What where when the presenter entered the hall. Boris Kryuk: “The first three years of work at What? Where? When?" were an ongoing nightmare
// Photo: Natalia Krasilnikova / PhotoXPress.ru
“Once I went to the Toy House to buy something as a gift for my three-year-old friend. I saw a top with a jumping horse and bought two at once, the second one for myself. I played without leaving home for ten days,” recalls Vladimir Voroshilov, the creator and host of the program, the first broadcast of which took place exactly 43 years ago. It is this top that will fascinate viewers glued to their TV screens in anticipation of an exciting game.
The game was originally a family quiz game in which participants received sets of books as gifts. Over the first few years, the program changed and looked for the format that we are used to seeing - a team of experts fights with a team of viewers, answering questions from viewers. The first team to score six points wins. The creators of the program are confident that its stunning success and enduring relevance is due to the fact that, unlike many other television intellectual games, “What? Where? When?" is a game not for knowledge and erudition, but for intelligence and reasoning skills. One cannot but agree how interesting it is to watch the heated discussion and chain of reasoning of talented experts, while at the same time trying to find the answer yourself.
The name of the TV show host remained a mystery to viewers for a long time. And Vladimir Voroshilov was given the nickname “Incognito from Ostankino” for a long time. Viewers only found out who was hiding behind the menacing voice five years later, when the broadcast ended with the words: “The show was hosted by Vladimir Voroshilov.”
After his death, the presenter’s chair was taken by his successor, Boris Kryuk. It was he, as a 12-year-old boy, who composed the first questions for the experts, and became the first TV viewer to win over the experts. The symbol of the transfer is the eagle owl Fomka - a crystal figure with his image is awarded to the best player in the final games. Later, a new prize was introduced - the Diamond Owl, which is awarded to the best player of the year. The most popular “black box” of Soviet television contained hundreds of different objects: a skull, toilet paper, a wedding dress, a head of cabbage, a bikini swimsuit, a jar of urine, an alarm clock, and a live butterfly.
For several years, the game was a unique program where you could see performances by foreign performers for the first time. Very soon, on September 16, a new season of games for the autumn session begins.
// Photo: Natalia Krasilnikova/PhotoXPress.ru
Remembering past seasons and the brilliant play of experts, it is interesting to know how the fate of the most famous intellectuals, who were watched by millions of viewers from year to year, turned out.
Rovshan Askerov, owner of the Crystal Owl, captain of his own team, recalls that his passion for quizzes appeared in childhood - when he was 14 years old, he wanted to please a girl, and in order to stand out, he created the school game “What? Where? When?". It didn’t work out with the girl, but a love for intellectual games appeared.
Rovshan took part in the game for the first time as an expert in 1998. At that time he was a journalist, a sports commentator. Rovshan admits that the popularity that overtook him was very pleasant to him, but at the same time it disciplined him and kept him on his toes. There was a case when popularity played into one’s hands when it was necessary to interview a famous person.
Currently, Rovshan holds the position of PR director of Baku magazine. But the connoisseur’s main pride is his own intellectual games club “No Fools,” which he opened two years ago with his long-term partner in the connoisseurs’ club, Boris Levin. Games take place every week on Wednesdays and Thursdays. In addition to Moscow, the game takes place in other cities - Sergiev Posad, Sochi, Adler, Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod and Tashkent.
Ilya Novikov, two-time winner of the Crystal Owl, winner of the Diamond Owl, currently continues to successfully practice law. Ilya wanted to become a lawyer and a criminal lawyer since he was 12-13 years old. He remembers how, as a child, he read books about a fictional character, Perry Mason, a practicing Los Angeles lawyer. Playing for him has always been just a hobby, a passion, and not a job.
He says that participation in the program briefly overshadowed him as a lawyer - people perceived Ilya as an expert and a showman. According to Ilya, he is often recognized on the street in Russia and there are people who think that this is what is written in his work book - “expert”. When asked about participating in new seasons, he answers that he has no plans to return in the near future.
