Boris Alexandrovich Kryuk. Born on August 18, 1966 in Moscow. Russian TV presenter, TV director, general producer TV game “What? Where? When?".

Father - Alexander Kryuk.

Mother - (born December 5, 1945), graduated from the Leningrad Pedagogical Institute named after N.K. Krupskaya and the Institute of Advanced Training for Television and Radio Workers at the USSR State Television and Radio. Since 1968, she worked in the Youth Edition of the Central Television of the USSR State Television and Radio in the program “Auction”, general producer of JSC “Igra”, vice-president of the International Association of Clubs “What? Where? When?".

Boris's parents were classmates and got married as students in their third year at the institute. Divorced in 1970.

Stepfather - (born Kalmanovich; 1930-2001), Soviet and Russian TV presenter, theater director, author and host of the game show “What? Where? When?”, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation.

Vladimir Voroshilov appeared in the life of Boris Hook when he was 4 years old. He was much older than his mother; for Voroshilov’s sake, she left her first husband.

WITH early age often visited his stepfather's studio. For 10 years during each live broadcast worked in the announcer's room next to Vladimir Voroshilov.

In 1977, in the game “What? Where? When?" For the first time, the spinning top began to “select” letters from TV viewers laid out on the gaming table (before that, it “selected” the player who would answer the question). The first question of the game that the top “chose” was Boris’s question: the question was a chess problem. He received a prize - the book “Eureka”.

He even managed to come up with creative ideas: 12-year-old Boris came up with the rule “Losing experts leave the club forever.” He worked as an assistant director, later held the position of music editor, and supervised the musical breaks in the game “What? Where? When?".

About cooperation with his stepfather, Boris said: “But you don’t need to think that he considered me a brilliant child who understood television programs better than professionals. He was just always interested in people who think differently from him.”

Boris Kryuk, Natalia Stetsenko and Vladimir Voroshilov

Graduated music school in guitar class. In his youth he was fond of bard songs and sang well with the guitar.

In 1989 he graduated from Moscow State Technical University. Bauman, receiving the profession of design engineer. However, he did not work in his specialty - he got a job with his famous stepfather on TV, and became an employee of the Youth Editorial Office of Central Television.

In 1990, Voroshilov decided to film "Brain Ring" and entrusted this to Boris Kryuk and director Nikolai Vostokov. They had to organize the turnkey program themselves. Koyuk recalled: “I was so exhausted and spent so many nights without sleep that one day I passed out right at the planning meeting in a room where 15 people were arguing, shouting over each other!.. It was a utopia to think that three beginners could completely make a program, and the master will simply come and sit in the presenter's chair. As a result, when Voroshilov arrived at the studio shortly before the start of filming, it turned out that everything urgently needed to be redone. And we spent an unforgettable two days!"

From January 13, 1991 to 1999, he co-hosted the once popular romantic TV show "Love at first sight". In 1993-1999 he was also the program director.

According to the rules of the show “Love at First Sight,” three girls and three young men meet for the first time in the program’s studio, where they answer tricky questions leading. After they have managed to get an idea about each of the participants, the presenters offer to vote. Girls and young men must choose a pair by pressing buttons, and the computer determines whether the pairs match. Matched pairs go to different restaurants. On the second day, the couples return to the studio to answer the host’s questions at the second stage of the game about how a young man or girl will behave in a particular situation. life situation. For each correct answer, the pair is given one “shot” on the computer. Each “shot” is given four seconds. For each hit in the “heart” the couple is awarded a prize. Among the “hearts” was also hidden the main prize - “Romantic Journey”.

Boris Kryuk and Alla Volkova - Love at first sight

On March 10, 2001, Vladimir Voroshilov died in Peredelkino, in the program "What? Where? When?" he was replaced by Boris Kryuk. At first, Vladimir Voroshilov sounded in the game - Boris Hook's voice was distorted on the computer. The details were hidden from the public. On film set Voroshilov’s cousin came - so that experts would think that it was he who was playing the game.

Later, Boris Kryuk admitted that he hosts the program “What? Where? When?" exactly him.

Boris Kryuk, as before and Vladimir Voroshilov, have repeatedly emphasized that, unlike many other television mind games, such as “Own Game”, “Brain Ring” and others, “What? Where? When?" is a game not for knowledge and erudition, but for intelligence and reasoning skills. Most of the questions in the game are designed in such a way that even the most erudite experts cannot know the correct answer initially, but in almost all questions the correct answer can be thought of within a minute of discussion. Even among experts who give early answers, as a rule, the experts themselves cite a chain of reasoning that they quickly carried out and were able to give the correct answer.

First Deputy general director television company "Igra-TV".

Vice-President of the International Association of Clubs “What? Where? When?".

Boris Kryuk in the program "Evening Urgant"

Boris Kryuk's height: 185 centimeters.

Personal life Boris Kryuk:

Was married twice.

First wife- Inna, a microbiologist by profession. We got married in 1990.

The marriage produced a son, Mikhail, and a daughter, Alexandra.

He lived with his first wife for 10 years, and after the divorce he took part in raising the children.

Son Mikhail inherited the mathematical abilities of Boris Kryuk, studied well at school, then graduated from the University of Edinburgh, became an economist, and lives in Scotland.

Eldest daughter Since childhood, Alexandra has been a copy of her father. From 7 to 14 years old she studied in a theater studio. She studied at the university in London, specializing in media - making stories for radio and television, writing articles. Lives in England.

Second wife- Anna Antonyuk, economist.

The couple had daughters Alexandra and Varvara. As Hook explained, he named his two daughters Alexandra after next reason: “I have a “terrible” story with Sasha: both of Sasha’s grandmothers, Sasha’s great-grandmother, Sasha’s great-grandfather... And when Inna and I had a daughter, we named her in honor of all of them... Anya, my second wife, always too I dreamed of naming my daughter Sasha. And I, of course, agreed.”

