Mkrtchyan's mentally ill wife and son did not recognize each other

The famous Frunzik Mkrtchyan, who was also called Mher (sun) for his brilliant talent, became a professional actor at the age of 17. He quickly achieved all-Union fame, married a beautiful woman, with whom a daughter and a son were born. But then his luck ran out: his wife fell ill, and a few years later the same illness appeared in his son. Frunzik did everything possible to help them, but his efforts were in vain.

Frunzik Mkrtchyan. Photo kino-teatr.ru

Frunzik was born on July 4, 1930 in Leninakan (Armenian SSR) into a working-class family. His parents are Mushegh

and
Sanam Mkrtchyan
grew up in the same orphanage. Having left it, they soon got married and got a job together at a textile factory: their father as a timekeeper, and their mother as a dishwasher in the factory canteen.

Frunzik was the eldest child in a family in which three more children were subsequently born: Albert

,
Clara
and
Ruzanna
. Maintaining numerous offspring was not easy. Before the start of the war, my father was caught stealing several meters of calico from a factory, for which he was sentenced to 10 years in the camps. Left without a breadwinner, Sanam and her four children eked out a miserable existence. Her salary was... 30 rubles.

At the age of 14, the future actor got a job as an assistant projectionist in a club at a textile mill. There he became interested in cinema and theater. In the same club, the teenager began playing in a theater group. of the Leninakan
Theater named after Mravyan
drew attention to him and invited him to study in the studio at the theater.
At the age of 17, Frunzik was enrolled in the troupe. Frunzik Mkrtchyan in his youth.
Photo biography-life.ru In 1951, the young man entered the Yerevan Theater and Art Institute

to the workshop of Vagharsh Vagharshyan.
After graduation, he accepted an offer from the local Academic Theater named after Sundukyan.
Frunzik will play on this stage for almost 40 years.

Success came to Mkrtchyan after the first performance. He soon became one of the most popular actors in Armenia, and gained all-Union fame thanks to cinema.

Frunzik Mkrtchyan's career in cinema

During his student years, Frunzik made his debut in an episode in the film “Looking for the Addressee”

(1955).
She was followed by several more minor works, and played his first leading role in the short comedy “01-99”
(1959).
Frunzik Mkrtchyan.
“01-99” 1959. The actor attracted the attention of the general public by starring in the role of servant Barmaley in the children's musical fairy tale directed by Rolan Bykov
“Aibolit-66
” (1966).
Bykov also played the role of the main robber, and Doctor Aibolit was played by Oleg Efremov
.
Frunzik Mkrtchyan and Alexey Smirnov.
“Aibolit-66” 1966. The famous comedy “Prisoner of the Caucasus”

(1967).
He brilliantly played the greedy uncle Dzhabrail, who sold his niece Nina (the debut of circus artist Natalya Varley
) to a local official Saakhov for a flock of sheep.
Frunzik Mkrtchyan and Yuri Nikulin.
“Prisoner of the Caucasus” 1967. In the next decade, the actor will appear mainly in films by Armenian filmmakers. Among them, the most famous was “Triangle”

(1967),
“We and Our Mountains”
(1969) and
“Men”
(1972).
Frunzik Mkrtchyan.
“Men” 1972 In 1977, Mkrtchyan played another of his best roles - truck driver Ruben Khachikyan in Georgy Danelia’s
“Mimino”
.
Initially, there was no driver in the plot. Helicopter pilot Valiko ( Vakhtang Kikabidze
) was supposed to move into a room... with a Russian endocrinologist from Sverdlovsk.
The director planned to invite his favorite actor Evgeny Leonov
.

But in the process of working on the script, one of Danelia’s co-authors (Victoria Tokareva or Revaz Gabriadze) proposed a better idea - replacing the endocrinologist with the driver from Armenia Rubik

.
It was impossible to imagine a better candidate for this role than Mkrtchyan (and for Leonov the director wrote the role of former front-line soldier Volokhov). Frunzik Mkrtchyan and Vakhtang Kikabidze.
“Mimino” 1977. During filming, Frunzik came up with many funny lines, and the scene of Khachikyan’s interrogation in court was his absolute improvisation. However, there was a moment when Danelia was ready to say goodbye to Mkrtchyan. The actor was very worried about problems in his family and drank a lot. After filming had to be canceled several times due to his fault, the director gave Frunzik a choice: either alcohol or cinema. The actor pulled himself together and the film was successfully completed. For this work Mkrtchyan received the USSR State Prize.

