Ukrainian actor Andrey Danilko really “a little over thirty” - this year he will celebrate his 45th anniversary. And he spent about half his life in the form Verka Serduchka - an impudent conductor with a terrible accent. He came up with this image while still in school, and Verka earned popularity in the 90s, touring the countries of the former USSR with concerts and somehow combining this difficult process with his studies. This image disappeared from the TV screen to the people when Danilko began hosting the humorous talk show “SV-show” on the “1+1” channel. Then he also started singing - in general, now Serduchka is an indispensable part of the Ukrainian cultural landscape, which can single-handedly literally pull out the very boring Eurovision, which was held in Kyiv in 2017.
And so Andrei Danilko decided to part with the stage image that the audience loved. He announced this on the eve of the concert, which will take place on July 13 in Odessa. There will probably be other performances, but on the artist’s website there is currently only one inscription: “Vacation.”
“This will be a grandiose performance by an artist who misses her audience,” the vesti-ukr.com portal quotes Danilko as saying. — A brilliant show worthy of Verka Serduchka. She is already a holiday in herself! By the way, in addition to well-known songs, Verka has prepared several new compositions, the premiere of which will take place in Odessa.”
The farewell tour itself will not begin soon - in about a year. The exact dates have not yet been announced, as well as the cities in which Serduchka will perform. Nor does Danilko name the reasons that forced him to break up with his conductor Verka.
Love was not spoiled for you: why Andrei Danilko never started a family
Andrey Danilko
The success of the “SV-show” could be envied: thanks to it, the little-known artist Andrei Danilko became in demand. Representatives of Russian show business came to the program with pleasure. Verka Serduchka quickly gained the status of a public favorite. The cheerful conductor turned out to be a successful singer and star of corporate events; she was invited to music festivals, concerts and even Eurovision.
But not everything was so rosy: after a composition performed at an international competition, Danilko found himself at the center of a scandal over the lyrics of the song. It cost him enormous strength and nerves to regain his reputation.
26 years have passed since Andrei introduced Verka Serduchka to the audience. Tired of the image, last year the artist announced the singer’s farewell tour. But is Danilko really ready to part with the character? And what did he have to sacrifice for fame?
FROM POOR CHILDHOOD TO STELLAR CAREER
Andrey Danilko had a difficult childhood
The future artist was born in Poltava into a simple working-class family: his mother worked as a painter, and his father as a driver. My parents lived poorly, there was no bath or shower in the house, so they had to go to the neighbors to wash once a week. Childhood was also difficult because Andrei’s father abused alcohol.
“Dad could knock out windows and start fights. I ran with a stool and called the police. This was in the order of things for us,” Danilko shared on the air of the “Once Upon a Time” program on NTV.
Andrei Danilko about his father’s drunkenness: “I had to call the police”
Mom took care of both her son and her husband onto her fragile shoulders. It was especially difficult for the woman when Andrei’s father became seriously ill. He died of cancer when the child was only 10. Despite the difficult relationship with his dad, Danilko Jr. had a hard time with his passing.
“He was a very good person, but when he drank, he wasn’t very good. As a child, I said I would never drink, seeing the consequences. It didn’t come true, but it doesn’t affect me that way, thank God,” the artist noted.
Russian celebrities happily came to Verka Serduchka's show
Mom worked two shifts, and Andrei’s older sister began an independent life, so the boy was often left at home alone. He was sad at school too. There the child met a girl named Anya Serdyuk. An excellent student from an intelligent family won Danilko’s heart, but the social inequality between them was felt too acutely. He did not harbor vain hopes that one day Anya would reciprocate his feelings.
To forget about non-reciprocal love and injustice, the teenager took up amateur activities. Soon not a single performance of the local KVN team was complete without him. And although Andrei and Anya diverged, he promised the girl that he would glorify her name. Whether it’s a beautiful legend or true, in 1993 the artist first introduced the public to a new character - Verka Serduchka. At the Humorina festival, Danilko, with a bright heroine who ridiculed women’s complexes, took second place, and the following year received the Grand Prix. Invitations to radio, television and pop concerts poured in.
