Tzhvzhik (Fried Liver)

Born in Nicomedia (Izmit). He studied at the French Sainte-Barbe and the American Robert colleges in Constantinople and at the Armenian Esayan school. Thanks to his exceptional abilities he taught himself languages, read the works of French, English and Turkish writers in the original, and spoke Arabic and Italian. His acquaintance with Daniel Varoujan and Komitas contributed to the shaping of the future actor's character. In 1915 in Constantinople he took part in performances of the Armenian dramatic troupe and of Arshak Benklyan's operetta troupe. During the First World War he served in the Turkish army as an interpreter. In 1918 he returned to Constantinople and again performed in A. Benklyan's troupe. From 1919 he was an actor in the “Hay Dramatik” (Armenian Dramatic) troupe of the director and actor Mkrtich Janan. He played in A. Shirvanzade's “Patvi hamar” (For the Sake of Honour) (Otaryan) and “Char vogi” (The Evil Spirit) (Murad). He regarded the troupe's next head, Ovi Sevumyan, as his “first and great teacher”, and prepared several roles under his guidance. In 1920, together with Hovhannes Abelyan, he appeared in W. Shakespeare's “King Lear” in the role of Edgar. In 1923 he moved to Yerevan and became an actor of the First State Theatre (now the Gabriel Sundukyan National Academic Theatre). At this theatre he became one of the foremost actors of the Armenian stage and cinema and won nationwide recognition and love. From the 1920s he created numerous roles in a number of productions. He toured in many countries. He was one of the first actors of Armenian cinema and appeared in about 30 films. He was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honour. In 1941 he received the USSR State Prize; in 1939 he was awarded the title of People's Artist of Armenia, and in 1956 that of People's Artist of the USSR. He died in Yerevan and is buried in the Komitas Pantheon.