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1-27 of 27
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Olga Chekhova (also Olga Tschechova in German), one of the most popular stars of the silent film era, remained a mysterious person throughout her life and was accused of being a Russian agent in Nazi Germany.
She was born Olga Konstantinovna von Knipper on April 26, 1897, in Aleksandropol, Transcaucasia, Russian Empire (now Gyumri, Armenia). She was the second of 3 children in a bilingual Russian-German family. Her father, Konstantin Leonardovich Knipper, a Lutheran of German descent. He made a military career in Russia as a railroad engineer. Young Olga studied art and literature at an art school in St. Petersburg. Later as an immigrant in Germany she claimed friendship with the family of Tsar Nicholas II--who also was of German origin--and that she had encountered the notorious Russian mystic and monk, Grigory Rasputin. In reality, she was sent from St. Petersburg to Moscow to her aunt, actress Olga Knipper-Chekhova, to study acting at Moscow Art Theatre. In 1914, at age 17, she eloped with Russian-Jewish actor Michael Chekhov, nephew of Anton Chekhov.
Olga adored her husband, Michael Chekhov, a rising star of stage and film. But he met another beauty, Xenia Zimmer, and became involved in extramarital affair while Olga was pregnant with their child. Their daughter, Ada Tschechowa, was born in 1916. Olga separated from Michael Chekhov during the tragic time of the Russian Revolution in 1917. That same year she made her film debut in a Russian silent film, Anya Kraeva (1918).
Olga claimed that she fled Russia disguised as a peasant woman and posed as a mute while carrying a diamond ring in her mouth. In reality she married an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army, Friedrich Jaroshi, and took a train from the Moscow Belorussky station to Vienna, Austria, having travel documents from the Russian Commissar of Culture (and she was also helped by the Russian intelligence agency in exchange for her cooperation). She was later invited to the Soviet Embassy in Berlin for meetings with Soviet officials. In Germany she was introduced to film producer Erich Pommer and renowned director F.W. Murnau, who gave her a leading role in his film, The Haunted Castle (1921). She quickly became a huge star in Europe and played in more than 40 silent films during the decade. Olga was joined by ex-husband Michael Chekhov in several films, including Der Narr seiner Liebe (1929) (aka "The Fool of Love"), which she also directed.
Future Nazi leader Adolf Hitler reportedly fell for Olga upon seeing her cold and beautiful face in several films in the 1920s. She was famous for her movie image as a baroness and was courted in the 1930s by Luftwaffe boss Hermann Göring and by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. Some wives of high-ranking Nazi officials were jealous of and hated the beautiful Olga. Goebbels was known to have visited her home on several occasions when he wanted to be away from his Nazi "activities". He invited Olga to several Nazi receptions and introduced her to Adolf Hitler in April 1933. Olga became a personal friend of Hitler and was photographed sitting next to "Der Fuhrer" at official events of the Nazi Party. She also received valuable Christmas gifts from Hitler, and regular birthday presents and other tokens of his attention.
In 1936 Olga was honored with the title of "State Actress" of the Third Reich and was made a German citizen. She married a wealthy Belgian businessman, Marcel Robyns. One day prior to the wedding she had a private reception with Hitler, who gave her permission to retain her German citizenship. Two years later she divorced Robyns and returned to her high-society life in Berlin. Her famous 1939 photo-op with Hitler was thoroughly analyzed in Moscow.
She was invited by Soviet officials to join Hermann Göring and Joachim von Ribbentrop at the meeting with Vyacheslav Molotov and Gen. V. N. Merkulov at the Soviet Embassy in Berlin in 1940. At that time Olga was associated with her agent-brother Lev Knipper, who was sent from Moscow to Germany on a secret mission to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The plan was to use one of Olga's visits with Hitler for a suicide attack on the Fuhrer. Olga was kept oblivious of the plan, which was aborted by an order from Joseph Stalin, who became paranoid about the possibility of Germany's alliance with Britain if Hitler was killed. Interestingly, Stalin and Hitler were both amateur film directors in the 1920s, but as dictators they now directed the course of history.