Varya - only child Hook, who is very interested in “What? Where? When?".

TV projects of Boris Kryuk:

"What? Where? When?"
"Love at first sight"
"Brain Ring"

In a year it will be 40 years since the creation of the legendary program. This intellectual TV game made famous many residents of Russia and the CIS countries. It was invented by Vladimir Voroshilov and Natalia Stetsenko.

September 4, 1975 is officially considered the birthday of the game “What? Where? When?". On this day, the “Family Quiz “What?” was aired for the first time. Where? When?". Two teams took part in the program - the Ivanov family and the Kuznetsov family from Moscow.

P. I. Tchaikovsky ( Queen of Spades) - Aria: “What is our life? A game!" (Hermann)

The program was filmed in parts - first visiting one family, and then visiting another. Each team was asked 11 questions. The two stories were combined into one using photographs from the family albums of the Ivanovs and Kuznetsovs. 1 program was aired.

In 1976, the game “What? Where? When?" has already changed a lot and received the name “television youth club”. True, the first release of the game was led not by Vladimir Voroshilov, but by Alexander Maslyakov, who later revived the KVN project.

The first players were MSU students, who talked loudly and smoked while discussing the issue; there was no minute limit; everyone played for themselves, and not in a team.

Students from several faculties of Moscow State University took part in the recording of the 1976 program. In 1976, a top appeared in the game. There had not yet been a minute of discussion. Participants in the game answered questions immediately, without preparation. Each participant played for himself.

The arrow of the top chose the person who would answer the viewer’s question. In the 70s and 80s, the prizes in the game were books. The book prizes were presented by Tamara Vladimirovna Vishnyakova, a member of the Presidium of the All-Union Society of Book Lovers. Answered the question - get a prize - a book. Answer seven questions and receive the main prize - a set of books.

Richard Strauss - Also sprach Zarathustra (Start of the game)

The first questions were invented by V. Voroshilov himself and the program’s editorial team, since the “team of TV viewers” ​​did not yet exist, and later, when the game became popular, they began to accept questions from TV viewers.

It is known that bags of letters arrived every day, each of which had to be answered, the best questions selected, the accuracy of the facts presented checked, edited, prepared, if necessary, the necessary items.

The players' answers were evaluated by members of the honorary jury - academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences O.V. Baroyan, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences V.O. Goldansky, writer D.S. Danin. On December 24, 1977, the game finally took its final form: a spinning top showing a question and a one-minute time limit for discussing the question.

In 1977, its first symbol, Fomka the Owl, appeared in the game. For more than 20 years, the program's director of photography was Alexander Fuks.

In the same year, the broadcast was moved behind the scenes. Among the new voice-over presenters were Vladimir Voroshilov and employees of the youth editorial office of the Central Television, journalists Andrei Menshikov and Svetlana Berdnikova, as well as geologist Zoya Arapova.

Vladimir Voroshilov was the main presenter of the game, the other voices played a supporting role - they voiced letters from viewers. Incredible facts about known things.

James Last - Ra-ta-ta (Black Box)

Who was broadcasting the program “on the other side of the screen” remained a mystery to TV viewers for a long time. And Vladimir Voroshilov’s “nickname” “Incognito from Ostankino” was firmly established. The name of the game host will be heard for the first time on April 23, 1980, when the broadcast ends with the words: “The broadcast was hosted by Vladimir Voroshilov.”

Dixieland Albert Melkonov - Wild Horse (Volchyok)

In 1977, for the first time, the spinning top pointed to viewers' letters rather than to the responding player. A minute of discussion appears in the game. Each correct answer brings a prize-book to the general fund of the game participants. If the club members lost the question, the entire six players changed.
In 1977, the club began a tradition of presenting a prize to a TV viewer for best question.

Initially, there was no special name for players, but in 1979 the term “adept” appeared. Now this word has become familiar to describe the participants in the game, and the club is called the “club of experts.”

For several years, the game “What? Where? When?" was one of the few programs on Soviet television where you could see clips of popular foreign performers.

In 1982, the form of the game was finally determined. A new rule has been introduced: the game continues until six points. Until this moment, the score of the game was always different - as many questions were asked as the timing allowed. The field is the presenter’s “branded” phrase: “The score is 0:0. TV viewers versus experts. First round."

Since 1990, all games of the elite television club “What? Where? When?" take place in the Hunting Lodge in Neskuchny Garden.
On December 30, 2000, Vladimir Yakovlevich Voroshilov played his last game. On March 10, 2001, Vladimir Yakovlevich passed away. The 2001 Summer Series was dedicated to his memory.

Program “What? Where? When?" has been awarded the TEFI television award more than once: in 1997 in the category “ Entertainment"; in 2001 in the “Television Game” category, and its author and first presenter Vladimir Voroshilov was posthumously awarded the prize “For personal contribution to the development of domestic television”, the prize “ Best Operator", also posthumously, was awarded to Alexander Fuchs.

42 years ago, on September 4, 1975, the first broadcast of the television club of experts “What? Where? When?". True, there were no experts then. Initially, the favorite game was a family quiz.

Two teams took part in the program - the Ivanov family and the Kuznetsov family from Moscow. The program was filmed in parts - first visiting one family, and then visiting another. Each team was asked 11 questions. The two stories were combined into one using photographs from the family albums of the Ivanovs and Kuznetsovs. Only one program was aired. It was a year of searching for the form of the game.

(Total 25 photos)

1984 Recording of the television game “What? Where? When?" on Central Television. © RIA Novosti, M. Yurchenko But the very next year, 1976, the family quiz turned into the television youth club “What? Where? When?". The recording of the program was attended by students from several faculties of Moscow State University, who spoke loudly and smoked while discussing the issue. The first episode of the game was hosted not by Vladimir Voroshilov, but by... Alexander Maslyakov.

