Leonid Marchenko, Honored Artist of Ukraine, Has Died
Leonid Marchenko, an Honored Artist of Ukraine who devoted more than 60 years to the theater, has died at the age of 89. The actor spent most of his career at the Kyiv Academic Theater for Young Audiences in Lypky.
News of Leonid Marchenko’s death broke on August 31. He was one of the theater’s leading figures and performed on its stage for many years.
Honored Artist of Ukraine Leonid Marchenko has died
Leonid Marchenko devoted more than six decades to the stage of the Kyiv Academic Theater for Young Audiences on Lypky and created nearly fifty memorable characters. Audiences truly loved his performances in the plays *The Ignoramus*, *The Tale of Tsar Pea*, *Pippi Longstocking*, and *The Cherry Orchard*. Colleagues remember the artist as an integral part of the history, the living voice, and the soul of the capital’s theater.
The master also left a significant mark on cinema, having been a longtime member of the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine. Audiences remember him well for the iconic films *Only the “Old” Go to Battle*, *Ati-Bati, the Soldiers Marched…*, *The Forest Song*, *The Seagull*, "The Street of Thirteen Poplars," "The Old Fortress," "Yurko’s Dawns," "Oh, Don’t Go, Hrytsko, to the Evening Gathering," and "The Garden of Gethsemane."
Later, the actor also appeared on television in the popular series “Heavenly Relatives,” “The Milkmaid from Khatsapetivka 3,” and “The Sniffer.” In 2009, Leonid Marchenko was awarded the Order of Merit, Third Class, for his significant personal contribution to the development of Ukrainian art.
A farewell ceremony for the distinguished artist will take place on September 2 at the Theater for Young Audiences in Lypky, located at 15/17 Lypka Street in Kyiv. The theater administration will announce the exact time of the memorial service at a later date.
Representatives of the theater community officially announced the artist’s death on Facebook.
