BIOGRAPHY
Garik Martirosyan was born into an intelligent family. Father Yuri Mikhailovich worked as the chief engineer of the Yerevan automobile plant, mother Jasmine Surenovna was a well-known gynecologist in the city. And the real pride of the family was maternal grandfather Suren Nikolaevich, Deputy Minister of Trade of the USSR. Garik recalls: “Our family did not live in poverty - the house had all the attributes of a happy life. A VCR, good clothes, juices, candies, even two cars. My brother and I were spoiled, but in moderation. That’s why I had no desire to stand out - everything was for a happy childhood and so it was.”
The boy was a very active child. At the age of 6, Garik’s parents sent him to music school to learn to play the piano. But he did not finish it - the young man was kicked out for bad behavior, and he eventually mastered the instruments on his own. As the artist admits, he now plays the piano, guitar and drums fluently.
Martirosyan’s artistic talent and wonderful sense of humor began to appear in childhood. One day Garik started a rumor that his grandfather was Leonid Brezhnev: “Classmates came to visit us with terrible force, and my grandmother, when they started asking her clarifying questions, correctly got out that, they say, we are all, to some extent , grandchildren of the Secretary General. Then, when the guests left, of course, the first day hit me,” says the artist.
As a teenager, Garik attends classes at an art school, and at one time even thinks about becoming a professional artist. But the father does not support this idea. He believes that only the medical profession can provide a person with a decent future. After graduating from school, Garik Martirosyan entered the Yerevan State Medical University, where he received the specialty of a neurologist and psychotherapist. The future artist worked by profession for three years.
Medicine
After graduating from school, Garik Martirosyan entered the Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU), where he received the specialty of neurologist-psychotherapist. For three years, the future star of the Comedy Club was a practicing doctor, and he liked this work. But artistic talent still prevailed. Today Martirosyan does not regret the years devoted to medicine and psychiatry: he assures that now “you can’t fool him, because thanks to specialized education he sees people through and through.”
Garik Martirosyan
As for humor, Garik Martirosyan joked everywhere, always, with or without reason - it’s in his blood. He probably would have continued to see patients if he had not met the KVN “New Armenians” team. Now we can say with complete confidence that it was this acquaintance that became the defining moment in Garik’s fate, giving him a ticket to television.
KVN
While still studying at the institute, Garik met the local KVN team. In 1994, on the basis of the Armenian League, the “New Armenians” team was created, in which Martirosyan was first just a player, and in 1997 he became captain. He recalls: “At first we wrote scripts for various humorous programs and entertainment series. At a time when we were not playing in KVN for television viewers, we continued to actively participate in KVN as “KVN” producers, so to speak. It was we who created the team “Burnt by the Sun” from the city of Sochi and began writing scripts for it. But we didn’t do it for the sake of fame or money, because no one knew about it except the narrow “KVN” community.”
In the late 90s, Garik comes to Moscow. He works in television, where he writes scripts for Igor Ugolnikov’s program “Good Evening.” And in 2003, an important event took place in the artist’s life - his partner on the “New Armenians” team, Tash Sargsyan, offered to participate in a new project. Garik recalls: “Once, having met me in Moscow, Tash said: “We, that is, Garik Kharlamov, Pavel Volya, Slava Blagodarsky, Arthur Janibekyan, Artak Gasparyan and I, are going to do a new type of show and are recruiting a team that will perform in clubs with a new humor - tough and frank. Do you want to join us? I agreed, and for the first two years I performed with them for free, just in a friendly way helping my friends in their endeavor.” This is how the history of Comedy Club began. At first, few people believed in the success of the project, but in 2005 the TNT channel became interested in the show, and literally after a while real fame came to the members of the Comedy Club.
Biography pages of Garik Martirosyan
Garik Martirosyan studied in Yerevan. After receiving his diploma, he began working in his favorite specialty - as a psychotherapist. It should be noted that the famous comedian’s adventures began immediately, on his birthday. The boy was born on the 13th, and in order, as they say, “not to pull the world by the mustache,” the parents decided to write down his date of birth as February 14, since they believe that thirteen is an unlucky number, and loving parents would allow misfortune into the fate of their eldest son could not. That's why Garik celebrates his birthday twice.
