In the early 80s of the 20th century, entertainment became scarce, and being able to watch an outdoor screen movie or listen to a drama on the radio several times a year was already a great luxury for most people.
However, one night in February 1983, all that changed imperceptibly.
That night, the "Spring Festival Gala" entered countless families.
On the night of the Chinese New Year's Eve, the impromptu performances of the actors, the live performance of the hosts, and the intimate interaction between the audience brought laughter to the national audience. The evening was a huge success, and since then, every night of the Chinese New Year's Eve, people will sit in front of the TV in anticipation of the grand opening of the Spring Festival Gala.
The success of the first Spring Festival Gala is largely due to the wonderful performances of those talented actors on the stage.
Time flies, forty years have passed, personnel are no longer available, and the Spring Festival Gala has also undergone decades of changes. The actors who once brought joy to the audience have now left this world silently, and they are still on stage in my memory.
Zhao Zhongxiang. The first shot of the first Spring Festival Gala was dedicated to Zhao Zhongxiang. At the beginning of the Spring Festival Gala program, Zhao Zhongxiang delivered an opening speech, but he was not the host of the program, because Zhao Zhongxiang was a CCTV news announcer at the time, and his style was more serious and not suitable for the lively Spring Festival Gala.
Zhao Zhongxiang joined Beijing TV, the predecessor of CCTV, in the early 60s of the 20th century, and became the second announcer after Shen Li. By 1978, with his outstanding ability, he became the first host of "News Network".
In that era when black-and-white TVs were still quite scarce, the first host that many families encountered after buying a TV was Zhao Zhongxiang.
In the 80s and 90s of the 20th century, Zhao Zhongxiang won the love of a large number of audiences with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, noble temperament and elegant demeanor. In Zhao Benshan and Song Dandan's sketch "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow", Song Dandan expressed her wish: "I want to see Zhao Zhongxiang very much" and emphasized that "Zhao Zhongxiang is my idol in my heart".
This passage accurately reflects the inner feelings of the middle-aged and elderly audiences of that era, and Zhao Zhongxiang is known as the "male god" of that era.
After the first Spring Festival Gala ended, Zhao Zhongxiang hosted 12 consecutive Spring Festival Galas from 1984 to 1999.
As the years passed, Zhao Zhongxiang's voice became more and more attractive, and the two programs he hosted, "Animal World" and "Man and Nature", were deeply loved by the audience.
The familiar "spring is coming, everything is recovering, it's breeding season again, the animals... The sound is still haunting to this day.
Zhao Zhongxiang's influence in the hosting field surpassed many of his peers and won the hearts of many people, but when he retired in his later years, a woman almost became a victim of his life.
There are only three years left before Zhao Zhongxiang retired in 2004, and during this time, he has been at the forefront of society, but there are rumors about an affair between him and Rao Ying, a health care doctor at CCTV.
Rao Ying openly revealed her affair with Zhao Zhongxiang on **, and it has been going on for seven years. For the sake of this relationship, she chose to give up her marriage and children, but in the end what she got was fraud, which caused widespread public attention and discussion.
The dispute between the two escalated to the level of a legal dispute, and Zhao Zhongxiang eventually won the case. But the incident also seriously damaged his public image. In 2009, Zhao Zhongxiang referred to the scandal in his new book, "Lakeside Whispers," claiming that he did not know Rao Ying and had not committed any embarrassing acts, either morally or legally.
Zhao Zhongxiang has not been idle after retirement, he has participated in variety shows and hosted the Spring Festival Gala of local TV stations, and is still loved by the audience. He usually likes to write and draw, but he didn't expect to usher in the second spring, and his calligraphy and painting are difficult to obtain. In 2016, one of his paintings, "Five Donkeys", was auctioned for nearly one million.
In January 2020, Zhao Zhongxiang died of squamous cell carcinoma in Beijing at the age of 78. It is a pity that after his death, the number of his paintings and calligraphy works dropped from tens to millions, and even to hundreds, becoming works of art that no one collects.
