Valeriu Lazarov

Valeriu Lazarov (also known as Valerio Lazarov; December 20, 1935, Bârlad, Romania - August 11, 2009, Madrid, Spain), was a well-known TV producer, director, writer, actor.


He made his debut at the Romanian public television, then went to Spain, where he received Spanish citizenship in 1972. In 1979, Lazarov reached the Italian national TV channel, RAI, to produce a series of shows, called "Tilt". Shortly after, he started working for Silvio Berlusconi at Canale 5, where he became production director, president of the administration board and director of the production center Videotime. In 1985 he got back to Spain, where he worked as producer at the Spanish National Television, as well as general manager and delegate adviser to TV station Telcinco, till 1994, when he was replaced by Maurizio Carlotti. In 1995 he set up his own production company, Prime Time Communications.


Lazarov revolutionized TV entertainment shows in Romania at the end of the 1990s, producing successful shows, such as "Surprises, surprises", "Out of Love" or "The Star Rain" and many soap operas. Lazarov is called by the international press "one of the most respected TV professionals and part of the vanguard of his times". Highly respected in Romania and Spain, Lazarov was nicknamed “Mister Zoom” for the way he maneuvered TV cameras.