Last Updated on March 4, 2024 by Asfa Rasheed
Armen Dzhigarkhanyan is famous not only for his extraordinary talent, male beauty, and charisma but also for the amount of material played (which, in fact, is logical after what has been said) – about 280 film roles and almost 400 creative works in total. “There are much fewer Armenians on earth than the films where Dzhigarkhanyan played,” Valentin Gaft wrote about him. Among the roles played, there were no roles made half-heartedly. All his characters are very authentic; everything that happens to them is real life situation. And here, the point is not only in talent but also in the fact that the actor worked with interest and dedication, as he was used to and taught.
And taught at home. Armen Borisovich is a descendant of an ancient family of Tiflis Armenians. The family was very loving and intelligent, in which it was considered necessary to instill in the child diligence and diligence. And my mother, Ariees (an employee of the Council of Ministers of the ASSR), was a great theatergoer, and love for the theater, of course, could not be passed on to her son. And he saw himself in the future only on stage.
After graduating from school, Dzhigarkhanyan decided to try his hand at the capital’s university – at GITIS. However, due to his strong accent, he was not accepted, and the young man had to return to Yerevan. There he got a job as an assistant cameraman at the Armenianfilm film studio. And a year later, he entered the Yerevan Art and Theater Institute. Even in his second year, he was noticed and invited to the troupe of the Yerevan Russian Drama Theater.
Everyone recognized the extraordinary talent of the young artist. He was equally successful in both tragic and comic roles. He was invited to the cinema, and in the late 60s, Anatoly Efros invited Dzhigarkhanyan to the Lenin Komsomol Theater. Thus began the artist’s life in the capital. He was often filmed, and he played in leading theaters (after the dismissal of Efros, Dzhigarkhanyan moved to the Mayakovsky Theater). In 1991 he was invited to teach acting at VGIK. And a few years later, in 1997, from the graduates of his course, he organized the Moscow Drama Theater under the direction of Armen Dzhigarkhanyan. Taking care of the theater took a lot of energy and time, but Armen Borisovich did not stop playing.
An integral part of Dzhigarkhanyan’s charm is, of course, his unique voice. It seems that there is not a single person in the country, big and small, who has never heard him. The actor recorded a large number of radio shows for children and adults, worked on scoring and dubbing films, and also gave his voice to the heroes of a huge number of domestic and foreign cartoons.
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Personal life of Armen Dzhigarkhanyan
The first, unregistered wife of Armen Dzhigarkhanyan was Ms Sethi, an actress at the Yerevan Russian Drama Theater, where Dzhigarkhanyan also served. Alla Yurievna was much older than her young husband, and after the birth of their daughter Elena, it turned out that Vanovskaya was suffering from a severe mental illness. Dzhigarkhanyan left his wife, taking his little daughter. A year later, Vanovsky was gone. The daughter died in an accident at the age of 23.
The second marriage with Tatyana Vlasova, also an actress at the Yerevan Drama Theater, was successful and harmonious. In the late 90s, Dzhigarkhanyan persuaded his wife to leave for the United States to look after their American home. So the family began to live in two countries.
Perhaps this was the reason for the divorce; according to the actor himself, the ocean that was between them interfered. In 2015, the couple divorced after living in it for almost 50 years. The couple did not have common children, but Armen Borisovich raised Tatyana’s son, Stepan.
The third marriage of Armen Dzhigarkhanyan with pianist Alexas Morgan -Romanovskaya became the subject of close attention of the media and talk shows. At first, the big age difference aroused interest – 43 years. Then – a showdown, mutual claims of the spouses to each other, and accusations of fraud and theft. A family scandal turned into an interest in the theater, in which both spouses work, from law enforcement agencies. As a result of the financial audit, the theft of Tsymbalyuk-Romanovskaya, who is the director, was revealed. She transferred a large amount of money to the theater offshore.
Interesting facts about Armen Dzhigarkhanyan
- the only Russian actor who got into the Guinness Book of Records – as the most frequently filmed
- I met my father when I was already an adult. He was raised by his stepfather, whom Dzhigarkhanyan loved very much.
- As a child, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan wanted to be a clown, but, according to him, fear of heights prevented
- the actor admitted that there is no role that he would like to play, but he didn’t have to: “The role is a problem, pain or joy. I played all my problems.”
Overview
Armen Dzhigarkhanyan was a celebrated Soviet and Russian actor, director, and People’s Artist of the USSR. He was born on October 3, 1935, in Yerevan, Armenia. Armen started his acting career in 1958 in Moscow and became one of his generation’s most respected and beloved actors.
The Soviet government recognized Dzhigarkhanyan’s acting talent, and he was awarded the title of People’s Artist of the USSR in 1985. He also received numerous other prestigious awards, including the Order of Merit for the Fatherland and the Order of Honour. In addition to his acting career, he also directed several films, including “The Oath” and “To See Paris and Die.”
Dzhigarkhanyan was known for his distinctive voice, impeccable acting skills, and ability to portray complex characters easily. He was a versatile actor who excelled in both comedy and drama, and his performances were often described as mesmerizing.
Despite his success, Dzhigarkhanyan faced some controversy in his personal life, including several failed marriages and allegations of financial mismanagement. Nevertheless, he remained a beloved figure in Russian culture and continued to work in the film and theater industries until his death on November 30, 2020, at the age of 85. Armen Dzhigarkhanyan will always be remembered as a true legend of Soviet and Russian cinema.