1984 TV presenter of the quiz “What? Where? When?" Vladimir Voroshilov is waiting for an answer to the question. © RIA Novosti, M. Yurchenko That's when the top appeared in the game. True, the arrow of the top chose the person who would answer the viewer’s question. Participants in the game answered questions immediately, without preparation. Each participant played for himself. There had not yet been a minute of discussion. Answer the question - get a prize: a book. Answer seven questions and get the main prize: a set of books. The players' answers were evaluated by members of the honorary jury - Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences O.V. Baroyan, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences V.O. Goldansky, writer D.S. Danin.

1984 Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences Igor Petryanov-Sokolov takes part in the television quiz show “What? Where? When?". © RIA Novosti, M. Yurchenko The following year, 1977, the broadcast moved behind the scenes. The presenter in the frame was replaced by four voice-overs. Among the new voice-over presenters were Vladimir Voroshilov and members of the youth editorial staff of Central Television, journalists Andrei Menshikov and Svetlana Berdnikova, as well as geologist Zoya Arapova. Vladimir Voroshilov was the main presenter of the game, the other voices played a supporting role - they voiced letters from viewers.

1984 Participants in the TV quiz show “What? Where? When?" discussing the issue. © RIA Novosti, M. Yurchenko Who was broadcasting on the other side of the screen remained a mystery to TV viewers for a long time (until 1980). And for Vladimir Voroshilov the nickname “incognito from Ostankino” was firmly established. The name of the game host will be heard for the first time on April 23, 1980, when the broadcast ends with the words: “The broadcast was hosted by Vladimir Voroshilov.”

1985 Director and host of the television club “What? Where? When?" Vladimir Voroshilov is preparing another game. © RIA Novosti, G. Kazarinov On December 24, 1977, the game finally took its final form: a spinning top pointing at the question rather than at the player, a one-minute time limit for discussing a question, and a prize for the viewer for the best question.

An employee of the animal center of the Russian film studio "Tsentrnauchfilm" with the eagle owl Fomka, the constant symbol of the TV show "What? Where? When?". © RIA Novosti, Ettinger At the same time, its first symbol appeared in the game - Fomka the eagle owl.

Then, according to the rules of the game, each correct answer brought a prize-book to the general fund of the game participants. If the club members lost the question, the entire six players changed.

1985 Experts and the scriptwriter, director and host of the program, Vladimir Voroshilov, discuss the results of the game. © RIA Novosti, G. Kazarinov In 1979, the program participants were called “experts” for the first time. Up to this point, all the players were “members of the What? Where? When?” or simply “participants” of the program. Also this year, the club teams have coaches: candidates psychological sciences Boris Bratus and Alexander Asmanov, lecturer of the department social psychology Adolf Harash. Coaches can call a timeout, make substitutions for individual players or the entire six.

1985 Player of the television club “What? Where? When?" Alexander Vengertsev, a builder from the city of Dmitrovograd, Ulyanovsk region. © RIA Novosti, G. Kazarinov January 24, 1979 in the game “What? Where? When?" The first musical pause sounded.

1988 Musical break in the program “What? Where? When?". © RIA Novosti, Oleg Lastochkin For several years, the game “What? Where? When?" was one of the few programs on Soviet television where you could see popular foreign performers.

1989 Participant in the musical break is Greek singer Demis Roussos. © RIA Novosti, Oleg Lastochkin In 1980, a new rule was introduced - in critical situation the losing team was given a special chance: the final round could be played by the whole club.

1986 Broadcast of the program “What? Where? When?". © ITAR-TASS, Igor Zotin In 1982, the form of the game was finally determined. A new rule has been introduced: the game continues until six points. Until this moment, the score of the game was always different - as many questions were asked as the timing allowed. The presenter’s signature phrase appears: “The score is 0:0. TV viewers versus experts. First round."

1985 The captain of one of the teams of the club “What? Where? When?" Marina Letavina. © RIA Novosti, G. Kazarinov The entire game is played by one team of experts; experts continue to participate in the games of the season if they win; experts give up their place in the club to newcomers if they lose.

1985 Participants in the TV quiz show “What? Where? When?" are thinking about the answer. © RIA Novosti, G. Kazarinov In 1983, the Club of Connoisseurs settled into a new premises - a mansion on the street. Herzen, 47. This season they are playing in threes. Two troikas play, one troika is in the “spare” chairs. It is possible to replace the entire trio or one or two players. The composition of the team changes at the discretion of the captain. Some of the experts announced for the game remain “spare” and do not participate in the game. A new rule has been introduced - experts can refuse a minute of discussion and use the saved minute in any other round.

1989 Experts at the gaming table. © ITAR-TASS, Boris Dembitsky 1984 Players are allowed to use reference books during a minute of discussion: Large Soviet encyclopedia, dictionaries of Ushakov, Ozhegov and Dahl, Philosophical encyclopedic dictionary, Geographical encyclopedic dictionary, Physical encyclopedic dictionary, Chemical encyclopedic dictionary, Soviet encyclopedic dictionary.

1985 The game is on. Television club “What? Where? When?". © RIA Novosti, G. Kazarinov Three stages appeared in the playing hall. On the small stage there is a bookcase with encyclopedias. On the second stage there is a penalty box. On the largest one there is an installation for music and sound accompaniment. The player who gave the wrong answer is sent to the penalty box. Penalties return to the gaming table after the first point won by the experts.

1988 Broadcast of the program “What? Where? When?". © RIA Novosti, Oleg Lastochkin In 1985, a new change - not just one six, but the entire club - six six experts - takes part in each game. Teams change according to the principle: if you win, continue the game; if you lose, give way to the other team. Teams change by lot: in the sectors on the gaming table there are inverted game tickets of the captains. If the experts lose the round, the game ticket is turned over and it becomes clear which six will come to replace it. Decisive round of the game: if the team wins, they get the right to start the game next time and receive all the prizes. The team that loses in the last round of the game leaves the club. Newcomers take the place of these six.

