Ivan Andreyevich Urgant (russian: Ива́н Андре́евич У́ргант; born 16 April 1978) is a Russian television host, presenter, actor, musician and producer. His best known roles in film are Boris in the '' Yolki'' series and as Danila in '' Lucky Trouble''. Between 2012 and 2022 he has hosted '' Evening Urgant'', a
late-night talk show
A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show popular in the United States, where the format originated. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It i ...
, which was suspended in February 2022 after Urgant expressed his opposition to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the 2008 and 2011 surveys, Urgant is Russia's most popular TV presenter. He is the chairman of the board of trustees of the Friends Charitable Foundation.
Biography
Early life
Ivan Urgant was born in
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 ...
,
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
,
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
into a family of actors, the son of Andrei Urgant and Valeriya Kiseleva. His paternal grandparents were actors
Nina Urgant
Nina Nikolayevna Urgant (russian: Ни́на Никола́евна У́ргант; 4 September 1929 – 3 December 2021Luga and a son of
Räpina
Räpina ( vro, Räpinä, german: Rappin) is a town in Põlva County, Estonia. Räpina was administrative centre of Räpina raion from 1950 until 1961, currently it is the administrative centre of Räpina Parish. The oldest commercial enter ...
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
heritage. About a year after Ivan's birth the family separated. After his parents broke up, he lived with his mother and stepfather - Leningrad actor Dmitri Ladygin.
Ivan studied at the Leningrad Children's Music School No. 18, at the Gymnasium at the State Russian Museum. He graduated from
Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy
The Russian State Institute of Performing Arts (russian: Российский государственный институт сценических искусств), formerly known as St Petersburg Theatre Arts Academy, formerly Leningrad State ...
. After receiving his acting education, Ivan did not engage in theater as the main profession. He worked as a waiter, bartender, and then as a host in nightly shows in clubs. In 2018, it was reported he had taken Israeli citizenship.
Career
In 1999, Urgant managed to get a job at the St. Petersburg radio stations. In addition, he appeared on television, was the host of the program ''Petersburg Courier'' on 5TV. Later, he was moved to Moscow and continued his career on the radio - first on Russian Radio, and then on "Hit-FM."
In May 2001, Ivan first appeared on Moscow television, on the television channel
MTV Russia
MTV Russia or MTV Россия (russian: МТВ Россия) was a Russian music and entertainment TV channel, which carried out its broadcasting from September 25, 1998 to May 31, 2013. On October 1, 2013, MTV Russia was relaunched as a satel ...
. He received an invitation to a casting at a time when Olga Shelest and Anton Komolov were looking for a couple of hosts to team up with on the show ''Cheerful Morning''. Since 2002, after the departure of the original team of VJs of "MTV Russia", he began to host the programs ''Total Show'' and ''Expresso''.
From 2003 to 2005 he was involved in a number of TV projects on the
Russia-1
Russia-1 (russian: Россия-1) is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship ch ...
: he was the host of TV show ''
People's Artist
People's Artist is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states (and communist states in general), as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the U ...
'' and ''Pyramid''. He has been working on Channel One since 2005. At the moment, Ivan is a TV presenter in the programs '' Smak'', '' Evening Urgant'' and '' Prozhektorperiskhilton''. Also he often conducts award ceremonies.
Starting from 2006, Urgant has appeared with Vladimir Pozner in the
travel documentary
A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or tourist attractions without recommending particular package deals or tour operators. A travelogue film is an early type of travel ...
series titled ''Travels of Pozner and Urgant''.
In 2007, 2009, 2010 (2), 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016, Urgant was awarded
TEFI
TEFI (russian: ТЭФИ) is an annual award given in the Russian television industry, presented by the Russian Academy of Television. It has been awarded since 1994. TEFI is presented in various sectors (up to 50 nominations in 2008), such as telev ...
.
On 16 May 2009, he presented the finale of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest with former Russian Eurovision participant
Alsou
Alsou Ralifovna Abramova ( rus, Алсу́ Рали́фовна Абра́мова; tt-Cyrl, Алсу Рәлиф кызы Абрамова; ; born 27 June 1983), better known as just Alsou, is a Russian singer and actress. She represented Russ ...
. In December 2017, Urgant was one of the hosts of the
2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...
Team Draw Show, with
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he ha ...
and Maria Komandnaya.
On 24 February 2022, he posted "No to War" on his Instagram account following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia after which his late-night programme was taken off-air. It was reported that he left Russia for
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
with his wife on the 11 March.
Other ventures
From 2011, Urgant owns a restaurant ''The Sad'' (russian: Сад; "Garden") together with Aleksandr Tsekalo in Moscow. He has been a board member and co-owner of the elite real estate agency "W1Evans" since 2016.
Urgant has hosted various TV shows, including:
* ''Petersburg Courier'' ( 5TV, 1999)
* ''Big Movie'' (
MTV Russia
MTV Russia or MTV Россия (russian: МТВ Россия) was a Russian music and entertainment TV channel, which carried out its broadcasting from September 25, 1998 to May 31, 2013. On October 1, 2013, MTV Russia was relaunched as a satel ...
People's Artist
People's Artist is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states (and communist states in general), as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the U ...
'' (
Russia-1
Russia-1 (russian: Россия-1) is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship ch ...
, 2003–2004)
* ''Pyramid'' (Russia-1, 2004)
* ''Great Premiere'' ( Channel One, 2005)
* ''Spring with Ivan Urgant'' (Channel One, 2006)
* '' Gusto'' (Channel One; 2006–2018)
* ''Circus With Stars'' (Channel One, 2007–2008)
* ''Stenka na stenku'' (''Showdown'') (Channel One, 2007–2008)
* ''The Magic World of Walt Disney'' (Channel One, 2007–2011)
* '' Big Difference'' (Channel One, 2008–2012)
* ''One-Storied America'' (Channel One, 2008)
* '' Prozhektorperiskhilton'' (Channel One, 2008–2012, 2017–present)
* ''Tour de France'' (Channel One, 2011)
* '' Evening Urgant'' (Channel One; 2012–present)
* ''Their Italia'' (Channel One; 2012)
* ''The German Puzzle'' (Channel One; 2013)
* ''England in general and particular'' (Channel One; 2014)
* ''Jewish Happiness'' (Channel One; 2016)
* ''Podmoskovnie vechera'' (Channel One; 2016–present). Producer.
* ''In search of Don Quixote'' (Channel One; 2017)
Music
Ivan Urgant plays guitar, piano and drums. In the late 1990s he acted under the pseudonym ''Vnuk'' (russian: Внук - ''Grandson''). In 2011 Ivan renewed his own singing career and now is acting under the pseudonym Grisha Urgant.
Discography
* 1999 — "Star"
* 2012 — "Estrada"
Theatrical experience
Savva Vasilkov in the play of the
Moscow Pushkin Drama Theatre
The Moscow Pushkin Drama Theatre is a theatre company in Moscow, Russian Federation created in 1950 on the base of Alexander Tairov's Chamber Theatre, which was founded in 1914 and shut down in 1949 for ideological reasons. The theatre is based ...