Olga MOLCHANOVA, host of the music program of the TVC channel "Wider Circle":

The popular television music program of the TVC channel "Wider Circle" can rightfully be entered, if not in the Guinness Book of Records, then certainly in the Russian "Divo" - for sure. Because in the history of TV there have not yet been such "long-lived" programs: without interruptions and "time-outs" on the eve of each Soviet (and now Russian) holiday, "Wider Circle" appeared on our screens for ... already 30 years! The rumor of the people married the presenters Katya Semenova and Vyacheslav Malezhik; it was in it that 16-year-old Dima Malikov sang his solo song "Sunny City" for the first time as part of VIA "Gems" and it was on this stage that young Philip Kirkorov first appeared on television with the song "Magdalena" ...

Olga Borisovna, who came up with the idea of ​​the program - an association of amateur artists of different genres - from singers, dancers and parodists to acrobats and magicians?

This idea has long been in the depths of the editorial staff of "Folk Art", which then existed on television. Since the program was filmed at the Ostankino studio at first, one or two popular artists were enough for us at the end of the program. And when later we moved to Luzhniki, we had to somehow fill this huge hall. Therefore, we began to invite to the "Wider Circle" much more "stars", whose names would attract the public.

As far as I know, not all of your "stars" were friendly. There were ambitions...

Yes, I still remember the episode, for example, with the singer Tatyana Markova! It was on location shooting in Pyatigorsk. We were accommodated in the building of a beautiful sanatorium, and Tanya and her husband were given a "junior suite" room. Igor Kornelyuk, Yaroslav Evdokimov lived in the same rooms ... There were only two "Luxe" suites. Misha Muromov was placed in one, along with his rather large group of musicians, and I occupied the second, because this "suite" was at the same time my housing, the press center, and the television headquarters of the program. You can imagine what was going on there: artists, administrators, cameramen, technical staff crowded from morning to night, cameras, boxes with films were lying in all corners ... Working meetings were also held there, after which people spent the night right on the floor, having finished editing footage shot per day. In general, the passage yard! In addition, it was the only number with a telephone, which in such cases is simply necessary. But, apparently, Tanya was very crowded together with her husband in her "junior suite", and she, imagining herself a cool star, made a scandal to me, saying: "Either they move me to the" suite "or I'll leave." This did not frighten me at all - the program would not have suffered at all from its absence. I’m just a non-conflict person, I don’t like insults and showdowns during work - I had to give this number to her. Therefore, I never live in "suites" when traveling - in order to avoid such conversations.

Each editor has his so-called "own" artists who they like. Who was among "yours"?

- "Their" artists appear at the editors of this or that program for various reasons. Recently, which has become extremely commercial and monetary, "their own" are most often among those who pay. And those who pay well - they become favorite artists. To be honest, I had very little faith that something would come of Philip. Yes, external data were brilliant, plus internal culture, musicality, but then the vocals were quite average. And I never imagined that a person, working on himself, would grow so vocally - he would just make a giant leap and become a very good pop singer. He is a rare person on our stage who possesses a complex of all the qualities that a real pop artist needs. Among my favorites are Sasha Serov, and our "Belarusian nightingale" Yaroslav Evdokimov, with whom we have been friends for a very long time, and an amazingly talented musician, the "Golden Accordion of Russia" Valery Kovtun, a charming person - he also first appeared in the "Wider Circle" program with such a rare instrumental genre, which, in general, few people were interested in before.

Olga Borisovna, they say about you that you can determine the creative future of an artist without even seeing him, but simply by listening to a disc or cassette. It's true?

Composer Igor Matvienko once brought me a cassette with the words: "There is a new young group, listen!" I listened - and was stunned! They were Ivanushki. Then I saw them at some concert and said to Igor: "Believe my words - it will be a bomb!" I just fell in love with these guys, and most of all with Igor Sorin, who seemed to me amazing in terms of talent, depth and, in general, in terms of his human charm. They have done several "Wider Circle" programs and I'm glad I predicted them such a takeoff, which took place.

