Famous people and relatives said goodbye to Girdvainis: the return of eternal rest on the Artist’s Hill

Yesterday and today, it was possible to say goodbye to the actor on the stage of the Little Theater in Vilnius. S t. Mass for the actor was held on Vilnius Street. Joseph’s Church, Pilaitė. The urn was removed from the theater at 2 p.m.

The actor is buried in Vilnius Antakalnis Hill Artists Cemetery, many art representatives gathered here to bid him farewell.

Actor G. Girdvainis has been on stage for over 50 years. Theater and film actors used to meet in the small state theater in Vilnius. According to the creator, the highest peak an actor can reach on stage is to touch tears with the viewer laughing.

“Theater is for me, everything has been and will continue to be. That conversation with the viewer: you feel their breath, you see their experiences, you feel everything. You no longer have to try to persuade in the tenth row or on the balcony where you are sitting. You immediately feel like the room is shaking, ”said actor G. Girdvainis earlier.

The actor created characters in both film and theater. Memorable roles in performances such as “Smile to Us, Lord”, “Auditor”, “Three Sisters”, “Masquerade”, the audience still remembers the actor embodied in the actor Arūnas Žebriūnas in the movie “Devil’s Bride”. For so many creative years, the actor felt he had discovered a formula for a good performance.

Quiet and closed in life, but witty and temperamental in his roles. Both theater and film audiences were fond of laconic humor, often referred to as a lyrical comedian. Having created several dozen movie characters during his lifetime, awarded the Grand Order Officer’s Cross of Vytauts the Great, G. Girdvainis has recently rejoiced in theatrical roles and episodic performances in television series.

In 2014, the actor received the badge of honor from the Ministry of Culture “Bring your light” at the National Drama Theater.

Friends and colleagues say the actor, who liked to spend more time at home, was weird. On stage, the artist seemed extremely open, and in life, on the contrary, he was extremely closed.

“It just came to our attention then. He never let go of me so much that I got up, hugged you, everything was so good. Girdvainis has always had that wall,” says author screenwriter Bronius Buška.

Gediminas Girdvainis is well known to the public for the role of the Jogaila railway in the series “Familiares”. Originally it was planned that the railroad Jogaila would appear in the Familiars only once to save Urna from the running train.

“They held on to Urna a lot. We only took it for the episode. Who are you Surn says I am Blinda. And you see what a famous surname. I am Jagiellonian. My last name is also famous. I wrote this nonsense and then he and that railroad loved him very much, “says B. Buška.

Girdvainis portrayed the role in such a way that the series’ creation team decided to create a permanent role for Jogaila in “Kiminės”.

The actor, awarded with the Order of Vitautas the Great, will be shielded in the Small Theater this Saturday. On Tuesday, her urn will be taken to the Antakalnis Cemetery.

Actress Larisa Kalpokaitė along with her husband, as well as actor Jonas Braškis, still cannot believe the news that G. Girdvainis has died.

“I understand everything there is in the age, but somehow we do not believe in a man, there is no way to simply believe that it happened because at least we seemed healthy, strong, talented and hardworking. After this minute, there is so much sympathy, news , photos on social media and I can’t believe it … “- L. Kalpokaitė found it difficult to collect words a few days ago.

She says she hasn’t seen Girdvainis in a long time due to the quarantine, but she perfectly remembers their last encounter and has no doubt that the theater would be different without him:

“The last time I saw him was in Martí’s winter. Then we saw that performance and for me he was the best acting actor. He was the best character. That was how it came out.

Now there is no end to me. Immediately I began to count in my mind how many presentations, how many presentations, this is practically a third of the repertoire: the Gediminas presentations ”.

L. Kalpokaitė remembers that Girdvainis always indulged in roles, never forgave his strength, therefore no one thought that something could be wrong with him:

“I remember very well when I was 50 years old. It seems like a pretty solid age for a person, in the middle of life, he played ‘Smile, Sir’ and he got on those boards. Lipo lipo, there was his monologue that I want to fly, I want to be a tree It went high and then went down.

