The hero, and also the author of this unique, in many ways unexpected book, is a charming, brilliant, inimitable Artist - Mikhail Derzhavin. He is one of the few people, at the mere mention of whom bright smiles bloom on their faces! From a happy childhood in Vakhtangov’s artistic environment to all-Russian and all-Union love and fame - a path that the Artist, it seems, did not even walk, but fluttered - easily, singing, dancing , joking, playfully and making millions of viewers laugh and enjoy happiness, the miracle of life. An inexhaustible fountain of fun, good irony, and paradoxical humor is present on the pages of this book. The heroes of this book are close friends of Mikhail Derzhavin, his partners in theater and film art - Alexander Shirvindt, Andrei Mironov, Anatoly Papanov, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Tatyana Peltzer, Larisa Golubkina, Mikhail Ulyanov, Mark Bernes, brilliant comedy directors with whom I had the opportunity to work, — Eldar Ryazanov, Valentin Pluchek, Alla Surikova, Naum Birman, Anatoly Eiramdzhan, and many others. From these pages even the legendary first and second father-in-law of Mikhail Mikhailovich will appear in an unexpected role - People's Artist of the USSR Arkady Raikin and the famous commander of the First Cavalry, Marshal of the USSR Semyon Budyonny. And of course, my beloved wife is the famous singer Roxana Babayan.