By the way, do all the "chicks that flew out from under your wing" remember their "parent"?

Very few! I can say about the only one, and I won’t be mistaken, who always remembers me and says very kind words, mentions my name on CDs - this is Philip Kirkorov. Or here in the Kremlin behind the scenes they somehow filmed an interview with Sergei Mazaev. I sat a little apart. Seeing me, he interrupted the conversation, emerged from under the camera, ran up, knelt in front of me, kissed my hand and said: "Olga Borisovna, dear! You are my godmother on television, I will never forget your kindness!" Although we filmed it only a couple of times - it was also, as it were, "under a ban" due to the fact that Dobrynin wrote the very first songs for him.

Irina Barysheva.

The creator of the TV show "Wider Circle" Olga Molchanova received half a car as a gift from Philip Kirkorov

40 years ago, the legendary program "Wider Circle" appeared on our TV - the first domestic TV show that discovered new talents. It was in this program that Yuri ANTONOV, Vyacheslav DOBRYNIN, Oleg MITYAEV, Dima MALIKOV, Natasha KOROLEVA, VALERIA and many other now famous artists debuted on the blue screen. We asked Olga MOLCHANOVA, the creator and permanent head of the program, how the musicians thanked her for giving them a “start in life”.

I have never built relationships with artists on a selfish basis, - Olga Borisovna admitted. - It's no secret that even in Soviet times, some television employees took money or expensive gifts from artists for broadcasts. But in the editorial office of folk art, where I worked, this was not accepted. I remember only one case when they wanted to “give me a paw”.

Was such a very good musician and composer Ilya Slovesnik. He tried to sing himself. But because of his specific appearance, he was not taken anywhere as a singer. And, apparently, someone advised him to contact me. Like, I can shove him into the "Wider Circle" under the guise of an amateur artist. “Leave me the tape with your song! I told him. - I don't have time now. I'll listen to her later. And we will decide where it can be attached. “Keep in mind that text is attached to the film!” the Wordsmith warned me. But I did not attach any importance to this.

After a while, he called me and asked if I had listened to his creation. “Sorry, I haven’t had time yet,” I replied. "How so? - the Wordsmith tensed. - There's a text! - "So what? - I did not understand. “When I listen, I’ll take it out and look.”

In the end, I got my hands on his song. Indeed, in the box with the film was a piece of paper with the text. And either 50 or 70 rubles were wrapped in it. With our then salary of 200 rubles, it was decent money. But I didn't even think about taking them. “Ilyusha, your song doesn’t fit,” I said to Slovesnik. And your writing is bad. Take him back!"

If I showed a special disposition to one of the artists, then only to those with whom I fell in love. I won't deny that this has happened from time to time. Fortunately, I didn't have to make any compromises when I promoted my favorites in Wider Circle. It so happened that I always fell in love only with talented people. And they deservedly got on the TV screen.

Chechen money

I used to have one of those favorites. Misha Muromov, - continues Molchanova. - True, we did not form contact right away. He then worked as a head waiter in a restaurant, and there were terrible rumors about him that he was some kind of dark person. At first, this scared me.

My friend, a poetess, convinced me to pay attention to Misha. Rimma Kazakova, on the verses of which he wrote the song "Ariadne". Seeing with what enthusiasm the audience accepted him at the Soviet-Polish concert in Vitebsk and at the Zielona Gora festival in Poland, I changed my attitude towards him. And she began to constantly shoot him in the “Wider Circle” as a singer and as a presenter.

Once a poetess Larisa Rubalskaya brought me the lyrics to the song "Strange Woman". She wanted to sing this song Alexander Serov. But Sasha said: “I won’t sing this. That's not mine". Then I offered to give the "Strange Woman" to Muromov. And Misha composed wonderful music.

I even happened to be at his house during the recording. For some time, Misha and I had an affair. I can confess that during this period I received expensive gifts from him. In particular gold jewelry with precious stones. Maybe I shouldn't have taken them. But I justified myself by the fact that Misha was already in great demand in all television programs even without me and gave me these gifts not as a TV worker, but as a beloved woman.

In the future, when we were no longer so close, he remained my good friend and more than once provided me with help and support. I remember that in the 1990s, Shire Krug started having problems with financing, and one day Chechen businessmen, with whom the singer brought me together, gave me money to shoot the program. Yaroslav Evdokimov. The amount was huge at that time - 10 thousand dollars. Having learned about this, Muromov did not allow me to go alone for this money. And he undertook to accompany me, so that, God forbid, nothing would happen to me.

And later, when “Wider Circle” was already airing on the TVC channel and I did not have enough money to pay for sound and lighting equipment, Misha gave money from his own pocket for these expenses and thereby helped my program to exist. In general, he turned out to be a very grateful person.

Friends don't betray

Pleasantly surprised me and my other favorite - Philip Kirkorov, which also first appeared on television with me in “Wider Circle,” says the creator of the TV program. - He always treated me very touchingly. He invited me to his concerts and birthdays. And in Soviet times, he brought me cat food from Bulgaria, which at that time was not sold here. But I never counted on any serious help from him. All the more material.

I still had more than friendly relations with Misha Muromov. And with Philip - purely creative. Only three years ago I dared to turn to Kirkorov with a request for help. I then moved out of town. I needed a car to get to Moscow. I only had half the money to buy it. And the other half I asked for a loan from Philip.

Without thinking for a moment, he replied, "Of course." And he sent me his director with money. But that was not all. Then its director called me and said: "This money is a gift to you from Philip." It touched me very much. Indeed, at that moment, Philip did not need me at all. And when I began to thank him, I heard in response: “You have done much more for me in this life.”

The composer also helped me Igor Krutoy- either he “knocked out” a car for me, for which I stood in line for a long time in Soviet times, then, together with Misha Muromov, he solved problems with my apartment.

The most interesting thing is that at first I didn’t take Igor’s songs in “Shira Krug”. When he and Serov had just arrived in Moscow, Sasha constantly offered them to me. But then Krutoy was under an unspoken ban on television. And I had to shoot Alexander with songs by other authors - Alexandra Pakhmutova, Vladimir Miguli, Evgenia Martynova.

Then, when Igor had already risen, he took Wider Circle under the wing of his ARS company. And we did the program with him for several years. Once messengers came to me from a company that competed with ARS Sergei Lisovsky- his right hand Sergei Lotkov and singer Igor Sarukhanov. And they suggested that I go to Lisovsky. They promised to pay three times more than Krutoy's. “Igor is my friend,” I said. - And friends, as you know, do not betray. Apparently, Krutoy appreciated it. And since then he always told me: “If you need something, contact me!”

Nightmare and horror

But not all artists remember the kindness that was once done to them, - Olga Borisovna suddenly sighed. - In the early 90s, my son Oleg worked in the first Toyota car dealership in Moscow. They stole a car right from the salon, breaking the window. And 10 thousand dollars “hung” on it. I was shocked. This amount was urgently needed. I didn't have that much money, of course. “Maybe you will borrow from your acquaintances artists? - asked the son. “In a month or a month and a half, I will give them everything.”

Everyone I turned to - Misha Muromov, Slava Malezhik, Andrey Derzhavin, Igor Krutoy, - responded to my request and borrowed as much as they could. Sasha Serov also promised to give me 2 thousand dollars. And when I came to him to shoot some TV program at the Youth Palace, he suddenly announced that he was now doing repairs and he had no money.

I cried out of desperation. The next day, the son had to give the money. And I was missing just 2 thousand. came up to me Vitya Markov- husband and producer of the singer Tanya Markova. "Olga Borisovna, why are you crying?" - he asked. I explained to him what happened. “What nonsense! - said Vitya. - Now I'll go to Tanya. I think she has $2,000 in her purse.” And after 5 minutes brought me this amount. At the same time, I cannot say that I had any friendly relations with Tanya Markova. I just sometimes filmed her, like many other artists. Nevertheless, in this situation, he and Vitya behaved very nobly.

