TV presenter Leonid Yakubovich. Biography

Leonid Yakubovich was born on July 31, 1945 in Moscow in the family of a mechanical engineer, recipient of the Order of the Red Star Arkady Yakubovich, who headed the design bureau, and a gynecologist Rimma Yakubovich (before marriage — Schenker). My parents met during the Great Patriotic War through front-line correspondence and soon got married. The family lived in a cramped communal apartment with 15 people.

Since early childhood, the TV presenter was interested in art and attended a theater group at school. However, he was not a diligent student. Because of the rehearsals, he often skipped classes, and then went on an expedition to Siberia with a friend, missing several months of study. As a result, he was kicked out of school in the 8th grade. He continued his education at the evening school of working youth, while simultaneously getting a job as a turner at an aircraft factory.

After that, Yakubovich planned to enter a theater university, but on the instructions of his father, he applied to the Moscow Institute of Electronic Engineering (MIEM), where he organized a Theater of student Miniatures. But soon the artist realized that he didn't know anything about electronics, and transferred to the Kuibyshev Moscow Institute of Civil Engineering (MISI, now MGSU), where he became the star of the KVN university team.

In 1964, the MISI team with his participation became the first winner of the Highest KVN League, which opened up new horizons for the artist. During his student years, Yakubovich not only played in KVN, but also wrote humorous texts for comedians Evgeny Petrosyan, Vladimir Vinokur, and later for the TV shows "Come on, Guys!" and "Come on, girls!". He also participated in the creation of the plots of the Yeralash film magazine.

In total, Yakubovich has written more than 300 humorous short stories, screenplays, stage monologues and several plays for the capital's theaters. In 1980, the screenwriter was accepted into the Union Committee of Moscow Playwrights. In addition, he starred in commercials, conducted various auctions, festivals and contests, acting as the author of the script and the host of the country's first beauty contest, which took place in Moscow in 1988.

In 1991, Yakubovich auditioned for the role of the host of the capital show "Field of Miracles", becoming not only the face of a successful TV project, but also its artistic director. He was invited to host the program by Vladislav Listov, the general producer of the VIDA television company and the first host of the show. The first broadcast of "Field of Miracles" with the participation of Yakubovich took place on November 22 of the same year.

Moreover, on his initiative, the concept of the game began to be based not just on guessing letters, but on the personalities and stories of the players, thanks to which the show acquired the status of a nationwide one. The program has been on the air in this format for almost 35 years. Leonid Yakubovich has been its permanent host for almost the same number of years.

In addition to working on television, the presenter actively starred in films. He first appeared on the screen back in 1980, playing a cameo role in the melodrama "Once upon a Time twenty Years Later." This was followed by the films "Let's not focus!" (1992), "The Groom from Miami" (1994), "Moscow Holidays" (1995) and a number of others.

In the 1990s, at the age of 50, the actor became seriously interested in aviation. This happened thanks to a colleague, Yuri Nikolaevich, who brought him to the aero club at the Myachkovo airfield in the Ramenskoye district of the Moscow region. Later, Yakubovich graduated from the Kaluga Aviation Flight Technical School and studied at the Bykovo Training center, receiving a pilot's certificate. Among his other hobbies are hockey and billiards (he served as vice—president of the Billiard Sports Federation of Russia).

In 1995, the TV presenter ran for deputy of the State Duma, and in 2012 and 2018 he was included in the list of proxies of Russian presidential candidate Vladimir Putin. Since 2004, he has been a member of the United Russia Party.

Yakubovich also has a military uniform and insignia for the work he performed in hot spots in Chechnya, Dagestan, Kosovo and Syria. By order of the Ministry of Defense, he was awarded the rank of retired lieutenant colonel. However, the presenter admitted to reporters that he does not advertise this part of his biography and does not plan to show awards to the public.

In addition to his military rank, Leonid Yakubovich has many other honorary titles and awards — the Order of Alexander Nevsky, the Order of Honor, the Order of Friendship, medals "For strengthening military cooperation" and "Participant in the military operation in Syria." He is also a multiple winner of the TEFI Television Award. In 2002, he was awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia.

The TV presenter was married three times. He met his first wife, Raisa, when he was still a student, but the family idyll did not last long, and soon the couple divorced. From his second marriage, with Galina, the lead singer of the Gorozhanki group, Leonid has a son, Artyom, and a granddaughter, Sofia. It was Galina who persuaded her husband to grow a mustache in order to be remembered by the audience. His third wife Marina, an employee of the TV company "VID", gave birth to his daughter Varvara. Despite the age difference of 18 years, the marriage turned out to be strong and happy.

On July 31, 2025, the People's Artist of Russia turns 80 years old. According to Yakubovich, he is not going to celebrate the anniversary. However, Channel One is planning to show a documentary dedicated to the TV presenter's birthday, "80 years — normal flight." A festive event is also planned to coincide with the triple date — the 30th anniversary of Channel One, the 35th anniversary of the "Field of Miracles" and the 80th anniversary of the presenter.