Edward Uspensky
The program “Ships came into our harbor”, in which yard and similar unofficial songs were performed, was created in 1991 on Radio Russia. And from 1997 to 2011, she appeared on TV Center, NTV and other TV channels. The authors and presenters of the program were the late children’s writer Eduard Uspensky with his faithful colleague – editor and later wife Eleonora Filina.
“The ratings of Nasha Gavan on Radio Russia were so brilliant that in 1997 Uspensky and I thought about creating a television version,” Filina said. – We made several test releases on the MTK and TV Center channels. They tried to interest Mikhail Shvydkoy, who ran the Rossiya channel, in this project. “Well, yes, I heard about your program,” Mikhail Efimovich reacted without any enthusiasm. – But this is not a television project at all. He won’t go on TV. It doesn’t even make sense to go anywhere with him.” After that we didn’t go anywhere else. And suddenly, in 1999, Uspensky received a call from Lev Novozhenov, who at that time hosted several programs on NTV: “Come with your“ Harbor ”on Independence Day of Russia to my program“ Old TV ”!” Uspensky and I immediately had the idea to follow the history of our country in the 20th century through the songs of “Gavan”.
Eduard Nikolaevich, however, could not go to the shooting. Harbor was represented by Vladimir Menshov, me and guitarist Maxim Krivosheev. The program gave the highest rating. Then it was not customary to perform such songs on television as ours. Against the background of everything else, they sounded very bold. And there was nothing like it on the radio before us. We were pioneers in this sense. And after a while Novozhenov invited us again. According to him, to consolidate the success. And then Alexander Levin, general producer of NTV, wanted to talk to us. “Your program is good! he praised us. – Maybe you will try to do it on television? – “Let’s!” we rejoiced.
Since the creation of a special studio for us required a lot of time and money, at first we were offered to shoot “The Harbor” in the scenery of the “Old TV”. Before filming began, a surprise awaited. “We have everything ready,” our director Tatyana Nikolskaya told me by phone. – You and Eduard Nikolaevich will sit on one side. On the other – Lev Yuryevich. Ouspensky heard this and began to be indignant: “What other Lev Yuryevich? This is our program. What’s on him?” – “The question is not for me,” Nikolskaya answered. “What they tell me, I do.” Eduard Nikolaevich immediately called Novozhenov and, in his fairly open manner, told him everything he thought about him and his participation in Our Harbor. “Not a question,” answered Lev Yuryevich. – If you do not want, I, in fact, did not apply.
Nevertheless, in the first program, he nevertheless appeared and introduced us to the audience. And then Uspensky and I were already leading the “Harbor” ourselves.
But the surprises didn’t end there. “You will have a curator from the channel,” Levin announced to us. – You are new to television. He will tell you how to do everything right.” This curator turned out to be an elderly uncle of a Soviet temper. He began demanding that every program be scripted. And we didn’t have any scripts on the radio. We selected a certain number of songs to meet the timing, sat down with the guests and had a lively conversation. This was one of the highlights of our program. But the curator confused us and convinced us that it was impossible to work like that on television. Our attempts to follow his requirements led to the fact that the rating of the program slowly began to fall.
We began to go to Levin and ask: “Can we do it differently than our curator ordered, but in a different way?” In the end, Alexander Viktorovich could not stand it and said: “Listen, why do you come to me every time? You are the authors. Do what you want! Just don’t cut babies live! And spit on the curator! I gave it only for insurance.
Boots for the homeless
– I must say that NTV at that time was the freest TV channel in Russia. Its owner was Vladimir Gusinsky. He paid a lot of money. Gathered the best journalists and gave everyone the opportunity to make copyrighted programs. We were lucky to get into this cohort, – Eleanor shared. We really did what we wanted. “Harbor” on NTV began to rapidly gain momentum. And already in 2000 they received the first TEFI award for the best music program. From the cramped scenery of the “Old TV” they moved to a large transformer studio built by NTV – the so-called Green Studio.
Compared to the radio version, the format of “Harbor” has changed slightly. Mostly artists sang on the radio. And on television, in addition to artists and other VIP guests, we began to invite ordinary people. Conducted auditions.
Those who wished to come to us in droves. A bum who lived in a landfill and wrote songs himself came to one of the programs. He went out to sing without shoes, in just socks. Although he came in boots. Apparently, he decided to be cool. Ouspensky noticed this and began to whisper in my ear: “Quickly run backstage and find any men’s shoes to be brought here at my command!” The program was broadcast live. I ran out of the frame. I tried to borrow shoes from one of the operators. “What are you doing! – he was indignant. “Can’t you see that I’m working?” I received the same answer from the security guard standing backstage. Some girl rescued me. At the end of the song, Eduard Nikolayevich ordered: “Boots to the studio!” And she took them out to the bum. He was taken aback by surprise and exclaimed: “These are not mine!” The hall collapsed with laughter. True, our new director Vera Krichevskaya almost ruined everything. She constantly complained that we did not have a script, and she did not understand what to shoot. “We ourselves don’t know what will happen in a second,” I explained to her. So it seemed to Krichevskaya that there was no need to show the legs of a bum in socks. And she tried not to take them into the frame. It’s good that once or twice they still flashed. Otherwise, viewers would not understand what the joke is with boots.