Garik Martirosyan in childhood
He grew up as an inquisitive and intelligent boy, but he was expelled from music school for inappropriate behavior. Having matured, Garik learned to play not one, but 3 musical instruments, and began to compose music. After graduating from the university, Martirosyan worked in clinical residency for 3 years, and since 1993 he has been playing in KVN, which radically changed his creative biography.
Garik Martirosyan in his youth
Garik Yuryevich is a popular Russian showman, the sought-after director of everyone’s favorite show “Comedy Club”. He acts as a producer of such TV projects as “Our Russia”, “Laughter without Rules” (“TNT”), etc. Martirosyan is the author of the idea of creating the “League of Nations” and “Show News”. He acted as the host of the program “Minute of Fame”, “ProjectorParisHilton”, as well as “Main Stage” and “Dancing with the Stars”.
TV PROJECTS
After the successful start of the Comedy Club, Garik Martirosyan began to be invited to various projects. In 2006, the showman took part in the “Two Stars” program, where he became the winner together with Larisa Dolina.
Garik first tried himself as a TV presenter in 2007 in the project “Minute of Glory.” A year later, he becomes one of the hosts of the evening comedy show “ProjectorParisHilton”.
Garik Martirosyan is a co-producer and screenwriter of the show “Our Russia” - an analogue of the English series “Little Britain”. And in 2008, the showman became the author and creative producer of the film “Our Russia. Eggs of Destiny”, where at the same time he played the role of the leading corporate party.
In 2020
Garik hosted the first season of the Main Stage project on the Russia 1 TV channel. This year
competition "New Wave 2015".
Introduction to music
When the boy was 6 years old, his parents sent him to a music school. Surprisingly, the music captivated the restless tomboy, and he began to make some progress. Over time, he himself began to try to compose melodies and songs.
Garik Martirosyan might have successfully graduated from music school, but his explosive character and self-indulgence became the reason for his expulsion. However, the young talent was not offended - Garik continued to study on his own, successfully mastering the piano, guitar and drums.
IN LIFE
Garik prefers to spend his free time with his wife and children. The family loves to travel around Italy, and Garik admits that he would really like to learn Italian. The showman says: “In principle, I already know the language quite well, but I want more, so that, for example, I can fully understand Italian TV channels. I also dream of learning to drive a yacht, plane and motorcycle. I don’t know yet in what order I will master these types of transport, but I will definitely do it. Moreover, I have already traveled in a convoy with bikers in Italy.”
Garik's favorite hobby is football. He is a fan of Lokomotiv.
Garik Martirosyan's wife
Zhanna Levina-Martirosyan (born May 15, 1976, Sochi, Russia), wife of the popular showman, artist, comedian Garik Martirosyan, is, first of all, a very beautiful woman, mother of two wonderful children - daughter Jasmine, who will turn 15 in the summer of 2020, and son - Daniel; This year he will have his first anniversary, the boy will turn 10 years old. Martirosyan’s wife and children respect the work of the head of the family. Zhanna often appears with her husband on television screens, as part of various humorous programs.
Zhanna Levina-Martirosyan
Zhanna is Jewish by nationality, her parents are famous people in Sochi: her father is the owner of several optical stores; mother is an economist; and my grandparents worked as surgeons all their lives. Zhanna chose the profession of lawyer, studied at Stavropol University as a criminologist, and played in KVN. When the girl turned 21, she and Garik went to Yerevan to meet his relatives. The young Martirosyan couple arranged their wedding on the island of Cyprus, where, in addition to their relatives, all members of the KVN “New Armenians” team came to congratulate the newlyweds.