1989 Broadcast of the program “What? Where? When?". © ITAR-TASS, Boris Dembitsky In 1986, once again, one six experts compete in each game. The first “blitz tournaments” were introduced. Musical pause symbols disappear from game sectors. Treble clefs are now held by team captains. Teams take musical breaks at their own discretion. A moment of help from television fans appears. This was the last gaming year in the mansion at 47 Herzen Street.

In 1987, a series of international games “What? Where? When?". At the games in Bulgaria, for the first time, it was decided to change the traditional prize system. Book prizes at international games have replaced handicrafts, arts and crafts of the two countries, and consumer goods.

1987 Host of the TV show “What? Where? When?" V. Voroshilov (right). Photo by Igor Zotin (TASS Photo Chronicle) In 1988, a series of games took place in the international club “What? Where? When?". Teams from the USSR, USA, Bulgaria, Poland, and France are playing.

It’s not just one six experts playing against the TV viewers, but the entire club - 13 six experts. Any team of experts can answer for the entire club, and the entire club is responsible for that answer. Any six can protest the answer of the previous team. The answer that was given last is accepted as the final version of the club.

Starting from the second qualifying game, a new rule was introduced: the six who gave the wrong answer and lost the round ceased to participate in the games of the season. Only a game won by the club can save the team players.

1988 Center for International Trade and Scientific and Technical Relations. Live broadcast of the program of the Main Editorial Board of Programs for Youth of Central Television “What? Where? When?”, which was attended by experts from Bulgaria, Poland, the USSR and the USA. Photo by Oleg Ivanov /TASS Photo Chronicle/ In 1989, the International Games “What? Where? When?". Venue: Moscow, International Trade Center on Krasnaya Presnya (Sovintsentr). One main six experts and nine teams of experts play. Teams of experts determine the difficulty of each question in the game. Depending on the difficulty of the question, you can get from 1 to 10 points in each round.

If all nine expert teams give the correct answer, the question is worth one point. Eight teams gave the correct answer - the question is worth two points, etc. If none of the expert teams gave the correct answer, the question receives the highest score - 10 points. If the top six experts win the round, those ten points go to the experts. If the playing team cannot solve the problem, then the TV viewers get 10 points.

The team of experts that receives the highest intellectual rating as a result of the game receives the right to continue the next game at the central gaming table. The team with the lowest rating must leave the club. A new six players will take its place.

Due to the fact that the main rule of the game has been temporarily canceled (the game goes to six points), a new limit of the game has been established - midnight. The game ends at the third rooster crow on the Sovintsentr tower.

In the winter of 1991, money appeared on the gaming table for the first time. An intellectual club becomes an intelligent casino. The presenter began to be called the croupier. For the first time, the phrase “Intellectual casino is the only place where you can make money with your own mind” appears.

The basic rules of the game have not changed: one six experts play, the game goes to six points, the losing team loses its place in the club.

2005 year. Broadcast of the program “What? Where? When?". © ITAR-TASS, Natalya Nechaeva Vladimir Yakovlevich Voroshilov was the permanent host of the program for 25 years. On December 30, 2000, he played his last game - the final of the anniversary series of games, which decided the fate of the elite club “What? Where? When?". The experts won with a score of 6:5. The victory of the experts meant that the games in the elite club “What? Where? When?" must continue.

— My mother, Natalia Ivanovna Stetsenko, worked on television, did various programs and constantly took me as a little girl to filming. To “Come on, girls!” I rode a tractor for the first time, as the participants competed to see who could plow the field the fastest; I sat on a horse for the first time - the participants rode horses. And then my mother, together with her husband Vladimir Voroshilov, filmed “Come on, guys!” And there I was able to ride a motorcycle and hold a machine gun in my hands. I kept running around Vovka (that’s what I called Voroshilov as a child, and when they started working together, I began to address him by his first name and patronymic - Vladimir Yakovlevich). When I was eight years old

nine, mom said it was for her new program"What? Where? When?" I need to come up with a question urgently. Well, it must be so. In those years I was fond of chess, so I wrote a chess problem. My question was the very first one, they couldn’t give a correct answer to it, and I got a prize - the book “Eureka”. I don’t even know where she is now: I haven’t seen her for more than thirty years. Then Voroshilov regularly talked to me about “What? Where? When?”, he consulted... But you don’t need to think that he considered me a brilliant child who understood television programs better than professionals. He was just always interested in people who thought differently from him, and these could be the cleaners, the doctors who treated him, his seat neighbors on the plane. Mom laughed at him, because when he got into a taxi, he immediately started talking about “What? Where? When?" with a taxi driver: what is the best way to do this and that? It is possible that he put some of their advice into practice. At least he listened to mine. When I was about 19, Voroshilov introduced a rule I had invented: the losing team leaves the club forever. From the age of 12 I constantly helped Voroshilov. I remember very well how in 1981 I welcomed Alexander Druz to the club; he was then wearing a checkered white and blue shirt.

- We immediately realized that he future star?

- No, but Sasha became a star only a few years later. Although he entered the history of the game in 1982, while he was still on the sidelines: he became the first expert to be disqualified for giving a hint. Then, when he was “caught” doing this a second time, it was actually not he who suggested it, but me! I stood behind him, and it was my voice that Voroshilov heard. Moreover, I didn’t even know the answer: other experts were whispering next to me. But I still couldn’t admit...

— Outside of games, did you communicate with Druz and other players?