Frunzik Mkrtchyan. “Mimino” 1977

In the late 70s and early 80s, Frunzik’s filmography was replenished with such wonderful films as “The Soldier and the Elephant”

(1977),
“The Adventures of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”
(1979),
“Vanity of Vanities”
(in my opinion, this picture is in no way inferior to “Mimino”),
“Singles are provided with a hostel”
(1983) .
Even small roles performed by Mkrtchyan became the decoration of any film. Frunzik Mkrtchyan.
“The Soldier and the Elephant” 1977 Anna Varpakhovskaya and Frunzik Mkrtchyan “Vanity of Vanities” 1979 In 1984, Frunzik starred in the autobiographical film “Tango of Our Childhood”

, where the plot is based on the real story of the Mkrtchyan family.
The director and screenwriter was his younger brother Albert Mkrtchyan. He graduated from VGIK in 1971 and from that time worked as a production director at the Armenfilm film studio. At the All-Union Film Festival in 1985, this film won the main prize. Frunzik Mkrtchyan.
“Tango of our childhood” 1984. The brothers were very close. When Albert was growing up, Frunzik practically replaced his father, although the age difference between them was only 7 years. And in the last years of Frunzik’s life, when many insoluble problems befell him, Albert supported and looked after his older brother.

The actor’s last film work was the children’s film “How are you at home, how are you?”

, where he starred in a minor role.

And finally, a few immortal quotes from the actor from “Mimino”:

“This... victim... opened the door, and Valiko jan... the defendant... said: “Hello, dear.” And the victim said: “Sorry, I want the toilet...” And she... jumped out into the street and shouted “police, police...”. And I said: “Valik-jan, let’s go home”... and let’s go... - So, you say that the defendant did not beat the victim? - Of course I didn’t! He went to the toilet, but Valik-jan couldn’t break the door... - So he broke the door? - Why did you break it? - Well, you said it yourself. - Listen, I don’t know Russian well... He went to the toilet, and Valiko knocked on the door and said that he also... wants... You ask such questions that it’s inconvenient to answer... even... - Witness Khachikyan, well, did the defendant break the chandelier? - Yeees! I broke it... why would I deny it?! When we went home, he accidentally hit her with a chair... - Tell me, did the defendant have a personal dislike for the victim? - Yeees! I tried it! He himself told me: “I feel such personal hostility towards the victim that I can’t eat...” - But the defendant claims that he did not know Papishvili... - Listen, where did I know him from?! When he went to the toilet, Valiko asked me: “Who is this victim? Where did he go?? “I’m seeing him,” he says, “for the first time!”

Frunzik Mkrtchyan: Biography and tragic personal life...

A universal favorite of the audience, Frunzik Mkrtchyan is an outstanding Soviet actor who played in films that were later called Soviet classics, People's Artist of the USSR and laureate of the USSR State Prize. The actor played many characters, whose words quickly became aphorisms and became firmly established in the speech of television viewers.

Mkrtchyan Frunzik Mushegovich was born in Armenia, in the city of Gyumri (then Leninakan), in 1930. The full name of the artist is Frunze (Mher) Mushegovich Mkrtchyan: Mkrtchyan had two names. At home he was called Mher (translated from Armenian as “bright”), and officially – Frunze.

Frunzik Mkrtchyan in his youth

The artist’s father Mushegh Mkrtchyan worked as a timekeeper at a factory, and his mother Sanam Mkrtchyan worked as a dishwasher in a factory canteen. In addition to his brother Albert (now working as artistic director of the Yerevan Mkrtchyan Theater), Frunze had sisters Ruzanna and Clara.

Frunzik Mkrtchyan showed acting talents from a young age. After graduating from school in 1945, Frunze immediately went to work. At first he worked in a club at a textile mill, acting as an assistant projectionist. During this period, he enjoyed playing in the local drama club. Then, for a year, Mkrtchyan studied in the studio at the Leninakan Drama Theater. In 1947, the aspiring artist was enrolled in a theater troupe.

In 1956, after graduating from the Yerevan Theater University, Mkrtchyan became an actor in the Sandukyan Theater troupe. The same year was the year of the aspiring actor’s debut in cinema. He starred in a tiny role in the film “The Secret of Lake Sevan.” As a result of the editing, only Frunzik’s leg appeared in the frame. But if Mkrtchyan’s film career was just beginning, then in the theater he was doing brilliantly. At that time, spectators went to performances specifically “Mkrtchyan”.

Young Frunzik Mkrtchyan in the film “The Music Team Guys”

The artist’s full-fledged film debut happened in 1960 in the film “The Music Team Guys,” in which Frunzik played Arsen, a cheerful musician. Then there was a five-year break, when the artist did not act at all. In 1965, Frunze starred in Georgy Danelia’s comedy “Thirty Three.” Mkrtchyan did an excellent job with the role, but “at the top” the film was banned as ideologically harmful.

But fame was already on the artist’s doorstep. A year later, the legendary comedy film “Prisoner of the Caucasus” by Gaidai appeared on the big screens of the country. Viewers remember Frunze very well in the role of the uncle of the main character, Dzhabrail. It is interesting that the role of Dzhabrail’s wife was then played by the artist’s second wife, Donara.

Frunzik Mkrtchyan in the film “Lonely people are provided with a hostel”

The same year, 1966, gave Mkrtchyan another wonderful role, which brought the actor additional fame. Frunze played one of three handsome bandits in Rolan Bykov’s film “Aibolit-66”. Now Frunze Mkrtchyan was famous throughout the country and was considered the best comedian in the country.

The first half of the 70s was not the best in the artist’s career. Due to his wife's illness, Frunze refused many good roles. But the second half of the 70s pleased admirers of Frunzik’s talent. Danelia’s new comedy “Mimino” has been released. A wonderful, bright and light picture, where Mkrtchyan and Vakhtang Kikabidze played in a duet. Many phrases from the film become catchphrases, and the film itself draws huge queues outside cinema halls. The romantic artist with comedic talent and sad eyes was loved by everyone without exception. He was also adored by his colleagues.

The actor’s biography was also expanded with the poignant and largely metaphorical film “The Soldier and the Elephant.” The plot of the film is based on real events and tells how Soviet soldiers, during the fighting, already on German territory, found an elephant that had been stolen to Germany. The decision was made to return the animal to the Yerevan Zoo, so the soldier ordered to deliver the animal and the elephant set off on a long journey through war-torn cities and villages. A simple road plot became a way to show a lot: the horrors of war, the humane side of soldiers, the heroism of Soviet soldiers, mercy towards people and animals. The film participated in the All-Union Film Festival in Yerevan, Frunzik Mkrtchyan received the first prize for best acting.

Frunzik Mkrtchyan in the film “The Soldier and the Elephant”

In the late 70s, another iconic film by the actor was released. Mkrtchyan starred in Alla Surikova’s drama “Vanity of Vanities.” Like many films of that period, “Vanity of Vanities” showed an ordinary family faced with everyday problems that gradually drove love out of marriage. The main character, played by Frunzik Mkrtchyan, left his wife, played by Galina Polskikh, but the seemingly simple adventures that began after that convinced him that he was losing too much by leaving his family.

In 1978, Frunze Mkrtchyan received the USSR State Prize, and in 1984 he became People's Artist of the USSR.

Frunzik Mkrtchyan in recent years

In the mid-80s, Frunze Mkrtchyan no longer acted. He is offered good roles, but he invariably refuses, jokingly arguing that at his age they no longer act in films.

And in the early 90s, Frunzik Mkrtchyan left his beloved theater. He was offended by the decision of the team, which chose Khoren Abrahamyan as the main director, not him, who had given 35 years of his life to this theater. The artist set about creating his own theater, but fate did not give him many years until the last act.

PERSONAL LIFE

The personal life of Frunzik Mkrtchyan was tragic. All three marriages ended sadly. The actor’s first wife was his classmate Knara, but the marriage broke up almost immediately.

Mkrtchyan met his second wife Donara Pilosyan in the mid-50s. The girl came to enter the Leninakan Theater University. The young artists got married and began working together. Their first daughter was Nune, and soon their son Vazgen was born. And when it seemed that everything was working out for the young family and they could live and work happily, Donara fell ill. Doctors discovered that she had an incurable mental illness that was inherited.

Frunzik Mkrtchyan with his wife Donara

Frunze showed his wife to eminent specialists, but they could not help. His wife began to be terribly jealous of Mkrtchyan, she imagined that he had mistresses everywhere, and he was leaving not on tour, but from his family. The actor's personal life turned into hell. These problems at some point affected the actor’s career - he had a major break in significant roles and major projects.