Garik Martirosyan with his wife and children in Jurmala
Over time, the Martirosyan couple moved to Moscow, where at first they huddled in a rented one-room apartment, but after the release of the popular Comedy Club, their financial situation improved. Today they have their own housing, their house, as they say, is “full.” The personal life of the Martirosyan couple is a good example to follow. Fans of Zhanna and Garik Martirosyan closely follow their idols, and photos of the famous comedian’s family are regularly posted on Instagram.
The personal life of Garik Martirosyan and his beautiful wife has been of interest to fans of the talent of everyone’s favorite comedian, a former member of the KVN team “USSR National Team” for more than 20 years. He was loved by the public for his sparkling humor in the Comedy Club program. His jokes made you laugh heartily when he hosted the shows “Burnt by the Sun” and “Good Evening” with Igor Ugolnikov. Garik Martirosyan's wife always supported him, being his first listener and main critic.
In November 2018, her book “The Diary of a Humorist’s Wife” was published, which describes the life story of Zhanna Martirosyan, not without a dose of humor. She wrote an autobiography of the humorist's wife, deciding to donate all the money from the sale of the book to charity. Zhanna Levina-Martirosyan is a popular blogger. In a joking manner, she admitted that her super sociability after 20 years of family life began to tire Garik slightly. That's when she came up with the idea of writing a book; As a result, she saved her family hearth and became famous by publishing her book.
Garik Martirosyan at the presentation of his wife’s book “The Diary of a Humorist’s Wife”
INTERVIEW
ABOUT HUMOR
“When I was a child, there weren’t many satirists and comedians, so their performances were recorded on tape and memorized. And as for the level of jokes... You know, if a person has a sense of humor, then he will be interested in both Petrosyan’s concert and “ProjectorParisHilton”. On the other hand, look at how full the halls are during Yevgeny Vaganovich’s concerts. That's the same! They are overcrowded. This means this artist is doing everything right.”
ABOUT CAREER
“I'm not a careerist. I don't have to do anything at all. My career is built for me by very worthy people who understand more about television than I do. First it was Alexander Maslyakov, then Igor Ugolnikov, then Konstantin Ernst, and this process continues.”
ABOUT THE CINEMA
“I have no such desire to play in films. But if we talk about characters that have already found their embodiment, there are two roles that I would like to play. Either Kolya Gerasimova from the film “Guest from the Future” or Ivanhoe.”
Martirosyan on television
The start took place in 1997, when Garik acted as a screenwriter for Igor Ugolnikov’s “Good Evening” program.
Then there was the filming of “Guess the Melody,” where Garik Martirosyan, Garik Kharlamov and Polina Sibagatullina reached the third round.
The popular show “Two Stars” came in handy with musical talents. The duet of Martirosyan and Larisa Dolina won.
In 2007, the artist made his debut as a presenter on the popular project “Minute of Fame.” In the same year, another new project took place for Garik Martirosyan: Pavel Volya, with his help, released the music album “Respect and Respect.”
The artist also performed as a host on other shows: “Main Stage”, “Dancing with the Stars”. In addition, Martirosyan launched several of his own projects that deserve special mention.
Garik Martirosyan, producer of Comedy Club: “Serious people from Rublyovka are not offended by us”
While venerable TV channels make viewers laugh with the help of respectable and personable comedians, TNT warmed up young jokers - and now only a year has passed, and today their program “Comedy Club” has no fewer fans than veterans of the movement. The channel experiment was clearly a success. The “club members” themselves are not only cheerful, but also efficient people - they are now preparing several new television programs, touring, holding their own festival, and have even come up with their own branded line of fashionable clothing. Project producer Garik Martirosyan told Izvestia correspondent Olga Starchenko about this.
Izvestia: Is it true that Alexander Maslyakov Sr. was offended by you for leaving KVN?
Martirosyan: If Maslyakov had been offended, then, firstly, he would not have invited me to the International Day of the Kaveen Player and to the new program “Outside the Game” on Channel One. Secondly, not all Comedy residents came from KVN - there are people who came from Muz-TV, there are musicians from conservatories. So we can’t talk about direct offense, because there is none.
news: “Comedy” can compete with KVN?
