dangerous tricks. “The old lady on the screen” was just one of them.

On March 15, 1986, Irina arrived on tour in Gomel, Belarus (where her son was currently serving, so they had time to see each other). The famous Iriska performed the same number “The old woman on the screen”. The artist soared under the dome, then flipped the noose from her neck to her leg and… unzipped the fuse because it was getting in the way of the trick. Asmus began to spin and then suddenly fell like a stone into the arena from a height of 12 meters.

The artist was immediately taken backstage, and people did not have time to understand anything. Unfortunately, Irina could not be saved: the doctors who arrived only pronounced her dead.

“I was against Ira performing the ‘Old Woman on the Screen’ number.” She was still 44 years old and at this age they don’t climb that high anymore. I am very sorry that I could not persevere in raising my son and discourage him from this addiction. Nevertheless, in order to cure Andrei, Ira decided to perform a deadly trick. And if he had not become addicted to drugs, then she would not have tried to retire early, and maybe she would still be alive today … “admitted the despondent widower.

Irina Asmus was buried at the Bolsheokhtinsky Cemetery in St. Petersburg. After her death, criminal proceedings were opened. During the investigation, two workers were convicted and given suspended sentences.

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