Igor Vovkovinskiy — the Ukrainian-American who carried Ukraine’s Zlata Ognevich on to the stage at Eurovision 2013 — has passed away at the age of 38. He died Friday evening at a hospital in Rochester, Minnesota surrounded by family.
His mother announced the news on Facebook, writing:
“Igor died on August 20 at 22:17 pm in hospital from heart disease. He and his older brother Oleh were with him until the end. His last dinner was: a piece of Kyiv cake and Fanta. A few hours before his death, he was accompanied by Oleh’s wife Alla and children. Igor was glad to see them, and although it was difficult for him to speak, he tried to joke about his nephew Andriy, whether he had learned the Ukrainian language in a month in Ukraine.”
At Eurovision 2013, Igor helped Zlata create one of the most memorable stage shows of the year — a fairytale in which she was a princess with a magical voice. Her performance of “Gravity” placed third, behind only Denmark’s Emmelie de Forrest and Azerbaijan’s Farid Mammadov.
Igor, who stood 7 feet 8 inches tall, was known as the tallest man in the United States and one of the tallest men in the world. His height led to other high-profile appearances, including a role alongside Jason Sudeikis in the 2011 film “Hall Pass”. Many will remember him for wearing a T-shirt that read “World’s Biggest Obama Supporter.”
Paying tribute on Instagram, Zlata shared photos of their time in Malmö along with the words: “Igor, my friend. Your heart stopped beating, but in my heart you are forever”.
Igor, who was born in Ukraine, moved to the United States at the age of seven to receive treatment for a condition known as pituitary gigantism. He was already six feet tall at the time. His doctors explained that his height was the result of having a tumor pressing on his pituitary gland, prompting the release of excessive amounts of growth hormone.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
May he rest in peace
Very sad! Godspeed Igor!
Gravity was a great entry. The whole thing looked and sounded beautiful.
I feared this the moment EBU reuploaded Gravity… 🙁
This is very sad to hear. Rest in peace Igor. Condolences to his family and friends!!
I believe he lived in Rochester, Minnesota, not the one in New York State. Regardless, RIP my ESC friend.
RIP… Tsarstvo tobi nebesne…
Spochyvay z myrom/rest in peace Igor, our gravity 🙁
Sad, rest in peace 🙁
So sad. Really. Rest in peace, Igor.
He is always going to be remembered because of that iconic performance. RIP.
R.I.P., 38 is a very young age 🙁
What a very sad news, my condoleances to his family
Igor was mainly responsible for Zlata’s 3rd place… RIP, fly high
this is very sad news but that’s just a lie. He was what? maybe 10 seconds of the performance? Zalata’s beauty and vocal range got 3rd place
Ok, but he helped her reach 3rd! Besides, I loved Gravity so no hate to Zlata
OMG, so terrible news. RIP Igor, we’ ll never forget you
How awful! RIP and condolences to his family, wish them a lot of strength in such a hard time.
R.I.P.
As for the performance, I thought it was rather problematic to use him as a prop.
Ummm how?
I’m so sorry. Rest in peace. Condolences to his family
R.I.P. Igor. It’s very sad when anyone dies, but when someone is merely 38… that’s just tragic. He was an integral part of an iconic performance. Sending my condolences to his friends and family.