Svetlana Zhiltsova, KVN and children's show host, dies

TV presenter Svetlana Zhiltsova has died. The Honored Artist of the RSFSR, a Soviet announcer, and host of the KVN program passed away at the age of 89. Her colleague Andrei Malakhov reported the celebrity«s death.

«A legend is gone: Svetlana Zhiltsova has left us – the voice and face of an era, one of the most recognizable announcers of Central Television,» Malakhov wrote in his Telegram channel.

In the past, her appearance on screen was a sensation. At that time, TV was holding a huge competition, and only people with acting education were taken on camera. However, she managed to pass all selection stages while being a student of the foreign languages faculty. In many ways, Svetlana Zhiltsova was lucky: the competition was for the role of host in a joint Soviet-Canadian program about domestic estrada, where knowledge of English was required.

The then-beginning presenter performed well, and she was invited to permanent work – as a novice announcer for evening broadcasts on the Second Program.

Breaking through further was also a matter of chance. A couple of hours before the filming of the First Program, which was more prestigious, its host fell ill. As a result, Zhiltsova was sent to film a report about children«s competitions at Luzhniki. She again excelled and secured her place as host in various children»s programs: «Budilnik» (Alarm Clock), «Veselye Notki» (Merry Notes), and «Good Night, Kids!».

When she could have been called to take on a new peak, Svetlana Zhiltsova was on maternity leave. This prevented her from becoming the host of KVN, but not for long. By 1963, she joined on screen first with Albert Axelrod, and then with Alexander Maslyakov.

Svetlana Zhiltsova decided to leave television screens herself. She had planned in advance to stop working after age 50 to make way for the young. She fulfilled this intention, disappearing from TV screens in the 1990s.

«I did everything I could on television. The work became uninteresting, and age had caught up. I believe that television is a field for the young; they are more pleasant to watch,» Svetlana shared at the time.

The following years she spent with her family. A heavy blow for her was the death of her husband, Vladimir Serebrennikov.

«Six months ago, my beloved husband Vladimir Ivanovich Serebrennikov died; he was 90 years old. I took care of him for two years. He was very ill, bedridden at home. We lived together for 58 years!» the widow shared.

Her son helped her after that, who today has lost his mother following his father.