Mher Mkrtchyan

Mher Mkrtchyan Мгер Мкртчян Մհեր Մկրտչյան
Mher Mkrtchyan, 1990
Born	July 4, 1930(1930-07-04) Gyumri, Armenia, USSR
Died	December 29, 1993(1993-12-29) (aged 63) Yerevan, Armenia

Mher (Frunzik) Mushegovich Mkrtchyan (Armenian: Մհեր (Ֆրունզիկ) Մուշեղի Մկրտչյան, Russian: Мгер (Фрунзик) Мушегович Мкртчян; 4 July 1930 – 29 December 1993) was a popular Soviet Armenian actor who was named a People's Artist of the Soviet Union in 1984.

He was born in Leninakan, currently Gyumri, Armenia. He studied in Leninakan Art College and Theatre Studio, then finished at the Acting Department of Yerevan Institute of Fine Arts and Theatre. Since 1953, he has performed in the Sundukyan Drama Theatre of Yerevan. He also directed many successful productions, best of them Maxim Gorky's "The Lower Depths". His cinema career began in 1955. His famous roles in Rolan Bykov's "Aybolit-66" (1966), Leonid Gaidai's "Kidnapping, Caucasian Style" (1966), and Georgi Daneliya's "Mimino" (1977) earned him the reputation of one of the leading comedy actors in the Soviet Union. But that reputation sometimes overshadowed his real talent and emotional depth which he put into his roles in such classics of Armenian cinema as "Yerankyuni" ("Triangle") (1967), "Menq enq, mer sarere" ("We, Our Mountains") (1969), "Hayrik" ("Father") (1973), "Nahapet" (1977), "Hin oreri yerge" ("Old Days' Song") (1982), "Mer mankutyan tangon" ("Tango of Our Childhood") (1985). Among his many awards was the USSR State Prize for 1978. He died in Yerevan, Armenia, in 1993.

Personal life and death

Even though he was known as a comedic actor, Mkrtchyan's personal life was filled with tragedy. His first wife, Donara Mkrtchyan, became mentally ill and was sent to a mental institution for the rest of her life. Mkrtchyan became a single parent of two young children. His son inherited his mother’s mental illness. Thousands of people attended the funeral of their beloved actor.

Selected filmography

Actor

• Thirty Three (1965)
• Kidnapping, Caucasian Style (1966)
• Mimino (1977)
• Alibaba Aur 40 Chor (1979)

Gallery

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  the statue of Mher Mkrtchyan in Gyumri

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  Mkrtchyan's tomb in Komitas Pantheon, Yerevan

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  2005 Armenian stamp dedicated to Mher Mkrtchyan

External links

• Frunzik Mkrtchyan at the Internet Movie Database
• (Russian) Biography
• Frunzik Mkrtchyan museum

Persondata
Name	Mkrtchyan, Frunzik
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	4 July 1930
Place of birth	Gyumri, Armenia, USSR
Date of death	29 December 1993
Place of death	Yerevan, Armenia