Martirosyan: No. We want Comedy Club to become very popular, but at the same time KVN would also be very popular.
“We joke about the exaggeration of life”
Izvestia: Does the TV channel prohibit you from joking on certain topics or about certain people? For example, about politicians, about the president?
Martirosyan: There are no bans on the channel, but we have a certain internal censorship. We try not to joke about religious topics, about some kind of misfortune or misfortune. They don’t forbid us to touch politics, we’re just not very keen on it ourselves, which is why there are no special political jokes.
Izvestia: How did your sharp-tongued jokers end up on Rublyovka - in the very lair of cautious politicians and prudent businessmen? Do they laugh at your jokes there?
Martirosyan: We have been holding Friday parties on Rublyovka for almost a year now. It’s not that anyone specially invited us - we just opened a branch of the Comedy Club there. Not only residents of the area come there. Sometimes the highest-ranking officials of Russia, whose names I will not name, are present, because these are, after all, private parties. But everyone reacts very well to jokes, because the outline of our performances is tailored to the residents of Rublyovka: there we joke about the pomposity and luxury of this whole environment, about excessive wealth, about the exaggeration of this life, which causes a strong reaction. There have never been cases where anyone was offended.
“This is a modern version of “Around Laughter”
Izvestia: How do you lure show business stars, whom you then make cruel jokes on?
Martirosyan: Everyone comes to concerts voluntarily; we don’t have any lists of required guests. Sometimes we make lists of those who will come to television filming. But they also come there of their own free will, and not just by invitation.
Izvestia: Are there celebrities whom you call, but they still don’t come?
Martirosyan: There are such people, but I don’t think they don’t come because they don’t like us. They are just very busy: concerts, moving. Valera Meladze, for example, treats us very well, but she will never get to us. Write officially through the Izvestia newspaper that we invite Meladze to visit - it might work.
Izvestia: As a producer, do you have your favorites among the show participants?
Martirosyan: All the guys are in their place both in life and in the Comedy Club. Pasha Volya is the fastest in reaction, the most witty. Vadim Galygin is the sharpest, which I really like. Garik Kharlamov is the most artistic. Sasha Revva is the most flexible. Timur Batrutdinov is the most charming, embodying the most pleasant images. Timur Kilimov is the best in songs. The Zaitsev sisters are the funniest.
Everyone has their own role. So far everyone is very good.
Izvestia: Still, “Comedy Club” was not invented by you - it is a licensed format. How does your show differ from foreign ones?
Martirosyan: You can’t say that we blindly took the format from the West - the foreign “Comedy Club” was made in a different way. In the West there is more of a stand-up show. For example, the performance of Mikhail Mikhailovich Zadornov is very similar to their Comedy Club, who comes out and speaks very witty, funny texts and shares his impressions for two hours. Our show is more similar to the “Around Laughter” program, which was once hosted by Alexander Ivanov. Rather, this is a modern version of “Around Laughter.”
“Petrosyan and I don’t know each other”
news: Has the Comedy Club already turned into a big and expensive business?
Martirosyan: Just the other day at Gostiny Dvor we showed a clothing line we had invented - the project was called “Comedy Fashion”. If creativity brings some money, we, of course, are not against it, but still business is not our main goal. Izvestia: Can you earn a lot with humor?
Martirosyan: We are often invited to concerts, but there are many of us, and no matter how much our fee is, it is not the money to consider it a big business.
We won't make billionaires, but we are happy because we are doing what we love. We have much more moral dividends than financial ones, and that’s great.
Izvestia: Do the same audiences come to your performances as Petrosyan?
Martirosyan: I don’t know who comes to Petrosyan. I've never been to his concerts and don't know him personally, so it's hard for me to judge. I think that if a person has a good sense of humor, he will follow both Petrosyan and us. By the way, as research has shown, our contingent is mainly girls and women. And we thought that we were doing a purely male program.
news: I heard that the Comedy Club is preparing new television programs. Which ones will you show to the viewer and when?