In 1997, the “SV-show” was released in Ukraine, where the main role was given to the busty conductor Verka. Danilko’s on-air partners were Inna Belokon, Radmila Shchegoleva and Olga Litskevich. At the same time, Andrei wanted to continue his education as a pop artist, but he was quickly expelled from the circus school: for absenteeism and a difficult character. There really was no time left for lectures, especially when the program was bought on Russian television.
Honorary guests came to Serduchka's program: Lyudmila Gurchenko, Ilya Oleynikov, Philip Kirkorov. Gradually, the character became perhaps the most popular in the country. Musicals, numbers, hit songs - Verka was everywhere. The heroine turned out to be so popular that she even went to Eurovision in 2007, where she took second place. However, many people heard that the conductor from the stage said the phrase “Russia, goodbye,” and not “Lasha tumbay,” which greatly complicated Andrei Danilko’s relationship with Russian fans.
“It was such a cheat, to the point of hatred. They said about me: “He spat in the face of Russia!” “In my life I could not think that such a scandal would arise,” the artist explained in Irina Shikhman’s show “Should I Talk?”
Danilko repeatedly tried to get away from the image of a conductor and acted in the role of a policeman, Cossack and soldier. However, Andrei received the largest fees thanks to Verka Serduchka. So, 10 years ago he was included in the list of the richest Ukrainian artists, and in 2013 he received the award “For special achievements in music” at YUNA.
The joint merits of Serduchka and Danilko were appreciated
Of course, over the years, Danilko began to get annoyed that fans perceived him and Serduchka as a single whole. The actor starred in more than 20 films, but each time the character of his characters was copied by Verka. So will the conductor's story end forever?
FAREWELL TO VERKA SERDUCHA
Andrey Danilko was a mentor on X-Factor for several seasons
Andrey Danilko tried himself not only as a performer, but also as a mentor. In 2016, he was invited to the jury of the Ukrainian show X-Factor. The artist stayed there for three seasons, and his team, Mountain Breeze, even took third place in the competition. Danilko became a producer for the boy band, rejoicing at the opportunity to realize himself in a different role.
“It’s very difficult to get rid of the image, which is why I’m attracted to behind-the-scenes work. I understand that soon I will no longer be able to show Serdyuchka, because an adult guy won’t put a star on his head. But we came up with the idea of doing a farewell tour, everything is as it should be,” Andrei said last year.
The artist called the conductor’s last performance a concert in Odessa on July 13, 2018, after which he began a grand tour.
“A farewell tour means a big tour - a kind of “thank you” to those people who gave me, a boy from Poltava who lived in an extension where wallpaper was wrapped, the opportunity to provide for myself financially, to live on Khreshchatyk and, in principle, not to work,” - the singer emphasized.
In 2018, the image of Verka Serduchka turned 25 years old
Fans were upset by Danilko’s statement. One could only guess whether it was due to a creative crisis, depression, or a desire for novelty. However, Andrei hastened to assure loyal listeners: rumors about the final end of Verka Serduchka’s career are exaggerated.
“Verka Serduchka is a star. She may announce a farewell tour and then return again. It's in the style of the stars. Now we are saying goodbye, but we will meet again,” the artist hinted at a possible outcome.
Andrey Danilko about saying goodbye to the image of Verka Serduchka: “She can come back again”
However, Danilko did not hide the fact that he was tired of the conductor’s solo concerts and intended to take a break from his work. City tours were especially difficult for Andrey. “I felt bad all the time. My face was covered in nervousness. I wanted to hide from people. In such a state you cannot relax, so you constantly had to drink. I don’t remember some years at all, from 1998 to 2010 almost nothing,” the artist lamented.
