Announcer Levitan, whose biography is very interesting and entertaining, is familiar to everyone. He was an announcer of the State Committee of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union. His expressive voice, unique in timbre, was called “the voice of the era and Victory”.
He informed not only about joyful events, but also about defeats. Only Levitan was entrusted to announce victories. No wonder he was called a voice that inspires hope. Enemies were afraid and hated him. Soviet troops and citizens loved it. Levitan became a military legend, his voice - an invariable attribute of Victory.
A family
Yuri Levitan was born on October 2 (September 19 according to the old style) of 1914 in Vladimir. His family was Jewish. Mother, Maria Yulievna, was engaged in the house. Father, Boris Semenovich, worked as a tailor in the studio. He sewed uniforms for employees and officials.
Childhood
Yuri spent all his childhood in his native city. Lezitan liked to engage in sociality in different circles. He sang in the choir and loved extracurricular activities at school. He dreamed of becoming a famous artist. Yuri from childhood was different from his peers in his loud voice. Because of him, young Levitan was even nicknamed the “pipe”. The parents of his comrades often asked to shout, to call their offspring when they disappeared from sight.
Yuri’s father dreamed of seeing his son in military service as a motorcycle engineer. But young Levitan fell under the charm of the theater and enrolled in a drama circle. Thus began his journey to a dream.
Education
Yuri Levitan graduated from an incomplete secondary school (9 classes) in 1931. The Vladimir city committee of the Komsomol wrote him a ticket to Moscow for admission to the university. Yuri decided to take entrance exams at the State Film School (now it is VGIK).
But failure awaited him. The selection committee did not let him go to the film school because of the “surrounding” Vladimir accent. Then Yuri tried to enter the theater school. And again unsuccessfully. The selection committee found him too young (then he was 17 years old) and not having a charismatic appearance.
The beginning of the announcer’s career
After failing exams at the film school and the theater school, Yuri wanted to get a job at Moscow factories as simple workers or even go back home to Vladimir. But then fate made a sharp turn.
On the street, Yuri saw an announcement about a set of speakers on the radio. The set was competitive, but Levitan nevertheless decided to try his hand in this direction. Although he did not even have an idea about this profession.
Among the members of the selection committee was Vasily Kachalov. Everyone was confused by Yuri’s young age, his clothes (sweatpants and a T-shirt) and a provincial “okay” accent. The commission initially hesitated, but upon hearing the bewitching, clearly set, strong and loud voice of Levitan, he enrolled him as an intern on the radio.
Studied Yuri Levitan in the group of the All-Union Radio Committee. And very soon he became the main speaker. He lived in a small room, which was immediately at the studio and was used as a warehouse for broken gramophones.
The first steps in the announcer's field
First, Yuri carried out courier work - he prepared sandwiches and tea for his colleagues, distributed papers and documents to their offices. And at night he worked diligently to destroy his accent.
He constantly improved diction, the artists of the Moscow Academic Theater worked with him, who worked with interns - N. Litovtseva, V. Kachalov, N. Tolstova, M. Lebedev and many others.
A few months later, Levitan was appointed studio duty. His duties included reading short news releases, announcing music numbers and changing records.
Stalin's attention
In the winter of 1934, the future famous announcer Levitan, whose biography is unique, received another task - to read articles from Pravda at night. On this day, Yuri first got access to the microphone. At the whim of fate that day, the voice of Levitan was heard by Stalin, who worked mainly at night. The radio was always on at that time.
Hearing the voice of Yuri, Stalin immediately called the chairman of the Radio Committee and demanded that this announcer read the report tomorrow morning at the 17th Congress of the CPSU.
Chief announcer Levitan: career take-off biography
Levitan, pale from excitement, coped with the task with brilliance. At 12:00 a package with a report by Stalin was brought to the studio. Yuri read the text for five hours. And while he did not make a single mistake, hesitation and reservations.
Stalin listened attentively and, after the speech was over, ordered that all Levitan now read all state documents. Thus, at the age of 19, Yuri became the official voice of the Kremlin. Colleagues respectfully called him Yurbor, combining his name and patronymic.
In the shortest possible time Levitan's voice became recognizable. The most popular announcer of the All-Union Radio by fame could only be compared with the movie star L. Orlova.
Stubborn cultivation
Despite the fact that Levitan was unconditionally recognized by colleagues and superiors, he continued to improve in the art of narration. Often asked assistants to turn texts from different angles, read texts “upside down” or standing on hands, upside down. It was Levitan who reported the salvation of the crew of the Chelyuskin ice drift, Chkalov’s flight to the USA and the success of the Papanin’s Arctic expedition.
Levitan - the voice of the Soviet Information Bureau
In 1941, when the Great Patriotic War began, Yuri Levitan became the voice of the Information Bureau. It was he who read the announcement of the start of the war on June 22. After that, for four years he covered the situation at the front. Marshal Rokossovsky once remarked that Levitan’s voice is equal to a whole division.
Hitler hated him and even declared "enemy number 1." Stalin was listed on this list under the second number. The German secret services have repeatedly developed plans for the abduction of Levitan, but the Nazis could not carry out any. And the voice that the Germans hated continued to read out the Sovinformburo reports. For the head of Yuri Borisovich was awarded a huge award. According to some sources - 100 thousand marks, according to others - 200 thousand marks.
