Igor was born in 1960 in Moscow, into a family of people of art: his mother’s parents were opera artists, his father worked in a circus - he was an acrobat and stuntman. At the circus he had the opportunity to work with the famous Yuri Nikulin.
Since childhood, Igor dreamed of becoming a professional hockey player. The whole court was amazed at his deft pirouettes with a stick, and at the same time he could make anyone laugh and cheer everyone up.
He even had a treasured notebook with jokes with which he entertained his friends.
By the age of fifteen, the dream of hockey gave way to another: he decided to follow in the footsteps of his father, whom he was very proud of and from whom he wanted to follow an example in everything. Therefore, he entered the circus school to learn juggling, balancing act and clownery.
Childhood and youth
Igor Vladimirovich Mamenko was born on September 10, 1960 in Moscow. His mother is the daughter of opera artists who built a career at the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater. Father is a famous acrobat, circus performer and stuntman. Vladimir Mamenko acted as a stuntman on the set of popular Soviet films, including participating in the creation of the film “Amphibian Man.”
Igor Mamenko in childhood
Also, the father of the future comedian could boast of a personal acquaintance with the famous Yuri Nikulin and joint work with him on a successful circus act.
In early childhood, Igor himself did not dream of a career as an artist: as a boy, he imagined how he would become a professional hockey player. Although his mind was occupied by deft pirouettes with a stick and successful hits of the puck into the goal, from a young age Mamenko was distinguished by his ability to cheer up absolutely everyone.
Having gone to the pioneer camp, Igor even got himself a special notebook with sketches of his favorite jokes, with which he entertained his peers every time he had a free minute.
Igor Mamenko in the army
By the age of 15, dreams of becoming a hockey player gradually disappeared from the head of the perky boy. Instead, he decided to follow in the footsteps of Mamenko Sr., whom he considered the main role model and the object of his pride since childhood. Igor entered the Moscow Variety and Circus School and began studying juggling, balancing act and clownery.
Although now, looking at the colorful Igor Mamenko, it is difficult to imagine him as an acrobat, in his youth he was a promising circus performer. Of course, he preferred clownery to shocking flights under the dome, both on stage and in life (the young artist loved to “tease” his classmates). His idol in this area was the same Yuri Nikulin - an artist who knew how to make the audience laugh even in the absence of intricate makeup.
Igor Mamenko in his youth
Mamenko graduated from college and became a full-fledged circus performer. Soon after this, he was drafted into the Soviet army. Igor served in the Kantemirovsky division (in the same place where his father had previously repaid his debt to his homeland), in the motorized rifle troops. While serving in the army, Mamenko participated in concerts of a circus group, continuing to evoke thunderous applause from the audience. Returning to civilian life, the actor again took up improving his circus skills.
From acrobat to comedian: circus career of Igor Mamenko
Once, in a conversation with his friend Nikolai Lukinsky, Igor Vladimirovich shared with him his desire to try himself as a pop artist.
Nikolai Lukinsky quickly responded to this request, inviting his friend to prepare several interesting numbers. Soon the friends performed in front of the public in a joint performance, “Soldier and Ensign,” and Mamenko himself performed several jokes. Regina Dubovitskaya couldn’t help but pay attention to such an extraordinary and charming merry fellow. She invited him to her program. This is how Igor Mamenko got into Full House. And in 2003, fame came to the pop artist Mamenko. After his performance with the monologue “Mother-in-Law,” the name “person-anecdote” was firmly established for the artist. The talented manner of performance, unique facial expressions and imitation of voices - all this causes a smile and laughter at the mere appearance of this good-natured fat man on stage. It is not for nothing that Mamenko quickly achieves recognition of his talent not only from an appreciative public, but also at the state level. In 2005 he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, and in
In 2008 he received the Golden Ostap Prize. Igor Mamenko performs the works of both famous humor writers and his own. He happily collaborates with Semyon Altov, Efim Shifrin, Leon Izmailov. With sadness he remembers his best friend, the wonderful author Alexander Suvorov, who passed away. In memory of the brilliant actor, Mamenko performs his works: “The Spirit of the Earth” and “A Day Off at the Circus.” Igor Vladimirovich has good hearing, sings well, it’s not for nothing that his grandparents once sang in the opera. But he is not going to sing seriously. An exception is made only if the song is funny. In this perspective, he already sang with Natasha Koroleva, and soon you can see him in a duet with Anna Semenovich.
On the eve of the New Year, the artist receives many tempting offers, one of which is the filming of a New Year's musical in St. Petersburg.
Igor Mamenko, despite all his merits and awards, always remains a modest and good-natured person. “Star sickness” is alien to him. He can easily take pictures with his fans and viewers if they ask him to do so. Mamenko does not consider this shameful.
