Oleg Popov

Oleg Konstantinovich Popov (31 July 1930 – 2 November 2016) was a Soviet and Russian clown and circus artist. He won the People's Artist of the USSR (1969).

Career

Popov performed as a clown, combining his talents as a mime, a tightrope walker, and a juggler. At the 8th International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo in 1981, he received the coveted Gold Clown award as a tribute to his stellar career. His clown character followed the tradition of the Russian folk character "Ivanushka," who fools other people and who is teased himself.

In the early 1990s, at the fall of the Soviet Union, he began touring for a few years with a unit of the Moscow Circus in Germany, where he eventually resettled. He later performed extensively in Germany, in circus shows, on television, or with his own touring show. He married Gabriela Lehmann, a German circus performer in 1991. She is 32 years younger than her husband. In 2006, Popov was invited to perform at the 30th anniversary of the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo. Aged 75 years of age, he received a standing ovation.

In 2015, he returned for the first time to Russia after 28 years of living in Germany; it was at the First "Master" gala event (the Russian circus equivalent of the Oscars ceremony) at the State Circus of Sochi, where he was greeted with a long standing ovation. The Russian Minister of Culture, Vladimir Medinsky read a welcoming message from President Vladimir Putin. In December 2015 he was back to Russia again – now to become one of the judges at the final show of “The Blue Bird” contest – a young talent competition on Russia 1 TV channel. He also teamed up with Artem Shilo – a young pianist and one of the contestants – to support him in the competition.

Popov appeared in four films (Ring of Daring, 1953), Ma-ma (1977), The Blue Bird (1976) and Ritzar bez bronya (Poland, 1966). He published a book of memoirs in 1967, which has been widely translated into numerous languages including English (as "Russian Clown", 1970).