Leonid the Magnificent
Encyclopedia
Leonid the Magnificent is a Russia
n performance artist born in 1973 in Siberia
who now lives in Brooklyn
, New York City
. Leonid has been performing on stage since the age of 12. He finished Russian Circus School and University of Art and Culture to become an artist and a show creator. While in Russia, Leonid Filatov gained recognition by the Cultural Committee of the Government of Moscow
as an acclaimed artiste of the State Central Concert Hall "Rossiya" - the most prestigious in the nation. Since coming to the USA he has performed in many cities across America including Miami, Las Vegas
, New York City
, New Jersey
, Los Angeles
and San Francisco.
His repertoire includes classical
, modern or exotic
dances, highly-skilled circus
acrobatics
, musicals, comedy
and drama
. He performs solo
or with his troupe, the Leo-Leopatra show. His style is highly versatile depending on the venue and occasion, ranging from serious and classical to raucous and edgy.
Leonid became known nationwide after his appearances on the first season
of America's Got Talent
in 2006. He was selected to go to the semi-finals. David Hasselhoff
, a judge on the show, picked him to go on the wild card episode. His appearances on this show gained him a cult following
and internet
videoclips of these performances have been viewed by thousands of fans from around the world.
He reappeared in the final audition round of Season 2
, and got in, although this time Hasselhoff's support for him had vanished as he threatened to leave the show and walked off temporarily after the other two judges, Sharon Osbourne
and Piers Morgan
, voted Leonid through. On June 26, 2007, when this episode was broadcast on national TV, the search terms "Leonid The Magnificent" rose to nationwide No. 13 on Google Trends
.
Leonid has also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
on May 19, 2005, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! in August 2006. On April 22, 2006, he was given the PREMIO ARTE Award as Extravagant Artist of the 2005 Year, in New Jersey
. On March 28, 2007, he appeared on Greece national TV as a special guest star on Greece’s Got Talent
in Athens
, Greece
. Most recently, Leonid auditioned once again for America's Got Talent in the 2011 New York auditions by singing and doing a quick-change
magic act. He received a "Yes" vote from Howie Mandel
and Sharon Osbourne
, but Piers Morgan
voted "No". He described Leonid as a "like a yo-yo
that keeps coming back the harder [he] tried to throw him out."
He performed as a stand by during Vegas Week, but was eliminated and sent home by the judges.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n performance artist born in 1973 in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
who now lives in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Leonid has been performing on stage since the age of 12. He finished Russian Circus School and University of Art and Culture to become an artist and a show creator. While in Russia, Leonid Filatov gained recognition by the Cultural Committee of the Government of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
as an acclaimed artiste of the State Central Concert Hall "Rossiya" - the most prestigious in the nation. Since coming to the USA he has performed in many cities across America including Miami, Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and San Francisco.
His repertoire includes classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, modern or exotic
Exotic
Exotic can mean:*In mathematics:**Exotic R4 - differentiable manifold homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to the Euclidean space R4**Exotic sphere - differentiable manifold homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to the ordinary sphere*In physics:...
dances, highly-skilled circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
acrobatics
Acrobatics
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...
, musicals, comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
and drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
. He performs solo
Solo (dance)
A solo dance is danced by an individual dancing alone, as opposed to couples dancing together but independently of others dancing at the same time, if any, and as opposed to groups of people dancing simultaneously in a coordinated manner. Solo dancers are usually the best dancers in a group or...
or with his troupe, the Leo-Leopatra show. His style is highly versatile depending on the venue and occasion, ranging from serious and classical to raucous and edgy.
Leonid became known nationwide after his appearances on the first season
America's Got Talent (Season 1)
The first season of America's Got Talent premiered on June 21, 2006 and concluded on August 17, 2006. The audition tour took place in April 2006, stopping at Los Angeles, California, New York City, New York, Chicago, Illinois, and Atlanta, Georgia. Regis Philbin was the host for this season and...
of America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
in 2006. He was selected to go to the semi-finals. David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
, a judge on the show, picked him to go on the wild card episode. His appearances on this show gained him a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
and internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
videoclips of these performances have been viewed by thousands of fans from around the world.
He reappeared in the final audition round of Season 2
America's Got Talent (Season 2)
The second season of America's Got Talent, an American television reality show talent competition, premiered on the NBC network on June 5, 2007 with a two-hour episode. Tabloid talk show host Jerry Springer succeeded Regis Philbin as host. Piers Morgan and David Hasselhoff returned as judges,...
, and got in, although this time Hasselhoff's support for him had vanished as he threatened to leave the show and walked off temporarily after the other two judges, Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Rachel Osbourne is an English television host, author, music manager, businesswoman and promoter as well as the wife of heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne....
and Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....
, voted Leonid through. On June 26, 2007, when this episode was broadcast on national TV, the search terms "Leonid The Magnificent" rose to nationwide No. 13 on Google Trends
Google Trends
Google Trends is a public web facility of Google Inc., based on Google Search, that shows how often a particular search-term is entered relative to the total search-volume across various regions of the world, and in various languages...
.
Leonid has also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
on May 19, 2005, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! in August 2006. On April 22, 2006, he was given the PREMIO ARTE Award as Extravagant Artist of the 2005 Year, in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. On March 28, 2007, he appeared on Greece national TV as a special guest star on Greece’s Got Talent
Ellada Eheis Talento
Greece, You Have Talent is a Greek reality television series on the ANT1 television network and is part of the Got Talent multinational franchise. It has been one of the most successful Greek TV shows over the last five years. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians,...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Most recently, Leonid auditioned once again for America's Got Talent in the 2011 New York auditions by singing and doing a quick-change
Quick-change
Quick-change is a performance style in which a performer or magician changes quickly within seconds from one costume into another costume in front of the audience.-Modern Quick-Change Artists:...
magic act. He received a "Yes" vote from Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on...
and Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Rachel Osbourne is an English television host, author, music manager, businesswoman and promoter as well as the wife of heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne....
, but Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....
voted "No". He described Leonid as a "like a yo-yo
Yo-yo
The yo-yo in its simplest form is an object consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a length of twine looped around the axle, similar to a slender spool...
that keeps coming back the harder [he] tried to throw him out."
He performed as a stand by during Vegas Week, but was eliminated and sent home by the judges.