Today one of the most well-known Russian television hosts, Alexander Maslyakov, marks his 70th anniversary.

        He is an extremely well-known person, iconographic figure throughout the former USSR, having been on the screen for the greater part of most people's lives. Several generations of Russian people know him as an unchallenged host of an extremely popular humor TV show and game "The Club of the Happy and Inventive" (Klub Veselykh i Nakhodchivykh, KVN).

      Maslyakov has been working in television since 1964. He hosted many popular Soviet TV shows for young people, such as "Hello, we are looking for the talents" (Allo, my ischem talanty), "Addresses of young ones" (Adresa Molodykh), "Happy Kids" (Vesyolyie Rebyata), "Let's Go, Girls" (A nu-ka, Devushki). He was also the first host of "What? Where? When?" (Chto? Gde? Kogda?), the longest-running game show on the Russian television. 

        But surely Alexander Maslykov is most famous for his involvement in the KVN game show - competitions between several teams of enthusiastic and clever young people (students usually) in a series of improvised and rehearsed comedic and musical skits and witty repartee in front of a live audience and a jury of celebrities. The show conception was invented in the Soviet Union and it still has no analogues in the world. KVN went on the air in 1961, and Maslyakov became its host in 1964, while being a student himself. He is still the head and the ideological leader of the game and its young members. Maslyakov is also the president of the International Union of KVN and the host of all the games of the Major League of KVN as well as of the annual KVN festivals in Sochi and Jūrmala.

      Today thousands of current and former KVN members, Government officials, television persons and common followers send their greetings to Alexander Maslyakov. 

Sources: 1tv  Pravda.ru