Unlike our director, Ouspensky and I loved such improvisations. Once we have an 11-year-old boy in a ringing voice, like Robertino Loretti, sang the song “Oh, why are our affairs so dull?”. “Sing again! – unexpectedly asked Eduard Nikolaevich. – Such a good song! And the guy repeated it again. In principle, it is not customary on television for the same song to be performed twice from beginning to end. If the program had been recorded, we would have been banned from it. And on the air such a thing took place.
Case in Tel Aviv
“Working with Uspensky was a pleasure,” recalls Filina. – He always went to some kind of revolutionary story. And I supported him in everything, because I myself was like that. Another thing is that it sometimes skidded. Eduard Nikolaevich could hit someone hard enough during the broadcast. And then I had to return it to some kind of framework. I remember when “Our Harbor” was already very popular and was broadcast to many countries, I went with a friend to rest in Israel. On the way from the Dead Sea to Tel Aviv, we struck up a conversation with an emigrant from Odessa. She recognized me and began to admire: “Oh, how glad I am that I saw you! What a great guy you are! How we all like your program!” And then she unexpectedly added: “Only we don’t understand what Uspensky is doing there. You sing so wonderfully. You talk so interesting. And this one, as soon as he says something, our ears curl up into a tube. ” “You know, Eduard Nikolaevich is actually my husband,” I remarked. “Why did I say that?” – the former Odessa woman was surprised.
When I told this story to Ouspensky, he laughed for a long time. The most interesting thing is that Eduard Nikolayevich had no ear for music at all. He sang just awful. At the same time, he somehow remembered the melodies of many forgotten songs. Once I tried to sing one of them to Zinovy Gerdt. “Edik, I don’t understand what you are singing,” said Gerdt. Then Uspensky turned to Yura Chernov, known for the film We’ll Live Until Monday, for help. I locked myself in a separate room with him. How Chernov managed to catch the melody from him remains a mystery to me. But when Yura came out and sang it to the guitar, Zinovy Efimovich said with satisfaction: “Now everything is clear.” About Uspensky, he later said that after the guy with glasses from MuzOboz (Ivan Demidov. – Ed.), This is the second case when a person who is completely deaf leads a music program.
New Year for three kopecks
– We worked at NTV until 2001. And then there was a change of ownership. Some of the employees then left for the TV-6 channel. “Our Harbor” also moved there, – Eleanor shares. – If a huge amount of money was spent on NTV, then on TV-6 everything was done for three kopecks. We were immediately asked to host their broadcast for the New Year. We broadcast it to them. Collected channel staff. They all dressed up in tinsel. They put up trees. And out of nothing, a very elegant studio turned out. Along with the artists, Vladimir Solovyov and other presenters sang with us. Everything went great and fun. Shortly thereafter, TV-6 was quickly shut down.
For some time, “Harbor” came out on the TVS channel that took its place. But he did not last long either. And since these channels were disgraced, for several years our program was not taken anywhere.
I personally went to Channel One and talked with Yuri Aksyuta. “This is not our format,” he said. He made it clear that it was too low-key for them. Which did not prevent them from doing the Three Chords program later.
On the channel “Russia” we also did not succeed.
And in 2006, the St. Petersburg Channel Five began broadcasting. Eduard Nikolaevich went to St. Petersburg on business and met one of the channel’s leaders. He immediately agreed to take our program. We agreed that we ourselves would shoot it in Moscow, and they would only show it.
Lyubov Platonova, who grew up on our program from an administrator to a producer, was engaged in organizing filming and concluding agreements with Channel Five. The rating went up again. But then Uspensky and I began to discord in personal relations. I offered him to leave as spouses and continue to work together. Eduard Nikolaevich did not want to. I thought about finding a replacement for me and continuing to make Harbor without me. Only our entire team, headed by Platonova – for which I am very grateful to them – supported me and refused to work with him. On this television story “Our Harbor” ended. In the future, Uspensky released the program only on Radio Russia, until it finally closed in 2016.
For many years of the absence of “Our Harbor” on the air, people have not forgotten the program. But while Eduard Nikolaevich was alive, it was impossible to start doing it again. He would absolutely not allow it. Moreover, the name of the program was registered by him on him alone. And when Uspensky passed away in 2018, I made attempts to revive our brainchild. For six months I did the program “Musical Harbor with Eleonora Filina” on the Nostalgia channel. Then the pandemic began. The channel ran out of money. And this project had to be closed. “Yes, spit on it! – told me. – Time has already passed. Who needs these yard songs now?
And in 2021, Platonova called me: “I have good news for you. I want to launch a new program with your participation on the TV Center channel. Not exactly “Harbor”, but something like that. Let’s give people joy again!
We called our program Good Songs. While we were launching it, similar programs appeared on other channels. But it didn’t upset me at all. May there be more such spiritual programs!
Photo source: TVC staff, Tatiana Balashova/TASS, Marina Volosevich/KP, Boris Kudryavov