- No, they were quite older, and our interests had little overlap. Three times they invited me to a get-together after the game, and, of course, I had fun with the adults. And when I graduated from school, I talked a lot with Alexander Byalko: he studied physics with me, prepared me for entering college. I was going to follow in my father’s footsteps, to the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School. I got a C in physics on the exam. And this meant that even if I got A’s in the other subjects, there would still be no scholarship, so I behaved quite arrogantly on the written exam in mathematics. That day I had to go somewhere. I solved four problems in 40 minutes - and was so confident in the correctness of the answers that I didn’t bother taking on the fifth at all. She was complicated, I would have spent an hour and a half fiddling with her. My dad, secretly from me, agreed with a familiar teacher from Baumanka that he would come to the exam and check my work. He came an hour and a half after the start, looking for me among two or three hundred applicants - but, of course, to no avail. When I returned home in the evening, my mother pounced: “Dad is looking for you! Didn’t you go to the exam?!”

“It’s rare that an applicant can boast of such calmness!”

— I generally have this trait: if something is enough for me, I don’t see the point in wasting energy and time on something more. 52 people entered my stream, and 18 graduated. I was among them. When we were in our fifth year, we were told that there would be no assignment, but Muscovites could be placed in Moscow. There were two options: a pipe plant, located on the site of the current Gorbushka, and a research institute, located at the end of Ryazansky Prospekt. The research institute was more suitable for me, but the plant was much closer to home. And I had already suffered with long distances: every morning I spent an hour and twenty on the road to the institute. In general, I couldn’t choose. But then they just decided to hold the “What? Where? When?”, and Voroshilov sent me there. Andrei Kozlov, whom I met there, and I organized this event, and Voroshilov said: “You don’t need to go to the factory or to the research institute. Come to us".

I agreed, but... I never thought it would be so terrible! The first three years were an ongoing nightmare! Remember how Raikin did? “My father, Sidorov Sr., tore me, Sidorov Jr., like Sidorov’s goat.” Only it was not my father who tore me, but Voroshilov. He was not only incredibly talented, but also simply impossible. My position was called “assistant director”, and I was supposed to be with Voroshilov and deal with both the program and his personal issues. The first autumn, I didn’t understand whether it was morning or evening, or what was happening around me. Voroshilov could call at seven in the morning with a question that could easily be resolved at lunchtime or even tomorrow, although he knew that I went to bed at two or three o’clock.

— Voroshilov was not only incredibly talented, but also simply impossible. With mother Natalia Stetsenko and Vladimir Voroshilov (1995). Photo: Archive of the television company “Igra-TV”

When Vladimir Molchanov took my place in 1992, his position was already called “referent”. The affairs of Volodya’s program did not concern him. And everything was on me at once: repairing Voroshilov’s car, buying groceries, issues related to directing, scenery and props, filming and editing. Now these issues are solved not by one person, but by several... In addition, I was the head of the “musical breaks”, and here I was also terribly unlucky: I started working in the year when Voroshilov was impatient to invite foreign singers and musicians, and I was forced to study their tickets and hotels. Voroshilov had a tender relationship with the Finnish company Finnair, and for a long time I had to persuade the artists to fly to Moscow via Helsinki. For example, some Dutch singer said: “I can fly directly from Amsterdam. I will buy tickets on the spot, and you will return the money to me in Moscow.” I said: “We can’t do this! We will send you tickets, but you will fly through Helsinki.” - "But why?! It’s just as inconvenient!” And so with everyone.

And in 1990, after the New Year, Voroshilov decided to film “Brain Ring”. And he instructed me, the young director Kolya Vostokov and his assistant Ira Zadvornova - a sort of completely inexperienced, green three-headed dragon - to independently organize the program, as they say, on a turnkey basis. And it was... unbearable. I was so exhausted and spent so many nights without sleep that one day I passed out right at a planning meeting in a room where 15 people were arguing, shouting over each other! At the same time, we must take into account that in a normal state I cannot sleep at all during the day and even at night, for example on an airplane, I fall asleep only after a gigantic dose of sleeping pills... It was a utopia to think that three beginners could completely make a program, and the master would just come and sit down in the presenter's chair. As a result, when Voroshilov arrived at the studio shortly before the start of filming, it turned out that everything urgently needed to be redone. And we spent an unforgettable two days!

— Didn’t want to leave?

— I said regularly that I was leaving. Then Voroshilov loosened his grip for a while.

— Couldn’t your mother tell him “Don’t mock the child”?

“She didn’t know all the nuances, because a lot of things were decided over the phone, and she didn’t hear our conversations. We only sat together at meetings. But quarreling at a meeting was like drinking tea, no one paid attention to such nonsense... Having starred in the first episodes of Brain Ring, Voroshilov said: “I’m not interested in doing it anymore, I want to concentrate on “What?” Where? When?". Naturally, the question arose, who would then be the host of the “Brain Ring”. “Yes, even Borya,” he answered. But I didn’t even have time to start preparing to host the program. Events in 1990 rushed in a particularly stormy stream. On August 25, I married Inna, and in September an English producer flew to Moscow who wanted to sell the programs his company made to Soviet television. Since they were mainly gaming, Sovteleexport invited Voroshilov as an expert, and he invited Natalia Ivanovna and me. Everything seemed monotonous to us: people stand, press buttons and answer questions. Only “Love at First Sight” seemed funny and unusual, and they bought it. I was supposed to become a director, and Andrei Kozlov was going to be made the presenter. Once at the qualifying round, when Andrei was not there, I took his place, and Voroshilov laughed: “You can see from Bora how much he understands nothing about love affairs! Let him gain his wits along with the TV viewers.” Indeed, the mustachioed Kozlov looked like an experienced man, and it might seem that he was looking at what was happening a little from above and teaching, while I, with my glasses, gave the impression of a naive nerd. Thus the castling took place. About two years later, Kozlov was the director of “Love...”, which I hosted, and I was the director of “Brain Ring,” which he hosted, and after he became the director,

and the host of “Brain Ring”, and I – “Love...”. By the way, due to the fact that we had such an abbreviation in everyday life, funny situations arose more than once. Our sound engineer, the most intelligent Natasha Plutalova, once called the technical directorate of the television center and said: “I need complex technical devices for “Love...”. The head of the service, having heard a bold statement from a 55-year-old lady, was upset. Another time, we were riding in a crowded elevator at Ostankino with editor Valentina Alekseevna Andreeva after editing “What? Where? When?”, and Valya, in complete silence, tiredly exhaled: “Yes, Borya, I just don’t know one thing - when you and I will engage in “Love...”

