Mher Mkrtchyan, great actor of Armenia, would turn 81

People’s Artist of the Soviet Union Mher Mkrtchyan would turn 81 today. Statesmen, artists, politicians and his fans will pay tribute to his memory in pantheon after Komitas.

Mher Mkrtchyan was born in 1930, in Gyumri. Mkrtchyan’s father was from Mush and mother from Van.

The popular actor studied in Gyumri Art College and Theatre Studio, then finished at the Acting Department of Yerevan Institute of Fine Arts and Theatre. Since 1953, he has performed in the Sundukyan Drama Theatre of Yerevan.

He also directed many successful productions, best of them Maxim Gorky's "The Lower Dephs". His cinema career began in 1955. His famous roles in Rolan Bykov’s "Aybolit-66" (1966), Leonid Gaidai's "Kidnapping, Caucasian Style" (1966), and Georgi Daneliya's "Mimino" (1977) earned him the reputation of one of the leading comedy actors in the Soviet Union.

But that reputation sometimes overshadowed his real talent and emotional depth which he put into his roles in such classics of Armenian cinema as "Yerankyuni" ("Triangle") (1967), "Menq enq, mer sarere" ("We, Our Mountains") (1969) , "Hayrik" ("Father") (1973), "Nahapet" (1977), "Hin oreri yerge" ("Old Days' Song") (1982), "Mer mankutyan tangon" ("Tango of Our Childhood") (1985).