Oleg Frish is a Russian entertainer, singer, actor, television and radio personality, journalist, music historian, and is the Owner of New Age Media. Oleg was born in
Zaporizhia
Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a populatio ...
,
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
into a family of musicians. His mother, Svetlana Frish, is a pianist and his father, Eugeny Frish, was longtime head of the children’s choir and an important member of the artistic community.
Life and career in Russia
At the age of 16, Oleg entered Tver State University
and also went into entertainment. Among his first jobs, was that of a "singing psychic." As part of his act, he would guess what songs people in the audience were thinking about, and then he would sing them. In 1980, his "musical mind reading" skills lead to national recognition and in 1985 he received accreditation from one of the Soviet Union’s top cultural institutions, the
Ministry of Culture of the USSR.
Oleg Frish sings in 24 different languages including
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
,
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
,
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
,
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
and
Yugoslavian.
In 1978, he moved to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
, where from 1978 to 1992 he was the writer for Soviet Variety and Circus magazine, a prominent performing arts magazine that covered the fields of music, variety and circus. He wrote such compositions including: ''The world in three minutes'', ''A wonderful gift'', ''"Psychological Experiments" - what is it? Art or trash?'', ''Somewhere in this world'', ''I can see how the planet spins'', ''In a country which calls upon the distance'', and ''We recorded time period''.
In 1984, he earned induction into the Soviet branch of the
International Brotherhood of Magicians
International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) is an organization for both professional and amateur close-up and stage magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St. Charles, Missouri. There are over 300 ...
.
In 1989, he earned a degree in the History of Variety and Cultural Arts from The National Research Institute of Arts Studies and developed an interest in promoting Russian "stars of the past". He then toured domestically and internationally, lecturing on show biz history to students and the general public, and gained a reputation as an expert in this area of study.
In 2000 and in 2004, he was officially recognized in the All-Russian Encyclopedia of Variety, which dedicated an article to his accomplishments for his work as historian and lecturer throughout Russia.
Career in USA
In 1992, as the
Cold War barriers were eased, Oleg Frish decided to move to the
New York area, because at that time
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
was by far the biggest metropolitan entry point for Russian-speaking
émigrés, especially
Brighton Beach
Brighton Beach is a neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach is bounded by Coney Island proper at Ocean Parkway to the ...
,
Staten Island and
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
In 1996, he became writer and host of the radio series "Walking The Streets of Moscow" for WMNB in
Fort Lee, NJ, interviewing a wide variety of Russian-born entertainers including such Russian notables as
Tatiana Samoilova
Tatiana Yevgenyevna Samoilova (russian: link=no, Татья́на Евге́ньевна Само́йлова; 4 May 1934 – 4 May 2014) was a Soviet and Russian film actress best known for her lead role in ''The Cranes Are Flying'' (1957). She ...
,
Elena Kamburova,
Alla Pugacheva
Alla Borisovna Pugacheva, ) (born 15 April 1949), is а Soviet and Russian musical performer. Her career started in 1965 and continues to this day, even though she has retired from performing. For her "clear mezzo-soprano and a full display o ...
,
Iosif Kobzon,
Irina Ponarovskaya,
Tamara Miansarova
Tamara Grigoryevna Miansarova (née Remnyova, russian: Тамара Григорьевна Миансарова, links=no; 5 March 1931 – 12 July 2017) was a Soviet Ukrainian lyric soprano, pop singer and professor of Russian Academy of Theatre ...
,
Natalya Varley
Natalya Varley (russian: Наталья Владимировна Варлей, born 22 June 1947) is a Soviet and Russian film and theater actress, who became famous in 1966 for her part in the comedy ''Kidnapping, Caucasian Style''. In 1989 she ...
,
Natalia Kustinskaya and many others who are celebrities for the Russian-American community. He also interviewed American singers, musicians and actors on The People’s Wave Radio 930AM in New York.
In 2002, NTV America, the leading Russian-language television channel, which combines the programming content of its sister network
NTV Russia
NTV (Cyrillic: НТВ) is a Russian free-to-air television channel that was launched as a subsidiary of Vladimir Gusinsky's company . Since 14 April 2001 Gazprom Media controls the network. NTV has no official meaning according to Igor Malash ...
and original local programs from America, began broadcasting in Fort Lee, NJ.
In 2005, Oleg Frish became the Executive Producer of "Time Out", a Russian-language weekly television news and entertainment program that broadcast their first episode on May 15, 2005, on NTV America. In 2006, Oleg Frish also became the show’s host.
''TIME OUT'' - Oleg Frish was the Executive Producer and the Host of 121 episodes broadcast from 2005 to 2010 on NTV – a leading Russian TV Channel with headquarters in the US, broadcasting to 19 countries and reaching millions of people including the five million Russians living in the US. The program reviewed a variety of different topics including music business, pop-culture facts, interesting activities and unique locations, celebrity news and interviews and offered reviews of new releases of CDs, DVDs, upcoming movies and concert tours. Such celebrities as
B.B. King
Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...
,
James Brown,
Whoopi Goldberg
Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...
,
Claudia Schiffer
Claudia Maria Schiffer (; born 25 August 1970) is a German model and actress based in the United Kingdom. She rose to fame in the 1990s as one of the world's most successful models, attaining supermodel status. In her early career, she was compa ...
