Leonid Osipovich Utesov, also spelled Utyosov or Utiosov, born Lazar (Leyzer) Iosifovich Vaysbeyn or Weissbein (,

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

– 9 March 1982, Moscow), was a famous Soviet

estrada Estrada is a Spanish surname and a Galician and Portuguese term, meaning "paved road". Notable people with the surname include * Aaron Estrada (born 2001), American basketball player * Armando Estrada, actually Hazem Ali, professional wrestler ...

singer, and comic actor, who became the first pop singer to be awarded the prestigious title of

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

in 1965.''Леонид Утёсов''. Спасибо, сердце!
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Biography

Leonid Utesov was brought up in

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and attended the Faig School of Commerce, from which he dropped out and joined the Borodanov Circus troupe as an acrobat. He started his stage career in 1911 in

Kremenchuk Kremenchuk (; , , also spelt Kremenchug, ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The city serves as the administrative center of Kremenchuk Raion and Kremenchuk urban hromada within ...

, then returned to Odessa, changed his artistic name to Leonid Utesov, and performed as a stand up comedian with the Rosanov troupe and with the Rishelyavsky Theatre. In 1917, he won a singing competition in

Gomel Gomel (, ) or Homyel (, ) is a city in south-eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Gomel Region and Gomel District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it is the List of cities and largest ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, then performed in Moscow. In the 1920s, he moved to

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and set up one of the first Soviet

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

bands. In Leningrad, he began collaboration with the popular composer,

Isaak Dunayevsky Isaak Osipovich Dunayevsky ( ; also transliterated as Dunaevski or Dunaevskiy; 25 July 1955) was a Soviet film composer and conductor of the 1930s and 1940s, who composed music for operetta and film comedies, frequently working with the film dire ...

, which turned out to be a breakthrough for both artists. At that time, Utesov built a band of the finest musicians available in Leningrad, and created a style all his own – a jazz show with stand up comedy, which blended several styles, ranging from Russian folk songs to a variety of international

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

genres. In 1928, Utesov toured Europe and attended performances of American jazz bands in Paris, which influenced his own style. During the 1930s, Utesov and his band, called "Thea-Jazz" (a portmanteau of Theatrical Jazz) had a regular gig at the Marble Hall of the Kirov Palace of Culture in Leningrad. Utesov's jazz band also performed at the Leningrad Maly Opera theatre, at the "Svoboda-teatr," and at the Leningrad Music Hall. In his performances, Utesov delivered a variety of musical styles, including such genres as American jazz, Argentine tango, French chanson, upbeat dance, and Russian folk music. Jolly Fellows film

His popularity was on the rise in the 1930s when he co-starred with

Lyubov Orlova Lyubov Petrovna Orlova ( ; – 26 January 1975) was a Soviet and Russian actress, singer, dancer, and People's Artist of the USSR (1950). Life and career Lyubov Orlova was born to a family of Russian nobility#Hereditary nobility, Russian h ...

in the comedy ''

Jolly Fellows ''Jolly Fellows'' (), also translated as ''Happy-Go-Lucky Guys'', ''Moscow Laughs'' and ''Jazz Comedy'', is a 1934 Soviet musical film, directed by Grigori Aleksandrov and starring his wife Lyubov Orlova, a gifted singer and the first recognize ...

''. In it, Utesov performed such hits as " Serdtse" (Heart). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Utesov performed on the front lines, helping lift the spirits of the Soviet soldiers fighting against the Nazis. He donated two La-5 planes to 5th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment; one of planes was named "Jolly Fellows". After a meeting with

Vitaly Popkov Vitaly Ivanovich Popkov (; 1 May 1922 – 6 February 2010) was a Soviet fighter pilot who became a flying ace during the Second World War. During the war, he was credited with around 40 aerial victories for which he was twice awarded the title H ...

, flight commander of the "singing" squadron and Head of the amateur frontline orchestra, Leonid Osipovich presented the squadron with forty-two of his vinyl records. On

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

(9 May 1945), Utesov performed on Sverdlov Square in Moscow. Utesov lived in Moscow for the rest of his life, albeit in many of his songs he alluded to his native town of

, where a monument to him was dedicated in 2000.

Richard Stites Richard Stites (December 2, 1931 – March 7, 2010) was a historian of Russian culture and professor of history at Georgetown University, famed for "landmark work on the Russian women’s movement and in numerous articles and books on Russian and ...

writes:

In the years of the "red jazz age" (1932–1936) European and Soviet bands were heard in dozens of cities. The kings were
Alexander Tsfasman Alexander Naumovich Tsfasman (; born December 14, 1906 - died February 20, 1971) was a Soviet Jazz pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, publisher and activist. He was an important figure in Soviet Jazz from the period of the mid-1920s until th ...
and Leonid Utesov. ... Utesov – musically far less gifted – was actually more popular than Tsfasman, partly because of the spectacular success of his comedy film '' Happy-Go-Lucky Guys'', but mostly because his Odessa background and his circus and carnival road experience on the southern borscht belt gave him a clowning manner. He resembled his idol, the personable Ted ("Is everybody happy?")
Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...
more than he did any of the great jazz figures of the time. In fact, Utesov was the typical ''estrada'' entertainer – quick witted, versatile, and funny. He was not only one of the stars of the 1930s but also a personal favorite of Stalin.

Filmography

Source: * 1919 – Lieutenant Schmidt – Freedom Fighter (Russian: Лейтенант Шмидт — борец за свободу) * 1923 – Trade-House "Entente and Co." (Russian: Tорговый дом «Антанта и К») * 1926 – Career of Spirka Shpandyr () * 1928 – Strangers (Russian: Чужие) * 1934 –

(Russian: Весёлые ребята) — Kostya Potekhin * 1940 – Concert on the Screen (Russian: Концерт на экране) * 1942 – Concert for the Frontlines (Russian: Концерт фронту) * 1954 – Merry Stars (Russian: Весёлые звёзды) * 1963 – Melodies of

Dunayevsky Dunayevsky, Dunayevski, Dunayevskii, Dunaevsky, etc. () is an East Slavic masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Dunayevskaya or Dunayevskaia. The surname derives from the Danube River, which is called ''Dunay'' in Russian. The Polish-lan ...

(Russian: Мелодии Дунаевского) * 1974 – Pyotr Martynovich and the Years of a Great Life (Russian: Пётр Мартынович и годы большой жизни)

Singles

* Gop so smykom * S Odesskogo kichmana * Odessit-Mishka * Havana * Have a good night * Road to Berlin * My dear Muscovites * Waves of the Danube * Jewish Rhapsody * On a wing and a prayer * When Johnny came home * Leningrad bridges * Happy-go-lucky guys marsh * Song of the old cab * Beautiful marquise * Sea widely * Suliko * Tachanka * Chapliniana * In the Black Sea * Tyuh-tyuh * Oh, my Odessa * Moscow Windows

Honours and awards

minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...

, 5944 Utesov, discovered on 2 May 1984, is named after him. On March 21, 2020,

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celebrated his 125th birthday with a

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Notes

References

External links

*
Biographyin Russian, see items 277–287 for Utesov's songs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Utesov, Leonid 1895 births 1982 deaths 20th-century comedians 20th-century Russian male actors Entertainers from Odesa Film people from Odesa Musicians from Odesa Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian male comedians Russian pop singers Soviet male actors Soviet jazz musicians Jewish Russian comedians Male jazz musicians Odesa Jews Jewish Russian actors 20th-century Russian male singers Deputies of Lensovet