And I looked at it this way, I thought: God, how much physical strength does a person have to get up and down so fast, without any protection, without anything. That’s what I thought was really very strong and healthy. Such an impression was that he looks outwardly healthy, but it happens … “.

The actress recalls that there was a time when she interacted very closely with Girdvain, because she had many tours together. She confidently says that Lithuania has lost one of the best actors.

“He was a Samogitian, always the same to himself. He had an innate sense of stage truth: it’s a rare feature, not all actors have it. He could never pretend to be on stage, he didn’t get away with it organically, so I think one of the best Lithuanian actors left ”, L. Kalpokaitė sighs strongly.

Actress Ilona Balsytė tells tv3.lt portal that Girdvainis was not only a great actor, but also a person, who is in units throughout life.

“He just caught our eye then. Personally, it hurts a lot, he was a very expensive actor in a professional sense, in fact, he is an amazing actor. Not everyone is born as a person: as kind as a person and as professional in his field, “says the actress with sensitivity.

She adds that Girdvainis was a little timeless and could still surprise and delight the audience with her work.

“It’s a shame because I could still really create. Sometimes, for some people, age doesn’t seem to apply. Definitely Gediminas of those people who seemed destined to live and create forever. It’s still very difficult to understand,” says I. Balsytė .

Film and television actress Gražina Baikštytė told news portal tv3.lt that she had to meet G. Girdvainis at various filming sites or film festivals. The actor was very fond of not only Lithuanian but also foreign film directors for his dominance.

“I had to film with Gediminas. It may not be known in Lithuania, but it was popular with film studios in other countries. For example, many films have been made in Latvia and Estonia. He filmed especially in the Ukrainian film studio. There We both filmed in the movie “Ferfax Millions” where Budraitis and I were the top millionaires, and Gediminas played a foreign cop.

What I mean is that he really liked other film studios and the directors invited him. If you star in a movie, you can see it in others, they were not unique roles. Maybe they weren’t important, but he was an actor of character, flexible, so I’m not surprised that the directors loved him so much.

Because we filmed together in film studios and festivals in the fraternal republics too. I met him and sometimes not even in Lithuania. Not to mention that there was an active life in the cinema in Lithuania, completely different from now, there were cinema days and we, the actors, traveled through Lithuania, to present films around the cities and to do creative evenings. Not to mention, I saw the performances. Especially Tumin. Those performances impressed me a lot, ”she says.

The actress learned of her colleague’s death Wednesday night. This news shocked her and she seemed hard to believe. G. Baikštytė says that she and Gervvainis had to discuss their book. Then, it only showed once more that there was much more behind their entertaining masks.

“In 2016, I published the book La vida como teatro. There is also an interview with Gediminas in that book. After that we did a special photo shoot. It was a fun and entertaining photo shoot with Gediminas. It was a warm summer. We walked with Gediminas and talked, and the photographer “caught us”. I have such vivid photos.

Gediminas always gave the impression of being a joker, a joker, an actor of a comic plan. Yes, he knew how to do it right, but he was a very deep actor and like a deep man. Maybe here are all the comedy actors where the hilarious man is really sad inside because his eyes are always sad. So it was with Gediminas: he smiled, but sadness or depth in his eyes.

That’s the way it was in life: it seems fun, but when you start to communicate, you see that everything is much deeper than that fun. He was not a shallow man. Even when I said I wanted to talk to him about a book, he didn’t immediately agree. I had to convince him that it was necessary.

I remember it from the brightest side. We were not those friends who make friends with families and call, but I had to meet him many times and every time he left the impression of a brilliant and deep person. He was a perfunctory artist.

It was very well reflected in Aleksandravičius’s photo, where Girdvainis has a tear in his eye, which will soon be shot. He really was. Today I also have tears in my eyes. It is really hard to believe, and after all, he could live and live. It is too early for him to leave, but it is not we who choose, but who chooses when to go there, ”says G. Baikštytė.