At Eurovision, Andrei Danilko's dressing room neighbor was Madonna
Even if the era of big solo concerts is over, Danilko has not stopped performing at closed parties and corporate events in his usual way. Andrey made an exception for this year’s Eurovision, becoming a guest star of the show along with Madonna.
Andrey Danilko: “Madonna and Serduchka shared the same dressing room”
“We crossed paths literally once, when she arrived,” Andrei Danilko told StarHit. — We had a job at Euroclub, and she asked for our dressing room. They screwed up the blue light bulbs there to make the light softer. The organizers were involved in this matter, and from their appearance it was noticeable that they did not experience much joy from the presence of Madonna, only problems.”
WITHOUT LOVE?
Andrey Danilko was credited with an affair with Radmila Shchegoleva
The bright and brazen Verka Serduchka has little in common with the character of the real Andrei Danilko. Unlike the character, the artist is laconic and calm. But what is known about his personal life?
The artist does not talk about matters of the heart, noting only that he does not find time for relationships due to his workload. One day Danilko mentioned that he had an affair with a girl on the stage, but did not divulge the name of his chosen one. Andrei was repeatedly credited with having love affairs with his colleagues on the “SV-show” - Olga Litskevich, Radmila Shchegoleva and, especially, Inna Belokon. Andrei Danilko considers the performer of the role of Serduchka’s mother to be a close friend: they have known each other since the 80s, attend social events together and go on vacation. All this gave rise to rumors that Inna left her husband for the sake of the actor. However, there was no divorce, and Belokon still lives with her husband and raises her daughter.
“We have a very affectionate relationship. The two of us can stay in the room. But that doesn't mean anything. There were moments when the working relationship grew into something more. So what's wrong with that? You see, this always happens in a drunken shop,” the artist justified himself.
Inna Belokon is a close friend of Andrey Danilko
The actor found himself at the epicenter of scandals not only because of gossip about his relationships with colleagues. In 2013, the Ukrainian media were full of headlines that Andrei has two sons, Vanya and Misha, whom he carefully hides from the public. In addition, information has appeared that by the fall the surrogate mother will give birth to another child for the artist. “Where all this comes from, I don’t know. I don't communicate with anyone at all. I lead a very private lifestyle. There is only a stage. Why do I need children? This is not buying a TV. There must be some kind of relationship,” Danilko was indignant.
Many times Andrei claimed that he felt comfortable being alone, but in a conversation with StarHit last year he did not conceal the fact that starting a family is part of his future plans.
Andrey Danilko: “I want a family and children, but for me it’s not easy”
"Certainly. But I don’t understand at all how you can take it and create it for yourself. The need for each other is important to me, so that there is friendship, love, and it is comfortable to be nearby in the same living space. “This is not an easy story for me,” the artist admitted. - I want children too. But how will it turn out? I don't do anything special. Either it’s given or it’s not.”
Based on materials from KP, TSN.ua, Ukraina.ru.
Photo: Legion-Media, still from the “Once Upon a Time” program on NTV, still from the “SV-show”, still from the X-Factor-8 program on STB channel, Getty Images
Andrey Danilko’s mother: “Verka Serduchka gives me a headache”
We visited the village where the mother of the famous artist lives
Andrey Danilko’s mother, Svetlana Ivanovna Volkova, lives on the Klimenki farm in the Poltava region. An ordinary rural farmstead with chickens running around, a small house, a barn. We found the owner repairing a metal frame for grapes.
“Why doesn’t your son come?” - we are interested. “Andrey was in the village in the tenth grade,” admits 76-year-old Svetlana Volkova. — Then I entered the circus school and that’s it. But my relatives and I go to see him with pleasure. If he just whistles for us, we’ll walk along the sleepers. What should he do here? Digging in the garden like me? He has his own big business...”
— Svetlana Ivanovna, what will you give Andrey for his 40th birthday?
— I gave flowers and fruits.
— Your son shared with you why he has been performing so little lately?
- Why so few? Often. No matter how I call, he says: “It’s hard to hear, mom, I’m on a plane to Moscow.” Just recently I flew to the birthday of Andrei Razin from Tender May.