— Did you like hosting “Love at First Sight”?

- Yes, although it was very difficult. Actors and directors say that comedy requires much more effort than tragedy. So it’s easier for me to play five games “What? Where? When?" spend than one frivolous “Love at first sight.” There was a lot of improvisation on the set of “Love...”. If you don’t know what to say next or how to joke, it’s a very tense moment...

— It’s easier for me to play five games “What? Where? When?" spend than one frivolous “Love at first sight.” With co-host Alla Volkova (still from the program “Love at First Sight”, 1990). Photo: Archive of the television company “Igra-TV”

— Couldn’t the editors help out?

— In this sense, I am awkward: I categorically cannot voice what someone else has come up with. And even if I told the editors my joke in advance, I’m no longer interested in repeating it in public. I came up with something and silently keep it in my head until the right moment.

- It’s so hard...

“But it was even harder to hide the work on “Love at First Sight” from Voroshilov! From 1991 to 1998 we filmed about 200 episodes. No, he didn’t touch me for seven or eight days while the program block was being filmed. But you don’t have time to tell Voroshilov, “What? Where? When?”, because other shootings are on the way, it would be a deadly number! That’s why we filmed two or three dozen episodes at a time, because we couldn’t find time otherwise. Voroshilov reluctantly gave us a month for this, but to prepare four live broadcasts of “What? Where? When?" three months were allotted, and the first two were very difficult.

“I would like to ask, was there anything easy?”

— Live broadcast day. Voroshilov that day was quiet, calm, did not quarrel with anyone, did not touch me. It was not difficult for me to sit on air with him, so I considered it practically a day off. True, the next morning Voroshilov again began to chase me like Sidorov’s goat... Only about three years after I started working did I learn to cope.

I understood that Voroshilov was shouting, making scandals and demanding the moon from the sky not because he was a tyrant, but because he couldn’t decide something, didn’t know how best to act, and therefore was wildly nervous. And when I became able to protect him from any such problems and could simply say: “Never mind, I’ll solve it myself,” then our relationship changed. But anyway, already in 1996, he called me one day at four o’clock in the morning and demanded that I immediately bring a Betacam cassette to his home ( professional equipment for television. — Approx. "TN") with a recording of the program. Moreover, he had nothing to watch it at home! But I wasn’t the first person he called that night—it’s just that no one else picked up.

— And having become the director, presenter and general producer of “What? Where? When?”, you probably yourself were on the other side of the barricades and also called your employees at night?

- No, honestly! And in general, when I call employees, I always first ask if it’s convenient to talk.

— Half of your team has worked with Voroshilov for decades and remembers you as a child. When you became a manager, did your relationship change dramatically?

— Relations changed gradually. Of course, now they are not the same as when I was 10, and at 20, and at 25. I remember how editor Valya was amused when in 1989 someone in a conversation dropped the phrase: “And Borka will be your boss...” So she then she laughed and couldn’t stop: “Oh, Borka will be the boss! A-ha-ha-ha!” But there are employees who, if not grown up, have already matured before my eyes. Andrei Lysenko, whom viewers may remember as the manager of the hall who carried a “black box,” came to us as a twenty-year-old student. His friend wanted to participate in “Love at First Sight,” and Andrei was waiting for him at the qualifying round. The editors, noticing the curly-haired handsome man, said: “Boy, let’s try you too.” And he first took part in the program, then he began working as an assistant director, and now he is the director himself, my right hand.

— I heard that during the broadcast of “What? Where? When?" came up with the idea of ​​communicating using cards. To maintain silence in the announcer's room and save time, they simply showed a card, for example: “A friend is sleeping,” “Hint,” or “Give the floor to someone else.”

- No, it was Voroshilov who came up with it. I followed him and started writing cards and questions. I’m probably the only presenter in the country who still writes everything personally and by hand. During preparation, my hands were all smeared with felt-tip pens. When I write questions, I understand better, and if they just give me to read them, I will read them, but will not dive into the material to the required depth. So, even if it gets boring, I force myself.

— Following Voroshilov, I began to write cards and questions by hand. This way I understand better. During preparation for filming, my hands were all smeared with felt-tip pens. In the announcer's room of the program “What? Where? When?". Photo: PhotoXPress

— When you began hosting the program after Voroshilov’s death, it was framed as a mystical detective story...

