Urmas Ott

Urmas Ott (April 23, 1955 – October 17, 2008) was an Estonian television and radio journalist, and famous talk show host in Soviet Union, Estonia and Russia.

Ott was born in Otepää and first appeared on the Soviet Channel One in 1986 as host of "TV Acquaintance" show. He later worked on Russian Channel One and Estonian ETV, hosting "Urmas Ott and Others" on the latter channel.

Career

On "Television Acquaintance" he interviewed well-known people, including Anatoly Karpov, Irina Rodnina, Ilya Glazunov and Alla Pugacheva. His style was intimate, usually facing the interviewee rather than the audience. He explained humorously that he appealed to Russian viewers because "I'm not one of them and I'm not foreign."

Personal life

He lived in Tallinn and died on 17 October 2008 in Tartu from a heart attack after a bone marrow transplantation undertaken to remedy leukemia.

Books

• "Playback" (1994)
• "Carte Blanche" (1995)
• "Encore! Neeme Järvi" (2001)
• "Isikuraamat Erika Salumäest "Surplace" (2002)
• "Isikuraamat Vardo Rumessenist "En face" (2002)
• "Asmerid. Topeltpeeglis" (2007)