Olga was invited by Josef Goebbels to the official reception in Berlin in July of 1941, only a month after the Nazis invaded Russia and Luftwaffe bombings caused massive devastation to Russian cities. Goebbels announced the planned occupation of Moscow.
She was being investigated by the SS on orders from SS leader Heinrich Himmler. She was constantly under surveillance by both Nazi and Soviet agents in her Berlin home. As the war progressed and conditions got progressively worse for the Nazi regime, party bosses became increasingly paranoid. Himmler was planning to arrest her in January of 1945. One early morning she was informed of Himmler's move. She immediately called him directly with a request for a favor--to let her finish her morning cup of coffee comfortably. When SS commandos surrounded her home Himmler opened her door and was met by an angry Adolf Hitler, who in no uncertain terms informed Himmler that he had made a mistake.
Olga was a beautiful pawn in a dangerous game between the two most destructive powers in the Second World War. She survived through acting, cheating, lying and disguise. She protected her daughter Ada from Nazi anti-Semitism by hiding the fact that her ex-husband, Michael Chekhov, was Jewish. Her brother Lev Knipper was held in a Nazi concentration camp and managed to survive because of his perfect German (and probably with her help). During the savage battle for Berlin just before the war's end, Olga hid in a bomb shelter and was eventually taken prisoner by the Red Army. She was flown to Moscow in April of 1945, for debriefing at the offices of Soviet secret police officials Viktor Abakumov and Lavrenti Beria. She discreetly attended the Moscow Art Theatre performance of "The Cherry Orchard" starring her aunt Olga Knipper-Chekhova in May of 1945. They were not allowed to talk and her aunt Olga fainted backstage.
After two months of interrogations in Moscow, on June 26, 1945, Olga was flown back to Berlin, where she was assisted by the Soviet Army. She was given money and moved in to a Soviet-supervised house on Spree Strasse in the Soviet sector of East Berlin. Several articles in the French and British presses stated that she was a clandestine agent and secretly decorated by the Soviet government. She praised the Russian victory over the Nazis in a private letter to her aunt Olga Knipper-Chekhova. Meanwhile, the film she made in Hollywood turned out to be a flop in the US market, mainly because of her heavy Russian accent.
She continued a film career in Europe and ran her own film production company, Venus-Film Olga Tschechowa. In 1950 she moved to Munich and starred in several films. In 1955 she used her star power to launch a successful cosmetics company, "Olga Tscheschowa Kosmetik Geselschaft." Her remarkable acting career, spanning almost 60 years, ended in 1978, with a small film role as a grandmother.
Her personal file was temporarily available for viewing at the KGB archives in Moscow. One report on her was prepared and signed by the notoriously brutal KGB chief Viktor S. Abakumov. On that report a handwritten question was left by a reader in Kremlin: "What do you suggest to be done with Ms. Chekhova?", the handwriting was by Joseph Stalin. Stalin was quoted as having said, "The actress Olga Chekhova will be very useful in the post-war years", and she probably was. One of her films was titled Der Mann, der zweimal leben wollte (1950), or "The Man Who Wanted to Live Two Lives"--and that was exactly what she did.
In 1955, Olga was saddened by the death of Michael Chekhov. In 1966, Olga suffered from another tragedy: her only daughter Ada died in an airplane crash. Devastated by the painful loss, Olga suffered from bouts of depression and turned to alcohol, but she survived thanks to her strong will and lust for life. She lived for another fifteen years, played a few more roles in the movies, and saw her great-grandchildren grow. Moments before she died, sensing the end was near, she ordered a glass of champagne from her granddaughter Vera Tschechowa. That was March 9, 1980, in Munich, Germany.
Her last words were, "Life is beautiful!"- Actor
- Soundtrack
Armen Dzhigarkhanyan was awarded the Armenian Republican State Prize in 1975 for "Triangle" and again in 1979 for "Snow in Mourning." He was named People's Artist of the Soviet Union in 1985. Dzhigarkhanyan began his acting career in 1955 at the Russian Stanislavsky Theatre in Yerevan, and in 1967 moved to the Lenkom Theatre in Moscow. In 1969 he joined the Mayakovsky Academic Theatre. Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Dzhigarkhanyan worked as assistant cameraman at Armenfilm studios in 1953-1954.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
He has graduated from the Acting Department of Yerevan Fine Arts and Theatre Institute in 1951. Since then worked as an actor, later - director and the executive director of the Sundukyan Drama Theatre of Yerevan. He has been as well the artistic director of the Ajemyan Drama Theatre of Leninakan (now Gyumri). Abrahamyan has played many leading roles in theatre and cinema.- Writer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
George Gurdjieff was born in Gyumri (formerly called Alexandropol) in Armenia. His father Ivan was Greek and his mother Yeva was Armenian. He died in Paris on 29 October 1949.
He taught that man lives his life in a state of sleep but that it is possible to wake up and serve our purpose as human beings. The practice of his teaching which he described as "esoteric Christianity" is based upon knowledge which he acquired from visiting various monasteries during his travels.- Composer
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Alexander Harutyunyan was born on 23 September 1920 in Erivan [now Yerevan], Armenia. He was a composer and actor, known for Sirtn e yergum (1957), Urvakannere heranum en lernerits (1955) and O moyom druge (1959). He died on 28 March 2012 in Yerevan, Armenia.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
A pioneer of cinema in Armenia and the Caucasus, Amo Bek-Nazaryan began his career as a professional athlete. However, he later discovered film, joined the cinema as an actor in 1914, and soon became one of the major stars in the pre-Soviet Russian cinema. In 1918, he graduated from the Moscow Commercial Institute. In 1921, he became the head of the film section of Narkompros in Georgia and later a director of Goskinprom in Georgia. Like his friend and colleague, the Georgian cinema pioneer Ivane Perestiani, Bek-Nazaryan sought to incorporate avant-garde techniques popular in NEP-era Soviet films into conventional narrative frameworks.
In 1924, he returned to his native city of Yerevan where he became one of the founders of Armenkino (the predecessor to Armenfilm). He directed the first full-length Armenian feature film, Honor (1925), in collaboration with Sakhkinmretsvi in Georgia. He also directed the romantic film Natela (1926) with the glamorous Nato Vachnadze that same year and, the following year, he directed the first Kurdish film, Zare (1927). In the 1930s, he directed the first Armenian sound film, Pepo (1935), based on a play by Gabriel Sundukyan and with music by the renown Armenian composer Aram Khachaturyan. For this production, he earned the title People's Artist of the Armenian SSR.
Following World War II, he directed the film Erkrord karavan (1950) about the repatriation of Armenians living in the United States to Soviet Armenia. This production was canceled by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, a move that personally hurt Bek-Nazaryan. Following this, he did not direct any more films until after the death of Stalin in 1953. After Bek-Nazaryan's death in 1965, Armenfilm adopted his name to their full, official title in his honor. Today, he is widely regarded as the founder of Armenian cinema.- Director
- Writer
Albert S. Mkrtchyan was born on 8 August 1926 in Erivan, Transcaucasian SFSR, USSR [now Yerevan, Armenia]. He was a director and writer, known for Kazyonnyy dom (1989), Puteshestvie budet priyatnym (1983) and Zakonnyy brak (1985). He died on 22 February 2007 in Moscow, Russia.- Edgar Oganesyan was born on 14 January 1930 in Erivan, Transcaucasian SFSR, USSR [now Yerevan, Armenia]. He was a composer, known for Paytyun kesgisherits heto (1969), Patvi hamar (1956) and Lovtsy gubok (1960). He died on 28 December 1998 in Yerevan, Armenia.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Arno Arutyunovich Babajanian (Babadzhanyan) was born on January 22, 1921, in Erevan (now Yerevan), Armenia. His father, named Arutyun Babajanian, was a mathematician and also an excellent flute player of the Armenian folk music. At the age of 5, he was noticed by composer Aram Khachaturyan, who recommended that Babajanian must study music seriously.
