“The funny and the tragic are two sisters that accompany us through life,” said Yuri Nikulin. So it is in his life. A brilliant clown at the Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, a comedy film actor, a compiler of many collections of jokes - this is how we remember him. Meanwhile, Nikulin’s life was not easy; it was not filled only with rosy moments. The blood of the Great Patriotic War, the daily overcoming of misunderstanding of his work by those who considered the ability to make people laugh lightweight and unnecessary. But he stubbornly followed the path he had chosen for himself, relying on the support of family and friends, and the love of millions of viewers. “Hearing laughter is joy. It’s a source of pride for me to cause laughter.” And Yuri Nikulin was really proud of the fact that he made us laugh. In his new book, the famous journalist Fyodor Razzakov recreates the life of Yuri Nikulin literally day by day, in every detail, without hiding anything, even popular gossip and rumors. At the same time, the author, covering the events of the life of the great clown, resorts to many sources: memoirs, memories of family and friends, interviews and articles.