In the face of the country's main announcer, few knew. Therefore, to ensure the safety of Levitan, false rumors spread about his appearance. In addition, Yuri Borisovich was constantly under vigilant guard.
Forced evacuation
In 1941, an emergency evacuation took place among the announcers. In the Great Patriotic War, all the towers were dismantled, since for German bombers they represented ideal landmarks. Therefore, it was technically impossible to continue broadcasting. Levitan and the second speaker, Olga Vysotskaya, were evacuated to Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg).
War time
The studio in the Urals was located in the basement. And Levitan was settled nearby, in a hut. But Yuri Borisovich lived in complete secrecy. Moscow friends were very rarely allowed to come to him. The information that Levitan was supposed to read out came from Moscow by telephone. In Sverdlovsk studio, Yuri Borisovich voiced many documentaries mounted on the spot.
The Germans could not detect the main radio node, as the signal from the studio went to the most powerful Soviet repeater located near Lake Shartash. And dozens of broadcast stations then jammed the original signal. Information about where Levitan was was declassified only after 25 years. In 1943, Yuri Borisovich again, in conditions of increased secrecy, was transferred to another place where the Soviet Radio Committee was located - in Kuibyshev (now Samara).
"Attention! Moscow says ... "
Levitan Yuri Borisovich is an announcer whose voice is recognized even by our contemporaries. Although at that time some were not even born. Until now, everyone remembers the first words that Levitan said after the victory over the Nazis: “Attention! Says Moscow! ... ". He uttered them in 1945, May 9, at 21:55. It was at this time that Levitan read the text of the Supreme Commander.
The broadcast was supposed to be broadcast from the studio of the Radio Committee, located in the GUM. But Levitan did not manage to break through the crowd into the Kremlin, even with the help of army and police outfits. On Red Square from the assembled people, even an apple had nowhere to fall. I had to broadcast from a spare radio studio.
Post-war years
After the war, it was estimated that Levitan had sounded almost 2 thousand reports of the Sovinformburo and more than 120 emergency “lightning bolts”. In 1950, Yuri Borisovich was asked to reiterate at least part of the archived reports, since it was not possible to record them in wartime.
After the war, Levitan also remained in the post of leading announcer of the All-Union Radio. In 1953, he read newsletters on the health of Stalin. And on March 5, Yuri Levitan also announced a message about his death.
On the flight into space of Yuri Gagarin the radio message was also voiced by the main announcer. Yuri Borisovich read government reports, conducted many reports from the Kremlin Palace and Red Square.
Levitan is one of the participants in the creation of newsreels and voice acting documentaries. In the program “Minute of Silence” Levitan read the text. He led a radio program about letters from veterans. Over the years, Yuri Borisovich has conducted almost 60,000 programs.
Often, Yuri Borisovich voiced secret films about military developments. These films were intended for a narrow circle of party nomenclature, employees of secret research institutes and the military.
Personal life
Unfortunately, Yuri Borisovich did not have a personal life. He married in 1938 Rais, a student at the Institute of Foreign Languages. She was a very beautiful girl. In 1940, they had a daughter, who was named Natalya.
At first, the young family lived in a communal apartment located near the Kremlin. Then they moved to a separate apartment on the street. Gorky (now Tverskaya). Raisa and Yuri lived together for only 11 years, and then divorced. Yuri Borisovich proposed to remain friends. For many years after the divorce, he maintained friendly relations not only with his ex-wife, but also with her new husband.
He represented the former spouse in companies as a cousin. The second time, Levitan never married again. He lived with his daughter Natasha and his mother-in-law, who simply adored him and tried to create comfort in the house. Later Natalia had a son, Boris. But her fate was with a tragic end. In 2006, her own son killed her in his apartment.
last years of life
In recent years, Yudka Berkovich Levitan went on the air less and less. The authorities decided that his voice is associated with extraordinary events. And it is not worthwhile for someone who was “a voice inspiring hope” to read about the results of the harvesting. As a result, Levitan began teaching young trainee announcers, teaching them the art of speech.
Yuri Borisovich often met with veterans, attended many events dedicated to the Second World War. For many, his voice has become dear and holy. During the war years, they drew strength in it to fight the Nazis. His reading had a strong emotional impact on the audience. In 2009, a documentary was shot dedicated to Levitan from the series “Heroes and Villains”.
The death of the country's main announcer
In 1983, Yuri Borisovich began to have serious heart problems. But the main announcer Levitan, whose biography is closely related to the war years, agreed to a speech on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the liberation of Belgorod and Orel. That was in August. The month was very hot, the thermometer showed over 40 degrees. Right at the festive rally, which was held in with. Bessonovka, immediately after his speech, Levitan suddenly felt bad. It was not possible to save him.
Levitan Yuri Borisovich died on August 4, 1983 in the village of Bessonovka. The cause of death is a heart attack. At that time, Levitan was 68 years old. Doctors, when he was taken from the village to the hospital, could no longer help Yuri Borisovich. Levitan is buried in the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow at 10 sites.
Ranks and awards
In 1973 and 1980 Levitan was awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR and the USSR, and he is the first of the radio workers who received such an honor. Yuri Borisovich - Honored Artist of the RSFSR, was awarded three orders and numerous medals.