Childhood and youth
Yuri Nikolaev was born in Chisinau into the family of KGB captain Valentina Ignatovna and MVD colonel Alexander Silvestrovich. It would seem that strict military discipline should reign in the officers' house, but no. The long-awaited Yura was spoiled by his parents. For example, when he refused to go to kindergarten, they hired a nanny for his son.
Mother and father had difficulty keeping up with the flight of fancy of the talented heir. Either Yura dreamed of becoming a singer - and his parents urgently enrolled him in a vocal studio, then he dreamed of becoming a volleyball player - and he was immediately taken to the sports section. Dancing, sambo, drawing, swimming, acting - probably there was no such circle in Chisinau where the boy would not try to realize his talents, and not only humanitarian ones. The gifted boy studied at a physics and mathematics school, whose teachers noted the technical inclinations of his mind.
What program was hosted by Yuri Nikolaev?
“Morning Mail” “Hello, we are looking for talents” “Come on, girls!” “With a song through life” Posted by Gesha Ivankov on Sunday, March 21, 2021
Yuri Nikolaev in his youth
Nikolaev came to work on television in Chisinau as a schoolboy, but not yet as a presenter, but as an actor in the television play “Men’s Conversation.” Despite the fact that the boy was 13 years old at the time, this was no longer just a hobby, but serious professional work. In those years, the future famous TV presenter once and for all decided on the choice of his life’s work.
Having received a certificate of secondary education, yesterday's schoolboy set off to conquer Moscow. On his first attempt, Nikolaev entered GITIS to major in theater and film actor. The mentor of the future TV star was the famous theater teacher Vsevolod Ostalsky. In his 4th year, by chance, Yuri ended up in the troupe of the Moscow Theater named after Alexander Pushkin.
Theater
“Big Mama” was staged at the Pushkin Theater. The director of the play was the winner of a number of theater awards, Boris Ravenskikh. One young actor was supposed to play the main role in the production, but before the premiere, due to intrigues in the theater, he refused to go on stage, so they urgently looked for a replacement for him, which his friend told GITIS student Nikolaev about.
The fourth-year student decided to take a risk, hoping for nothing, but he was unexpectedly accepted. This is how Yuri Alexandrovich first appeared on the stage of the Pushkin Theater in the leading role, where the young Vera Alentova worked with him.
Nikolaev devoted five years to this theater, but gradually television replaced the stage from the young man’s life. Then the actor did not yet suspect that television would become an integral part of his creative biography.
Since 1973, the guy worked freelance on TV. And when a couple of years later the artist was offered a full-time position, it became impossible to combine the work of an announcer and an actor.
Movies
Soon after Yuri Alexandrovich's debut at the Pushkin Theater, film directors also paid attention to the talented young actor. The GITIS graduate, before becoming a famous TV presenter, managed to act in films.
Nikolaev’s first film work was the main role in Anatoly Dudorov’s film “Big Stages” (“Machinist”), where Nikolai Merzlikin became his partner. The actor was drafted into the army straight from the set. Filming was in full swing, but the management of the film studio could not do anything to oppose the agenda. The issue was resolved by agreeing on the conscript's service in the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Red Banner Belarusian Military District. Thus, the conscript served and acted in films at the same time.
Earlier it became known that TV presenter Yuri Nikolaev was urgently taken to the hospital.
His wife and himself… Posted by Metro newspaper on Monday, March 25, 2019
Presenter Yuri Nikolaev
In total, the artist’s filmography includes a dozen roles, all of them varied.
Thus, the actor starred in the war film “The Girl from Cell No. 25”, tried his hand at the children’s comedy “It All Began with a Cat”, in the drama “Before We Part” by Alexander Kosarev, as well as in the musical film “How to Become a Star” .
A film career was not a priority for Nikolaev; he was in demand on television.
A television
In 1975, Yuri Alexandrovich was officially accepted into the staff of the announcers department of the Central Television of the USSR State Television and Radio. By that time, the whole country already knew his face. On September 7, 1974, at 10 am, the first episode of the music program “Morning Mail” was aired, which over time was destined to become a legend of Soviet television. The transfer brought all-Union glory to Nikolaev. Before her, the TV presenter managed to work a little freelance in the news, but it is unlikely that viewers remembered him there.
“Morning Mail” became Nikolaev’s ticket to the highest television circles. 750 episodes made it the record holder among music programs. The TV presenter, beloved by viewers, began to be invited as a compere for the “Blue Light” and “Song of the Year” concerts. At that time, this was the pinnacle of a television career. That very moment when a successful, ambitious person realizes that as an employee he has already achieved everything, it’s time to start working for himself.
