Kenneth Davitian ( hy, Քենեթ Դավիթյան; born June 19, 1953) is an American actor, best known for his role as

Borat ''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' ( Kazakh / Russian: ''Борат'') (also stylized as ''BORДT'', or simply ''Borat'') is a 2006 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Larry Charle ...

's producer Azamat Bagatov in the 2006 comedy film ''

''.

Early life and education

Kenneth Davitian was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

on June 19, 1953 to an

Armenian American Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after Armenians ...

family from

Montebello, California Montebello (Italian for "Beautiful Mountain") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located just east of East Los Angeles and southwest of San Gabriel Valley. It is an independent city. east of downtown Los Angeles. It i ...

. His maternal grandparents were survivors of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

. His father, a

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

soldier during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, was captured by ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

'' forces and placed at an Armenian Legion camp in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...

. After the end of the war, he immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

through the efforts of George Mardikian. Davitian worked in his father's

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...

company. He graduated from Garfield High School in

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

and

Whittier College Whittier College (Whittier Academy (1887–1901)) is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of fall 2022, had approximately 1,300 (undergraduate and graduate) students. It was ...

. His teenage idol was

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...

, who greatly influenced his choice of becoming an actor. Davitian would go on to perform in the film '' Pocket Listing'', which also featured Reynolds. Davitian is fluent in Armenian; he speaks in Armenian as Azamat in ''Borat''.

Restaurant ventures

Davitian founded a restaurant in 2003 called The Dip, which was located in Los Angeles. His son Robert used to run his baseball-themed hot dog restaurant The Infield in Sherman Oaks, which boasted a hot dog, conceived by

Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), ''The Thr ...

, called the "Charlie Sheen Dog with Tiger Blood".

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

References

External links

*
Ken Davitian is enjoying, very much, his Hollywood high five
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davitian, Ken 1953 births Living people Male actors from Los Angeles Armenian-American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American people of Armenian descent Whittier College alumni People from Montebello, California