Efim Shifrin's childhood years
The future famous pop artist Efim Shifrin was born on March 25, 1956.
His place of birth was the village of Nexikan (Magadan Region), where the head of the family, Zalman Shmuilovich Shifrin, was sent into exile. A year before the birth of his son, the man was rehabilitated, and he became a free man.
At the age of 10, Efim, along with his parents and older brother Samuel, moved to Jurmala. Living in Latvia, the boy graduated from school and became a university student.
Many fans know their favorite artist as Efim, but the name he was given at birth is Nakhim. It was difficult to shorten such a sonorous name or call it in a diminutive form, so friends slowly began to call the guy “Fima.” It was from then that the pseudonym “Efim” appeared.
Efim Shifrin now
Efim Shifrin published a number of biographies, and also published several books in the format of Internet diaries, but until a certain point, all of the author’s works were of a journalistic and memoir nature.
Efim Shifrin at the presentation of his book
In 2021, Shifrin published a work of fiction, moreover, aimed at young readers. The children's educational and entertaining book “I Am a Big Panda” became the artist’s first experience in the field of children’s literature.
The artist also began to pay more and more attention to recording audio books. Efim Shifrin has already recorded audio books in the past, but only two: “The Swineherd” in 1983 and “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” based on the novel by Mark Twain in 2002.
Efim Shifrin in the program “Around Laughter”
In 2021, Shifrin wrote two more books: “Seven Fat Years” based on the book by Etgar Keret and “The Foreigner” based on the story by Sergei Dovlatov. And in 2017 there were six at once: “White on Black” based on the novel by Ruben David Gonzalez Gallego, “Braces” based on the novel by Sergei Nosov, “Someone else’s wife and husband under the bed” based on the story by Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Donkey Should Be Thin” based on the stories by Sergei Dovlatov , as well as two popular science works authored by Andrei Usachev and Alyosha Dmitriev “How to catch a mammoth. Primitive history" and "What the Sumerians were making noise about. Ancient history.
On April 1, 2021, Efim Shifrin became the TV presenter of the revived humorous television program “Around Laughter” on Channel One.
Moving to Moscow: starting a career
Shifrin chose Leningrad State University as his place of study. From 1973 to 1974 he received knowledge at the Faculty of Philology. Student life was fun and active. Efim, like many students, attended an amateur art club. The young man liked this activity so much that he decided to devote his life to the stage. He was not the first person in the family to idolize the theater. His father, when he was studying in Vitebsk, attended all the productions of the local theater. Apparently, the father’s love for theatrical art was passed on to his son.
Immediately after completing the 1st year, he picks up his documents and goes to the capital to pursue his dream. Efim successfully passes exams at GUTSEI. Rumyantsev to the pop department. The head of his course was the famous director Roman Viktyuk. In 1978, Shifrin received a diploma. By that time, he had already been working for a whole year at the Moscow State University Student Theater, which was directed by R. Viktyuk.
During that period, the aspiring artist managed to take part in such productions as “Duck Hunt”, “Goodbye, Boys!”, “The Night After Graduation”. His next place of work was the Mosconcert, where he got a job after a year of working in the student theater. Shifrin dedicated 10 years of his life to serving in the Mosconcert.
The education received at the school was not enough for the artist, so in 1985 he graduated from the Faculty of Variety Directing at GITIS. At this time, his first solo concert entitled “I would like to say” was released. During the concert, the artist introduced the audience to works written by Viktor Koklyushkin. In 1988 and 1990, the Moscow Variety Theater produced two performances, “Round Moon” and “Three Questions.” They also featured monologues by Koklyushkin performed by Shifrin.
In 1986, on the TV show “In Our House,” the artist performed the monologue “Mary Magdalene.” This number brought Shifrin popularity and love from the audience.
Humor and creativity
For the first time, as a professional actor, Efim Shifrin appeared on the stage of the student theater of Moscow State University in the well-known performances “Goodbye, boys!” and "The Night After Graduation." Later, a solo production “I would like to say” based on the works of Viktor Koklyushkin appeared in his repertoire.
Already in his youth, Efim Shifrin became a two-time laureate of the Moscow and All-Union competitions of pop artists. And the main glory enveloped the artist in 1986, when in the humorous television show “In Our House” he read a monologue entitled “Mary Magdalene”.
Since then, the artist has been a constant participant in the entertainment programs “Full House”, “Around Laughter” and others. Shifrin delivered a series of monologues beloved by the audience: “I have learned so much...”, “Drynolet”, “Nobel laureate”, “Lie Detector”. The performance of Efim Zalmanovich and Klara Novikova with the number “Brown Button” was popular.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Nahim Shifrin (@koteljnik) on Sep 22, 2021 at 2:42am PDT
Efim Shifrin and Tatyana Tarasova
Shifrin's first benefit performance took place in 1993. The comedian performed the number “Hello, artist!” together with the group "Na-Na". From that moment on, Efim began to delight fans with new concerts every year until 2006. The last in a series of regular benefit performances by Shifrin was the performance “Cabaret. Reboot".
Videos with full performances or broken down into separate monologues are stored in collections both on forums and in groups of fans of the artist’s work, and on websites with golden collections of Russian humorous performances.
On the theater stage, the actor wanted to play dramatic roles. His debut in this capacity took place in 1994 at the Yevgeny Vakhtangov Theater, the play “I Don’t Know You Anymore, Darling” by Roman Viktyuk.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Nahim Shifrin (@koteljnik) on Sep 22, 2021 at 2:43am PDT
Efim Shifrin and Lyudmila Gurchenko
Efim Shifrin began collaborating with cinema in the 90s. The actor starred in an episode of the comedy film “Bolotnaya Street, or the Anti-Sex Remedy” and in the musical “Angel with a Cigarette Butt,” where he sang more than a dozen songs. During the same period, Shifrin voiced animated films. For example, the characters in the popular Russian cartoons “KOAPP” and “Brothers Pilots” speak in the voice of a comedian.
In the new century, Shifrin appeared in the tragicomedy “Gloss” together with Yulia Vysotskaya and Alexander Domogarov, and was also a TV presenter in the parody film “Hero of Our Tribe.”
Like his father, Efim realized himself as a writer. In 1994, together with Georgy Viren, the artist published the autobiographical novel “Theater named after me.” Then he wrote about himself in the story “The Personal File of Efim Shifrin” and continued to recall his years in the book “The River Lethe Flows,” published in 2010.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Nahim Shifrin (@koteljnik) on Jan 20, 2021 at 11:02pm PST
Efim Shifrin in his youth
Efim published a number of biographies, and also published several books in the format of online diaries, but until a certain point, all the author’s works were of a journalistic and memoir nature.
In 2021, Shifrin published a work of fiction, moreover, aimed at young readers. The children's educational and entertaining book “I Am a Big Panda” became the artist’s first experience in the field of children’s literature.
On April 1, 2021, Efim became the TV presenter of the revived humorous television program “Around Laughter” on Channel One, and a year later he expanded his filmography by participating in the musical project “Cinderella”, where he played the Dance Master.
Creation of the Shifrin Theater
The artist’s new project was released in 1989. It was a solo pop-musical performance called “I Play Shostakovich.”
In the artist’s creative activity, 1990 was the year of birth of his favorite brainchild, the Shifrin Theater. “A Photograph for Memory” was the first production on the stage of the newly opened theater.
Roman Viktyuk, who in 1994 staged the play “I Don’t Know You Anymore, Darling” based on the play by Antonio de Benedetti, invited his student to play one of the roles. This was Shifrin's debut appearance on the stage of the theater. Vakhtangov. The collaboration between the actor and the director continued in the plays “Prostitutes”, “Love with a Moron”, “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia”.
In addition to the theater, Shifrin began to appear on television. In 1998, he took part in the musical “Angel with a Cigarette Butt” by E. Ginzburg. His role involved the performance of 13 songs written by composer A. Klevitsky to poems by poet Yu. Ryashentsev.
In the production of V. Dubrovitsky’s enterprise “Rumors” in 2001, Efim Zalmanovich played the role of Glen. The Burgomaster is Shifrin’s next character, whom he played in 2006 in the play “Dragon” based on the play by E. Schwartz. Three years later, viewers were able to see their favorite artist in the role of Herve Montaigne in the production of “Scandal!” The public is not allowed to watch!” Next was work in M. Kozakov’s play “The Laughing Flower” based on the play by Noel Coward, in which the actor got the role of Harry Essendine.
The year 2010 was marked for the artist by the release of a play staged by director V. Shamirov based on Hanoch Levin’s play “Rubber Merchants” (Theatrical agency “Art-Partner XXI”). Shifrin played the role of Yohanan Tsingerbai. In “Princess Yvonne,” staged by the Vakhtangov Theater, the actor appeared on stage in the image of King Ignatius.
Efim Zalmanovich loves to sing. During his performances and performances, he performs many vocal works. Thus, in the play “I’m Playing Shostakovich,” his performance includes romances by D. Shostakovich to the words of the poet A. Cherny. He also performs works by V. Matetsky “Return”, M. Minkov “Jerusalem”, A. Klevitsky “Southern Night”, M. Kochetkov “Music in Me” and others.
Works in cinema
The artist’s creative activity is not limited only to the theater. He has a decent amount of film experience. In 1992, the film “Bolotnaya Street” with his participation was released. Also in 2007, Shifrin starred in A. Konchalovsky’s acclaimed film “Gloss.”
In the TV series “Hero of Our Tribe,” filmed in 2003, the satirist played the role of host. In V. Mirzoev’s television play “A Play for a Man,” based on the works of D. Kharms (2009), the artist had the opportunity to perform in front of television viewers in the leading role.
Fans of the popular children's film magazine "Yeralash" could more than once admire the talented performance of their favorite actor in such issues as "The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed", "Tormentor" and others.
Traditionally, every year in March, Efim Shifrin organizes various benefit performances (“Opus No. 10”, “Shifrin’s Ark”, “Population Census”, “WWW.SHIFRIN.RU”, “Staircase”, “Men in Masks”), to which he invites celebrities representatives of the Russian stage.
In honor of his 50th anniversary (2006), the artist organized a grandiose benefit performance called “Cabaret. Reboot".
Being a creative and very active person, Efim Zalmanovich never sits still. He is a regular participant in concerts of pop stars and often gives solo concerts. In addition to working in the theater, he does not forget about filming films. The artist tours a lot and, like many modern artists, maintains his own blog on the Internet.
A talented person is talented in everything, and this is shown by his example of a popular satirist who, in addition to acting, also took up writing. In 1994, his first book, “The Theater Named After Me,” was published, which he wrote together with G. Viren. 1997 was marked by the release of the manuscript “Personal File of Efim Shifrin.” The memoirs “The River Lethe Flows” were presented to readers in 2010.
Personal life
The personal life of a popular artist is hidden from prying eyes. Shifrin is one of those people who try not to flaunt their relationships. Representatives of the media were never lucky enough to notice him in the company of a woman whom he would call his life partner. That is why there is so much dubious talk around his name.
In the yellow press one could find articles in which the artist was attributed a non-traditional sexual orientation.
Answering provocative questions, the artist states that no one should care where, how and with whom he spends his personal time, with whom he is friends and who he loves. Of course, such answers are unlikely to reason with the ubiquitous journalists, so occasionally they publish articles attributing to the artist something that they actually don’t know for sure.
For fans of the famous actor’s work, his attitude towards his work and towards them, the audience, is important, and let gossip be on the conscience of those who spread it.
Family Children
Famous people are always in sight, they have many fans and admirers of creativity. People are always interested in how their favorite artists live. The family life of Efim Shifrin is a topic that is often discussed in the press, but no one knows the definite answers. Efim Zalmanovich never touches on this topic in his interviews.
For him, family is his parents, who always believed that their talented son would definitely become famous. The artist’s mother was always present at her son’s concerts in the 80s. Shifrin considers his colleagues with whom he is connected by many years of creative activity to be his family.
The issue of the artist’s heirs is also discussed quite often. But reliable information never appeared anywhere. Who, except the satirist himself, can give a truthful answer to this question. But he prefers to move away from this topic. So, in the program “Alone with Everyone” he cleverly avoided the topic of his wife and children.
People who appreciate the work of a talented artist consider his children to have roles in performances, of which he has accumulated a lot over 30 years of work. He can play an unfaithful husband and an elderly lady, a drunkard and a king. No matter how many images the artist pleased his fans, it’s impossible to list them all!
Watch the video: “Alone with Everyone” program. Guest Efim Shifrin:
Mystical events
Efim Zalmanovich admits that not a day goes by when he doesn’t think about his parents. He carefully keeps the tape with their voices - this is a kind of talisman for the comedian. In one of the recordings, Raisa’s mother talks about how she dreamed of becoming an artist, but made a choice in favor of family and children rather than a career.
Shifrin admits that he did not believe in mysticism until he himself encountered inexplicable phenomena. The thing is that as soon as he behaves badly, does something wrong, the tape with his mother’s voice mysteriously disappears somewhere. But as soon as the artist realizes his mistakes, she is immediately there. Miracles, and that's all. Efim Zalmanovich believes that in this way his parents seem to show him the right path, telling him where and what he did wrong.
It is difficult for a comedian to listen to audio recordings without tears. Emotions overwhelm you when you hear the voices of family and friends who, unfortunately, are no longer around. But nevertheless, the artist did not give free rein to his emotions when he listened to the audio recording in the studio at Boris Kochevnikov’s show.
Dogs understand the connection between their body and their environment: self-awareness
Astrologers have revealed what the upcoming “Pisces season” promises for the zodiac signs.
Meteorologists: you shouldn’t wait for spring in Moscow before mid-April