In 1928 he was admitted to the group of gifted children at the Yerevan Conservatory. At the age of 9, Babajanian wrote his first composition, 'Pioneer's March'. He was very good at sight-reading and had a remarkable memory. His piano playing at the young age was already marked by unusual power of expression and technical finesse. At the age of 12, Arno Babajanian became the winner of the First Prize at the Armenian Republic National Competition of the Young Musicians. There Babajanian performed the piano sonata No. 4, by Ludwig van Beethoven and 'Rhondo Capriccioso' by Felix Mendelssohn.
Babajanian continued his music studies under the tutelage of the notable Armenian composer Sergei S. Barkhudaryan (Barkhudarov) from 1936-38. In 1938 Babajanian moved to Moscow and was admitted to the graduate level at the Gnesin School of Music, where he studied piano with Yelena Gnesina and composition with Vissarion Shebalin. His talent was noticed by many intellectuals in Moscow. He continued his studies at the Moscow Conservatory. There he studied piano under the famous concert pianist Konstantin Igumnov, who guided Babajanian through the wisdom of the 'Well Tempered Clavier' by Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as the piano works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ludwig van Beethoven and Frédéric Chopin. He also studied composition under the notable ethnomusicologist 'Heinrich Litinsky' at the House of Armenian Culture in Moscow. Babajanian graduated as a concert pianist and as composer in 1948. He was a professor at the Yerevan Conservatory from 1950-1956. While in Armenia Babajanian composed his most celebrated concert works such as the 'Heroic Ballade' for piano and orchestra (1950), the 'Armenian Rhapsody' for two pianos (1950), and the acclaimed 'Piano Trio' (1952).
Babajanian became famous with his title song for the film 'Song of the First Love' (1958). It became a popular radio hit and a best-selling record in the former Soviet Union. At that time the cultural "Thaw" was initiated by Nikita Khrushchev and that allowed some degree of artistic freedom of expression. Babajanian wrote many popular songs in collaboration with the leading poets such as Yevgeniy Yevtushenko, Robert Rozhdestvensky, Andrei Voznesensky, Bella Akhmadulina and others. In partnership with the popular singer Muslim Magomayev Babajanian produced many successful recordings. He also composed a large-scale 'Cello Concerto' (1959) dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich, and important music for piano, especially his innovative 'Six Pictures for Piano' (1965).
Arno Babajanian created a successful cross-cultural style of his own. His original style absorbed a variety of influences including jazz, rock'n roll, classical music, and the traditional Armenian folk-music. Babajanian's original style is immediately recognizable by everyone who once heard his classical compositions and popular hits. He dedicated himself to teaching and concertizing instead of becoming a prolific composer. He died on November 11, 1983, in Moscow.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lev Saakov was born on 30 November 1909 in Alexandropol, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire [now Gyumri, Armenia]. He was a director and writer, known for Tri vremeni goda (1966), Vesna na Odere (1968) and Reportazh s linii ognya (1985). He died on 9 March 1988 in Moscow, USSR.- Silva Kaputikyan was born on 19 January 1929 in Erivan, Transcaucasian SFSR, USSR [now Yerevan, Armenia]. She died on 25 August 2006 in Yerevan, Armenia.
- Director
- Actor
Rza Takhmasib was born on 20 April 1894 in Nakhichevan, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire [now Nakhchivan, Nakhchivan AR, Azerbaijan]. He was a director and actor, known for Arshin Takes a Wife (1945), Onu Bagislamaq Olarmi? (1959) and Sabuhi (1941). He died on 14 February 1980.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Levon Isahakyan was born on 15 April 1908 in Alexandropol, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire [now Gyumri, Armenia]. He was a director and actor, known for Native Land (1945), Khndutyan yerkir (1940) and Tchanaparh depi krkes (1963). He died on 3 March 2010.- Verjaluys Mirijanyan was born on 22 December 1916 in Igdir, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire [now Turkey]. She was an actress, known for The Men (1973), Odnoselchane (1974) and Hin oreri yerge (1982). She died on 3 February 1992 in Yerevan, Armenia.