- Did you perform?
— I don’t know whether I performed or not, but I definitely drank (laughs).
Photo report: How Andrei Danilko’s mother lives in the village
— By the way, they write that Andrey periodically undergoes treatment for alcoholism?
- This is nonsense. But, of course, he drinks. Who doesn't drink? Maybe a telegraph pole.
— My son is already 40 years old, and he is still not married.
“Andrey said: “It’s okay, I’m not yet 50.” At one time I seemed to be dating the actress who played Gelya (SV-show). A beautiful couple. But everything suddenly ended somehow. She let him down by leaving the concert in Sochi. I did not do well. Then she even asked to join his team again, but he didn’t take her.
Photo report: Andrey Danilko with and without Serduchka
— How did you realize that your son is a celebrity?
— Once I was informed that Andrey’s concert would be held in Poltava. I arrive: there are posters with him everywhere! No tickets. We expected that Inka (Serduchka’s stage mother - Inna Belokon - Author) would let us in, but she didn’t. And then they offer me tickets under the counter at a speculative price. Nightmare!
— Do you have his favorite song, play, film?
— My favorite film with him is “Sorochinskaya Fair.” I would watch it day and night. Now Andrey has completely switched to the song genre. This is surprising because I have never sung before. But he started singing - and everything worked out. When there is some kind of holiday or wedding in the village, Serduchka is immediately played. My head hurts.
— What kind of troubles does Andrei have due to his popularity?
— I went to buy a T-shirt and the saleswoman caught his attention. Word for word, we had a fight... I remembered when Andrei was seven or eight years old, he and his class went on an excursion to the Kotlyarevsky Museum. There were photo shoots there, and he really wanted to be on camera. And he got it. And the annoyed photographer said: “Some guy got in and ruined the whole frame.” Andrey still remembers this incident. He used to get into the lenses, but now they are chasing him.
Who is the lover of Andrei Danilko (Verka Serduchka)?
2.7
(3)
Now the famous and popular Ukrainian artist Andrei Danilko, performing in the stage image of Verka Serduchka, is 46 years old. How quickly time flew by. Everyone probably remembers how a young guy began his career by performing as a conductor, then became the host of his own show.
Many famous artists came to his program, with whom Andrei conducted a conversation in the same image and in the decoration of a reserved seat carriage. It was after this show that the artist gained real popularity. He began actively recording songs and performing as Verka Serduchka.
For all this time, none of the fans knew what was really going on in the personal life of the famous artist. The thing is that Andrei Danilko tries to carefully hide his personal life from prying eyes. Apparently he feels more comfortable this way. And he has every right to do so. In this regard, the artist appears in splendid isolation at all social events.
There was a time when fans for many years believed that the famous comedian and singer Andrei Danilko had a passion for men. That is, there were rumors about his unconventional orientation.
However, quite recently a photo appeared on the Internet in which Andrei Danilko was captured with a woman. This indicates that the artist has a normal traditional orientation.
One of the famous singers EL Kravchuk, who has been a close and long-time friend of Andrei Danilko for many years, posted one entertaining photo on the social network Instagram. This photograph shows two lovers. The camera lens caught Andrei, who at that moment was kissing some representative of the fair sex.
This girl is very similar to Inna Belokon. It is Inna who has been working with Andrei on the team for many years and plays the “mother” of Verka Serduchka. It is worth noting that this unique shot was taken at one of the famous resorts in Miami.
This is how Andrei Danilko accidentally became the cause of conversation among the press and a large number of his fans. Now they are all eager to find out who this young lady is, what kind of relationship she has with the artist, whether they are serious, how long the couple has been together.
In any case, fans of the artist who plays Veerka Serduchka are very surprised by this news. But they sincerely wish that the famous performer would finally find happiness in his personal life.
How helpful was the article?
Average rating 2.7 / 5. Votes count: 3
No votes yet. Be the first to rate this post.
