Yuri Nikolaev told how he will celebrate his 75th birthday: “It will be Saturday evening”

On Saturday, December 16, Yuri Nikolaev celebrates his 75th birthday. If on this day the popularly beloved TV presenter diligently listens to all the congratulations, then this process will most likely take a lot of time. The definition of “legend” has recently lost its former significance, because it is awarded in very unexpected cases. And if we are talking about Yuri Alexandrovich, then for millions of viewers he is not a legend, but rather a close person who always gave a good mood from the screen.

The beautiful date of Yuri Nikolaev himself is not that impressive and all the celebrations will be held privately. “I didn’t even think about celebrating this widely,” Yuri Aleksandrovich said in a conversation with MK. — They offered, but I refused. It will be just a Saturday evening, but the company will be decent, friends, colleagues on stage and filming, I hope we will have an interesting time. And of course there will be a lot of congratulations, it’s always nice.”

Congratulations, by the way, began to sound in various television studios a few days before the anniversary. Such programs are filmed in advance, and everyone who is well acquainted with Yuri Nikolaev had the opportunity to show off their eloquence. In Andrei Malakhov’s studio, another TV legend Anna Shatilova recalled what a heartthrob the hero of the day was, and how his wife Eleonora Alexandrovna kept everything under control.

Vladimir Berezin himself can boast of a reputation as a TV veteran, but he calls Nikolaev a teacher from whom he personally never studied, but always perceived his senior colleague as a guru in the profession. The founder of the Zodchie group, Yuri Davydov, recalled how the musicians who appeared on the air of Morning Mail jokingly called Nikolaev “Baikonur,” hinting that this program could be the start of a cosmically successful career.

“I didn’t know about this,” says Yuri Aleksandrovich, laughing, in a conversation with “MK,” “Although I was told that those who took part in “Morning Mail” practically received a certificate for tours and other broadcasts. Such a pass. In general, we started this program quite modestly: a suit, tie, the usual announcer’s version. And then they slowly began to misbehave – making parodies of various programs or films. It’s surprising, but many people, even today, remember the phrase “Yuri Nikolaev works without an understudy” from our parody of “White Sun of the Desert.” Or the story with the postman Pechkin, where we combined cartoon characters and the living me. At that time it was very brave.”

“Morning Mail” can be called the first program in which what would later be called a video clip appeared. They often came up with very ironic video sketches for the songs, but filming the program, which seemed to consist of light musical and entertainment stories, could take the whole week until the Sunday broadcast.

“The filming was quite long. Especially if everything happened outdoors and you had to wait for the sun, for example. We spent about a week of filming on one show. There was a period when I simply didn’t know what a day off was, I worked hard all the time, but got great pleasure from it,” recalls Yuri Nikolaev.

Willingly or unwittingly, Yuri Aleksandrovich greatly influenced the local music industry, discovering and making many artists popular, first in “Morning Mail”, and then in “Morning Star”, where children from all over the USSR performed. The program began to appear during perestroika and Nikolaev managed to create a product that meets the new times.

“We filmed the first program at the end of 89 and I wanted to do something unrealistically beautiful. So that the stage is theatrical, the scenery is movable, so that the participants come out not from one backstage, but from the most unexpected places. In general, there were a lot of innovations,” says the birthday boy. — In “Morning Star” everything was honest: no soundtrack, everyone sang only live. It’s funny that I didn’t intend this program to be a competition. The competition there was a plot outline, so that the audience would worry about someone and write letters. And they wrote. Our small room in Ostankino was littered with cassettes and photographs of potential participants. I once read that losing a child in a competition traumatizes his psyche. But I still believe that if a child at seven years old, having lost in a competition, does not want to study music anymore, then it is none of his business. And it’s good if everything happens at seven years old, and not at thirty-seven, when it’s too late to change anything.”

Nikolaev himself came to television as a certified actor with theatrical experience. This happened in 1975 and since then Yuri Aleksandrovich has impressed the audience with probably every one of his programs. From celebrity interviews at home to large production projects. The success of a TV presenter often depends on a set of circumstances, but the experience of Yuri Nikolaev allows us to formulate fairly simple rules that can help in a career where he has reached enviable heights.

“There are many accidents in the profession of a TV presenter,” Yuri Nikolaev is sure. “Sometimes completely unexpected offers come in. And what matters here is whether you are ready for them. You need to be prepared, understand what you did in your previous programs in order to continue your line in the new project. The main thing is to find a common language with the viewer. If you find it, never putting yourself above the people you work for, then everything will work out. I wasn’t afraid to be funny and did my best to not look too serious. And my little jokes turned out to be close to the audience.”

“MK” sincerely congratulates its beloved TV presenter on his birthday!