- Director
- Writer
Dmitri Kesayants was born on 18 June 1931 in Erivan, Transcaucasian SFSR, USSR [now Yerevan, Armenia]. He is a director and writer, known for Zinvorn u pighe (1978), Avtomeqenan taniqi vra (1981) and Catastrophe (1993).- Director
- Production Designer
- Writer
Ruben Muradyan was born on 20 March 1934 in Erivan, Transcaucasian SFSR, USSR [now Yerevan, Armenia]. He is a director and production designer, known for Doroga na kray zhizni (1995), Odnoselchane (1974) and Lyubov nemolodogo cheloveka (1990).- Director
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Amasi Martirosyan was born on 18 April 1897 in Erivan, Russian Empire [now Yerevan, Armenia]. He was a director and actor, known for Gikor (1934), Vsegda gotov (1930) and Kaj Nazar (1940). He died on 21 December 1971 in Yerevan, USSR [now Armenia].- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gegham Harutyunyan was born on 28 December 1905 in Alexandropol, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire [now Gyumri, Armenia]. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Urvakannere heranum en lernerits (1955), Tchanaparh depi krkes (1963) and Msyo Zhake yev urishner (1966). He died on 19 October 1988 in Yerevan, Armenian SSR, USSR [now Armenia].- Cinematographer
- Actor
Artashes Jalalyan was born on 15 June 1913 in Erivan, Russian Empire [now Yerevan, Armenia]. He was a cinematographer and actor, known for Paytyun kesgisherits heto (1969), Artakarg handznararutyun (1966) and O moyom druge (1959). He died on 5 March 1985 in Yerevan, Armenian SSR, USSR [now Armenia].- Director
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Huseyn Seyidzadeh was born on 10 October 1910 in Erivan, Russian Empire. He was a director and actor, known for O Olmasin, Bu Olsun (1956), Qaynana (1978) and Däli Kür (1969). He died on 2 June 1979 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, USSR.- Kazim Ziya was born on 21 March 1896 in Ordubad, Nakhichevan uyezd, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire [now Nakhchivan AR, Azerbaijan]. He was an actor, known for Qiz qalasi (1924), Odna semya (1943) and Sabuhi (1941). He died on 20 November 1956 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, USSR [now Azerbaijan].
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Garri Musheghyan was born on 19 May 1910 in Erivan, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire [now Yerevan, Armenia]. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Lernayin arshav (1939), Hastseatiroj voronumnere (1955) and Kochvatz en aprelu (1961). He died in 1986.- Has performed regularly in different theatrical groups in Yerevan and Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia). In 1916 was invited to play in Armenian Drama Union in Tbilisi. Has performed in other troupes as well. Has been worked in Armenia since 1920. At first she led a National theatrical troupe in Dilijan, since 1921 was a leading actress in the Sundukyan Drama Theatre of Yerevan. Has performed many classical roles in theatre and cinema.
- Vruyr Panoyan was born on 16 September 1907 in Karaklisa, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire [now Vanadzor, Armenia]. He was an actor, known for Znak Vechnosti (1978), Sour Grapes (1974) and Life Triumphs (1977). He died on 27 May 1997 in Artashat, Armenia.
- Actor
- Director
- Cinematographer
He graduated Yerevan Teaching Seminary in 1917. Before joining the Armenian Theatre of Tiflis (Tbilisi) in 1923 he performed in theatrical troupes Zarifyan-Abelyan, Armenyan, Kharazyan. From 1924 to his death he was one of the leading actors of Sundukyan Drama Theatre in Yerevan. His most famous role in cinema was Grigor-agha from Zhayre (1975).