The Year of the Tiger is approaching in 2022, and CCTV's "Spring Festival Gala" has entered the countdown. Among the troops rehearsing intensively, there are veteran actors from the Spring Festival Gala, as well as new generations of the Spring Festival Gala.

On the eve of the broadcast of the "Year of the Tiger Spring Festival Gala", let's take a look back at the classic Spring Festival Gala characters who have remained in everyone's memory. What are the stories behind them?

01. "Unforgettable Tonight" Li Guyi

The 1983 Spring Festival Gala was the most stressful performance for Li Guyi. Not only did he have to sing 9 songs in a row, but he also had to sing a very controversial song. Song, this song is "Unforgettable Tonight".

Huang Yihe, the Spring Festival Gala director at that time, had a bold idea. He invited Qiao Yu to compose a family reunion song to express the joy of people across the country watching the Spring Festival Gala.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the lyrics were completed, there was a problem with composing the music. Someone from the directing team said: This piece was not very healthy, it was soft and sad.

However, Director Huang himself had made up his mind to record this song and asked Li Guyi to sing it.

Director Huang found Li Guyi and showed her the song. She jumped up happily and praised: "The lyrics are so well written and the music is so nice. Don't worry, director, I I will support you and sing it well, and I will use my voice to interpret it more perfectly."

Li Guyi, with his professional actor qualities and pursuit of art, sang this song at his best.

No one thought that this song would take 38 years, from the age of 39 to the age of 77.

02. Chen Xiaoer and Chen Peisi in "Eating Noodles"

"Why are you so anxious! Just wait for me for a while." The scene of Chen Peisi saying his lines while eating noodles, It became the most favorite scene in the Spring Festival Gala that year.

In 1984, when the director was preparing for the Spring Festival Gala, he heard that Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao had performed some comedy shows elsewhere, so he asked Jiang Kun to invite Chen Peisi to perform in the Spring Festival Gala.

At that time, Chen Peisi had little interest in participating in the Spring Festival Gala. He was keen on creating comedy movies.

During the rehearsal, due to the time limit for the Spring Festival Gala performance, Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao only selected an excerpt for the performance.

They only performed the part of "Eating Noodles". The role of Chen Xiaoer in the sketch was played by him in a very funny and ridiculous manner. His superb "no physical performance" made the audience laugh continuously. Many people laughed. People have been laughing so hard that they can’t stand up straight.

At the end of the first rehearsal, the director asked Chen Peisi: "What is the name of your show?" Chen Peisi said after some thought: "It's called the sketch "Eating Noodles."

Because Chen Xiaoer's character is so classic that when Chen Peisi later filmed the character in the movie, he also called him "Chen Xiaoer".

03. "My Chinese Heart" Zhang Mingmin

"Although I am wearing a dress, my heart is still Chinese. My ancestors have long imprinted the Chinese stamp on everything about me." , the catchy lyrics, the warm and melodious melody, and the feeling of cohesion are the most touching aspects of the song.

In the 1984 Spring Festival Gala, Hong Kong singer Zhang Mingmin performed the song "My Chinese Heart" on the mainland for the first time and became famous overnight.

At that time, Zhang Mingmin was just a part-time singer. He usually worked in a watch factory in Hong Kong and occasionally participated in singing competitions. At the age of 22, he won the championship in the Hong Kong Amateur Singing Competition.

He did not expect that the championship did not bring him great success. He only became a little famous in the hearts of the people, and his life did not really change.

In 1983, the Hong Kong Youth Federation wanted to record a patriotic song. Since it could not find other candidates, a staff member thought of Zhang Mingmin.

Zhang Mingmin especially cherished this opportunity and started preparations early. During the recording, he sang "My Chinese Heart" with great emotion. After singing, he was still very excited, and everyone felt that It sounded so good that I decided to record the song on tape and sell it.

This was the first time he released a tape. He was very excited and kept checking the sales. Since he was not a big star, the sales of the tape were very poor, and the song also disappeared.