Boris Belozerov, the youngest captain of the game, winner of the “Crystal Owl,” this year graduated from the International Institute of Energy Policy and Diplomacy at MGIMO in the field of World Economy and International Energy Cooperation, and is now engaged in conducting various intellectual games as a presenter and author of questions. Will be a participant in the winter series of games.
Let us remind you that participation in the game is not a means of earning money for experts. Only winning viewers receive cash prizes. All experts have a favorite job and participate in the game for the sake of excitement and interest.
On modern domestic television there are very few successful programs that are domestic know-how that have stood the test of time.
I can immediately remember only two - KVN and “What? Where? When?".
It so happened that the main domestic intellectual game arose at a time when KVN was closed. "What? Where? When?" also lived under the threat of disgrace - due to the irreconcilable nature of her creator Vladimir Voroshilov.
Presenter “What? Where? When?" for many years he was the main mystery of USSR television, since he never appeared on camera. This was not a brilliant director’s idea - Voroshilov was in disgrace with his superiors, and he was forbidden to appear in front of the audience. However, he successfully turned the ban to the benefit of his program.
Vladimir Voroshilov was born on December 18, 1930 in Simferopol into a family responsible employee Yakov Kalmanovich and his wife Vera Borisovna, engaged in home-based tailoring. During the war, the Kalmanovich family was sent to evacuation, where Yakov Davidovich supervised the sewing of army uniforms, and Vera Borisovna also worked next to him in production.
In 1943, the Kalmanovichs moved to Moscow, where Vladimir began studying at an art school for gifted children. After graduating from school, Vladimir entered the painting department of the Academy of Arts of the Estonian SSR. The student chose theatrical set design as his specialization, completing his thesis on the topic: “Scenery and costumes for the plays by A. N. Arbuzov “Years of Wandering” and O. Goldsmith “Night of Errors.”
Vladimir Voroshilov with his mother. Photo: Frame youtube.com
Broken ceiling of Lenkom
After finishing his studies in Estonia, Vladimir studied at the Moscow Art Theater School in the staging department. In 1954, he was assigned for a year to East Germany to the theater of a group of Soviet troops, where Vladimir was supposed to do decorations, create a wall newspaper and draw thematic posters.
Here the complex character of the creator began to fully manifest itself. He could afford to leave the theater in the middle of the working day in order to draw German girls in a restaurant. Vladimir did not respond to warnings, and as a result he was fired from the theater, transferring to writing posters and slogans before returning to his homeland.
In the mid-1950s, Vladimir got married, but the marriage did not last long. The young man's main acquisition was the name of his wife, under which he became famous - Voroshilov.
Since 1955, Voroshilov worked as a production designer at the Maly Theater, at the Moscow Art Theater, at the Operetta Theater, at Sovremennik, at the Malaya Bronnaya Theater, at the Taganka Theater, at Lenkom and the Youth Theater. He was considered a fashionable and innovative artist, whom venerable directors considered it an honor to invite.
In the 1960s, a brilliant theatrical career ended after several scandals. The loudest was his dismissal from Lenkom, where, while working on one of the performances, Voroshilov, without blinking an eye, broke the ceiling that was in his way.
Having stopped working in theaters, Vladimir Voroshilov entered the Higher Directing Courses under the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR.
Success and disgrace of the “Auction”
In 1966, Voroshilov was invited to appear on television. In the early years, he was involved in filming scientific and educational programs and documentaries. Having earned a positive reputation, he received the right to create his own program.
He created “Auction” - the first advertising and gaming program in the history of Soviet television. Its participants answered live questions regarding various products, from televisions to tea, and the winner of the game received a prize.
“Auction” was completely unlike anything that had previously aired in the USSR, and was wildly popular. As Voroshilov’s friend recalled, television director and producer Anatoly Lysenko, “in one day after its transfer, the “Auction” sold a year’s worth of goods.”
But the popular program was aired only six times before it was canceled. The management was openly frightened by her “non-Soviet” style, and Voroshilov met all the bosses’ claims with hostility. As a result, he himself was banned from appearing on camera, but was allowed to continue working as a screenwriter and director. However, his last name most often did not appear in the credits.
In the early 1970s, he came up with the television competition game “Come on, guys!”, but this program did not last long on the air. This time the cause was an accident on the set. Later the program was resumed, but without Voroshilov’s participation.
Director and presenter of the television club “What? Where? When?" Vladimir Voroshilov is preparing another game. 1985 Photo: RIA Novosti / G. Kazarinov
From “Family Quiz” to “Connoisseurs Club”
Despite everything, Voroshilov did not give up, continuing to search and try. On September 4, 1975, a new game program called "Family Quiz" was aired. Two families played against each other. The game consisted of two rounds, filmed at the home of each family. There was no presenter; the two stories were connected in editing using photographs from a family album. Participants had to answer questions from members of the other team using books located in the house. It was also not forbidden to call friends. Time was given to answer not every question, but all questions at once.
After the program aired, Voroshilov was dissatisfied with the result. In 1976, it changed radically - now it was the television youth club “What? Where? When?". Students from Moscow State University took part in the game. At the same time, an invariable attribute of transmission appeared - the top. “Once I went to the Toy House to buy something as a gift for my three-year-old friend. I saw a top with a jumping horse and bought two at once, the second one for myself. I played without leaving home for ten days,” Voroshilov recalled.
There were no teams in the club - everyone played for themselves. The arrow of the top pointed not to the letters from viewers, but to one of the participants who had to answer the question, and immediately, without preparation. Answered the question - get a prize - a book. Answer seven questions and receive the main prize - a set of books. In 1976, only one game took place, the host of which was Alexander Maslyakov.
And this format also did not suit Voroshilov, despite the fact that viewers were interested in the program. In 1977, in “What? Where? When” teams of six people appeared and answered the question after a minute of brainstorming. Now the arrow of the top pointed to the viewer’s letter, and the presenter in the program appeared as a voice-over.
The program was considered successful, and if in 1977 it was broadcast only once, then in 1978 it was broadcast nine times. In 1979, the players were called “experts” for the first time, and a musical break appeared in the program.
Money instead of books
Over the next few years, “What? Where? When?" became one of the most popular programs on Soviet TV. The battles between experts and television viewers were watched with no less enthusiasm than the matches of the invincible USSR hockey team. The day after the game, the whole country discussed issues, quarreled over their sympathies, and experts turned into real stars, whose popularity was comparable to the popularity of movie actors.
Voroshilov, having achieved success, continued to experiment with the format of the program, sometimes to the displeasure of both the experts themselves and the fans of “What? Where? When?". However, this did not affect the popularity of the program for the worse.
Director and presenter of the television club “What? Where? When?" Vladimir Voroshilov (center) among the club's connoisseurs. Photo: RIA Novosti / G. Kazarinov
In the late 1980s, the sports direction “What?” grew out of the television version. Where? When?”, which also has several varieties. The game, invented by Vladimir Voroshilov, went not only beyond television, but also beyond the country.
At the turn of the era, when the USSR was collapsing, Voroshilov again changed the program - the “intellectual club”, in which books served as prizes, turned into an “intellectual casino”, where the game was played for money. The presenter, who now, albeit infrequently, allowed himself to appear on camera, mercilessly broke traditions - in the mid-1990s, all teams were disbanded, and the players at the table played together, as they say, each in his own pocket, making bets.