Martirosyan: New projects have nothing to do with the Comedy Club. We want to master new formats of humorous programs that are not similar to our show. I won’t say what – it will be a big surprise for TV viewers. If everything goes well, viewers will see them closer to September.
Who do Gariki sign autographs to?
Our correspondent Olga Starchenko visited the set of one of the Comedy Club programs and was convinced that the participants in the show are generally cheerful people and joke not only on camera.
To warm up the audience, Gariki (there are two of them in the Comedy Club - Martirosyan and Kharlamov) begin to show a number about airline pilots. A voice is immediately heard from the audience: “Who are airline pilots?” This simple question from the general producer of the TNT channel Dmitry Troitsky took Kharlamov by surprise - he hesitates and explains that, they say, the producer who shows them on TNT cannot but answer. A second pause - and Martirosyan found a worthy answer: “Garik, don’t you remember that we came here from Channel One?” This is a hint that Garik came to TNT from KVN, where, apparently, they can always return if they are asked tricky questions. The audience appreciated the remark.
“Comedy” is often reproached: the jokes, they say, are mostly “low belt”. Here they don’t respond to accusations, because they know that their arsenal includes jokes not only about “tits and pussies” (that’s their own definition). And whoever listens carefully will remember jokes about Rublyovka (“red caviar stuffed with black, and shark sushi wrapped in elephant ears”), about celebrities (“Lyudmila Gurchenko got moths yesterday” or “If it weren’t for TV, we would never they wouldn’t know that Edward Radzinsky speaks with his mouth”).
The jokes are not forced, the guys catch them from everywhere. And they react very quickly to the most unexpected situations. Immediately after filming, a man approached them and asked with a characteristic accent: “Garyk, give my son an autograph!” - Okay, the main thing is that it’s not mine! - Garik Kharlamov was found.
Tale from Ostankino
What TV crews told us behind the scenes on the eve of April 1
Konstantin Lvovich Ernst got into a taxi. - “Ostankino”! - he said to the taxi driver. - Three thousand! — the taxi driver undoubtedly recognized the passenger who heads the jury of KVN and Channel One. - Why is it so expensive? - Ernst was indignant for the sake of order. “Prime time,” the taxi driver threw up his hands. — Traffic jams are everywhere. - Agreed. Go! — Ernst was in a hurry. — The sponsor of today’s trip is Konstantin Ernst! - the taxi driver said solemnly. — And my wife drinks Nescafe Classic. Temptation by taste! - Are we going or not? - Let's go! Skoda is the best car! Feel the pleasure of driving a Skoda! Passengers and car are insured! — Are we going today or not? “Now let’s go,” the taxi driver set off. However, after two hundred meters the car stopped again. — Drive slowly and safely! In first gear! Soon! On first! I work hard. I eat dry food. And this is very harmful! And now, in order to kill a slight hunger, I have Danissimo!!! “Danissimo” - and let the passenger wait!!! -Are you kidding me? - What do you? Let's go now! - the driver slurped. “And we’ll wash it all down with Activia from Danone!” Let's help the stomach! There's a hurricane in your stomach - take Espumisan! “I’m in a hurry—do you understand that or not?” - Ernst almost cried. - I need to go to work!!! “I also wanted to watch boxing yesterday not at midnight, but at eight in the evening!” And watch boxing without commercial breaks!!! So sit down and sit!!! Let's go! Soon!!! On first!!! How to get to the Comedy Club Concerts of young comedians are now fashionable among stars of show business, sports, and politics. But anyone can attend the concert. On Fridays there are performances in one of the clubs on Rublyovka, where a table for 4-5 people costs 3,000 rubles. On Saturdays, the Club moves to the Atrium, where tables cost 2,000 rubles (the TNT show is filmed there). These 2,000 rubles already include drinks and snacks worth 800 rubles. You can order tickets by calling 250-18-11. However, it is better to buy them in advance - usually all the tables are occupied a week before the performance.