“It never even occurred to anyone at our television company IGRA-TV that the program could be made by anyone other than Voroshilov!” But Konstantin Ernst convinced us that we need to try, to conduct at least one more series. We began frantically looking for the presenter and realized that first of all we were thinking about low voice, as similar as possible to Voroshilov’s. But how could a person from the outside quickly “get into” the intricacies of conducting?! Vladimir Yakovlevich died on March 10, and the game was supposed to be released in May. There was not only little time to bring an outsider up to speed, but almost no time at all. Kozlov probably could have done it without much preparation: after all, he was hosting a related program. For me, the message is “What? Where? When?" It wasn’t difficult at all: I did all the runs and could get out of bed at night and say all the necessary texts from anywhere. But my voice is much higher than Voroshilov’s and, as we all agreed, it was much inferior to his in expressiveness! They called in a synchronized interpreter who translated the international games “What? Where? When?". He had a very beautiful low voice - Voroshilov at one time spent a long time searching for a timbre that would sound no worse than his own. We held a rehearsal where a synchronized interpreter translated me from Russian to Russian - and we realized that we needed another option. In my speech I felt joy and sadness, my attitude towards the players, and the synchronized swimmer spoke monotonously. He doesn’t know whether I’ll continue to scribble or stop talking in a second, and he has no time to play with his voice. And someone suggested processing my voice on a computer - masking it and making it lower. To be honest, today I don’t understand what we were so afraid of. But we distorted my voice so much that it sounded completely metallic. A year or two ago I was reviewing that first program and was horrified - God forbid, I would dream of such a voice at night! They then got involved in the hoax cousin Voroshilov, Yuri Borisovich. He was a lively friend and enthusiastically joined in the prank, but I still felt uncomfortable in front of him.

“It never even occurred to anyone at our television company that the program could be made by someone other than Voroshilov!” But Konstantin Ernst convinced us to try at least one more series. At the TEFI award ceremony (2011). Photo: Yulia Khanina

- Why?

- Before the game, he arrived in Voroshilov’s Jaguar, in a black tuxedo, and quickly walked into the announcer’s room - but that was where the spectacular part of his work ended.

For the next five hours, Yuri Borisovich had to sit in a corner on a chair completely silently - and could not go anywhere. In the meantime, while the experts and employees were establishing the identity of the mysterious guest, I was doing my usual things in my usual jeans and sweater, communicating with the experts - and running into the announcer’s room five minutes before the start of the broadcast. The operation was developed in an atmosphere of strict secrecy, even part of the film crew did not know about it - and after the first program, none of the employees or experts figured me out. Only one uninitiated person realized that I was leading the program - my dad. And when I began to deny it, I said: “Come on, you think I don’t recognize you!” On the second program, the correct version appeared in Druz. He told Kozlov about his guess, but he failed to put Sasha on the wrong trail. “Yes, it’s Borya,” he admitted, “just don’t tell anyone!” And Sasha big secret I told only a couple of players... So many people slowly learned our terrible secret. But we didn’t expect to keep it for long. When the spring series ended, they decided to continue the game without Voroshilov.

I remember then I immediately went on vacation and got very sick there. I was lying with a temperature of about forty and in a semi-delirium I had a dream: we are talking with Voroshilov, and he tells me that since we have 12 sectors on the gaming table, they intersect at right angles, and we get solid crosses. Then I realized that there should be 13 sectors, and then I figured out what to fill the 13th sector with. By the way, Vladimir Yakovlevich loved the number 13. In my old apartment I had a home phone in which this number was repeated three times, and he jokingly said that he wanted to buy a phone number from me.

— Was he generally very interested in such things - numerology, astrology?

- As I already said, in principle, he was very interested in people who thought differently from him, but here... In the 1990s, we were advised by the famous astrologer Valery Ledovskikh, he compiled horoscopes for Vladimir Yakovlevich, Natalia Ivanovna and other employees, He advised which experts should be seated at the same gaming table, and which artists should be invited to a “musical break.” We looked at the Ledovskys as a fakir: he gave some advice, and if you followed it, you got the desired result, although you did not see the logical connection. In addition, Valery Alexandrovich was a very charming person and it was interesting to listen to him - but it was not easy to understand. What, for example, does “Sun square Jupiter” mean? And for him everything was so obvious that he could not find the words. “Well, the Sun squares to Jupiter, don’t you know?!” Once we agreed that I would come to his work at two o’clock in the afternoon. And Ledovskikh was very unnecessary and unpunctual. We call each other the day before: “Tomorrow at two?” - “Yes, just call before leaving.” I’m sitting in the office, at half past two I call him: “Am I leaving?” And he: “I can’t talk, call me in two hours,” and immediately turned off the phone. I was stunned: I had the rest of the day planned out. Two hours later I called back, and he said: “What did you want?” - “We were supposed to meet at two...” - “Oh, listen, I can’t now.” - “Actually, we agreed last night.” - “Okay, call me at five.” I called at five, agreed to meet at half past seven, but I waited for him for another forty minutes at the entrance. Finally he came out. We sit and talk, and he says about one expert: “He behaves like a Virgo.” I ask: “How is this?” - “Well, he’s a bore, like you! That’s how you called and called me today!”

— What did he personally advise you?

- Don't dabble in astrology. He felt that I was drawn to this area. After all, astrology is based on mathematical calculations that need to be expressed in correct, understandable words. Mathematics and the Russian language are very close to me.

- More often than not, a person is given one thing...

“That’s how it was with my mom and dad.” Dad is talented in the exact sciences, but he doesn’t remember that “zhi-shi” is spelled with the letter “I”: when he wrote letters to his mother, he called her “dear little chizhik.” And my mother is a teacher of Russian language and literature by education, but she thinks like this: “We will spend 50 percent of the funds on one thing, 15 on another, 30 on a third and 40 on a fourth.” - “Mom, you’ve already achieved 135 percent, but maybe only 100.” - “Oh, yes, indeed.”

— Whose talents did your children inherit?

— My first child, Misha, inherited my and my grandfather’s mathematical abilities. However, Ledovskikh always said that Misha needed to host sports and cultural events. Although we were accustomed to the fact that our astrologer was usually right, we listened to him with bewilderment: Misha was great at exact sciences when he was at school. He is still good at them, and he graduated from Edinburgh University. Became an economist. But about a year and a half ago, he put the whole city on edge - he captivated everyone with a game of “What? Where? When?". My son takes great pleasure in organizing games: people gather on Tuesdays... Moreover, he, like me, is not very interested in answering questions - he is attracted to the organizational process. While studying in his first year, he tried to create a Russian-speaking football team, but it didn’t work out: many skipped training. And then we introduced him to our honored expert Oksana Petrunko - she has lived in Edinburgh for many years and teaches at Mishkin University - and this gave him a new idea. My son generally goes crazy when there is a team for which he can come up with a business. When he was little, and his grandmother came to the dacha and hit him in the neck for the mess, the son immediately organized the rest of the children to clean up. Outwardly, Misha doesn’t look much like me, but now his voice is exactly the same as mine, and my relatives no longer understand who is calling them.