Frunzik Mkrtchyan with his son

Donara's condition gradually worsened. Mkrtchyan had to agree to hospitalize his wife in a psychiatric hospital in France without the right to leave. Mkrtchyan was left alone with two children. Soon the daughter left for Argentina, and doctors discovered the same disease in her son as in her mother. All Mkrtchyan’s efforts to cure Vazgen were in vain. The son was hospitalized in the same clinic as his mother. They said that when they met in the corridor, they never recognized each other.

Frunzik Mkrtchyan with his wife Tamara

Frunzik Mkrtchyan's personal life briefly sparkled with bright colors when he married for the third time. His wife was the daughter of the chairman of the Writers' Union of Armenia, Tamara Hovhannisyan, but this marriage soon broke up. It was during this period that the artist, according to press reports, began to abuse alcohol. First he left the cinema, and then the theater.

DEATH

The illnesses of those closest to him and major problems at work crippled the artist. Alcohol, which, according to rumors, the actor turned to for solace, most likely caused the death of Frunzik Mkrtchyan. The actor had already suffered one clinical death due to alcohol, but doctors managed to pull him out of the other world. But members of Mkrtchyan’s family do not confirm the press version about the actor’s alcohol addiction, although they mention his addiction “to wine and tobacco.”

Subsequently, brother Albert began to look after the actor, who became worried when he learned that he was not in touch. Albert later recalled that Frunzik’s phone was broken, you could only make calls from it, but not receive calls, but some kind of bad feeling did not allow his brother to calm down. When Albert came to check on his brother, he found him dead.

Monument to Frunzik Mkrtchyan

Frunzik Mkrtchyan passed away on December 29, 1993, when he turned 63 years old. The official cause of death was given as a heart attack. It was a real tragedy; many believed that the actor could have played many more star roles. The whole of Yerevan gathered for the funeral of the beloved artist on December 31, despite the holiday; thousands of people followed the artist’s coffin to the grave in the Pantheon of Geniuses of the Armenian Spirit in Yerevan. They grieved for their beloved artist not only in Armenia, but throughout the entire former Union. He really was loved by everyone.

Frunzik's daughter Nune Mkrtchyan died of cancer in 1998, outliving her father by only a few years. Granddaughter Gayane (Irene) lives in Argentina. Son Vazgen Mkrtchyan, who brought his father so many sorrowful experiences, died at the age of 33 from cirrhosis.

Frunzik Mkrtchyan with his daughter Nunk and granddaughter Irene

Now a total of five monuments are dedicated to the actor - four of them as part of compositions based on cult films with the participation of Frunzik Mkrtchyan, and one personal. In Gyumri, in Mkrtchyan’s small homeland, a museum named after him has been opened. In 2006, a postage stamp dedicated to the actor was issued in Armenia.

Share link:

Click here to share content on Facebook. (Opens in a new window)
Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)

Liked this:

Similar

Personal life of the most popular Armenian in the USSR

Despite his peculiar appearance (by the way, Frunzik never had a complex about his nose), the actor enjoyed great success with women. He first married during his student years to his classmate Knara

. All that is known about this marriage is that it soon broke up.

Mkrtchyan's next wife was Donara Pilosyan

, who was 11 years younger than him. She was also from Leninakan and came to Yerevan to enter the theater and art institute. The girl turned to a young but already famous fellow countryman for support. Frunzik, who did not use his popularity for personal gain, selflessly helped everyone who turned to him for help. Of course, he took the most ardent part in the fate of the beauty that charmed him.

Donara entered the institute, and then Frunzik brought her to the Sundukyan Academic Theater. A romance began between them, which ended in a wedding. The marriage produced a daughter, Nune

, and 11 years later - son
Vazgen
.
Nune Mkrtchyan.
Photo eg.ru As a theater actress, Donara became quite famous and played on the same stage with her husband for many years. Thanks to Frunzik, she also starred in several films with him. Her most famous work was the role of Dzhabrail’s wife in “Prisoner of the Caucasus.”