Igor Vladimirovich has been successfully performing at Full House for many years and values this program very much, rightly believing that this is where good humor sounds.
Humor and creativity
Igor Mamenko was satisfied with his acrobat career and loved the profession, despite the fact that it was associated with a constant danger of injury. According to the artist, to achieve success, a circus performer simply should not think about the possible consequences - he should strive to perform the trick as effectively as possible. But by the time he turned 35, the artist began to think about changing his profession, since his age no longer allowed him to be as flexible and precise as in his youth. In addition, Igor began to gain weight. Now, with a height of 167 cm, the artist’s weight reaches 85 kg.
And yet, Igor was attracted by the humorous genre and pop music, which he once told Nikolai Lukinsky, his close friend, about. Lukinsky took his friend’s revelations as a signal to action: he immediately invited Mamenko to prepare joint humorous acts. Thus began Mamenko’s creative biography in the humorous field.
Igor Mamenko and Nikolai Lukinsky
Nikolai and Igor performed a comic skit “Soldier and Ensign” at the concert; in addition, the circus acrobat told a number of jokes. The charismatic artist was liked by the audience, and already in 2003 he was invited to the TV show “Full House”.
As part of the “Full House” artists, Mamenko performed the numbers “Mother-in-law”, “Gift of Foresight”, “Trip to Ethiopia”, “I’m on Mars”, “Hunter and Jew”, “Stripper Auto Mechanic”, “Trip to Thailand with Mother-in-Law” and other. For his ability to effectively perform long performances and hilariously tell humorous stories, Igor Vladimirovich soon received the popular nickname “the joke man.”
Igor Mamenko speaking
In a matter of months, Mamenko became one of the most popular Full House artists. Already in 2005 he received the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, and three years later he was awarded the prestigious Golden Ostap award.
In 2011, Igor Mamenko starred in the musical New Year comedy “The Adventures of Aladdin”, where he played a supporting role. The fascinating fairy tale was shown on the Rossiya-1 TV channel. The main roles were presented on the screen by Russian and Ukrainian pop stars - Oscar Kuchera, Ani Lorak, Andrey Danilko, Oleg Basilashvili, Yuri Stoyanov, Nikolai Baskov, Lolita Milyavskaya, Philip Kirkorov. So far this is the only film in the comedian’s repertoire.
Benefit performance of Igor Mamenko and Sergei Drobotenko
As a sociable and sociable person, Igor quickly became friends with other Russian comedians. The result of this friendship was joint performances with famous comedians Gennady Vetrov, Elena Vorobey, Svetlana Rozhkova, Lion Izmailov, Efim Shifrin. In 2009, Igor Mamenko prepared the number “At the Doctor’s” in a duet with the famous comedian Vladimir Vinokur. And with Sergei Drobotenko he repeatedly performed at benefit performances. The artists prepared their first large-scale concert in the mid-2000s, and after a while the concert program “Benefit for Two” appeared.
Even the “Buranovsky Babushki”, for whom the Russians cheered so much at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, kept the artist company on stage more than once. Together with Maxim Galkin, he was a co-host of the TV show “Parade of Stars”. Comedians from the stage told jokes and showed joint miniatures.
Igor Mamenko and Gennady Vetrov
During the tour, funny incidents repeatedly happened with Igor Mamenko. Once, while with Svetlana Rozhkova in Germany, after another performance, the artists received an invitation from the viewer to celebrate his birthday. Igor and Svetlana, having agreed, left the concert complex and saw the birthday boy sitting on a bicycle. Without a hint of embarrassment, the former compatriot invited Igor to sit on the frame, and advised Svetlana to sit on the trunk. On top of that, he informed the confused artists that the path to the cafe would be only 16 km.
The comedian performs monologues by Semyon Altov and other comedians, and also writes texts for his skits independently. Igor Vladimirovich had a hard time with the passing of his friend Alexander Suvorov, in memory of whom he performed the works “A Day Off at the Circus” and “Spirit of the Earth.”
Igor Mamenko and “Buranovskie Babushki”
It is noteworthy that Mamenko has an ear for music and sings well. However, the artist did not think about a singing career, making an exception only for comic songs. So, he gladly amused the audience with musical performances with Anna Semenovich, Natasha Koroleva and the same “Buranovsky grandmothers”. From a circus acrobat, he turned into a good-natured fat man who always wins over the audience and, moreover, communicates warmly with fans.
Let us note that on the Internet, Igor Mamenko is sometimes criticized for his monologues. The audience was especially alarmed after a number of jokes about the mother-in-law. The artist was accused of offending older women.
Igor Mamenko
As the comedian notes, these performances cannot be considered a broadcast of his personal opinion. The artist tries on a certain image and goes to entertain the audience. By the way, Igor Vladimirovich always had a warm relationship with his own mother-in-law.
Further humorous career
Peculiar facial expressions, imitation of female and male voices, interesting presentation of the material - all this brought a smile to the artist’s mere appearance on stage.
Our hero not only reads the works of famous authors, but also performs his own monologues. For several years now, Igor Vladimirovich has been working closely with Leon Izmailov and Semyon Altov. He constantly remembers the wonderful satirist Alexander Suvorov (now deceased).
Mamenko has perfect pitch and a pleasant voice. Perhaps he inherited his musical abilities from his grandfather and grandmother (on his mother’s side), who sang in the opera. Igor’s creative collection includes several funny songs performed in a duet with Anna Semenovich and Natasha Koroleva.
Today, many in our country know who Igor Mamenko is (his biography is not a sealed secret). Despite his merits and awards, he remains a modest and kind person. He never had star fever or arrogance. The artist does not refuse fans who ask him to give an autograph or take a photo together. He can easily ride the subway.
What else can a biography tell about our hero (humorist Igor Mamenko)?
Personal life
Igor Mamenko met his first love and faithful life partner for many years, Maria, back in the days when he performed in the circus. Being a master of sports in artistic gymnastics, the girl performed incredible pirouettes under the dome. One day, by the will of fate, Igor and Maria needed to perform an acrobatic act together - and then a spark flashed between them.
Igor Mamenko with his wife Maria
Igor Vladimirovich proposed to his future wife modestly, without a scattering of scarlet roses and an invitation to an expensive restaurant. However, there was no need to convince Maria to go down the aisle with him, since the girl loved the groom with all her heart and agreed to marry him without hesitation. Since then, the artist’s personal life has not changed.
In joint photos of this strong couple, Igor and Maria look at each other as if they were still young acrobats who suddenly and madly fell in love with each other. The Mamenko couple lived in perfect harmony for 34 years, until Maria suddenly died of a heart attack in 2014.
Igor Mamenko with his family
For Igor Vladimirovich, his wife was the main critic and the first listener of his humorous monologues, and she was a strict and unbiased critic. The artist was grieving the death of his faithful wife, but his friends supported him in this trouble.
The Mamenko couple had a more than complete family: Igor and Maria had two children, sons Dmitry and Alexander. Dmitry became an entrepreneur, and Alexander, since he is still young, goes to school and plays football. The young man is a member of the Spartak-2 team, where he learns the basics of goalkeeper skills. After the death of Maria Mamenko, Igor and Alexander live together, the eldest Dmitry has long started his own family.
Appearance on stage
After demobilization, Igor continued performing in the circus. However, the work ceased to bring him moral satisfaction. Mamenko wanted further creative development, and was also eager to try himself in another field.
Once, in a conversation with an old friend Nikolai Lukinsky, he talked about his desire to perform on stage. And his friend reacted vividly to his words. Lukinsky suggested that Mamenko prepare several humorous numbers. And soon this duo performed in front of the general public. Their joint performance was called “Soldier and Ensign.” Igor Vladimirovich also told the audience several jokes
That day, Regina Dubovitskaya drew the attention of the charming and extraordinary artist. She invited him to perform at Full House
And our hero did not miss this chance.
In 2003, the pop artist gained all-Russian fame. The biography of Igor Mamenko attracted the interest of thousands of viewers. And after performing the monologue “Mother-in-Law,” he acquired the nickname The Joke Man.
Interesting Facts
- In 2005 he was awarded the title Honored Artist of the Russian Federation. He is also the winner of the Golden Ostap Award (2008), which he was awarded at the Comedy Film and Humor Festival in St. Petersburg.
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- Mamenko considers Sergei Drobotenko, Svetlana Rozhkova, Elena Vorobey and Gennady Vetrov to be his close friends.
- He is a big fan of jazz. His house contains an extensive music library.
- Igor Vladimirovich Mamenko considers himself a passionate fisherman and hunter. Every summer, together with a neighbor, the artist goes to Astrakhan or Karelia for several days.
- The comedian recently visited Africa. If you think that he was there exploring the local sights and relaxing on the beach, then you are very mistaken. While on the hot continent, Mamenko went fishing. His catch was a 22-kilogram catfish.
- Igor Vladimirovich himself said goodbye to sports a long time ago. Not a trace remained of the acrobat’s fit figure. At the same time, the 56-year-old comedian loves to follow sports competitions on TV. He has a special affinity for boxing and biathlon.