,
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including " Diana", " Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and "(You're) Having My Baby". Anka also ...
,
Connie Francis
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937),
known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...
,
Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...
, composers
John Kander
John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...
,
Jerry Herman
Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre.
One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricist ...
and
Johnny Mandel
John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925June 29, 2020) was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. The musicians he worked with include Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Benn ...
,
Vikki Carr
Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than four decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has p ...
,
Petula Clark
Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades.
Clark's professional career began during the ...
,
Yma Sumac
Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo (September 13, 1922 (birth certificate) or September 10, 1922 (later documents) – November 1, 2008), known professionally as Yma Sumac (), was a Peruvian-American coloratura soprano. She was one ...
,
Shirley Jones
Shirley Mae Jones (born March 31, 1934) is an American actress and singer. In her six decades in show business, she has starred as wholesome characters in a number of musical films, such as '' Oklahoma!'' (1955), ''Carousel'' (1956), and ''The M ...
,
Keely Smith,
Anita O'Day
Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band app ...
,
Gloria Gaynor,
Engelbert Humperdinck,
Donna Summer and many others appeared on the show's 360+ segments.
Oleg Frish had the honor of interviewing the legendary
James Brown on Time Out episode#34 that aired on August 27, 2006, just 4 months prior to James Brown's death on December 25, 2006.
James Brown quoted: ''"Oleg remembers the songs I did, but I’ve forgotten a long time ago".''
Oleg currently hosts "Standard Time" Saturdays from 5:00-6:00PM on WNYM-970AM in Metropolitan New York.
2016 marks the twentieth anniversary of Oleg's status as a television personality in the United States.
Recordings
Oleg Frish's first album "Hello from Brighton" was recorded in 1991 and released in Moscow. In 1998, "Strange Love", the second album, was released in New York.
In 2010, Oleg recorded his first English-language album "Bring Me Sunshine", as his tribute to "
The Great American Songbook". The album has Oleg’s vocals and arrangements by a
big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...
leader
Patrick Williams (a late period
Frank Sinatra recording associate) and
sound engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...
ing by
Al Schmitt
Albert Harry Schmitt (April 17, 1930 – April 26, 2021) was an American recording engineer and record producer. He won twenty Grammy Awards for his work with Henry Mancini, Steely Dan, George Benson, Toto, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones, and other ...
, whose 60-year career yielded 150 gold and platinum albums, 20
Grammy awards and who also recorded
Ol' Blue Eyes. "Bring Me Sunshine" was produced at the legendary
Capitol Records studios in
Hollywood, CA
Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...
.
Songwriter, Charles Strouse
Charles Strouse (born June 7, 1928) is an American composer and lyricist best known for writing the music to such Broadway musicals as '' Bye Bye Birdie'', ''Applause'', and '' Annie''.
Life and career
Strouse was born in New York City, to Jewis ...
quoted: ''"The Great American Songbook, to which I am proud to be a contributor, is one of our greatest cultural exports, Oleg is a living example of what an impact this export has had. Far, far away, in the old Soviet Union where he grew up, he heard these songs and fell in love. It took him a while to record them but I know it's been one of his lifelong dreams."''
In 2014, Oleg finished the recording of his new CD "Oleg Frish and His American Idols", a set of duets with iconic American singers who were guests on his TV and Radio shows and now have recorded American classics with him -
Bobby Rydell,
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage.
Early l ...
,
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...
,
Peggy March
Peggy March (born Margaret Annemarie Battavio, March 8, 1948) is an American pop singer. In the United States, she is primarily known for her 1963 million-selling song "I Will Follow Him". Although she is sometimes remembered as a one-hit wond ...
,
Lainie Kazan
Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine; May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for ''St. Elsewhere'' and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actr ...
,
Tony Orlando
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
,
B.J. Thomas,
Lou Christie
Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco (born February 19, 1943), known professionally as Lou Christie, is an American pop and soft rock singer-songwriter known for several hits in the 1960s, including his 1966 US chart-topper "Lightnin' Strikes" and 1969 ...
and
Gary U.S. Bonds. The album was recorded at the Deep Diner Music Co. in New York in November 2014. The album is introduced by
Connie Francis
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937),
known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...
and was released in 2015.
Oleg Frish still performs on stage, touring with the Bring Me Sunshine cabaret act with performances in New York at the Metropolitan Room
among other venues.
References
External links
ReverbNation - Oleg Frish Stats & Brooklyn, NY Jazz Chart Position*
The Peoples.RU – "Oleg Frish: THE MAN SHOW-BIZ" (translated)*
ttp://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/gusto/music/disc-reviews/article318989.ece The Buffalo News 1/21/2011 – Review of Oleg Frish: Bring Me Sunshinebr>
Oleg Frish - our man at NBC (translated) 10/08/2001*
ttp://www.olegfrish.com/videosamples.html TIME OUT Celebrity Interview Archives(James Brown, Gloria Gaynor, B.B. King, Connie Francis, Shirley Jones, Yma Sumac, Neil Sedaka, etc.)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frish, Oleg
Russian male stage actors
Russian entertainers
Russian male journalists
20th-century Russian male singers
Russian radio personalities
Russian television personalities
Russian music historians
Living people
Articles containing video clips
Year of birth missing (living people)
Russian emigrants to the United States
20th-century births