Of course, I then paid off with all the artists. But Serov's act left an unpleasant notch in my heart. Then he acted just as ugly with Rimma Kazakova, songs on whose verses brought him success.

In the 1990s, royalties were practically stopped being paid to poets. And Rimma then was in great need. At her request, I called Serov and asked for 2,000 dollars for her. "Come to me! Sasha said. - We'll go to Rimma together. I want to personally give her the money."

He bought a bouquet of flowers and put an envelope in it. I assumed it contained the stipulated amount. And only near the house of Kazakova Sasha admitted to me: “I don’t have two thousand. I only gave her one." Although at that time he was very rich, and these 2 thousand were for him, as for us now 200 rubles. It would seem a trifle, but it greatly jarred me.

And my friendship with Serov ended with a very unpleasant story. For the singer's 60th birthday, the TVC channel commissioned me to make a documentary about him. For a whole month, Sasha blew my mind, refusing to act. Then he seemed to agree and handed over his entire video archive.

I was about to get to work. But Serov suddenly went into denial again and kept me and the entire film crew for another month. He said that the film about him should be somehow special. He invited us to his country house and demanded to shoot it with ten cameras against the backdrop of a dance party. In general, put forward unimaginable ideas.

It ended up that we decided not to do new shootings and instead picked up pieces from Serov's old interviews, which he partially gave me himself.

When I brought him the finished film, he seemed to be very pleased and thanked me. But the next day he called and said: “Everything needs to be redone. I have to be present during the installation. Otherwise, I forbid the screening of the film.” He was especially outraged that his ex-wife Lena took part in it. Although she told only good things about Sasha - how beautifully he looked after her, what a wonderful husband and father he was, and how she regrets that she broke up with him. And most importantly - the film has already been accepted by the channel. The day of the show was set.

To reassure Serov, the channel provided him with two editing shifts to make corrections. He made 2-3 minor remarks and left. And he angrily told me on the phone that I was an old bastard ... and he would not have anything to do with me anymore. Then the TVC channel repeated this film, probably eight times. And every time - with an amazing rating. Everyone who watched it was left in a wild delight. And they said that no one had ever filmed anything better about Serov. But despite this, Sasha still continued to snort that this was some kind of nightmare and horror. It looks like he's just a little out of his mind.

Olga Molchanova was born in Yekaterinburg on March 27, 1949. In 1976, the musical performance “Wider Circle” was released on the central TV channel. The program became an unprecedented breakthrough for that period - the ratings were unrealistically off scale. Olga Molchanova, the editor of "Wider Circle", was at the same time the inspirer, soul, creator and representative person of this project.

Awards and merit

Thanks to her participation, the domestic scene received stars whose names became known in every home. It was on the set of this program that such personalities as M. Zadornov, A. Malinin, Natalya Koroleva, F. Kirkorov and many others first appeared. For most of the artists of that time, Olga Molchanova became the second, creative, mother.

The presenter is an Honored Art Worker of the Russian Federation. In addition, Olga Borisovna is a laureate of the Ovation national award in the nomination "Making a special contribution to the development of music on television." In 2001, "Wider Circle" was broadcast on the TVC channel. With the drop in the popularity rating of the program, Molchanova is actively working in other countries, especially often she visited Israel.

Excerpts from the interview

Olga Molchanova, editor of Wider Circle, stated in one of her interviews that the anniversary edition of the program was filmed on February 11 at the Rossiya concert hall. It was hosted by five famous actresses who had already acted in this role at one time. Among them are Ekaterina Apina, Tatyana Ovsienko, and Jasmine. A purely female team was diluted by the only male representative in the face of the actor

The host of the "Full House" R. Dubovitskaya said that it was she who gave impetus to Gena's talent. By and large, Vetrov first appeared on TV screens in the 80s with a personal unique number - playing a dozen and a half instruments at the same time in the Wider Circle project. At that time, the actor was a member of the theater group "Buff" from Leningrad. The first significant steps on the stage in this program were made by a young Ukrainian Oleg Zhigalkin in the parody genre. Now he has been awarded the title of People's Artist of Ukraine.