In 1984, director Huang Yihe was preparing for the Spring Festival Gala and overheard this song.

Zhang Mingmin was invited to participate in the Spring Festival Gala. When Zhang Mingmin walked onto the stage wearing a suit and scarf and sang the song affectionately, the audience was so excited that tears filled their eyes.

Zhang Mingmin is the first Hong Kong singer to come to the mainland and the first singer to sing patriotic songs.

04. Wei Shufen and Song Dandan in the sketch "Lazy Guys Dating"

"My name is Wei Shufen, I am twenty-nine years old and I am still unmarried."

This was Wei Shufen’s first line. As soon as she introduced herself in Shandong dialect, she immediately won the lottery, and the audience burst into laughter and applause.

In 1989, the 27-year-old Song Dandan successfully played the role of an older, unmarried girl in the sketch "Lazy Guys Dating", vividly portraying Wei Shufen's shyness during the blind date and the awkward conversation during the meeting. The character in the sketch has remained the same to this day. Unforgettable.

However, no one knows what kind of pressure she was under to star?

After several days of rehearsals, Song Dandan came home very late. One day, Ying Ruocheng asked her what she was busy with. She said: "I am rehearsing a sketch, playing an older unmarried girl with bad eyesight." Ying Ruocheng only said one thing, don't delay the theater work.

At that time, Song Dandan was a drama actor in Renyi. There was some prejudice against sketch performances in the drama industry. Ying Ruocheng was her father-in-law and a famous artist. She began to hesitate mentally and worried about other Renyi teachers. Seeing that she would be disappointed, she finally decided to resign.

Thanks to repeated guidance and persuasion from the Spring Festival Gala director and Ni Ping, Song Dandan also went through an ideological struggle and decided to take on the pressure and star. Only then did the unforgettable classic character Wei Shufen come into being.

05. "A Fire in Winter" Fei Xiang

The 1987 Spring Festival Gala was different from previous years. A handsome Taiwanese male singer entered the public eye.

Fei Xiang, a Chinese-American mixed race, not only has deep eyes, handsome appearance, but also bold ideas. He took the initiative to write a letter to the Spring Festival Gala director Deng Zaijun, stating in the letter that he wanted to perform for mainland compatriots on the Spring Festival Gala. .

The director team received the letter, and through review and investigation, it was found that the most controversial issue was his identity and appearance.

Director Deng overcame all opinions and pointed out clearly that Fei Xiang was born in China. Although he has American nationality, he is a local living in Taiwan and can represent Taiwan compatriots in the performance. This is why Fei Xiang was born. Singing "A Fire in Winter".

Before the rehearsal, Fei Xiang secretly discussed with Director Deng whether he could decide on his own hairstyle, clothing and performance methods. Director Deng readily agreed. He was very happy and specially designed a passionate and dynamic section in the interlude of the song. dance.

In order to perform smoothly, he secretly discussed with the director not to include that dynamic dance in the rehearsal and dance it in the official performance. Director Deng risked punishment to support him.

During the performance, Fei Xiang's performance with too much immersion in the music exceeded the domestic performance requirements at that time. He danced boldly and boldly. Director Deng made a cautious decision and switched the camera to his upper body, giving only a small amount of footage. Some full body shots.

Fei Xiang’s classic close-up has become the longest Spring Festival Gala in history.

06. "Speak to me if I have anything to say" Xiao Guo, Guo Donglin

"Oh, tell me, is it easy to buy these two sleeper tickets for the old cow in our unit? This one While waiting in line, the wind was blowing hard and my nose was dripping. There was a guy next to me who was making fun of me, calling it a "one-night fling."

This was 1995. Lines from the Spring Festival Gala skit "Speak if I have anything to say".

Guo Donglin plays a young man who makes a swollen face and pretends to be fat. "Speak if you have anything to say" is his catchphrase. In order to show off his abilities, he lied to his boss, friends and colleagues that he could get sleeper tickets for the Spring Festival.

