Igor Emilievich Kio (né Igor Emilievich Hirschfeld-Renard) (13 March 1944 – 30 August 2006) was a Russian

illusionist Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...

with the

Russian State Circus (Росгосцирк) Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

. Born Igor Emilievich Hirschfeld-Renard, He was the son of the legendary magician

Emil Kio Emil Teodorovich Kio (né Emil Teodorovich Girshfeld-Renard) (russian: Эмиль Теодорович Кио, Эмиль Теодорович Гиршфельд-Ренард; 11 April 1894 – 19 December 1965) was Soviet illusionist,

(1894-1965). He began to work with his father at age 5, eventually replacing him in the act in 1960. Upon the death of his father in 1965, he inherited the act, which he continued to present in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

(and later, Russia) and all over the world well into the 21st century. In 1962, he was married briefly to

Galina Brezhneva Galina Leonidovna Brezhneva (russian: Галина Леонидовна Брежнева, link=no; 18 April 1929 – 30 June 1998) was the daughter of Soviet politician and longtime General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev and Viktoria Brezhneva. Life ...

, the daughter of

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and ...

; he was 18 years old, she was 33, and already married. Leonid Brezhnev had the marriage immediately cancelled by the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

: it had lasted only nine days... In 1966, Igor Kio married circus artist Yolanta Olkhovikova, who came from a famous Russian circus family. They divorced in 1974, and Yolanta married Igor's brother,

Emil Kio Jr. Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

, himself a famous illusionist. Igor's third wife, whom he married in 1977, was a dancer in his company, Viktoria Ivanovna. Together they had a daughter, also named Viktoria. In addition to his work in the circus ring, Kio often performed on television, including an annual New Year's Day program in the 1980s. He also appeared on television as a presenter, and was featured in a Soviet film, ''Девочка на шаре'' ("The Girl On The Rolling Globe") in 1966. Igor Kio was a major star of Russian entertainment — not in the least for his tumultuous private life. Igor Kio was a member of the

International Brotherhood of Magicians International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) is an organization for both professional and amateur close-up and stage magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St. Charles, Missouri. There are over 300 ...

, and won numerous international awards for his work as a magician. He had been awarded the title of ''People's Artist of the Soviet Russian Federative Republic'' by the Soviet Government in 1980. He had published his memoirs in 1999, titled ''Иллюзии без иллюзий'' ("Illusions without illusions"). Igor died in August 2006 at age 62.

References

* * * Igor Kio, ''Иллюзии без иллюзий'' (Moscow, ВАГРИУС, 1999) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kio, Igor 1944 births 2006 deaths Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Russian magicians Soviet magicians