Hou Baolin. In the first Spring Festival Gala, cross talk made its debut as a language program, and Hou Baolin led his apprentices to the stage to perform. That night, they showed the audience a number of cross talk works, with a total duration of 90 minutes, marking the peak of cross talk art.
That year, Hou Baolin was 66 years old.
Hou Baolin is an outstanding artist in the field of cross talk in the mainland, he began to study art at the age of 12, and studied under Chang Baochen and Zhu Kuoquan. He used to make a living by performing cross talk and performing in Beijing's Tianqiao and Gulou areas.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, Hou Baolin chose to work as a temporary worker in a paper shop to earn a living. In 1939, he began to serve as a supporter for his master Zhu Kuoquan, and officially stepped onto the stage for cross talk performances. He became famous for his anti-Peking Opera and was known as "the first person to sing cross talk."
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the entertainment industry began to flourish, and Hou Baolin's talent was fully displayed, and he quickly rose to prominence as a well-known cross talk performer, and his works such as "Marriage and Superstition" and "Consistent Dao" won the audience's enthusiastic love.
In terms of relationships, Hou Baolin has experienced three marriages and has seven children.
Hou Baolin was only 22 years old in his first marriage, and his wife, Lian Xiuzhen's father, ran a porridge business in the county. The two got married and had a boy, but unfortunately died young. Due to his wife's habit of smoking, this led to the breakdown of the relationship between them, and the marriage lasted four years.
Liu Shufang is the second wife, she is the daughter of a chef and has a son and a daughter after marriage.
Wang Yalan is the third wife, and she is a Peking Opera performer. The two chose the path of free love, and after marriage they had two sons and two daughters, of which the sons were Hou Yaowen and Hou Yaohua, unfortunately, the younger daughter died young.
In February 1993, Hou Baolin died of illness at the age of 76.
On the stage of the first Spring Festival Gala, Hou Baolin and his son Hou Yaowen appeared together. Hou Yaowen made 12 consecutive appearances at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala. Unfortunately, he died in Beijing in 2007 at the age of 59 due to a myocardial infarction.
Horse season. The host of the first Spring Festival Gala was Hou Baolin's apprentice. Before the first Spring Festival Gala, the host of the TV program was called the announcer, and the announcer of the evening was called the announcer. In order to make the Spring Festival Gala more lively, the role of "host" was specially set for them.
On the stage of the first Spring Festival Gala, Ma Ji showed his identity as the host of the Spring Festival Gala to the audience, and was teased by Jiang Kun, who said: "Only monks in the temple will call themselves 'abbots'."
Ma Ji performed well as the host of the first Spring Festival Gala, he not only enlivened the atmosphere of the scene, but also skillfully connected multiple programs together, leaving a deep memory on the audience. He performed cross talk "Small Scene of the Mountain Village" with Zhao Yan at the Spring Festival Gala, which was the first time he introduced cross talk to this stage, which caused huge social repercussions. Since then, cross talk has gradually become an indispensable language program every year.
In 1984, Ma Ji once again brought us the cross talk work "Universe Brand Cigarettes", which made people across the country recognize this famous cross talk artist. The influence of the Spring Festival Gala led him to create a brand of cigarettes called "Universe Brand", which was produced by a tobacco factory in Harbin.
Ma Ji participated in a total of 6 performances on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala, he presented many classic repertoire such as cross talk "Five Senses Fighting for Merit", "Apprentice", "Spring Festival Couplets", and successfully invited his students such as Jiang Kun, Feng Gong, Liu Wei, Zhao Yan and many other cross talk artists to the stage of the Spring Festival Gala.
In December 2006, Ma Ji died of heart disease in Beijing at the age of 72.
Wang Jingyu. Wang Jingyu, as a national first-class actor and one of the hosts of the first Spring Festival Gala, brought the pantomime "Eating Chicken" to the audience on the stage. This show was the creative inspiration for him when he ate a canned stewed chicken in Guangdong, because it was not cooked too badly to chew.
