Leonid Osipovich Utesov, also spelled Utyosov or Utiosov, uk, link=no, Леонід Йосипович Утьосов), born Lazar (Leyzer) Iosifovich Vaysbeyn or Weissbein (,
Odesa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrati ...
– 9 March 1982, Moscow), was a famous Soviet
estrada Estrada is a Spanish surname and Portuguese term. Notable people with the surname include:
* Armando Estrada, actually Hazem Ali, professional wrestler
* Arturo Estrada Hernández, Mexican painter
*Carla Estrada, Mexican producer
*Chuck Estrada, Am ...
singer, and comic actor, who became the first pop singer to be awarded the prestigious title of
People's Artist of the USSR in 1965.
[''Леонид Утёсов''. Спасибо, сердце!](_blank)
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Biography
Leonid Utesov was brought up in Odesa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrati ...
, Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
and attended the Faig School of Commerce, from which he dropped out and joined the Borodanov Circus troupe as an acrobat. He started his stage career in 1911 in Kremenchuk
Kremenchuk (; uk, Кременчу́к, Kremenchuk ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnipro River. The city serves as the administrative center of the Kremenchuk Raion (district) in Poltava Oblast (pr ...
, then returned to Odesa, changed his artistic name to Leonid Utesov, and performed as a stand up comedian with the Rosanov troupe and with the Rishelyavsky Theatre. In 1917, he won a singing competition in Gomel
Gomel (russian: Гомель, ) or Homiel ( be, Гомель, ) is the administrative centre of Gomel Region and the second-largest city in Belarus with 526,872 inhabitants (2015 census).
Etymology
There are at least six narratives of the o ...
, Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
, then performed in Moscow.
In the 1920s, he moved to Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
and set up one of the first Soviet jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
bands. In Leningrad, he began collaboration with the popular composer, Isaak Dunayevsky
Isaak Osipovich Dunayevsky (russian: Исаак Осипович Дунаевский ; also transliterated as Dunaevski or Dunaevskiy; 25 July 1955) was a Soviet film composer and conductor of the 1930s and 1940s, who composed music for operett ...
, which turned out to be a breakthrough for both artists. At that time, Utesov built a band of the finest musicians available in Leningrad, and created a style all his own – a jazz show with stand up comedy, which blended several styles, ranging from Russian folk songs to a variety of international cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
genres. In 1928, Utesov toured Europe and attended performances of American jazz bands in Paris, which influenced his own style. During the 1930s, Utesov and his band, called "Thea-Jazz" (a portmanteau of Theatrical Jazz) had a regular gig at the Marble Hall of the Kirov Palace of Culture in Leningrad. Utesov's jazz band also performed at the Leningrad Maly Opera theatre, at the "Svoboda-teatr," and at the Leningrad Music Hall. In his performances, Utesov delivered a variety of musical styles, including such genres as American jazz, Argentine tango, French chanson, upbeat dance, and Russian folk music.
His popularity was on the rise in the 1930s when he co-starred with Lyubov Orlova
Lyubov Petrovna Orlova (russian: link=no, Любовь Петровна Орлова ; – 26 January 1975) was a Soviet and Russian actress, singer, dancer and People's Artist of the USSR (1950).
Life and career
She was born to a family o ...
in the comedy ''Jolly Fellows
''Jolly Fellows'' (russian: Весёлые ребята, Vesyolye rebyata), also translated as ''Happy-Go-Lucky Guys'', ''Moscow Laughs'' and ''Jazz Comedy'', is a 1934 Soviet musical film, directed by Grigori Aleksandrov and starring his wife L ...
''. In it, Utesov performed such hits as " Serdtse" (Heart). During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, Utesov performed on the front lines, helping lift the spirits of the Soviet soldiers fighting against the Nazis. On 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 ...
(9 May 1945), he performed on Sverdlov Square in Moscow.
Utesov lived in Moscow for the rest of his life, albeit in many of his songs he alluded to his native town of Odesa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrati ...
, where a monument to him was dedicated in 2000.
Richard Stites
Richard Stites (December 2, 1931 – March 7, 2010) was a historian of Russian culture and professor of history at Georgetown University, famed for "landmark work on the Russian women’s movement and in numerous articles and books on Russian and ...
writes:
In the years of the "red jazz age" (1932–1936) European and Soviet bands were heard in dozens of cities. The kings were Alexander Tsfasman
Alexander Naumovich Tsfasman (russian: Александр Наумович Цфасман; born December 14, 1906 - died February 20, 1971) was a Soviet Jazz pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, publisher and activist. He was an important figu ...
and Leonid Utesov. ... Utesov – musically far less gifted – was actually more popular than Tsfasman, partly because of the spectacular success of his comedy film '' Happy-Go-Lucky Guys'', but mostly because his Odesa background and his circus and carnival road experience on the southern borscht belt gave him a clowning manner. He resembled his idol, the personable Ted ("Is everybody happy?") Lewis
Lewis may refer to:
Names
* Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Music
* Lewis (musician), Canadian singer
* "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...
more than he did any of the great jazz figures of the time. In fact, Utesov was the typical ''estrada'' entertainer – quick witted, versatile, and funny. He was not only one of the stars of the 1930s but also a personal favorite of Stalin.
Filmography
* 1919 – Lieutenant Schmidt – Freedom Fighter (Russian: Лейтенант Шмидт — борец за свободу)
* 1923 – Trade-House "Entente and Co." (Russian: Tорговый дом «Антанта и К»)
* 1926 – Career of Spirka Shpandyr (russian: link=no, Карьера Спирьки Шпандыря)
* 1928 – Strangers (Russian: Чужие)
* 1934 – Jolly Fellows
''Jolly Fellows'' (russian: Весёлые ребята, Vesyolye rebyata), also translated as ''Happy-Go-Lucky Guys'', ''Moscow Laughs'' and ''Jazz Comedy'', is a 1934 Soviet musical film, directed by Grigori Aleksandrov and starring his wife L ...
(Russian: Весёлые ребята) — Kostya Potekhin
* 1940 – Concert on the Screen (Russian: Концерт на экране)
* 1942 – Concert for the Frontlines (Russian: Концерт фронту)
* 1954 – Merry Stars (Russian: Весёлые звёзды)
* 1963 – Melodies of Dunayevsky Dunayevsky, Dunayevski, Dunayevskii, Dunaevsky, etc. (russian: Дунаевский) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Dunayevskaya or Dunayevskaia. The surname derives from the Danube River, wh ...
(Russian: Мелодии Дунаевского)
* 1974 – Pyotr Martynovich and the Years of a Great Life (Russian: Пётр Мартынович и годы большой жизни)
Singles
* Gop so smykom
* S Odesskogo kichmana
* Odessit-Mishka
* Havana
* Have a good night
* Road to Berlin
* My dear Muscovites
* Waves of the Danube
* Jewish Rhapsody
* On a wing and a prayer
* When Johnny came home
* Leningrad bridges
* Happy-go-lucky guys marsh
* Song of the old cab
* Beautiful marquise
* Sea widely
* Suliko
* Tachanka
* Chapliniana
* In the Black Sea
* Tyuh-tyuh
* Oh, my Odesa
* Moscow Windows
Honours and awards
A minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''mino ...
, 5944 Utesov, discovered on 2 May 1984, is named after him. On March 21, 2020, Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
celebrated his 125th birthday with a Google Doodle
A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...
.
See also
* Pyotr Leshchenko
*Mark Bernes
Mark Naumovich Bernes (russian: link=no, Ма́рк Нау́мович Берне́с) (,This date: – is a mistake found in the '' Great Soviet Encyclopaedia''. True date: – was engraved on the Bernes's gravestone at Novodevichy Cemeter ...
*Klavdiya Shulzhenko
Klavdiya Ivanovna Shulzhenko (russian: Кла́вдия Ива́новна Шульже́нко, uk, Клавдія Іванівна Шульженко; – June 17, 1984) was a Soviet popular female singer and actress.
Biography
Shulzhenko ...
*List of Jewish musicians {{short description, None
Jewish musicians by country:
*Argentina
*Austria
**Composers
*Britain
*Canada
*France
*Germany
*Hungary
*Israel
**Composers
*Mexico
*Poland
*Russia
*South Africa
*United States
**Composers
** :Jewish American musicians
S ...
*Mishka Yaponchik
Mishka Yaponchik (born Moisei Wolfovich Vinnitsky; 30 October 1891 – 29 July 1919) was an Odesa gangster, Jewish revolutionary, and a Soviet military leader.
Early years
Moisey Volfovich Vinnitsky was born into the family of a Jewish wa ...
Notes
References
External links
*
Biography
in Russian, see items 277–287 for Utesov's songs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Utesov, Leonid
1895 births
1982 deaths
20th-century comedians
20th-century Russian male actors
20th-century Russian singers
Entertainers from Odesa
Film people from Odesa
Musicians from Odesa
Honored Artists of the RSFSR
People's Artists of the RSFSR
People's Artists of the USSR
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Russian male comedians
Russian pop singers
Soviet male actors
Soviet jazz musicians
Jewish Russian comedians
Male jazz musicians
Odesa Jews
Jewish Russian actors
20th-century Russian male singers