This form was quite in the spirit of the 1990s, but many who were accustomed to the classic version could not forgive Voroshilov for bringing money into the game. But we must admit that he succeeded in the main thing - in the new era, the program remained afloat, without dissolving in the stream of licensed programs that filled the airwaves. By the way, Voroshilov was also at the origins of this process - in 1991, the production company Igra-TV, which he created and headed, for the first time in the history of Russian television acquired a program of a foreign format - the British "Love at First Sight", which had long been led Voroshilov's adopted son Boris Kryuk.
Master's Last Game
In 1997, the Academy of Russian Television awarded Vladimir Voroshilov the title of laureate and the TEFI award for the program “What? Where? When?".
At the very end of the 1990s, Voroshilov suddenly started talking about wanting to leave the program or close it completely. To the surprise of his colleagues and attempts to dissuade him, he reacted in his own way - in 2000, the year of the 25th anniversary of the program, he announced that experts would play for the future of “What? Where? When?". According to Voroshilov's terms, if the decisive game is lost by them, he will close the transfer, and if the experts win, then he will submit to their decision.
The decisive game for fate “What? Where? When?" took place on December 30, 2000. The experts won with a score of 6:5.
“Well, I promised to repair it to the experts, but I didn’t say when. We won’t elaborate now—we have a holiday today. It’s not so much my holiday as yours. I lost, so what can you do? You have to be able to lose. It would be nice to have some music playing now. The number 25 will now light up in our yard. And it will be very beautiful. Let’s see,” Voroshilov said on air that day.
Show must go on
Despite the victory, experts recalled that tragedy was literally evident in the entire atmosphere of that program. In the final shots, the experts standing on the porch with Voroshilov wave their hands, while in the empty hall the presenter’s doll extinguishes the candles.
This program really was the last for Vladimir Voroshilov. Less than three months later, on March 10, 2001, he died of a heart attack at his dacha in Peredelkino.
The summer series of games in 2001 was dedicated to the memory of the creator of the program. And again fate “What? Where? When?" was at stake - in order for the program to continue, experts had to win, and viewers had to vote for. The experts won with a score of 6:4, and TV viewers voted as follows: “The game should be” - 74,819 people (91%), “Not be” - 6,678 people (9%).
The new host of the program was Boris Kryuk, who worked with Voroshilov for many years. "What? Where? When?" survived its creator and remains one of the most popular programs to this day. Changes are made to its format, but the main essence remains the same.
Vladimir Yakovlevich Voroshilov was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. In 2003, a monument was unveiled at his grave - a cube made of black polished granite, symbolizing the black box in the game “What? Where? When?". The monument was created according to the design of Nikita Shangin, one of the most popular experts of the 1980s.
Monument at the grave of Vladimir Voroshilov at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Andrei Sdobnikov
Television does not spoil lovers of intellectual games with a variety, so the club "What? Where? When?" a huge army of fans. The program, created by the spouses V. Voroshilov and N. Stetsenko, has been on air since 1975, without losing its popularity among a new generation of viewers. During the game we only hear the voice of the presenter. "What where When?" focuses attention on teams of experts, follows the logic of their reasoning while searching for an answer to the viewers’ question. So who is he, the person commenting on what is happening, but hidden from the camera operators?
A little history
Today, few people know that the first presenter of the program “What? Where? When?” is Alexander Maslyakov. Then the program was completely different from the modern version. Two families competed with each other, and filming took place in each apartment. The program was edited without the participation of the presenter, who appeared only in 1976. The players were MSU students, and the top they installed determined who would answer the next intellectual question. The founder of the game, V. Ya. Voroshilov, who became the host in 1977, was responsible for their selection.
If at first it was an individual game, then from the end of 1977 experts began to form into teams, which were given a minute to discuss. This made the program more spectacular, and it gained a whole army of fans. When the experts began to play against the TV viewers, bags of letters with questions from different parts of the USSR began to arrive at the studio. The game became popular. Vladimir Voroshilov chose a special style of presenting “What? Where? When?” The presenter reads out questions behind the scenes and communicates with the players, remaining in the shadow of what is happening.
Today's day
The proposed form of broadcasting has been preserved to this day. Few people knew what V. Voroshilov looked like, although there was a moment in the history of the TV game when the presenter came to the table. This happened when the top pointed to the “zero” mark four times. Vladimir Yakovlevich became a legend during his lifetime, and his program in 1997 was awarded the Tefi television award. Today she already has five Orpheus statuettes. For 25 years, viewers heard Voroshilov’s pleasant baritone behind the scenes, so after his death in 2001, everyone was worried about the fate of the television project. Who is the presenter of "What? Where? When?" in the 21st century?
Vladimir Yakovlevich prepared his successor during his lifetime. His wife and part-time editor of the program, N. Stetsenko, had a growing son. Boris Kryuk was known as the host of “Love at First Sight,” an entertainment project popular among young people. His co-host was the charming Alla Volkova. As a boy, Boris attended the broadcasts and even gave ideas for new rules for the project. One of them was approved when he was only 12. Later, he directly worked on the program as an editor, assistant director, and dealt with organizational issues.
Who is the presenter of “What? Where? When?”: biography pages
Boris was born in 1966. In 1989, he received the specialty of design engineer after graduating from Moscow State Technical University. Bauman. But his professional activity from the very beginning was connected with television. In the 90s, he already tried himself as a director, directing the Brain Ring program for three years. Today, B. Kryuk works in the management of the television company "Igra-TV", and is the vice-president of the established international association "What? Where? When?" For a long time it has been believed that he is Voroshilov’s adopted son. This is wrong. Boris's parents divorced when he was 4 years old. Natalya Stetsenko married V. Voroshilov, who did a lot to raise his stepson. And most importantly, he conveyed to him the love for his brainchild.
Carier start
In 2001, after the death of Vladimir Yakovlevich, for a long time even the experts themselves did not know who was presenting “What? Where? When?” The cousin of the project founder regularly visited the editorial office. Many believed that he was the one working at the microphone. In fact, this was the position of the program management, which maintained the intrigue. Hook's voice was distorted using computer technology so that he could not be recognized. For about two years, the new presenter was looking for his own style of dialogue with the players. If Voroshilov used a mentoring intonation that excluded objections, then his successor found himself in an ironic form of communication with experts.
After the presenter gained confidence, Hook's identity was revealed. Not only the players, but also television viewers learned about it. His name was printed in the credits of the program; during controversial moments, the presenter appeared on air twice. B. Kryuk himself believes that he found his style two years after participating in the program in a new capacity.
Future successor
According to the rules of the game, the presenter takes on the functions of a judge. In controversial questions, he determines whether or not the answer to the experts will be counted. Sometimes Boris Kryuk is accused of bias, but he treats this with understanding. According to him, the program has been broadcast without recording since 1986, so the players’ emotions often take over. Subsequently, they most often admit that he was right. So, we answered the question about who is the presenter "What? Where? When?" Does he have successors? After all, Voroshilov was preparing his replacement in advance.
To this Hook replies humorously: “I have another 20 years to resolve this issue.” The presenter has four children, none of them became members of the club of experts. But the elder Mikhail already has experience playing a similar game during his student years. Perhaps the dynasty will continue?
On television you don’t often see programs of such a level as the intellectual casino “What? Where? When?” His games have been of constant interest for many decades. But even among intellectuals there are scandals and intrigues.
On March 5, 1950, Boris Oskarovich Burda, bard, connoisseur, and culinary specialist, was born. Among his other hobbies is visiting nudist beaches. Some members of the intellectual club "What? Where? When?" They have an explosive temperament, are distinguished by strange preferences, and sometimes even break the law. Ring gag, bare breasts, strippers, verbal altercations and accusations of rape... We present to your attention the most notorious scandals and intrigues of an intellectual casino.
Boris Burda owes increased media attention to his unusual hobby: going to a nudist beach.
“I was brought to my current beach almost twenty years ago. Then adherents of yoga, Eastern teachings, poets and creative people in general gathered there,” the expert recalled in an interview.
“It was indecent to behave differently from everyone else... Over time, I got so accustomed to the beach that they began to attract me to perform public duties. Sometimes some idiot from the provinces comes to the beach with a video camera. And he starts asking: where is the general, where is Prosecutor, where is Burda?"
Burda also said that at the beginning of his career as an “expert” he was subjected to real discrimination from the presenter. “Unfortunately, from the very beginning Voroshilov tried to pass me off as a person who knows a lot, but is very poor at thinking...
...Once at a press conference he was asked what intelligence is. He said something for a long time, and then suddenly pointed his finger at me and said: “In general, Boris, erudition interferes with intellect.” A year later, there is another press conference... Voroshilov is asked what is the difference between a simply educated person and a player in “What? Where? When?” And the grandfather answers again: the difference is like between Dvinyatin and Burda."
But members of the intellectual club Andrei Kozlov and Rovshan Askerov became famous for their explosive temperaments. One day they got into a verbal altercation right during a television broadcast of the game of the team that won the Crystal Atom prize.
Askerov furiously claimed that he saw Kozlov give a hint to the players at the table, after which, as an answer to the question, a version was given that was not even discussed at the table.
“Mr. presenter, there was a hint and it’s open. I will not remain silent under any circumstances. Mr. Kozlov, everyone else, and even me, saw it when you said the word “books”. It was, have the courage to admit,” said Rovshan Askerov.
The presenter did not see this, since the game managers did not pay attention to it, and therefore could not judge the dispute.
Kozlov called Askerov a scoundrel and compared him to the tiger from the sketch by Gennady Khazanov, who was not reported to. “And I won’t be silent here either. Rovshan, you’re a scoundrel. What can I do, you’re a scoundrel. Rovshan is just jealous that the guys are playing and he’s not. Rovshan, I won’t talk to you anymore,” Kozlov said.
Shortly before this, Askerov had a row with Alexander Druz, the most recognizable “expert”. The stumbling block in this conflict was the tomato, the question about which Askerov’s team answered.
The players were given two salads - fruit and vegetable - and a tomato. They were asked to explain how British journalist Miles Kington used these dishes to explain the difference between knowledge and wisdom.
The presenter considered Alena Blinova’s answer incorrect, but still awarded the team a point. Many experts present were outraged by this decision.
The friend even stated that Askerov, who came to Blinova’s defense, had lost his reputation in front of millions of viewers, to which he retorted: “A friend can go to hell!”
“I don’t care at all about the opinion of Master Alexander Abramovich Druz regarding my reputation, because my opinion regarding his reputation is that he has no reputation at all. So what? I don’t care at all! The person who changed the answer for the sake of a point has no right to me say nothing at all. I saw their opinion in the grave!” - he said.
Askerov had a conflict with Maxim Potashev last year, but not during the game, but on Facebook. Rovshan posted a post in which he expressed his displeasure that the program “What? Where? When?” not broadcast live.
At the same time, the “expert” addressed his claims to Maxim Potashev, to which the latter hastened to respond in the comments.
Maxim did not mince words.
Team captain Alena Povysheva attracted everyone's attention not with her scandalous behavior, but with her original decoration.
Alena appeared on the show wearing a leather jewelry reminiscent of a gag ring for BDSM.
Internet users found similar accessories in sex shops. In BDSM, they are put on the head, and the ring is placed in the mouth to prevent the jaw from closing.
A lot of memes and comments about this appeared on the network: “Alena Povysheva was in such a hurry to the game “What? Where? When?" that I didn’t have time to take off my BDSM choker."
Another scandal erupted around the political views of the player Ilya Novikov, a lawyer involved in the case of Nadezhda Savchenko.
The host and producer of the show, Boris Kryuk, in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets, said that the player had to make a choice in this case.
“For all my good attitude towards Ilya, he had to first choose what is more important for him – the Club or a political career, and then deal with Savchenko. Understand, if you defend Savchenko and you are a “ChGK” player, then that means “ChGK” - also for Savchenko. “ChGK” is outside politics. And if you decide to engage in politics, you need to say: thank you, I will do this,” Kryuk commented.
After this conflict, Novikov really did not participate in the spring series of games, but this was explained by the fact that he did not have the opportunity.
Singer Ani Lorak, who represented Ukraine at Eurovision in 2008, also performed in front of “experts” during a break in the program.
The performance was not without embarrassment: Anya’s lush breasts jumped out of her tight dress, which pleased both the audience and the players of the “What? Where? When?” club.
In another episode of "What? Where? When?" a couple of dancers performed a candid dance to Serge Gainsbourg’s hit “Je t’aime… moi non plus” in front of connoisseurs.
Moreover, the brave dancers had to perform the number at a temperature of almost -20°C, which can be seen from the steam emanating from the stripper’s mouth
When the “musical break” was close to completion, the girl exposed her breasts in front of the unsuspecting “experts.”
The intellectual club players demonstrated a variety of reactions.
In 2007, the court sentenced the player "What? Where? When?" Georgiy Zharkov to 4.5 years of suspended imprisonment.
According to the prosecution, Zharkov raped a 19-year-old resident of Nizhny Novgorod, who suffered from mental retardation.
The “expert” met a guy looking for an overnight stay at the Vladimirsky station and invited him to his apartment.
There, Georgy kept the guy locked up for several days, forcing him to have oral sex.
In the end, the young man managed to escape through the balcony of the tenth floor, making a rope out of clothes and bed linen, but fell around the fifth. Fortunately, he did not suffer any serious injuries from the fall.
Georgy Zharkov himself never admitted his guilt. On February 28, 2016, the “expert” died after an illness.
In the 90s, in addition to "What? Where? When?" the same “experts” participated in another similar show called “Brain Ring”.
It was in one of the episodes of the program that the emotional Rovshan Askerov truly lost his temper for the first time when the presenter counted his essentially correct answers as incorrect.
Askerov literally “barked” at Andrei Kozlov, and young Anatoly Wasserman also came under his arm.
At the same time, a certain magnificent lady from the team tried to stop him with Askerov’s kisses. It was after this release that it became clear to everyone that it was better not to mess with Rovshan.
But the legendary presenter "What? Where? When?" In the 70s, Vladimir Voroshilov hosted a program called “Auction,” in which Soviet goods were “promoted.”
In one of the episodes, the Minister of the Fishing Industry Ishkov personally rolled an amber necklace into a tin of crabs and promised that tomorrow this can would appear on one of the shelves.
All the canned crab was sold out the next morning, but the then guardian of morality, Mikhail Suslov, was outraged by this episode: the program was closed, and Voroshilov was fired, forbidden to appear on television for a long time.
In a year it will be 40 years since the creation of the legendary program. This intellectual TV game made famous many residents of Russia and the CIS countries. It was invented by Vladimir Voroshilov and Natalia Stetsenko.
September 4, 1975 is officially considered the birthday of the game “What? Where? When?". On this day, the “Family Quiz “What?” was aired for the first time. Where? When?". Two teams took part in the program - the Ivanov family and the Kuznetsov family from Moscow.
P. I. Tchaikovsky (Queen of Spades) - Aria: “What is our life? A game!" (Hermann)
The program was filmed in parts - first visiting one family, and then visiting another. Each team was asked 11 questions. The two stories were combined into one using photographs from the family albums of the Ivanovs and Kuznetsovs. 1 program was aired.
In 1976, the game “What? Where? When?" has already changed a lot and received the name “television youth club”. True, the first release of the game was led not by Vladimir Voroshilov, but by Alexander Maslyakov, who later revived the KVN project.
The first players were MSU students, who talked loudly and smoked while discussing the issue; there was no minute limit; everyone played for themselves, and not in a team.
Students from several faculties of Moscow State University took part in the recording of the 1976 program. In 1976, a top appeared in the game. There had not yet been a minute of discussion. Participants in the game answered questions immediately, without preparation. Each participant played for himself.
The arrow of the top chose the person who would answer the viewer’s question. In the 70s and 80s, the prizes in the game were books. The book prizes were presented by Tamara Vladimirovna Vishnyakova, a member of the Presidium of the All-Union Society of Book Lovers. Answered the question - get a prize - a book. Answer seven questions and receive the main prize - a set of books.
Richard Strauss - Also sprach Zarathustra (Start of the game)
The first questions were invented by V. Voroshilov himself and the program’s editorial team, since the “team of TV viewers” did not yet exist, and later, when the game became popular, they began to accept questions from TV viewers.
It is known that bags of letters arrived every day, each of which had to be answered, the best questions selected, the accuracy of the facts presented checked, edited, prepared, if necessary, the necessary items.
The players' answers were evaluated by members of the honorary jury - academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences O.V. Baroyan, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences V.O. Goldansky, writer D.S. Danin. On December 24, 1977, the game finally took its final form: a spinning top showing a question and a one-minute time limit for discussing the question.
In 1977, its first symbol, Fomka the Owl, appeared in the game. For more than 20 years, the program's director of photography was Alexander Fuks.
In the same year, the broadcast was moved behind the scenes. Among the new voice-over presenters were Vladimir Voroshilov and employees of the youth editorial office of the Central Television, journalists Andrei Menshikov and Svetlana Berdnikova, as well as geologist Zoya Arapova.
Vladimir Voroshilov was the main presenter of the game, the other voices played a supporting role - they voiced letters from viewers. Incredible facts about famous things.
James Last - Ra-ta-ta (Black Box)
Who was broadcasting the program “on the other side of the screen” remained a mystery to TV viewers for a long time. And Vladimir Voroshilov’s “nickname” “Incognito from Ostankino” was firmly established. The name of the game host will be heard for the first time on April 23, 1980, when the broadcast ends with the words: “The broadcast was hosted by Vladimir Voroshilov.”
Dixieland Albert Melkonov - Wild Horse (Volchyok)
In 1977, for the first time, the spinning top pointed to viewers' letters rather than to the responding player. A minute of discussion appears in the game. Each correct answer brings a prize-book to the general fund of the game participants. If the club members lost the question, the entire six players changed.
In 1977, the club began a tradition of awarding a prize to a TV viewer for the best question.
Initially, there was no special name for players, but in 1979 the term “adept” appeared. Now this word has become familiar to describe the participants in the game, and the club is called the “club of experts.”
For several years, the game “What? Where? When?" was one of the few programs on Soviet television where you could see clips of popular foreign performers.
In 1982, the form of the game was finally determined. A new rule has been introduced: the game continues until six points. Until this moment, the score of the game was always different - as many questions were asked as the timing allowed. The field is the presenter’s “trademark” phrase: “The score is 0:0. TV viewers versus experts. First round."
Since 1990, all games of the elite television club “What? Where? When?" take place in the Hunting Lodge in Neskuchny Garden.
On December 30, 2000, Vladimir Yakovlevich Voroshilov played his last game. On March 10, 2001, Vladimir Yakovlevich passed away. The 2001 Summer Series was dedicated to his memory.
Program “What? Where? When?" has been awarded the TEFI television award more than once: in 1997 in the Entertainment Program category; in 2001 in the “Television Game” category, and its author and first presenter Vladimir Voroshilov was posthumously awarded the prize “For personal contribution to the development of domestic television”, the prize “Best Operator”, also posthumously, was awarded to Alexander Fuchs.