This show was warmly welcomed by the audience after it was broadcast on the Spring Festival Gala. However, initially the show caused a lot of controversy, and when it was reviewed, it was considered to be the intention of "hiding a knife in a smile", and it was suspected of being a petty bourgeois degenerate lifestyle. After going through a lot of twists and turns and exhaustion, Wang Jingyu decided to give up the show.
However, with the director's patient persuasion and unremitting efforts, this show was finally presented to the audience. At the beginning of the party, after Li Gu sang the opening song, Jiang Kun came out and began to complain that he was hungry. Coincidentally, he saw the roast chicken in Wang Jingyu's hand, which paved the way for the show. When Wang Jingyu came on the field, the roast chicken had already been eaten by Jiang Kun.
Wang Jingyu reluctantly performed the physical performance of "Eating Chicken" without any props.
The whole performance process is very smooth, Wang Jingyu's exaggerated movements and delicate performance made the audience in front of the TV laugh forward and backward, and the show was very successful, making the party reach a new climax.
Since then, Wang Jingyu has continued to deepen his performances in the field of pantomime and has toured all over the country. In 1984 and 1990, he once again brought wonderful performances of the pantomime "TV Dispute" and "Weightlifting" to the audience at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala.
Although "Eating Chicken" has won Wang Jingyu a certain popularity, it has also brought him a lot of pressure. People in the industry criticized him for his lack of superb acting skills, and senior teachers even publicly criticized him. Abroad, he was proud to play "Sherlock", but when he played "Eat Chicken" again, Wang Jingyu fell into a state of depression under great pressure.
Wang Jingyu stopped performing "Eating Chicken" from then until 1997, when Hong Kong returned to China, when he went to Hong Kong to perform, and an audience member specifically asked him to appear in "Eat Chicken".
When he asked why, the reply he received was: "Every time I ** this show, I will recall the days when my family happily celebrated the Spring Festival in front of the TV that year."
Wang Jingyu was deeply touched after listening, untied the knots in his heart, and temporarily staged "Eating Chicken", and was warmly welcomed by the audience, he once said: "This performance is the most popular one in my life."
In May 2021, Wang Jingyu passed away in Beijing at the age of 85.
Sobaoli. In the stage performance, he sang "Husband and Wife Return Home" with Mu Xuanfu, and this song was then widely popular all over the country.
Suo Baoli is the protégé of opera performance artist Wang Kun. In the 80s, she joined the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe, and her voice was full and powerful. Her representative works include "Birthday Song", "My Heart Belongs to You", "Lost Copper" and "Rustle in the Bamboo Forest". In addition, she was involved in the filming of the film "Let the World Be Filled with Love", which made her one of the most popular female singers of the 80s.
In those days, Sobaoli's performances were always packed, and almost every show was packed. She needs to travel to multiple concert sites in one day, receiving variety shows and participating in commercial activities, and the scene is very spectacular.
At the height of her career, she faded out of the public eye after getting married, and in 1991 she moved to Germany with her husband.
In October 2015, Sobaoli died of kidney cancer in Germany at the age of 56. In the last moments of her life, she left behind a last word full of filial piety, expressing her desire to return to the country and be buried next to her parents.
Yan Shunkai. He performed three different programs on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala in one go, including the pantomime "Playing the Piano", the solo performance of "Ah Q's Monologues", and the co-performance of "Visiting the Factory" with Siqin Gaowa.
Yan Shunkai is good at creating a series of energetic small characters. In 1990, he presented "Difficult Brothers" on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala;In 1993, he performed "Zhang Sanqiren" again;In 1999, he performed "Love Father Like Son" again;And in 2007, he performed "False Words and True Love" again. These are heartfelt emotional stories that are told through the eyes of small people.
In the 1981 movie "The True Story of Ah Q", Ah Q won the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actor for his timid and weak character, and won the Golden Cane Award for Best Actor at the 2nd Vevi International Comedy Film Festival in Switzerland, both of which are of high value.
Known as the "Chaplin of the East."
During the filming of the movie "My Ugly Father" in 2009, Yan Shun suddenly felt unwell, and after being sent to the hospital for examination, he was diagnosed with a stroke, which led to his hemiplegia, impaired language function and communication difficulties, after which he chose to quit the film and television industry, but he has not been heard from since.
In June 2017, Yan Shunkai's student Cao Xiong shared a sad news on his master's 80th birthday, mentioning that when the master was sick, no one from the apprentices came to visit.
In October 2017, Yan Shunkai passed away at the age of 80.
Yuan Shihai. As a performing artist of Peking Opera, he brought three wonderful performances to everyone at the Spring Festival Gala, namely "Liu Sanjie", "Niu Gao Recruits Relatives" and "Sitting in the Village and Stealing Horses".
Yuan Shihai is known as the founder of the "Yuan School" of Peking Opera, and he has won high praise for his outstanding performance in playing Cao Cao, so he has won high praise for "Living Cao Cao". His representative works, such as "Thief of the Royal Horse", "Li Kui's Mother" and "Bringing Harmony", have won wide popularity among opera fans in the field of Peking Opera.
In Peking opera films such as "Red Lantern", "Wild Boar Forest" and "The Heroes", Yuan Shihai's villain role brought deep memories to the audience.
In May 2022, Yuan Shihai passed away in Beijing at the age of 75.
Li Wenhua. On a spring night, he performed three cross talks, namely "Song of the Warrior", "Counterwords" and "This Wrong Step". When he was young, he studied art with Guo Qiru, but he didn't really get started. Later, he cooperated with Liu Baorui, Ma Ji, Jiang Kun and others in cross talk performances, and played the role of a compliment many times.
Li Wenhua's performance art style is slow and deep, and there is no lack of witty elements, and he can always inadvertently amuse the audience to achieve better performances. His major works include "Photographed Like This", "Drunk", "Saying the Same", "Thinking of Wrong", "Me and the Passenger" and "The Story of the Nose", among others.
In 1983, Li Wenhua was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, and then underwent a total laryngectomy in 1985, and since then he has withdrawn from the stage of cross talk performances.
In 2008, under the witness of Ma Zhiming, he apprenticed to the late cross talk master Ma Sanli, and since then he has become a ** of the Ma School.
Li Wenhua has never accepted an apprentice in his life, and his maternal grandson is Sun Yue. It is rumored that after Li Wenhua's death, Sun Yue was entrusted to Jiang Kun, and Sun Yue was arranged to feed the elephants in the zoo, which became an interesting story in the cross talk circle.
In May 2009, Li Wenhua died of illness in Beijing at the age of 82, and he left a suicide note, which read, "When I get better, I will listen to cross talk with everyone."
Ma Changli. The old master in Peking Opera left a deep impact on the audience in the "Empty City Strategy" performed at the Spring Festival Gala.
Ma Changli's voice is crisp and mellow, and his singing voice is delicate and deep. In 1971, he became well-known to many fans for his role as the villain Diao De in the Peking Opera film "Sha Jiabang" and won their love.
His representative works include "Borrowing the East Wind", "Three Shops", "Ganlu Temple", "Wu Zixu" and "The Red-Maned Horse", which combine the advantages of the Tan School, the Ma School and the Yang School, making his performances highly infectious.
In November 2016, Ma Changli passed away due to illness at the age of 86.
Guo Quanbao. Although he did not directly participate in the live broadcast of the Spring Festival Gala, in the on-demand session of the national audience, **a paragraph**, and Hou Baolin presented the traditional cross talk "Drama Miscellaneous".
Guo Baoquan is a cross talk performance artist from the mainland, and his master is Junbo. Until the 50s of the 20th century, he performed in theaters in North China. After the 50s, he joined a professional cross talk troupe and collaborated with Hou Baolin, Liu Baorui, Ma Ji and others to perform cross talk performances.
Guo Baoquan is a master of stand-up and playful performances, and his representative works include "Catch and Release Cao", "Yellow Crane Tower" and "Monkey Play". It is particularly worth mentioning that his cross talk "Okay, Good" has been popular all over the country as a joke. Since the 70s, he has collaborated with Luo Rongshou and often performs double reeds.
In July 2004, Guo Baoquan died of cancer in Beijing at the age of 82.