Leonid Marchenko, a People's Artist of Ukraine and an outstanding theater and film actor, has died in Kyiv at the age of 88. This is reported by Wave RBC.UA, citing the official Facebook page of the Lyptsi Young Audience Theatre. The cause of the actor's death was not disclosed publicly.

Farewell and the Theatre's Remembrance

The farewell to Leonid Marchenko will take place on September 2 at the Lyptsi Young Audience Theatre in Kyiv. The company emphasized that the actor was "part of our theatre's history. Part of its memory, its voice, its stage." For hundreds of viewers and colleagues, his passing marks the loss of an entire era, tied to one of the most recognizable stage voices in Ukrainian theater.

Stage Career: More Than 60 Years on Lyptsi

More than six decades of Leonid Marchenko's professional life were inextricably linked to the Lyptsi Young Audience Theatre. On its stage, the artist created around 50 roles, including parts in the productions 'Pippi Longstocking,' 'The Cherry Orchard,' 'The Simpleton,' and 'The Tale of Tsar Gorokh.' Such a long and fruitful association with a single theatre has become a rare example of devotion to the stage in contemporary theatrical practice.

Cinema: From 'The Old Guard' to TV Series

The general audience remembers Leonid Marchenko above all for the role of Petya Savchuk in Leonid Bykov's cult film 'The Old Guard.' In addition, the actor appeared in the films 'Aty-Baty, Soldiers Were Marching...,' 'Forest Song,' 'Seagull of the Sea,' 'Gethsemane Garden,' and later in the TV series 'Celestial Relatives' and 'The Sniffer.' According to the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine, his filmography includes 58 created roles across 58 film projects.

Biography and Recognition

Leonid Marchenko was born on January 16, 1938, in Kyiv. He graduated from the acting department of the theater studio at the Ivan Franko Theatre, and then from the theater studies faculty of the Kyiv State Institute of Theatrical Art named after Ivan Karpenko-Kary. In 1992 he was awarded the title of People's Artist of Ukraine, and in 2009 the actor was honored with the Order 'For Merit,' Third Class.