According to the established view, the nasality in the voice of translators of unlicensed videotapes during perestroika and in the first post-perestroika years was achieved with the help of a simple clothespin. We checked to see if this was the case.

After affordable video recorders (this was in the mid-80s), a flood of illegal videos from abroad poured into the country. There were no problems with demand, nor with supply, but it was impossible to do without intermediaries in the person of translators. Since all this was done without the participation of the state, underground, there were problems with hiring multi-voice dubbing actors, and the vast majority of pirated VHS tapes feature the voice of the translator himself.

And this voice, as a rule, is quite noticeably nasal. Counts, that in this way the translators were insured against problems with the state security agencies, because they could be recognized and a criminal case opened. Well, a simple and effective solution to the problem was an ordinary clothespin: if you hold your nose with it, all the timbres become similar to each other.

The most effective way to find out the truth of the clothespin legend is to ask the translators themselves. It may seem that there were a lot of the latter - due to the unrecognizability of the voice. However, this is not true. The lion's share of “nasal” translations of the 80s and 90s belongs to several masters of this genre. For example, the most famous Man-with-a-clothes-pin-on-his-nose - Leonid Volodarsky - translated and voiced about 5000 films. Among them are the cult “The Godfather”, “Emmanuelle”, “Rambo”, “Die Hard”, “Jurassic Park” and many others. One of the secrets of such fecundity is completely simultaneous translation, which Volodarsky masters perfectly and which allowed him to sometimes record five to seven films a day.

It is clear that in interviews with Leonid Veniaminovich they constantly ask the question about clothespins. And he is forced to disavow this practice, declaring that he not only did not use such objects, but also did not try to change his voice at all. Firstly, he did not hide his name. Secondly, any specialist can successfully compare a distorted voice with a natural one. As for the unusual sound, in the case of Volodarsky this is explained prosaically - in his youth he broke his nose twice: in a fight and in an accident. Let's listen to how the venerable translator talks in everyday life:

As you can see, there are no differences from voice-over translation. Moreover, in the same interview Volodarsky speaksthat nothing threatened him from the point of view of the law. The “pirate” component was not considered at all - in the USSR they did not particularly monitor the rights of foreign citizens and companies. Thus, the Melodiya company could, without any deductions, release records by foreign performers. Commerce is another matter. As long as the videotapes with the translation were on the shelf for home viewing, it was normal. But if Volodarsky’s employer tried to sell them (or gave reason to think so), he could be charged with illegal trading. And the translator in similar cases was interrogated several times - however, as a witness.

But Leonid Volodarsky is far from the only legend of his time. For example, in Andrei Gavrilov’s translations, many domestic viewers saw “Pulp Fiction”, “Basic Instinct”, “Jaws” and “Terminator” for the first time, and all that followed is listed about 2000 films. This voice, or rather, the characteristic intonation of its owner is also impossible to forget. And that's what speaks Andrey Yurievich regarding clothespins and voice distortion in general:

“I’ve never had to do this, and I think it’s such a beautiful legend that, of course, it’s a pity to destroy it. But even from its beauty it is clear that this is a legend. I can hardly imagine a person who can sit for an hour and a half with a clothespin on his nose, well, think for yourself. After fifteen minutes you will howl. I think the reason is simply the imperfection of sound technology. But the legend is, of course, beautiful.”

Another venerable translator, Mikhail Ivanov (“Cobra”, “Wild Orchid”, “Die Hard 2”, “Terminator”, "Last Tango in Paris", Bond films) in 1995 in the program “Rush Hour” said about this: “No, that’s not true. It’s just one person translating, who has such a voice. There might be something wrong with his nose. But this does not mean that he pinched his nose with a clothespin at all. I would never hold my nose with a clothespin.” Apparently, Ivanov had in mind the aforementioned Leonid Volodarsky.

From all this it follows that the story of translators with a clothespin on their nose is nothing more than an urban legend. And it should be noted that some of the blame for its spread lies with reporters who tried to fit reality into the existing stereotype to please the audience. Another prolific (more than 5,000 films) translator Vasily Gorchakov tells:

“Journalists came to me and on television they said: “Well, Vasya, please put a clothespin on your nose, show me how you worked.” I tell them: “No, don’t make things up.”