Nikolaev created his own production television company (as they would say now, production) called “UNICS”, which stood for “Yuri Nikolaev Studio”.
TV show “Morning Mail” and its presenter Yuri Nikolaev.
The program was extremely popular among Soviet viewers. Posted by Anatoly Nikolaevich on Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Yuri Nikolaev on the “Morning Post” program
The first project of Nikolaev’s production studio was the famous “Morning Star”. It was a popular program where viewers saw future Russian pop stars for the first time. The author of the project was the TV presenter himself.
According to him, he came up with this program as an antipode to negative programs that talked about drug addiction, prostitution and banditry. Children from all over the country took part in the show, and within a few episodes it gained nationwide popularity. Over 13 years, 20 thousand children performed in the Morning Star.
Later, the artist became one of the creators and producers of the popular Russian TV show “Guess the Melody.” The host of the show was Valdis Pelsh, although the first candidate for this position was singer Valery Syutkin.
In the 2000s, Yuri Alexandrovich hosted the main musical shows of Russian television: “Dancing with the Stars” and, together with Anastasia Zavorotnyuk, “Dancing on Ice”.
Program host Yuri Nikolaev and Dmitry Shepelev
Posted by Elena Sikorskaya on Sunday, February 6, 2011
Yuri Nikolaev and Dmitry Shepelev in the program “Property of the Republic”
In 2003-2005, on the Rossiya TV channel, the TV presenter hosted the “Big Change” program dedicated to Russian education, and on the RTR-Belarus channel in 2008-2009, Nikolaev was co-host of Larisa Gribaleva in "Morning Mail".
In 2009-2016, viewers saw the actor together with Dmitry Shepelev in the “Property of the Republic” program. The project was closed because, according to its creators, the program had already featured all the guests who could be called the country’s treasure, and there were other formats for young artists.
The TV show “Honest Word” joined the list of Nikolaev’s projects in 2017. The hospitable TV presenter warmly received show business stars, his friends and colleagues in a sun-drenched summer gazebo or a cozy living room in a country house. His guests were Zhanna Badoeva, Sergei Lazarev, etc.
Oh Gods!
A lady with a nasty nasal voice, illiterate Russian speech, a terrible local accent and, in my opinion, not... Posted by Giulia Montenegro on Saturday, February 29, 2020
Yuri Nikolaev and Zhanna Badoeva in the “Honest Word” program
In March 2018, Nikolaev became a guest of the “Tonight” program, where presenters Yulia Menshova and Maxim Galkin recalled the popular project of the 90s “Morning Star” and its bright participants and winners. Yuri Alexandrovich recalled that the transfer itself took place only thanks to his wife Eleanor. To launch the show, the TV presenter needed a loan. Having discussed this issue at the family council, the man received full support from his wife. The loan was planned to be repaid in a year, but it was paid off after 7 months.
In March 2021, the “Honest Word” program on Channel One was closed.
In February of the same year, the artist took part in the release of the YouTube show “Caution, Sobchak!”, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the death of Vladislav Listyev.
Musical Postman
And when in 1974, Igor Kirillov invited Nikolaev to try himself on TV as an announcer, Yuri readily agreed. Moreover, in the theater he was paid only 85 rubles a month, and at Shabolovka he was promised as much as 150. Having switched to TV, Yuri Nikolaev could easily get lost among the serious announcers reading official news in news programs, if fate had not again given him a new chance . Nikolaev was invited to try to host several episodes of the new entertainment program “Morning Mail”. When Yuri saw himself in the first issue of Morning Mail, he thought that he definitely shouldn’t do this. It seemed to the TV presenter that he did not fit into this format at all. But the audience decided otherwise. Nikolaev overnight became a superstar of Soviet television and the country's main postman.
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Personal life
Even in his youth, while a student at GITIS, Nikolaev married his classmate Galina. The couple settled with the wife's parents. They lived together happily, but not for long. Soon the student marriage broke up, and the former spouses did not meet again. After the divorce, Galina called Yuri only once, offering to meet out of curiosity, but by that time the popular TV presenter had already met the love of his life.
Yuri Alexandrovich first saw Lyalya at the age of 18, and she was 14. The girl was the younger sister of his friend, whom the future famous presenter often visited. Of course, there was no talk of any feelings then. The couple accidentally ran into each other on a trolleybus many years later, when Nikolaev had already gotten a divorce and graduated from GITIS, and Lyalya had started studying to become an economist. Both realized that their meeting was destiny.