According to Olga Molchanova, Oleg was serving in the army when his comrades wrote a letter to the editor that their colleague perfectly imitates popular artists and even imitates Zykina's timbre. The editorial board decided to invite him to the set, and Zhigalkin, as a young soldier, climbed the ladder of popularity. For the first time, another star person shone in the program - Nina Shestakova, well-known and very revered in the post-Soviet space, who worked for some time in the team of Sofia Rotaru. After years of oblivion, the audience was again able to see Nina in the anniversary program.

Olga Borisovna Molchanova, whose biography is full of numerous acquaintances (including on the personal front) with various stars, does not hesitate to say that feelings played a decisive role in choosing a soloist to participate in the program. However, all such prerogatives justified themselves one hundred percent, since people turned out to be really talented, which is confirmed by the love of fans and time.

Difficulties and overcoming them

Igor Matvienko once brought a cassette with sketches of the Ivanushki International group with a request to listen to it and give the guys a chance in the Wider Circle program, the most popular at that time. After studying the material, Molchanova simply fell in love with this group, especially the soloist I. Sorin, who, in her opinion, had incredible charm and talent.

The guys performed in several programs "Wider Circle". According to Olga Molchanova herself, whose biography is full of various events, she is glad that with her help the team was at the peak of popularity. By the way, a unique creative "discovery" - a mega-talented eight-year-old girl Evgenia Aldukhova from Bryansk, who was predicted to have a great future, appeared on the site. She gives solo concerts and has recorded over twenty songs live.

Conflict moments with wards

When asked about conflict situations with celebrities, Olga Borisovna replied that such things happened. For example, the episode with Tatyana Markova, which happened on the set in Pyatigorsk. The participants were accommodated in a beautiful and fashionable sanatorium, Tanya and her husband were provided with a junior suite. Kornelyuk, Ya. Evdokimov and many others lived in the same apartments. There were only two suites. Mikhail Muromov was placed in one, together with the musicians, and the second was occupied directly by Molchanova, since the number was also the headquarters of the television program.

But Markova was cramped and uncomfortable with her husband in her junior suite, and she, positioning herself as an unsurpassed star, delivered an ultimatum, saying that if she was not moved to a suite, she would leave. The program would hardly have suffered from her absence, but Olga Molchanova, the editor of Wider Circle, whose biography contains a minimum of conflict disputes, decided to give up her number to the artist.

Favorite "creative mom"

Often the so-called "own" artists of the editors are those who pay. In Soviet times, there was practically no such comprehensive practice, but the organizers, who were not entirely clean at hand, demanded financial compensation from the performers, knowing about their interest in television. Olga Molchanova claims that such relationships with artists were unacceptable for her, she put on those whom she "discovered" and loved.

She appreciated and developed talent and a promising future. This is Dmitry Malikov, who at the age of 16 performed the composition "Sunny City". Definitely - Philip Kirkorov, seeing whom for the first time, the editor of "Wider Circle" doubted his brilliant career. Despite spectacular external data, combined with internal culture and musicality, the vocal part left much to be desired. "Creative Mom" ​​did not even imagine that a person would make such a giant leap and become a mega-popular pop singer. Among the favorites of Olga Borisovna:

• Serov Alexander;
• Yaroslav Evdokimov;
• accordion guru Valery Kovtun;
• Dobrynin Vyacheslav.

By the way, the last artist fell into disgrace with the state bodies that approved the program participants. Despite this, Olga Molchanova, whose photo is presented below, promoted him to the big stage.

Personal preferences

At one time, one of Olga's favorites was Mikhail Muromov. Their contact was formed after the recommendation of a friend when Misha worked as a head waiter. For a certain time they had an affair with expensive gifts. After cooling in relations, Muromov and Olga Borisovna Molchanova, whose biography is surrounded by stars all the time, remained good friends. Many artists more than once rescued their "godmother" morally and financially.