Honoring Andriy Sova: A New Street Name in Odesa
The street Turgeniev in the Peresyp district of Odesa has been renamed in honor of Andriy Sova, a prominent Ukrainian actor and master of artistic expression. This was reported by the press service of the Odesa City Council.
Andriy Sova was born in 1912 in Odesa, in the Moldavanka area. He graduated from the Odesa Theater School in 1938. His first significant role was that of Kotka Hryhorenko in the film "Old Fortress" (1937), where he starred alongside Mark Bernes, who encouraged him with the words: "Spread your wings, Sova, to their full width."
During the filming of the adventure movie "In the Distant Voyage" (1945), Andriy met Ukrainian actor and director Ambrosiy Buchma, who invited him to work at the Kyiv film studio. In Kyiv, he also found love in actress Halyna Zhyrova. The young actors formed a "cheerful and singing brigade," traveling through villages and cities of Ukraine, performing in clubs, blending music, songs, romances and, of course, humor.
Later on, as a philharmonic artist, Andriy Sova intertwined his life with humor. His repertoire expanded. He invented a new stage form in Ukraine, which later became his hallmark - a brisk satirical one-act play. In 1962, Ukrainian director Oleksiy Myshuryn filmed the brilliant comedy "Queen of the Gas Station" at the O. P. Dovzhenko Film Studio in Kyiv. The light-hearted script, fantastic acting, and cheerful mood turned the film into a masterpiece, where the colorful gas station director Panas Petrovych (Andriy Sova) gave master classes in both refueling and table football.
Then followed 16 years of battling a severe illness. However, Sova did not succumb to despair. He wrote memoirs and humorous stories from his life, doing everything with artistry. He passed away on December 11, 1994, in Kyiv at the age of 81.