Two years later they got married. At first they lived poorly: they huddled in a hostel, often only had enough money for bread, but over time all the difficulties were left behind. Even Yuri Alexandrovich’s problems with alcohol could not destroy his happy marriage.
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Yuri Nikolaev with his wife Eleanor
Eleonora Nikolaeva, with her economic education, became the financial director of UNICS, the production company of her star husband.
Now Yuri Alexandrovich and Eleanor Alexandrovna live in Moscow, in an apartment overlooking the river. They do not have their own children, so the couple is happy to deal with the fate of the children of Yuri’s sister. The TV presenter moved them all to Moscow a long time ago. Niece Olga got married and has already become a mother twice. Nikolaev is satisfied with his role as a cousin, but still a grandfather. Although, when telling reporters about his personal life, he never hides the fact that childlessness for him and his wife became a real tragedy and pain.
In 2021, Nikolaev celebrated its 70th anniversary, gathering friends and fans at the “Star Jubilee” concert at Crocus City Hall. His creative path on television was awarded the MUZ-TV “For Contribution to Life” award. The presentation of the award to the legendary TV presenter was watched by a crowd of thousands at the Olympic Stadium.
Family and children of Yuri Nikolaev
The family and children of Yuri Nikolaev is a rather interesting question. The man has always been attractive to numerous women throughout the entire post-Soviet space.
The TV presenter entered into his first marriage in his youth. But a little later he realized that he mistook falling in love for a strong feeling. This led to separation from his first wife.
Nikolaev is grateful to fate that he was lucky enough to meet his second wife on his way. She became his real companion, with whom he always feels great. The only thing the spouses regret is that the family was never replenished with a son or daughter.
Our hero's parents served in law enforcement agencies. Dad was an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and mother was an employee of the state security office of the Chisinau branch of the Soviet Union. They were always proud of their son and supported him in everything.
Yuri Nikolaev has a younger sister, whose name is Tatyana. She is married and has a son and daughter, who, thanks to their uncle, have settled well in the Russian capital.
Health status
In the early 2000s, the TV presenter faced another terrible problem - Nikolaev was diagnosed with intestinal cancer. Expensive treatment was required. My wife provided moral support. For several years, the master of television disappeared from the screens. Subsequently, the disease returned several times, but each time it was possible to stop it. And today the celebrity’s health is causing concern among his fans.
In recent years, Nikolaev appears on screen and in photographs in the press much thinner. With his height of 175 cm, his weight is significantly less than the usual 65 kg. But, according to Yuri Alexandrovich himself, he is not going to give up.
Regular monitoring of your body's condition and exercise helps you stay in shape. For more than 20 years, the master of Russian television has not even touched non-alcoholic beer, but he could not give up smoking.
Yuri Nikolaev's wife - Eleonora Gravis
The girl and the guy met in their youth. He, of course, knew his friend's little sister, Ronald Gravis. For the time being, they were connected only by friendly relations. During this time, our hero managed to get married and divorced.
Yuri Nikolaev’s wife, Eleanor Gravis, received an economic education at one of the capital’s universities. Now she helps her husband with financial issues in his.
A few years after the divorce, the TV presenter proposes marriage to the girl. But the wedding took place only several years later. They still live happily, despite the absence of children.
Yuri Nikolaev now
In January 2021, the artist came to the studio of the Dok-Tok show to show the documentary film “The True Story of Yulia Nachalova.” The presenter met the singer during her performances on “Morning Star”.
Yuri Nikolaev is a person without whom it is impossible to imagine domestic TV!
Today he turns 70 Posted by Komsomolskaya Pravda on Sunday, December 16, 2018
Yuri Nikolaev now
In February, Nikolaev became the hero of a video in the program “Live Healthy!” — he was vaccinated against coronavirus and spoke directly with the studio about his health. The artist also appeared in a video on the Stopcoronavirus.rf YouTube channel, where he shared his vaccination experience.
Latest news about Yuri Nikolaev: cancer discovered
The popular TV presenter felt unwell in the early 2000s. He was incredibly busy at work, but was in no hurry to see doctors. But my health began to deteriorate. Only then did the national television star turn to one of the leading clinics in the capital. There, based on the results of the examination, cancer was diagnosed at an early stage. The doctors calmed our hero down. They said that if you carefully monitor your health, the disease will not take deep roots.
The media reports the latest news about Yuri Nikolaev. Cancer discovered - an article with such a request became a bolt from the blue at the beginning of 2021.
The man himself spoke about his health after the article. He said that he had been doing this for several years. His health has improved in recent years. He hopes that he can celebrate 2021 with his beloved wife.
