Igor Leonidovich Kirillov (russian: Игорь Леонидович Кириллов, 14 September 1932 – 29 October 2021) was a Soviet and Russian news presenter, announcer and actor. He was a news anchor for

Soviet Central Television The Central Television of the USSR (russian: Центральное телевидение СССР, translit=Tsentral'noye televideniye SSSR; abbr. CT USSR .html" ;"title="/nowiki>">/nowiki>/nowiki>) was the state television broadcaster of the ...

(CT USSR) and announcer for the CT USSR news program ''

Vremya ''Vremya'' (russian: Вре́мя, lit. "Time") is the main evening newscast in Russia, airing on Channel One Russia (Russian: , Pervy kanal) and previously on Programme One of the Central Television of the USSR (CT USSR, Russian: ). The program ...

'' for 30 years. He was awarded the

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

in 1988.

Early life and education

Kirillov was born in Moscow. His father, Leonid Mikhailovich Kirillov (1904–1979), was an engineer, and his mother, Revekka Veniaminovna Kirillova (1901–1995), was a librarian. He planned to become a director, but was admitted to the

Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (russian: Всероссийский государственный институт кинематографии имени С. А. Герасимова, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinemat ...

to study acting. He left after one year and graduated from the

Mikhail Shchepkin Higher Theatre School The Mikhail Semyonovich Shchepkin Higher Theatre School (Institute) is a drama school associated with the Maly Theatre (Moscow), State Academic Maly Theatre in Moscow. It was established in 1809 by decree of Alexander I of Russia. History Sin ...

Career

After graduation, he worked at the Moscow Drama and Comedy Theatre. Two years later, in 1957, he won an audition to become a newsreader for Soviet Central Television. For 30 years he co-anchored the network's prime time news broadcast ''

'', with Nonna Bodrova and Anna Shatilova as co-anchors during his tenure. He was known for his slow delivery, which he told an interviewer was a Russian preference, and also said was for the benefit of Soviet citizens with native languages other than Russian. During his tenure, Kirillov was the anchor for all of the Soviet Union's pivotal events, covering the annual celebrations of state occasions, the

death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev On 10 November 1982, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, the third General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and the fifth leader of the Soviet Union, died at the age of 75, a month before his 76th birthday, after suffering a h ...

and his successors

Yuri Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov (– 9 February 1984) was the sixth paramount leader of the Soviet Union and the fourth General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. After Leonid Brezhnev's 18-year rule, Andropov served in the po ...

and

Konstantin Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko uk, Костянтин Устинович Черненко, translit=Kostiantyn Ustynovych Chernenko (24 September 1911 – 10 March 1985) was a Soviet politician and the seventh General Secretary of the Commun ...

, and as well as

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...

's orbit of the earth in 1961, the Soviet government's decision to invade Afghanistan in 1979, and the

Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

the following year. Kirillov also accompanied Soviet leaders on their official visits to foreign countries to report on location. He also made

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

s in some Russian films, and in

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

's 1985 hit "

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

", and was host of the Russian TV

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

show and the annual '' Песня года'' (Song of the Year). He retired as a newsreader in 1987, joining CT USSR (later Ostankino TV, then ORT). He retired in 1996, but he occasionally appeared as an emcee for some concerts and the annual Red Square

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

parade.

Personal life and death

He married his first wife, Irina Vsevolodovna Kirillova, a sound engineer, while they were both students; she died in 2004. Their daughter, Anna, is a professional pianist; their son died in 2011. He nursed his wife's sister, Natalya, during a two-year illness that ended with her death also in 2011. He later remarried to Tatyana Aleksandrovna Kirillova. Kirillov died on October 29, 2021, at the age of 89, the last surviving news announcer to have been made a

. He had been hospitalized for circulatory problems in September and died after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Awards and honours

Honored Artist of the RSFSR Honored Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Zasluzhenny artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achievements in the ...

(1968) *

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...

(1977) *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...

(1980) *

People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (russian: Народный артист РСФСР, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchest ...

(1982) *

(1988) *

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...

, 4th class (2006)Decree of the Russian President Vladimir Putin issued on November 27, 2006 honouring Kirillov
* Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class (2011) * Order of Honour (2018) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" The Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" (russian: Медаль «В память 850-летия Москвы») is a commemorative medal of the Russian Federation created to denote the 850th anniversary of the city of Mos ...

References

External links

Жизнь артиста: Игорь Кириллов
ТК-Інтер (video)

journs.ru {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirillov, Igor 1932 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Russian male actors 21st-century Russian male actors Male actors from Moscow Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni Honorary Members of the Russian Academy of Arts Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the USSR State Prize Radio and television announcers Russian male journalists Russian male film actors Russian male stage actors Russian male voice actors Russian television journalists Russian television presenters Soviet journalists Soviet male film actors Soviet male stage actors Soviet male voice actors Soviet television presenters Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery