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Mher Musheghi Mkrtchyan (; 4 July 1930 – 29 December 1993), better known by the name Frunzik (; ), was an Armenian stage and film actor. Mkrtchyan is widely considered one of the greatest actors of the Soviet period among Armenians and the USSR as a whole. He received the prestigious
People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...
award in 1984.


Life


Childhood

Mher "Frunzik" Mkrtchyan was born in Leninakan (present day
Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...
) to father Mushegh Mkrtchyan and mother Sanam Mkrtchyan, both of whom were orphaned survivors of the
Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, 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 t ...
. Mushegh Mkrtchyan fled to Gyumri from
Mush In multiplayer online games, a MUSH (a backronymed variation on Multi-user dungeon, MUD most often expanded as Multi-User Shared Hallucination, though Multi-User Shared Hack, Habitat, and Holodeck are also observed) is a text-based online social m ...
, while Sanam escaped the genocide from Van.Հովհաննես Պապիկյան, Շուշանիկ Սահակյան։ Լույս ... Մհեր Մկրտչյան 80. Yerevan 2010. His parents met while they were working in a local Leninakan textile factory that was created in the 1930s, with Mushegh later going on to work as a bricklayer and Sanam as a dish washer.Ռուբեն Գասպարյան :Տխուր եւ ուրախ Մարդը. Gyumri 2005. After marriage, Mushegh and Sanam had their first child, Mher Mkrtchyan, who would be the eldest of their four children; one brother in 1941, Albert Mkrtchyan (who would later become a film director) and two sisters, Clara born in 1934 and Ruzanna born in 1943. Mher's nickname, Frunzik, was given to him in honor of Soviet general
Mikhail Frunze Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (; ; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Soviet revolutionary, politician, army officer and military theory, military theorist. Born to a Bessarabian father and a Russian mother in Russian Turkestan, Frunze at ...
. Growing up, Mher took an interest in the arts, and attended the local art and music school. As a child, he would put on informal shows for people living in the neighborhood. Frunzik's father praised his acting talent, but pressured his son to pursue a painting career. During this period of Mkrtchyan's life, in the aftermath of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, poverty and hunger was a commonality. As such, his father stole cotton from the textile factory to sell on the black market for extra income to feed his children. Mushegh was arrested and given 10 years of hard labor cutting trees in
Nizhny Tagil Nizhny Tagil ( rus, Нижний Тагил, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj tɐˈgʲil) is a classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located east of the Boundaries between the continents#Asia and Europe, boundary ...
,
Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast ( rus, Свердловская область, Sverdlovskaya oblastʹ, p=svʲɪrdˈlofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia located in the Ural Federal District. Its administrative center is the c ...
, Russia. Thus, Frunzik and his siblings grew up with their mother, Sanam, who is credited with giving the actor his sense of humor. At the age of 17, he began to study and perform at the Leninakan Askanaz Mravyan Theatre Group, his first formal experience acting in theatre.


Early adulthood and start of acting career

In 1953, Mkrtchyan left Gyumri to further his education in Yerevan at the Yerevan State Institute of Theater and Arts. Following that experience, Frunzik became part of the Sundukyan Academic Theater troupe in 1956, after being scouted by director of the theatre troupe
Vardan Ajemian Vardan Mkrtchi Ajemian (September 15, 1905January 24, 1977) was an Armenian theatrical director and actor. He was named People's Artist of USSR in 1965 and Hero of Socialist Labour in 1975. Biography Ajemian was born in Van, Turkey, Van, Ottoma ...
in 1955. In that same year, Mkrtchyan had his first film debut with a role in the film ', it was also during this time period, at the age of 28, Mher Mkrtchyan met and fell in love with his future wife, the 18 year old , also an actress. Following that experience, he was given parts in Armenian and Russian films that were to become iconic, such as ''Why is the River Noisy'' in 1959 and '' Kidnapping, Caucasian Style'' and '' Aybolit-66'' in 1966. These movies earned him a reputation as a comedic actor, though he was known as a more serious actor from years of acting in theatre.


Film career

From the late 1960s and on, Frunzik Mkrtchyan starred in films that would later on become classics of Armenian and Soviet cinema, such as ''Yerankyuni'' ''("
Triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...
")'' (1967), ''Menq enq, mer sarere'' (''" We and Our Mountains"'') (1969), ''Mimino'' '' (''"Hawk"'')'' (1977), ''Hayrik'' (" ''Father''") (1973), ''Nahapet'' ( ''"Patriarch"'') (1977), ''Ktor muh Yerkinq'' ''(" A Piece of Sky")'' (1980), ''Hin oreri yerge'' (''" The Song of the Old Days")'' (1982), ''Mer mankutyan tangon'' ''(" The Tango of Our Childhood")'' (1985). There are noticeable parallels between Frunzik's life and the roles he played in films, most notably with ''The Tango of Our Childhood''. The film, written and directed by his brother Albert, takes place in Leninakan, his city of birth. Beyond that, the plot of the movie involves a father-son conflict over the soon choosing to be an actor, which closely resembles Mkrtchyan's own personal conflict with his family. At the end of the film, the father is arrested and sent to labor camp, similar to the fate of Mkrktchyan's own father.


Personal life

Frunzik was initially romantically involved with a classmate of his, Knar, but was rejected by her family and thus the pair never married. Mkrtchyan's first wife was Donara Pilosyan, and together they had a daughter, Nune, and a son, Vahagn. The couple played in a number of films together, notably ''Kidnapping, Caucasian Style'' and '' Khatabala''. The marriage was initially a happy one, but Donara was diagnosed with schizophrenia and eventually sent to a mental institution for treatment. Mkrtchyan became a single parent of two young children. Frunzik became immensely depressed by the illness of his wife and his son Vahagn's subsequent inheritance of his mother's mental illness. Both Donara and Vahagn eventually went to France for treatment. Mher Mkrtchyan married again in 1978 with Tamar Hovannisyan. At this point in his life, he was suffering from alcohol abuse, which many attribute to the difficulties of his personal life.


Death

It is said by family members that during his last days, Frunzik Mkrtchyan was depressed by the illness of his son and death of a close friend and actor Azat Sherents. His daughter Nune stated that her father predicted he would die soon, and came to have a conversation with her about how he saw the reaction to his death being perceived. On 29 December 1993 Frunzik Mkrtchyan died in Yerevan, Armenia. When he died in 1993, thousands of people attended the funeral and burial of their beloved actor at the Komitas Pantheon, located in the center of Yerevan.


Awards

Mher Mkrtchyan received multiple awards during his lifetime for his major contributions to film. He was awarded the People's Artist of the Armenian SSR in 1971 and Armenian SSR State Prize in 1978. Following that, Mkrtchyan won the People's Artist of the USSR in 1984, an honor bestowed on only 12 artists in the entire Soviet Union that year.


Legacy

The house-museum of Mher Mkrtchyan functions currently in
Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...
. It was opened in 2006 on the initiative of the Gyumri Municipality. The museum displays the artist's costumes, props used in films, personal items and photographs from films in which he took part. ''Frunzik Mkrtchyan: India'', a 2021 documentary explored Mkrtchyan's connections with the
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
cinema of India, where he had worked in films such as '' Adventures of Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves'' (1980) with Indian actors
Dharmendra Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol (born 8 December 1935), known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer, and politician who is primarily known for his work in Hindi films. Dharmendra is widely considered one of the greatest, most h ...
and
Hema Malini Hema Malini Dharmendra Deol (born 16 October 1948; ) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician who is currently serving as a member of the Lok Sabha from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), representing Mathura constituency since 2 ...
who also feature in the documentary.


Selected filmography

*''Hastseatiroj voronumnere'' (1955) – (uncredited) *''Patvi hamar'' (1956) – Vardan *''01-99'' (1959, Short) – Garsevan *''Inchu e aghmkum gete'' (1959) – Khachik (uncredited) *''Fellows From a Music Group'' (1960) – Arsen *''The Master and the Servant'' (1963, Short) – Simon *''
Thirty Three 33 may refer to: *33 (number) * 33 BC *AD 33 *1933 * 2033 Science * Arsenic, a metalloid in the periodic table * 33 Polyhymnia, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Music * La 33, a Colombian salsa music band Albums * ''33'' (Luis Miguel album) ( ...
'' (1965) – professor Bruk *''Iyirmialtilar'' (1966) – usatyy Gochi *'' The Formula of Rainbow'' (1966) – Kaburyan *''From the Times of Hunger'' (1966) *'' Kidnapping, Caucasian Style'' (1967) – Dzhabrail *'' Aybolit-66'' (1967) – Pirate #2 *''Triangle'' (1967) – Gaspar *'' Don't Grieve'' (1968) – Stranger in prison *''Belyy royal'' (1968) *''An Explosion After Midnight'' (1969) – Mukhtashev *'' We and Our Mountains'' (1969) – Ishkhan *''
Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
'' (1970) *''Photography'' (1970) *''Khatabala'' (1971) – Isai *''Men'' (1972) *''Monument'' (1972) *''Hayrik'' (1973) – Hovsep (Hayrik) *''Adventures of Mher on Vacation'' (1973) – Suren *''Baghdasar Divorces His Wife'' (1977) – Baghdasar *'' Mimino'' (1977) – Ruben 'Rubik' Khachikyan *'' Nahapet'' (1977) – Apro *''Stone Valley'' (1977) – Sandro *''Soldier and Elephant'' (1978) – Armenak *'' Fuss of the Fusses'' (1979) – Boris Ivanovich *'' Oh, Gevorg'' (1979) *'' Adventures of Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves'' (1980) – Mustafa *'' A Piece of Sky'' (1980) – Grigor-agha *''Tbilisi, Parizi, Tbilisi'' (1980) *''The Big Win'' (1980) – Garnik *''A Humble Man'' (1981) *''Pered zakrytoy dveryu'' (1982) – Vartan *''Song of the Old Days'' (1982) – Nikol *'' Offered for Singles'' (1984) – Vartan – zhenikh Niny *''The Fire'' (1984) – Ruben *'' Sohni Mahiwal'' (1984) – Warrior *'' The Tango of Our Childhood'' (1985) – Ruben *''On the Bottom'' (1987) *''Tchanaparh depi Sasuntsi Davit'' (1988) – Vardan *''Dykhanie'' (1989) – (final film role)


References


External links

*
BiographyFrunzik Mkrtchyan museum
*http://arm-cinema.am/en/actors/26.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Mkrtchyan, Frunzik 1930 births 1993 deaths People from Gyumri Soviet Armenians Ethnic Armenian male actors Soviet male actors People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the USSR State Prize Burials at the Komitas Pantheon