Back then, Guo Donglin, who had hair, was still a young man, playing a character who looked like a migrant worker. He had some psychological difficulties, but being able to play with teacher Li Wenqi was another rare opportunity.

He is usually handsome, but one month before the official performance, he has been wearing a military coat to look like a character. The line "You can speak if I need something" never leaves his lips, trying to find a sense of character. During the rehearsal process, he would take the initiative to help people pour water, pick up things, and constantly adjust the character's body shape.

After many efforts on his part and teacher Li Wenqi's guidance, a "good face" Xiao Guo appeared in front of the audience.

07. The robot in "Robot Funny Talk", Cai Ming

"The remote control is broken and now it is in a state of chaos."

This is Cai Ming's line in the 1996 Spring Festival Gala sketch "Funny Talk about Robots". She performs a remote control simulation robot. The robot program has a strong female type, a hedonistic type, a gentle type, etc. Cai Ming needs Switching performances between different programs, the young and beautiful robot used "all kinds of martial arts" to deal with its master, and the audience kept laughing.

At the beginning of the skit, Cai Ming was squatting and stuck in a cardboard box. When the box was slowly opened, the audience may not have noticed that Cai Ming's body swayed slightly when he stood up from squatting. It took him a few moments to stand firm.

Because he had to wear very tight clothes to play a robot, in order to prevent himself from gaining a little extra fat, Cai Ming insisted on not eating staple food for two months, and his weight dropped from more than 110 kilograms to 90 kilograms. During the rehearsal process , passed out due to hypoglycemia many times.

She said: The moment she stood up from the carton, her eyes were completely dark, she could not see or hear anything, and she almost fainted. Fortunately, Guo Da had seven or eight lines, which gave her a buffer, and she slowly came to her senses.

Teacher Cai Ming’s dedication is admirable. Behind any successful work, there must be efforts that ordinary people cannot imagine.

08. Pan Changjiang, the little top in "Jump If You Want"

"People are miniature, and their hearts are wretched." "They are all thousand-year-old foxes. What are you playing with me?" Liaozhai..."

This is a line from the 2013 Spring Festival Gala sketch "Dance If You Want". Pan Changjiang plays a man who loves dancing. He is looking for a dance partner before the competition and is attacked by a "venomous old lady" A story of constant irony.

Pan Changjiang's easy-to-find dance moves, relaxed and agile figure, and his expression when hearing the sarcastic words of the "venomous old lady" make people laugh every time they watch it.

As a comedian, Pan Changjiang often becomes the target of ridicule during performances due to his appearance. However, the language in this sketch was a bit sharp. The director was worried that the ridicule was too vicious, which made Pan Changjiang feel uncomfortable. Comfortable.

For example, Cai Ming's sentence "I didn't expect that you are small in person, but your heart is still wretched." In the second revision of the sketch, it had been removed, and the screenwriter felt it was hurt. Self-esteem, but Pan Changjiang said it was okay, "I just dare to be shameless, how can I still laugh if I have to save face."

Later, Cai Ming teased Pan Changjiang on Weibo: "The Spring Festival Gala has finally come to an end, I am very happy! I apologize to Brother Pan who has been bullied by me for three months. You are not a little spinning top, you are a little cigarette butt. No wonder I want to destroy you so much!”

Faced with Cai Ming’s ridicule, Pan Changjiang wittily told the sketch writer. Huan suggested: "Next year you must write a book about me cleaning up her."

It can be seen that behind every classic character, there is an unknown experience.

"Spring Festival Gala" is a long-lasting flagship program that has lasted for 38 years. It is an indispensable gluttonous feast for people on New Year's Eve, and it is also a performance sanctuary where actors compete to perform.

We are grateful to the "Spring Festival Gala" for bringing everyone happiness, to the creators of the Spring Festival Gala's classic characters, and to the performers of the Spring Festival Gala's classic characters.

Let us review the classics and pay tribute to the classics!