The eldest daughter, Sasha, has been my copy since childhood: figure, hands, build, face. But at the age of 15 she went on a very strict diet, lost a lot of weight and became a copy of her mother - my first wife, Inna! Inna and I laugh that she is me who has lost weight. Sashka’s character is strong and direct. At the age of seven she went to theater studio and went there on my own, although it was far from home. And when she was 13-14 years old, after the next final performance she said that she would not go there again, because the director did not understand anything about the production. Now she is studying in London at the university, specializing in media: making stories for radio and television, writing articles. Although, since she draws well, she initially went for advertising. And this is definitely not from me. I draw like a chicken with its paw, and although Voroshilov never helped me with my homework, one day before the New Year he made two drawings for me so that I could get an A for them. But for the cat and the Christmas tree, depicted by a man who graduated from an art institute, I got a B! They thought that I basically couldn’t draw an A...

— Misha is in Scotland, Sasha is in England. Do they visit each other or only meet when they are both in Moscow?

— When Misha had a difficult situation, he lived with Sasha in London. But in general, their relationship is like a one-way race: Sasha runs after Misha.

She is three years younger and always reaches out to her older brother, longs for communication, but he pretends not to notice her. Moreover, since childhood, Misha communicated wonderfully with the younger ones, played with them, but he always made an exception for Sasha. We said that Misha loves all the children in the world except Sasha. However, if Sasha was in the slightest danger, he would immediately rear up and rush to save him. And now it’s like this: Sasha’s young man behaved wrongly - Misha rushes to figure it out. My sister is doing well and she wants to communicate just like that - “Sasha, don’t touch me.” He doesn’t see Sasha Jr. and Varya—my daughters from his second marriage—so often. Only if we go on vacation together or he drops by for an hour or two while in Moscow. But on these rare visits, within 15 minutes one is hanging around his neck, the other in his arms, and he is jumping and having fun with them.

- Excuse me, but why did you name both daughters Sashami?

— I have a “terrible” story with Sasha: both of Sasha’s grandmothers, Sasha’s great-grandmother, Sasha’s great-grandfather... And when Inna and I had a daughter, we named her in honor of all of them.

But Anya, my second wife, also always dreamed of calling her daughter Sasha. And I, of course, agreed. Sashka Jr. says to me: “Dad, I understand everything, you named Sasha Sr. in honor of all your relatives, and you named me Sasha because my mother wanted it. Just explain one thing to me. Why, when Varya was born to you, didn’t you name her Sasha too?” (Smiles.) By the way, Varya is my only child who is very interested in “What? Where? When?". She has been torturing me since I was a toddler: “Dad, I want to ask the experts a question!” And I explain to her that I can’t ask them a question invented by my daughter - it’s not good. She returned to this topic a hundred times. “Dad, I also came up with this question. Can I ask it? - “No, none of my child’s questions can be asked to experts.” And when last year a correspondent came to film my family for the program “Tonight with” and Varya got to the camera, she said: “I have a question for the experts!” She asked some question of her own, and Malakhov got hooked on it. And my child’s dream came true: Nurali Latypov, Druz and a bunch of other experts were sitting in Andrey’s studio, and they were asked a question from Varvara Kryuk from Moscow: “Where did the word “bouquet” come from?” Varya was terribly proud of herself and stopped demanding the impossible from me.

— Varya is my only child who is very interested in “What? Where? When?". She has been torturing me since I was a toddler: “Dad, I want to ask the experts a question!” From left to right: with children - Alexandra, Mikhail, Alexandra, Varvara - and wife Anna. Photo: Archive of the television company “Igra-TV”

— Do you take your children with you to the broadcast?

- No, I won’t let you in. I explained to them a long time ago that I couldn’t be distracted while filming. He warned: “If you are ready to pass by and I won’t even look in your direction, then come. But it’s better not to – I need to be very focused.” And they don't tear too much. Only Varya is worried. She knows the son of Grigory Guselnikov and sees that he is sometimes in the hall. After each such incident, reproaches await me: “Why do you allow Sasha to stand there, but not me?”

— How do you feel working with your mother for 26 years?

- On the one hand, it’s hard. But on the other hand, work allows us to see each other often. The only bad thing is that industrial conflicts affect relationships, because it is not always possible to clearly separate: here we are employees, and here the son and mother. Now I try to look after her more, to protect her from everything, but before our relationship was tougher: when I first arrived, Natalia Ivanovna did not let me down, and if someone could forgive a mistake, then punches fell on me. Then, during my formative years, it was important for me that everything was strictly my way, period. But my mother values ​​independence most of all in children, and she herself raised me that way.

Boris Kryuk

Family: mother - Natalia Stetsenko, general director of TC "Igra-TV" (wife and co-author of Vladimir Voroshilov, one of the creators of the game "What? Where? When?"); wife - Anna Antonyuk, economist; children - Mikhail (23 years old), economist, graduate of the University of Edinburgh, Alexandra (20 years old), student at the London University of the Arts, Alexandra (14 years old), Varvara (10 years old)

Education: graduated from MSTU (MSTU) named after. Bauman

Career: in 1989 he began working as an assistant director for Vladimir Voroshilov in the program “What? Where? When?". He was the presenter and director of the “Love at First Sight” program, the director of the “Brain Ring” program, and in May 2001 he became the presenter, production director and general producer of the “What? Where? When?"