Frunzik and Donara Mkrtchyan “Prisoner of the Caucasus” 1967

Mkrtchyan lived in a happy marriage for 10 years, until trouble came to his house: unexpectedly, his beloved wife began to behave strangely. It all started with sudden mood swings. Then Donara became aggressive and unpredictable. With great difficulty, Frunzik managed to convince his wife to see a doctor. The result of the examination shocked the actor: Donara was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Hoping for a different diagnosis, Mkrtchyan took his wife to France and turned to the best psychiatrists. But they confirmed the conclusion of their Soviet colleagues and explained to the grief-stricken husband that schizophrenia could be controlled, but the attacks would recur and the disease would progress.

The actor suffered with his wife for many more years. Periodically, he took Donara to France for treatment, after which she returned to normal life for a while and even played in plays. When the periods of remission shortened, the doctors advised Frunzik not to take his wife from the clinic (he would later bring Donara to Yerevan, where she would be kept in a local psychiatric hospital).

Mkrtchyan was left with his now adult daughter and 11-year-old son. In the early 80s, he made one last attempt to arrange his personal life. His third wife was Tamara Oganesyan

- another beautiful actress from the Academic Theater, who was only a few years older than his daughter Nuna and 24 years younger than Frunzik.
For his sake, Tamara divorced her young husband Harutyun Movsesyan, an actor in the same theater. Tamara Oganesyan and Frunzik Mkrtchyan. Photo kino-teatr.ru

Personal life

The personal life of Frunzik Mkrtchyan was tragic. All three marriages ended sadly. The actor’s first wife was his classmate Knara, but the marriage broke up almost immediately.

Frunzik Mkrtchyan with his wife Donara

Frunzik Mkrtchyan with his son

Frunzik Mkrtchyan with his wife Tamara

Misfortune never comes alone

But fate continued to send trials to the actor. As a teenager, Vazgen began having nervous breakdowns. The examination showed that the boy inherited his mother's mental disorder. Now the actor took his son to France for treatment.

Frunzik Mkrtchyan with his son Vazgen. Photo 24smi.org

Frunzik lived with Tamara for 6 years. At the end of the 80s, they divorced (probably due to the actor’s frequent libations), exchanged a 4-room apartment and settled in neighboring houses. At the same time, Mkrtchyan left cinema and the stage. He set about creating his own theater, with the help of his ex-wife. According to Tamara, after the divorce, almost nothing changed in their life. She continued to take care of Frunzik, only now they lived under different roofs.

In the early 90s, Nune married Ruben Terteryan, the son of the famous Armenian composer Avet Terteryan. In 1994, she, her husband and daughter Gayane left for Argentina.

Movies

In 1978, Frunze Mkrtchyan received the USSR State Prize, and in 1984 he became People's Artist of the USSR.

In the mid-80s, Frunze Mkrtchyan no longer acted. He is offered good roles, but he invariably refuses, jokingly arguing that at his age they no longer act in films.

The last years of the life of the famous Frunzik Mkrtchyan

In recent years, the actor drank a lot and suffered from depression. Personal sorrows were superimposed on the misfortunes that befell the entire Armenian people - the earthquake in Spitak and Leninakan, during which many of his friends and acquaintances died, the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Two years before his departure, Mkrtchyan underwent a serious operation related to a stomach ulcer, but still broke into binges. He managed to finish the construction of his theater, which he called “Artistic”, and stage the only play “The Baker’s Son”

.
Photo geomigrant.com
On December 25, 1993, Frunzik learned about the death of his long-time friend, actor Azat Sherents, and drank for several days. On December 29, when Mkrtchyan was getting dressed to go to Sherents’ funeral, his heart could not stand it. Tamara, who came running after Vazgen’s call, called an ambulance, but nothing could help the actor.

According to the medical examination, he died from a massive heart attack. He was 63 years old. Frunze Mushegovich was buried in the pantheon of the Komitas Park in Yerevan. Thousands of fans of his talent came to see off their beloved People’s Artist on his last journey.

Photo m-necropol.ru

The actor's children did not survive their father for long. Both died before the age of 40. Nune died in Argentina after cancer surgery. Vazgen ended his days in a psychiatric hospital in Yerevan. Donara spent the last 17 years in the Sevan psychiatric hospital, where she died in 2011.

After Frunzik’s death, the theater he created was renamed the Mkrtchyan Drama Theater. Tamara Oganesyan headed it until her departure to America in 1996. Since 2000, Frunzik’s brother, Albert Mkrtchyan, has become the artistic director of the theater.

Rate this article:

Share on social networks: