Kardashian Family

The Kardashian family story began a long time ago when an Armenian man named Robert Kardashian began dating an American woman Kris. They married in 1978. Robert had four children with his wife Kris; Kourtney, Kimberly, Khloé, and Robert. 

Robert was an attorney, businessman and the founder of Movie Tunes which was a music and marketing company. Kardashian gained national recognition as O. J. Simpson’s friend and defense attorney during Simpson’s trial. The couple divorced in 1991. Two years later, after divorce, Kris remarried to gold medal Olympian Bruce Jenner. She had two daughters with Bruce: Kendall and Kylie.

Kourtney Kardashian

Kourtney Kardashian was born on April 18, 1979, LA, California. In 2007, Kourtney is a family member, a reality star that took part in television series ”Keeping up with the Kardashians”.  The reality star graduated from Mary Mount High School in 1998. Kourtney received her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Arizona.

Kourtney & Scott Disick

It was in 2007 when Kourtney and her family began appearing on Keeping up with the Kardashians. However, Kourtney was not new in this field. Before this series, she had already starred in the E! Network in a series called The Simple Life. In this series, she starred with her childhood friend Paris Hilton. She also was in the cast of the failed reality show Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive.

Kourtney had a long-term relationship with Scott Disick. They started dating in 2006. During the filming, the couple split temporarily. Later they reunited and Kourtney announced him about her pregnancy.

Kourtney and Scott welcomed their first child, a son Mason on December 14, 2009. Kourtney gave birth to a girl named Penelope July 8, 2011. Later in June 2014, she gave birth to their third child, son Reign Aston.

According to E! News, on Fourth of July in 2015, the couple reportedly broke up.

The breakup came after tabloids reports that her husband was partying in Monte Carlo with other women among which was Scot’s ex-girlfriend.

Besides being a mother and reality show star, Kourtney is a successful entrepreneur.

Besides running run a chain of clothing stores called Dash, Kourtney also co-owns a children’s boutique, with her mother. Kourtney told that work helped her cope with the loss of her father.

Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian was born on October 21, 1980, in Beverly Hills, California. She is a model, reality television star, and socialite. Kim is one of the four children born to the Armenian attorney and businessman Robert Kardashian and his first wife Kris.

Kim became famous when a scandalous video with rapper Ray J. was put online. Nowadays Kardashian’s mother, Kris, manages her daughter’s career. She is also a businesswoman and engaged in management deals with her other famous children.

According to Kardashian family sisters, Sunday church was a regular part of their family life. Thus when they reached the age of 18 they continued to live together and didn’t leave the house. While attending high school, Kim Kardashian worked for her father’s company. After his father’s death, the corporation was given to her and her siblings. Soon they have sold it.

Robert & Daughters

Kim stepped into the business world herself. She formed Kimsaprincess Productions, LLC. It followed by the release of three successful workout videos starring by Kim.

In 2006, Kardashian stepped into business with her sisters Kourtney and Khloé. As mentioned above, three sisters opened the boutique shop D-A-S-H. The name of the shop derived from the family’s last name. The boutique was located in Calabasas, California. A showcase of the shop included some of the sisters’ favorite American designers. They enlarged their business and opened shops in Miami and Southampton in 2014.

Reality TV Star: ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’

Kardashian started making her way into the TV at the same time when her video was uploaded to media. The reality showed personal and professional lives of the Kardashian family; Kim, her sisters Kourtney and Khloé; brother Robert Jr.; mother Kris; stepfather Bruce (now Caitlyn); and the two young daughters of Kris and Bruce, Kendall and Kylie. The executive producer of the reality show was American Idol host Ryan Seacrest.

In one the episode of the first season, Kim discusses with her family an offer from Playboy. She got a suggestion to appear nude in the magazine. Soon she agreed to do that. The photo published in the December 2007 Playboy Magazine.

Her decision shows the fact how much she is confident about her own body. A big part of her brand includes her curves. She told Playboy that she did not like it. In the past, she prayed to stop developing before sleeping. Nowadays Kim thinks differently she doesn’t want to be a typical skinny model. She is proud of her body.

Kim

Since then her celebrity status has only grown. Soon Kim became the most Googled celebrity in 2008 and ended Britney Spears’s four-year run. The reality star appeared in many magazines. In 2008 she becomes the face of Bongo Jeans. In March 2009, she helped launch a shoe shopping service named ShoeDazzle. The service works with the Hollywood’s most adored stylists.

Later Kim launched her own perfume line with Kourtney and Khloe, Kardashian. The fashion collection named Sears-branded tanning products, and more. By millions of followers on social media, Kim receives $20,000 per post for promoting products for various brands.

Personal Life

1^st & 2^nd Marriage

As a reality show star, personal life of Kim has been the subject matter of media interest. She was 20 when she married music producer Damon Thomas in 2000. Their marriage ended after four years. When she was divorce Kardashian had famous boyfriends, including singer Nick Lachey and Reggie Bush.

In 2010, Kardashian had a relationship with pro basketball player Kris Humphries. The pair married during a televised ceremony in front of more than 400 guests in 2011. The pair lived together several weeks, after 72 days of marriage they get divorced. Later Kris told that marriage was a fraud. In April 2013, Kim and Kris had settled their divorce.

Kim Kardashian & Kanye West

Kim & Kanye

Kardashian started a relationship with famous rapper Kanye West in 2012. In December 2012, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child together. They daughter North (Nori) was born on June 15, 2013, in LA.

Kim, North, Saint

In 2013, on Kardashian 33rd birthday, Kim and West got engaged. West proposed to her at the AT&T baseball stadium in San Francisco.

The couple held the ceremony on May 24, 2014, in Florence, Italy. Her stepfather, Bruce Jenner, walked her down while famous vocalist Andrea Bocelli sang “Con te Partiro.”

In the 10th season of her reality series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kim told about her desire to get pregnant again. She had issues with fertility.

Soon in May 2015, she told in a teaser of the show that she was pregnant with the second child. Kim and Kanye welcomed their son on December 5, 2015. They named him Saint.

Kim, Kanye, and kids

Օn January 15, 2018, Kim and Kanye welcomed their third child, a daughter born to their surrogate. In the post titled “She’s Here!”— Kim wrote:

“We are incredibly grateful to our surrogate who made our dreams come true with the greatest gift one could give and to our wonderful doctors and nurses for their special care.”

Kim and Kanye named their daughter Chicago. Kim also told the public that it was difficult for herself because of the fact that she carried her two babies and not her third child.

Paris Robbery

In 2016 Kim went to France for attending Paris Fashion Week. On October 3 she was the victim of an armed robbery; a group of robbers broke into the Hotel de Pourtales, a luxury apartment building where Kardashian was staying. The robbers bound her wrists and ankles and taped her mouth. Thieves stole a 20-carat diamond ring and a jewelry box costing $5.6 million. Kardashian was not physically harmed but was traumatized. For some time she avoided public appearances and took time to recover.

Khloé Kardashian

Khloé Kardashian

Career & Marriage

Khloé was born on June 27, 1984, in LA, California. She has developed a reputation due to reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

In addition to clothing stores called D-A-S-H, Khloé also designs swimwear and jewelry and irrespective of her family she designs clothing for QVC and Sears and runs PerfectSkin and QuickTrim product lines.

Khloé married to NBA Star Lamar Odom in 2009. The couple had only been dating for a month. Their wedding was shown on Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Khloé Kardashian & Lamar Odom

They started a reality series named ”Khloé and Lamar” and their marriage grew the ratings of the reality show. In 2011, Khloé told that they would stop the reality series because of the Lamar disapproval.

Odom had drug abuse problem and on August 30, 2013, he was arrested, on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Under the persuasion of Khloé Odom checked into rehab, but he left the place after 24 hours or so. During their divorce proceedings, she dated French Montana and basketball professional James Harden.T

hey had yet to finalize their divorce when Odom was found unconscious in Nevada in October 2015. Though long separation, Kardashian rushed to the hospital and started recovering process.

This couple officially divorced in October 2016.

O.J. Simpson & Khloé Kardashian: Truth or Lie

O.J. Simpson & Khloé Kardashian

In 2012, Simon Cowell invited Khloé to host The X Factor. Around this time, she was trying to prove that she was indeed Robert Kardashian’s biological child. People started rumoring that Khloé’s physical appearance contrasts that of her sisters. They say that she was the product of an extramarital affair and considered her as a daughter of O. J. Simpson, National Football League running back, broadcaster and actor. O. J. Simpson was Robert’s close friend. He murdered his wife and was sent to prison. Finally, Khloé made a test reveal the truth and put the rumor to rest.

In the fall of 2014, she appeared in a series with older sister Kourtney, called Kourtney & Khloé Take the Hamptons. Later she started a new TV series by herself called Cocktails with Khloé, but it only had one season.

Other Kardashian Family members

Robert Arthur Kardashian

Rob & Blac Chyna

Robert Arthur Kardashian was born March 17, 1987. He is known for appearing on TV Series. Rob also took part in the thirteenth season of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. He was in the second place. Rob was one of the final judges of Miss USA 2012. In 2012 he launched his sock line titled Arthur George. Later he began dating with model Blac Chyna and they had a daughter but soon they split up.

Kendall and Kylie Jenner

Kendall and Kylie Jenner are the daughters of Kris and Bruce Jenner. Besides to Kardashian sisters, they also have three older half-brothers through their father. They also followed in the footsteps of their sisters Kim, Khloé and Kourtney Kardashian.

Bruce Jenner/Caitlyn Jenner

Formerly known as Bruce Jenner, Caitlyn was an Olympic gold medal-winning athlete. Jenner won the 1976 Olympics decathlon event at the Montreal Olympic Games and became famous. In 2015 Jenner revealed being a trans woman. Jenner publicly announced her name change from Bruce to Caitlyn.

Article Kardashian Family is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/sirushomusic

Sirusho’s Jewelry Brand- https://pregomesh.com/

Siranush Harutunyan, also known as Sirusho in the professional field, is an outstanding Armenian pop singer. Her musical style is a mixture of Armenian folk features and modern world music. She has reached international recognition and now represents Armenia to the world with her unique voice.

SIRUSHO’S BIOGRAPHY

Sirusho was born on January 7, 1987, in Yerevan, Armenia. She grew up in a family of talented artists. Sirusho’s father, Hrachya Harutyunyan is an actor and director.  Her mother, Syuzan Margaryan is a famous Armenian singer who was at the peak of her fame in the 1990s.

Sirusho’s career started in her early childhood. She began singing when she was only 10 months old. At at the age of 2, she could already sing full songs. “Lusabats,” an old Armenian folk song written by Komitas, is one of the songs which Sirusho used to perform in her childhood. At the age of 7, she already started writing her own songs both in Armenian and in English. She had her first concert when she was only eight years old. A year later she took part in the Contest of Young Talents and won her first award for her own composition. At the age of 13, Sirusho made another significant step towards her career and released her first studio album.

Once, during her interview, Sirusho said, “I have never been one of those children who dreamed of becoming a singer. I was a little kid and people would ask me to sing at events. Every time after I sang, I would see the amazed looks on their faces, and I couldn’t figure out the reason. I mean, I thought I wasn’t doing a hard thing, I was just singing the way I felt the music.”

SHERAM and HIMA

Sirusho’s next big step in the music industry was folk music. She was working on folk songs by Gusan Sheram and later on published an album titled Sheram. “Shorora” the lead single from the album became a national heat as well as the album itself. Receiving the Best Female Artist of the Year award, Sirusho became one of the youngest performers to be awarded.

In her acceptance speech she mentioned, “I have worked and toured a lot this year, and even in a few hours after this event, I’ll be flying to the U.S. for concerts, and I want to thank you all for giving me wings for all the future “flights” of my life.”

Her next single was “Heranum em” that she wrote herself. It became one of her biggest and the most successful hits.

In 2006 both the Armenian music industry lost one of its best artists, Varduhi Vardanyan. It was also a big loss for Sirusho since they were very close friends. After Varduhi’s death, Sirusho composed her song titled “Mez Vochinch Chi Bazhani” (“Nothing Will Part Us”) and dedicated it to her. As Sirusho’s other songs, this one also became very popular and received a high ranking.

In 2007 Sirusho included the song “Nothing Will Part Us” in her new album titled “Hima” which also included a great single with Sofi Mkheyan. This time Sirusho mixed all her preferences in one album. R&B with duduk, zourna, dhol and other folk instruments made the album breathtaking and provided it with Armenian spirit.

In 2008 Sirusho once more received an award of The Best Female Artist of the Year at the Armenian Music Awards.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2008

On April 1, 2009, Sirusho released her first song in Greek. It was called “Erotas, Ksafnikos”  (Sudden Love). She performed the song on the stage of Tashir Armenian Awards Ceremony in 2009.

SIRUSHO’S PERSONAL LIFE

Some major changes occurred in Sirusho’s personal life in 2009. She married Levon Kocharyan who is the son of the former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan.

PREGOMESH

Sirusho was inspired with one of Komitas’s best songs “Lorva Gutanerg” and decided to turn it into a new single of her own naming it “PreGomesh”. Moreover, the song was highly appreciated among Armenians as it included the traditional folk features. However, she composed it in a modern way.

PREGOMESH JEWELRY

PreGomesh is also the name of Sirusho’s handmade silver jewelry brand. The brand creates an old-fashioned and high-quality jewelry both for men and women. It includes belts, bracelets, earrings, diadems, necklaces, and rings. Armenian old patterns included in the designs make Sirusho’s jewelry unique and exclusive.

You can find her jewelry brand in Arev Souvenirs in Armenia, Dalma Garden Mall and Vostan by Tsirani.

Till today Sirusho is considered Armenia’s “national treasure.” She Continues her successful career and represents the Armenian rich culture with all its unique aspects.

Recently, she released a new song named “Huh-hah” which entirely represents Armenian culture and passes the strong spirit of Armenian nation to the audience.

Another hit released by Sirusho is the single “Vuy Aman.” She collaborated with Sebu, an Armenian-American singer, and created an amazing dual-language love song.

Article Sirusho is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

HENRIKH MKHITARYAN’S CHILDHOOD

Born on January 21, 1989, in Yerevan, Mkhitaryan spent his childhood years in Southeastern France. His father, Hamlet Mkhitaryan, was a respected professional footballer in the homeland. He was one of the most famous attackers of “Ararat” football club in Yerevan in the 1980s.

Hamlet Mkhitaryan and young Henrikh

After Henrikh’s birth, he moved to France with his family to play in the team “ASOA Valence.” Henrikh Mkhitaryan spent his early childhood in Valence. He wanted to become a footballer, so he began to follow his father’s example. During his childhood, he always watched his father’s matches and wanted to see how he was training.

His mother, Marina, tells that when Hamlet was on his way to training, the little Henrikh always wanted to go with him. When Hamlet did not take him with him, Henrikh started crying. So, in the end, they went together.

Unfortunately, at the age of 33, Hamlet Mkhitaryan passed away because of a brain tumor. The Mkhitarian family returned to Yerevan in 1995.

“You can’t imagine how much I would like him to see me play. If my father was beside me, many things would have been easier, not even talking about professional advice. But he left us very early. Consciously, I did not take any skills from him because when he died, I was only eight years old. But all the people who have seen my father say that on the playground we run and kick the ball same way. Hence, many things that I own now, I have inherited from my father.”

— Henrikh Mkhitaryan

After returning to Yerevan, Henrikh’s grandmother, for the first time ever, took him to a football school.

By that time, Henrikh already knew what career he was dreaming about. “I always wanted to become a footballer. I’m thankful to my parents because they helped me make my dream come true.”

In 1995, Mkhitaryan joined “FC Pyunik” in Yerevan, becoming one of the most talented footballers in Armenia.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, second from left

He graduated from the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture. He also studied economics at the Yerevan branch of the St. Petersburg Institute.

In 2003, Mkhitaryan at the age of 14 had trials with São Paulo in Brazil. After a year he returned to Pyunik.

Currently, Mkhitaryan’s mother, Marina Tashchyan, is the head of the department of national teams. His older sister, Monica Mkhitaryan, works at the UEFA headquarters.

Interesting fact: Mkhitaryan considers Zinedine Zidane his football idol.

THE RISE OF THE TALENTED FOOTBALLER

PYUNIK

In 1995, Mkhitaryan became a member of the youth team of FC Pyunik. He also received his first salary at the age of fifteen. Later, he moved to Pyunik’s adult team as a professional footballer. His debut was in 2006 at the age of 17.

Last time he played for the team in the 2009 season. He scored 11 goals in 10 league games during the season. In the Pyunik professional team, during four seasons, they won the Armenian Premier League (2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009).

In 2007 and 2009, the team won the Super Cup of Armenia twice. Once they won the Cup of Armenia in 2009. In total, Mkhitaryan took part in 70 games of the team and scored 30 goals. In 89 games with the national team, he made 35 goals.

The head coach of Pyunik Vardan Minasyan said that he would like to see his best player play in stronger teams. Minasyan also affirmed that the young Henrikh had gone through a very good path to becoming a legend. Minasyan said about Henrikh: “He can win games on his own. He catches the right moment and kicks the ball with pleasure.”

After three years in Pyunik’s professional team, he left Armenia and moved to Ukraine’s Premier League, Donetsk’s “Metalurg”.

METALURG DONETSK

Mkhitaryan started playing in Donetsk Metalurg Club. In the Europa League, he scored one goal on July 16, 2009. The team defeated the Belarus Primera League side FC Partizan Minsk with 3-0.

In total, during the first season, he scored 14 goals and then became the youngest captain in the history of the team. He was 21 at that time.

In this season Henrikh scored his first in the 89th-minute penalty and won over Obolon Kyiv with 3-0 score. Mkhitaryan played his last game on August 30, 2010, defeating Dnipro with the score 2-1.

During the times in Metalurg, Henrikh had 37 league appearances and scored 12 goals. Totally, he played 46 games in the team and scored 17 goals.

On August 30, Mkhitaryan signed a $ 7.5 million deal with Shakhtar Donetsk, the dominant champion in the Primera League.

SHAKHTAR DONETSK

2010-2011

His debut in Shakhtar Donetsk took place on September 10, 2010, with Obolon Kiev. Eduardo replaced him in the 62nd minute. After all, the Shakhtar won the match with a 1-0 score. This, however, was an away league.

Mkhitaryan’s home debut was much more successful. On September 19, Shakhtar managed to defeat Tavriya Simferopol by the score of 4-1. He made his first goal as a Shakhtar player in that match.

His first season with Shakhtar was very successful for the team since they won the treble (Premier League, Ukrainian Cup, and the Super Cup).

2011-2012

During this season Shakhtar won the Premier League and the Ukrainian Cup. In an online poll on the official website of Shakhtar Donetsk, Mkhitaryan with 38% of total votes was chosen as the best player of Shakhtar in 2011–2012 Premier League season.

In 37 matches, Henrikh scored 11 goals, including 10 goals in 26 league matches.

2012-2013

In the first match of this season, Mkhitaryan scored twice. After only six matches in the season, he made 10 goals. On September 19, 2012, during the Champions League Mkhitaryan scored twice and the game ended with a 2-0 score. That way Shakhtar won over Danish champions Nordsjælland. This was the first time he had ever scored a goal in the Champions League. He was named Man of the Match.

This season got over with 25 league goals overall, setting a Ukrainian Premier League record for most goals in a single season. Mkhitaryan was praised for his techniques and dedication.

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

2013-2014

In summer 2013, Henrikh Mkhitaryan moved from Shakhtar to Borussia Dortmund FC.

For his transfer, Borussia Dortmund paid €27.5 million to the Ukrainian club. Consequently, Henrikh became the most expensive achievement in the Dortmund club’s history.

The news of Henrikh’s departure was a major controversy at that time. Many media outlets wrote that Liverpool wanted to buy Mkhitaryan, but later it was reported that the deal would not take place because of a disagreement with a third party.

Moving from Shakhtar to Borussia was a very complex process since the Henrikh’s transfer rights belonged to three sides: Shakhtar, Pyunik and Oleg Mkrtchyan, the owner of Donetsk’s Metalurg.

Besides, Henrikh didn’t want to return to Shakhtar, while the Ukrainian club didn’t have any intentions to let go of his leader player. However, after long and mixed negotiations, Borussia managed to come up with a general agreement with Shakhtar.

Why Borussia Dortmund? 

There are many reasons. The first reason was to move to a European top club, which in its turn opened new perspectives and opportunities for Mkhitaryan. Borussia is also considered to be one of Bundesliga’s leading clubs.

Besides all these, Mkhitaryan would be able to show his best qualities, since Bundesliga improves its performance over other leagues every year.

His first Champions League goal for Dortmund came in a 2–1 away win against Arsenal.

This season for Mkhitaryan was not so good He scored only 9 goals and took the 30th place in the ranking of the 100 best players in five leading European championships with an average score of 7.58. Besides, he felt a great amount of pressure on him, as well as a great sense of responsibility.

The period was the worst for Borussia. Mkhitaryan was injured during the Hertha – Borussia match in the 15th round of the German championship and didn’t play for 6 weeks.

“In the last season, both I and the entire team did not play well. Everyone was doing their best, but as a result, we could not win. After the first half of the season, we were at the bottom of the tournament table, which was terrible for us. Then, in the second part of the season, we started playing better, the success was a bit on our side, and eventually, we managed to win the Europa League.”

— Henrikh Mkhitaryan

After that, Jürgen Klopp, the manager of Borussia Dortmund at that time, left Borussia and moved to “Liverpool”. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, along with Klopp and his team, won the Bundesliga vice-champion title. They became the finalists of the German Cup. In 2014, they won the German Super Cup.

In 2015, Thomas Tuchel signed a three-year contract with Borussia Dortmund. He started to train the team and the team, in a short time, showed his real face. They were in the top rankings showing their best game.

2014–2015

Mkhitaryan along with Dortmund won the first trophy, 2014 DFL-Supercup, and scored his first goal during the match with Bayern Munich. The second goal was against rivals Schalke 04 on 28 February (2015).

2015–2016

In this season, he took part in 31 games, scored 11 goals and 16 assists. In total, Mkhitaryan has taken part in 140 matches in Borussia Dortmund and has scored 41 goals.

He was voted the Bundesliga Best Player of the Season as well.

MANCHESTER UNITED

2016–2017

In 2015 summer, Mkhitaryan’s agent, Mino Raiola, announced that his client wanted to move to Manchester United.

“The opportunity to move to Manchester United is given once in a lifetime and Henrikh wants to take the chance. Several months ago, Borussia’s officials told him that he could leave that summer, but now they are afraid of their own fans and they suddenly began to say that Mkhitaryan should stay one more season before the end of the contract. This is a bad business, they give Hummels into the hands of their sworn enemy, but at the same time, they do not allow Mkhitaryan to leave. This is wrong.”

 

— Mia Raiola

On July 6, Manchester United officially announced the transfer of Borussia Dortmund’s former midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan. His transfer to the team cost 42 million euros. The 27-year-old player became the most expensive player in the post-Soviet.

Previously, this record belonged to the Ukrainian attacker Andrei Shevchenko. In 2006, Andrei moved from Italian “Milan” to “Chelsea” for 40 million euros.

In an interview with MUTV, Henrikh said that Manchester United was one of the greatest clubs in the world, so he could not reject the offer. His shirt number in Manchester United is 22.

Mkhitaryan’s debut in the club was in a pre-season match against Wigan Athletic on 16 July 2016. He spent 45 minutes playing. After the match with Wigan, Mkhitaryan and his club left for China, where Manchester held a training session.

On July 22, the Manchester United – Borussia Dortmund match took place in Shanghai, where Mkhitaryan scored his first goal for the club. The game ended with a 4 – 1 victory over Borussia.

Mkhitaryan became the first Armenian to play in the Premier League in a 3–1 away victory against Bournemouth.

Mkhitaryan scored his first Premier League goal in a 1–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. He, however, left the game in the 2nd half after getting an ankle injury. After two matches, after recovery, he made his third goal against Sunderland. The “scorpion kick” according to Henrikh, was the best goal he had ever scored.

2017–2018

In the first three matches of the 2017–18 Premier League season, Mkhitaryan assisted a record-equalling five goals.

(reference: Wikipedia)

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT HENRIKH MKHITARYAN

• Currently, Mkhitaryan is considered to be the best player in his country.
• He was named the best player in the country in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Also, the best player in the CIS in 2012. He is the first Armenian to win this title since the collapse of the USSR.
• He is the best bombardier of the Armenian team.
• Mkhitaryan is a polyglot. He knows 7 languages: Armenian, Russian, French, English, Portuguese, Italian and German.
• The previous fact makes Mkhitaryan the only football player in the world to know that many languages.
• Thomas Tuchel made him a better player. Mkhitaryan said, “I was doubting him. I was not sure that after a bad season he could make me a high-class player, but he did it.”  
• “300 Spartans” is his favorite movie.
• During his Shakhtar, days Mkhitaryan did not live in his own apartment. Instead, he lived at the club’s training ground. “Since I started to become somewhat famous, I preferred to concentrate on football. My team-mates, however, teased me sometimes. They gave me the nickname “President of the training ground.” ”
• His fans and teammates usually call him Micki or MagicTaryan. Russians refer to him as “The best Armenian is Henrikh Mkhitarian.”
• Mkhitaryan revealed in an interview that Jürgen Klopp gave him the nickname “Micki” when he moved to Borussia since his surname was too long to pronounce.
• His account on Instagram is named micki_taryan.
• His Armenian fans often call him “Heno”, short for “Henrikh”.
• Shakhtar’s Donbass Arena had a tradition of playing music every time the home players scored a goal. The track corresponded to the nationality of a scorer. Whenever Mkhitaryan scored a goal, “Sabre Dance” by Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian was played.
• If he didn’t become a football player he’d become a sprinter.
• He can play both on the right and on the left.

Quotes by Henrikh Mkhitaryan

“I think the most important thing is to play to help the team. To win the games is the main thing for me.”

♦◊♦

“Sometimes there are difficult times in the career of a footballer, but one should never give up. Sometimes you may have the thought that you need to stop. It is a natural human feeling, but it should not force you to stop what you have started. You need to find the strength to get rid of the bad thoughts.”

♦◊♦

“I don’t ever give up when there are obstacles in my way. I just continue going until I reach my career objectives.”

♦◊♦

“My secret is very simple. Throughout my life, I have been surrounded by amazing people who have always helped me, supported me during hard times, and they never let me become arrogant because of the success. That is why I can be grateful to God.”

♦◊♦

“I definitely did not join Manchester United for the salary. I went there for football reasons, for the history of the club, the league, the fans, and the coach because he is one of the best in the world.”

♦◊♦

“The year after my father died, I started my football trainings. He was the drive for me, he was my idol. ‘I have to run just like him. I have to shoot the ball just like him’. That’s what I said to myself.”

Article Henrikh Mkhitaryan is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

Biography

He was born in 1917, in Fresno, California. His parents were emigrants from Armenia. They came to the US in because of the Armenian Genocide. Kirk was the youngest in the family. They used to speak Armenian, so Kirk had to learn English in the streets or at school, where he went time to time.

He earned his first money when he was 9 years old by selling newspapers. 14 years-old Kirk left school without even completing the 8th grade. He started to make money by washing cars and doing small jobs meanwhile couldn’t keep thinking how to get over the poverty.

He began as a pilot

Kirk wanted to become a professional boxer but his life turned around when he met Ted O’Flaherty. Ted was the one who brought him to airplane’s world. Right after the first flight, Kirk decided to become a professional pilot.

He got his pilot license being 23 years old and flew missions for the Royal Air Force during the World War II era doing flights from Canada to Europe. His salary was 1000 USD for each flight. During this job, Kerkorian collected his first money for the business world.

His first big deal was the Cessna airplane, which he used for private flights. Then he founded his first company “Trans International Airlines”. After few years sold it for 104 million USD.

Business career

In 1965 Kerkorian became the owner of US Broadcasting industry Union. His most successful deal was buying a land area in Las Vegas. He rented different parts of this land and after 6 years, before selling it, he earned 4 million USD.

People call Kerkorian “the father of the Las Vegas mega resort”. The fame and glory of today’s Las Vegas come from the times he built Caesars Palace casino in 1962. After he founded the Las Vegas Hilton hotel, which was at that time the biggest one in the world. Kerkorian was also the first businessmen in Las Vegas opening a playground, Youth Hostel, for children, whose parents were in the casinos.

In 1973 Kirkorian became the owner of MGM studios, found MGM Grand Hotel and Casino (now Bally’s Las Vegas). Another worlds’ biggest casino of that times Kerkorian built in Las Vegas in 1993. This was the famous MGM Grand Las Vegas.

At some points, Kerkorian also owned iconic Vegas properties such as the Desert Inn, the Sands, and the Flamingo.

In the early 1970’s he bought the Western Airlines’ leading part. He began to interest himself with the automobile industry in 1995 with an attempt to take over the Chrysler Corporation. But the owners saw the action as hostile and he renounced the efforts.

Though Kerkorian was getting famous day by day, he always preferred to be in a shadow, he almost never gave interviews. He kept proving himself and the world that success comes from working.

Family

The first time Kerkorian was married in 1942 to Hilda Schmidt. They got divorced after 10 years. His next marriage lasted 30 years. Billionaire’s second wife was Jean Maree Hardy.

They met and fell in love while she was sent to check opportunities to choreograph a performance in Las Vegas. Kirk and Jean have 2 daughters, Tracy and Linda. Their names serve as a portmanteau for Kerkorian’s personal holding company, Tracinda Corporation, the “Lincy” Foundation.

Kerkorian’s short-lived third marriage (1999) was to professional tennis player Lisa Bonder, 48 years his junior. This lasted only a month.

In 20014, media reported about 96-year-old multi-billionaire’s marriage to Una Davis, a woman with whom he has previously a romantical relationship.

Davis and Kerkorian have reportedly lived together — within eight years before that. In a story in The Wall Street Journal in 2006, it was reported that the two shared a home in Beverly Hills, California. After meeting at tennis courts and describes Davis as his “much younger” girlfriend. The relationship dates to at least 2003. Then Kerkorian and Davis attended the “An Evening with Larry King and Friends” gala to benefit the Larry King Cardiac Foundation at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Kerkorian as a philanthropist

Kerkorian donated 1 billion USD to Armenia’s development through the “Lincy” Foundation, which began in 1989, right after Spartak’s earthquake.

This foundation built dozens of buildings, reconstructed many roads, hospitals, and schools. It saved hundreds of lives with delivering medicine and supporting medical aid. Though he never let to name any school or other institution in his honor. Therefore, almost everybody in Armenia knows him and the huge support he gave to Armenia. He has the title of National Hero of Armenia, the highest state award, in May 2004.

One of his wishes, a movie based on the history of the Armenian Genocide, came to life in April of 2017, this film is called “The Promise”.

Kerkorian has died in 2015, at the age of 98.

Article Kirk Kerkorian is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

Height – 1,79m

Serj Tankian’s Spouse – Angela Madatyan

Band – System of a Down (SOAD)

Official website – https://serjtankian.com/

Short Bio of Serj Tankian

Tankian was born on August 21, 1967. His parents are Armenians but lived in Beirut, Lebanon. Later they moved to the USA.

Serj Tankian is an American singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, poet, and political activist. Serj is famous as the lead vocalist and song writer of the metal band System of a Down. Four Armenian-American friends formed the band SOAD in 1994. 

During his musical career, the singer released five albums with his group members. Besides that, he has one album with Arto Tunçboyacıyan as well as the five solo albums.

Serj Tankian named his founded label Serjical Strike Records. Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group represented it under System of a Down.

Serj got awarded many times. In 2011, Armenian Prime Minister gave him a Medal for his contributions to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the advancement of music.

In metal history, Serj Tankian is one of the greatest vocalists. His songs are unusual and he has a wide vocal range of 4.2 octaves. This range can be compared with Freddie Mercury, Elvis Presley, Rob Halford, Anthony Kiedis, Hansi Kürsch and Steven Tyler. Hit Parader ranked him at #26 in the Top 100 Heavy Metal Vocalists.

Childhood

Tankian was born during the continuous Israeli-Lebanese Conflict in 1967. At the age of eight, when UN involved in Lebanon conflict, the government offered sanctuary to Serj’s family in the US.

Serj’s grandparents were survived from Armenian Genocide of 1915.

Thus in 1975, his family moved Beirut’s was a zone to Hollywood. Though it was difficult to live in a new city with minimal English, Serj’s parents enrolled him and his brother Sevag at the bilingual Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School.

In his school years, Serj Tankian was an “anti-conformist” than the majority of his schoolmates. Rose and Alex Pilibos School was a small, two-storied, private school.

It was a “Little Armenia” in East Hollywood so that it helped Armenian-Americans to feel as they are in their homeland. In this school, he met his future band members of “System of a Down”, Shavo Odadjian and Daron Malakian. 

Once Serj told about his school years;

“We were discussing the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre. This is an Armenian school, where we all know about (Armenian) history and the (Armenian) Genocide. To us, that’s a massacre – one and a half million people! When I pointed out that something like five people had died in the Boston Massacre, the whole class laughed.”

Early life

The singer was interested in poetry, Armenian and African music, as well as popular bands of the 1980s. At the same time, he was a young humanist.

After graduation from high school, Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School Serj entered into CSU (California State University), Northridge. So this was the actual place where Tankian first began to play instruments and write songs.

Serj Tankian earned his bachelor’s degree in Business and Marketing. He considered that field as the most financially logical route of that time. But throughout his college years, Serj’s interest in activism continued to grow.

After graduation from CSU, Tankian in short terms worked in different manufacturing, retail companies. Then in his early-to-mid-twenties, Serj Tankian created his own small business which he called Propriety Vertical Industry Modular Accounting Software. Serj and his grew created accounting software systems for the jewelry industry in California.

Serj Tankian was in relief as he was self-employed and independent. So he had a lot of free time so he could control it. Serj developed skills as a keyboardist and vocalist.

Career – 1994-2010

While still operating the business, Serj Tankian joined his first band. This band includes some of his Amerenian-American friends. Serj was the band’s keyboardist. The singer has a deep love for Eastern music.  Serj Tankian had grown up on and Armenian folk songs. 

In 1994 the band named themselves Forever Young. They shared rehearsal space with another local all-Armenian band called Soil. The group Soil consisted of young guitarist Daron Malakian, Dave Hagopian on bass, and a drummer Domingo Laranio.

Soon Serj’s team became friends with the members of Soil. Thus the two bands often spent time with each other in the same place where they did their practice. Members of Soil always noticed Serj’s talents. They loved him not only as a keyboardist but also as a good and exotic singer.

Soil asked Serj to join them. So Serj Tankian left his group Forever young and became lead Vocalist in Soil. Later general disagreements caused Laranio and Hakopyan left the band. They thought that the band was not going anywhere. This led the Soil to split up.

In 1995 Armenian-born friend Shavo Odadjian opened the Café Club Fais Do-Do in Los Angeles. Serj and Daron turned to Shavo. They asked him to become the band’s new bassist. Yet the role of drummer was still unfilled. So Tankian, Odadjian, and Malakian formed a new band which they called System of a Down (SOAD).

Their original drummer was Ontronik Khachaturian, but soon he broke his hand and the band’s members replaced by John Dolmayan. They put the name SOAD after a poem of Daron Malakian named ‘’Victims of a Down’’.

This band achieved commercial success due to five studio albums. Billboard 200 listed 3 of their albums at number one. The band has been nominated for four Grammy Awards fours times and in 2006 their song “B.Y.O.B.” won the Best Hard Rock Performance

In May 2006 the group announced they were going to take a break.

On 2010, the band came back and played shows in Europe during Festivals and US. Soon SOAD broke up.  Daron and the drummer made their own band called Scars on Broadway and Serj continued his career alone.

Personal Life & Legacy

In 2002 he co-founded the non-profit organization, ‘Axis of Justice’ with Tom Morello.

He married his long term girlfriend Angela Madatyan on June 9, 2012. They held a private ceremony in Simi Valley, California.

Serj’s wife is from Vanadzor, Armenia.

They had their first child on October 24, 2014, and named the boy Rumi. They live in Warkworth, New Zealand.

In fact, Serj Tankian has strong feelings on environmental, mother earth and animal protection. He always supported animal rights.

Serj also has become a vegetarian as he is against the industrial slaughterhouses. He signed the PETA petition against the butchery of chickens in the KFC abattoir in July 2009.

He and his band members starred in the movie called ‘Screamers’. The movie is based on the views of United States on genocide.

Many times Serj organized and participated in protests related to human rights, social justice, and genocides.

Serj Tankian is the author of the soundtrack for the Armenian Genocide themed movie called “The Promise”. The performer of this song is Serj’s friend, a famous musician and singer Chris Cornell who died on May 2017.

Religious Views

It is difficult to know what religion views Serj Tankian has. In fact, he only statements about his religion is this;

“My religion is the same as the trees out there. It’s the same inspiration. Whatever moves them moves me. The reason that I don’t give credence to modern religions is that they are only partially true because they were started from after civilization. Therefore they all start from a place that’s not already to me natural. So if you want to know what my religion is, it’s the same religion as the native American, same religion as the Aborigine, as the Maori in New-Zealand, as the Kahunas in Hawaii. I believe in beginnings.”

Major Works

Up to the present day, the self-titled debut album ‘System of a Down’ released in 2000 was one of the most successful albums of SAOD. The RIAA certified the album gold. The next album considered as platinum. Currently ‘1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die’ included their self-titled album in their list.

SOAD released its second album, named ‘Toxicity’ in 2001. The RIAA certified this album as multi-platinum. ‘Toxicity’ sold 12 million copies worldwide. On both major U.S. and Canadian charts this album is at the number 1 position.

The band released their last studio album in 2005. Thus the album ‘Hypnotize’ was at the number one position on the Billboard 200. SOAD was one of the few bands to release 2 great albums, “Mezmerize” and “Hypnotize” in a single year. In U.S, RIAA considered “Mezmerize” as ‘Platinum’.

Filmography

• My Little Prince (2012)
• The Last Inhabitant (2016)
• Furious (2017)

Discography

Solo

• Elect the Dead (2007)
• Imperfect Harmonies (2010)
• Harakiri (2012)
• Orca Symphony No. 1 (2013)

With Jazz-Iz-Christ

• Jazz-Iz-Christ (2013)

With System of a Down

• System of a Down (1998)
• Toxicity (2001)
• Steal This Album! (2002)
• Mezmerize (2005)
• Hypnotize (2005)

Personal Quotes of Serj Tankian

Awareness in our society has flipped all types of injustice on its head.

Pretending that we live doesn’t make us alive.

We first fought… in the name of religion, then Communism, and now in the name of drugs and terrorism. Our excuses for global domination always change.

People think our music’s very aggressive or angry or whatever, and it’s just the opposite, really… I like laughing. And I like being really calm before a show, and smiley.

I think every artist should follow their vision, their hearts is what they need to reveal, not something that society is looking out for.

I’d rather let the music speak for itself.

You listen to Bob Dylan and you can’t help but think of the 60s, it’s very relational and if artists are true artists and not just mere musicians they need to be truthful because the music doesn’t come from them it comes from the universe and it’s to be shared.

It’s probably a combination of personal and non-personal matters that have led us to where we are musical.

Sometimes a good love song can change the world and create positive energy more than any political song can.

The most important thing about music that I’ve learned after all this time is that to me, it’s a way of reaching the truth.

People get so attached to a position which they identify themselves with that they just spurt it out, but they can’t really give you a viable reason why they feel that way.

It’s been an honor to be an impartial ear and eye to the film. The best way to counter high-budget disinformation campaigns by the Turkish government is to move people with the truth via the arts. I’ve been doing it for years with music and wanted to help do it through film somehow (2017 about Genocide-themed movie The Promise).

Article Serj Tankian is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

Everyone knows and loves Charles Aznavour in Armenia. At the age of 92, he still writes music, sings and also tours.

Biography

Aznavour is lived his life to the fullest. There has been rises and falls, happiness and also the tragedy. All of this inspired him to tell his life, his emotions and also feelings through the music he created during his whole life.

His father was born in Georgia. He was a hard worker, but he was more gifted in music than in running a business. So is mother came from a family of Armenian tradesmen who was based in Turkey. She had a degree in literature but had to take temporary jobs as a seamstress. He grew up surrounded by so much love but with little means. His parents were always happy and positive.

His father opened a small Armenian restaurant in Paris. So every evening he would perform to audience of Central European exiles nostalgic for their homeland, while his wife attended to the guests. Charles and his elder sister, Aida, thus grew up in the magical atmosphere on the restaurant, which became a favorite haunt for musicians and actors from the local theaters. But in 1929 they abandon this restaurant.

So his parents ensured that Charles received music and dance lessons as a child. And also introduced him to the stage at a young age. So he started singing and performing in the nightclubs as a teenager. His first appearance was at the age of nine in the play Emil and the Detectives, based on 1929. After that, he worked as an extra in various films. And also he appeared in plays at the performing school for boys that he attended.

 In the early 1940’s, he met pianist Pierre Roche with whom he performed together.

They also began writing songs and also composing music and found some success in the late 1940’s. Firstly he would write the lyrics and then he would compose the melody, to which Roche would add the harmonies.

Aznavour showed his interest and talent in music since he was a child, but his career rise wasn’t until Edith Piaf discovered him in 1946. At first, he worked as an assistant to Piaf, later she helped him to launch his own career. So she recognized a great talent in Aznavour. And also she took the singer and pianist on a tour throughout France as her opening act.

He wrote several songs for her and so became her manager. From this collaboration grew a very strong friendship. She invited them to tour the USA between 1947 and 1948. Pierre and Charles settled down for some time in Quebec.

Their duet with Pierre worked well, so they recorded their first six records in Quebec. They had done over 40 weeks of concerts at the “Faisan Dore” at a rate of 11 shows a week and they slowly became local celebrities.

So he sang along the biggest stars of the century in many concerts. He sang with Edith Piaf, Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra, Andrea Bocelli, Bing Crosby, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Liza Minnelli, Elton John, Dalida, Serge Gainsbourg, Josh Groban, Petula Clark, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, Jose Carreras, Laura Pausini, Nana Mouskouri, Julio Iglesias and also other singers.

Liza And Charles

He said about his relationship with Liza Minnelli, Aznavour once said: “We’re a little bit more friends and a little bit less than lovers.”

Personal Life

Charles Aznavour has been married three times. Firstly he married to Micheline Rugel in 1946. But this marriage did not last long and ended in divorce. The second time he married to Evelyn Plessis in 1956. But this marriage also ended in divorce. So his third wife was Swedish-born Ulla Thorsell. In spite of that, it was his third wedding, the couple would hold a traditional religious wedding at the Armenian Church in Paris when they returned to France the following year. So he is the father of six children from three marriages: Seda, Charles, Patrick, Katia, Mischa and Nicolas.

Charles as a patriot

There is so much that Aznavour did for Armenia and Armenian people. For example, he helped people after the tragic Spitak earthquake in 1988. Right after the earthquake, Charles Aznavour wrote a song called “Pour toi Arménie” (translated as “For you, Armenia”). On this occasion, he gathered all the top singers in France and recorded the song. So the song hit the charts and stayed there for eighteen weeks. And also all the money was given to the charity for helping those, who suffered because of the earthquake.People of Gyumri were so grateful to Aznavour, that they placed his statue in the city center.

Aznavour’s statue in Gyumri

Songs by Charles Aznavour

She

So he wrote the song for British TV series, called “Seven Faces of Woman”. He released it in 1974. Later Aznavour recorded the song in French, Italian, German, Spanish. Should be said, this song is one of the most covered songs of all time. Elvis Priestly, Laura Pausini and also other artists performed this song.

La Boheme

So “La Bohème” is Aznavour’s signature song. It was recorded in 1965 and also topped N1 in charts, shortly after the release. Because Aznavour translated the song into English, German, Spanish and Italian. As many others of his songs, this one has also been coved by many famous and popular singers.

Hier Encore

“Hier Encore” in English means “Only Yesterday”.  He released the song in 1964. So he translated “Hier Encore”  into Japanese, Spanish, Italian, English languages. In spite of that, the most famous translated version of the song is the English one, it’s called “Yesterday when I was young”. Elton John, Julio Iglesias, Patricia Kaas and also other artists have performed this song.

Une Vie D’Amour

Aznavour wrote this song along with Georges Garvarentz. So it has been sung as a duet with Mireille Mathieu. He wrote this song for the movie “Tehran 43” in 1981. Young peoples and also adults love and sing this song. He also translated this song into Russian and Chinese.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiGdnx7TeLQ

Je me voyais déjà

“Je me voyais déjà” in English means “I could already see myself”. So this is the first song in the self-titled album, which he released in 1961. That is why it is the launch of his career.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycaYTG7xtSI

Awards

• Grand Prix Award for Best Italian Song- 1960;
• Edison Awards- 1963, 1971 and 1980;
• Golden Lion Honorary Award at the Venice Film Festival for the Italian version of the song Mourir d’aimer- 1971;
• Ambassador of Goodwill and Permanent Delegate of Armenia to UNESCO- 1995;
• Induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame- 1996;
• Officer of the Legion of Honor- 1997;
• French Victorie award for Male artist of the year- 1997;
• National Hero of Armenia- 2004;
• Honorary prize at 30th Cairo Film Festival- 2006;
• Citizenship of the Republic of Armenia- 2008;
• Honorary Officer of the Order of Canada- 2008;
• Grigor Lusavorich award of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic- 2009;
• Commander in the Belgian Order of the Crown- 2015;
• Honorary Hollywood Star plaque from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce– 2016.

Article Charles Aznavour is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

Childhood

Soghomon Soghomonyan was an Armenian musicologist, priest, composer and singer,  a. k. a Komitas. Soghomon came into the world on September 26, 1869, in Anatolia, Turkey.

His hometown was Koutina. His father Gevorg was a shoemaker but at the same time Gevorg composed songs and had a good and beautiful voice. The composer’s mother – Tagui was a carpet weaver and also had musical abilities.

In reality, Komitas didn’t have a joyful childhood. The boy became an orphan at the age of 11.

He was a weak, pale boy. Komitas had poor clothes and slept on the cold stones of the laundry room. He sang perfectly and for that reason, people call him “a little vagrant singer”.

Soghomon’s uncle adopted him. Soon Echmiadzin church took him in due to his beautiful voice and love towards Armenian Church music.

They selected him out of the other 20 orphans to study at the Seminary. As there were certain rules they didn’t let him speak Armenian and the boy spoke Turkish. Once he replied Catholicos Gevorg IV by saying “I don’t speak Armenian if you wish I will sing”. He sang an Armenian sharakan with his good voice but didn’t understand the words. No longer after that, he learned Armenian.

Education

Soon the church ordained Soghomon a monk. After graduating the seminary at the age of 25 they ordained him a priest and he took a new name “Komitas”.

In 1895 he left for Tiflis to study at the musical college and there he met the composer Makar Yekmalyan and changed his mind. Komitas started studying a course on harmony.

With the sponsorship of Armenian oil magnate Alexander Mantashyan, he went to Berlin and entered the private conservatory. Besides all of these, he also took private classes on singing and attended the lectures on General History and History of Music, Philosophy.

He gets an invitation from the International Music Association and upon the invitation, he had lectures devoted to the Armenian church and contemporary music in comparison with Turkish, Arabic and Kurdish music.

In 1899 he came back. In a short period, he radically changed music teaching methods, organized a small orchestra and improved performing the level of the choir. By visiting various regions of Armenia he wrote down thousands of Armenian, Kurdish, Persian and Turkish songs.

He studied Armenian folk and church melodies and worked on the opera “Anush”, which he started back in 1904. Soon a backward group of the church figures, gossip, and indifference of new leaders poisoned his life. They consider him a worldly man.

The conflict was so big that the priest sent a letter to the Catholicos where he begged him to release him and let him live quietly but his request remained unanswered.

Gousan Choir

Working Period

In 1910 he went to Constantinople. Komitas had many great ideas which were faced with the cold indifference of the local authorities. There he organized a choir of 300 men and called it “Gousan”. It was very popular. Armenians compose folk songs mainly by his concerto program.

He also acted as a soloist, conductor and wonderfully played flute and the piano. Many well-known musicians like Camille Sen-Sans, Claude Debussi, Vincent D’Andy, Gabriel Fore and much more fell in love with Komitas’ creative work.

In reality, Komitas could not find any contemporary thinking people who would help him fulfill his plans. The composer wrote “Patarag” and only men were in the chorus staff.

Final Years

In 1915, Armenian composer was arrested together with 235 outstanding Armenian writers, publicists, physicians, and lawyers. After the arrest, due to his friends, they deported him far in Anatolia where he became a witness of the brutal extermination of the nation’s bright minds.

Being an Armenian Genocide witness and seeing massive killings of Armenians he had experienced a deep ineradicable impression on his soul; he suffered from traumatic neurosis. In other words, Komitas remained in seclusion from the world, he was sad and broken.

Soon his health was deteriorated and in 2016 he was put in a psychiatric hospital. He moved to Paris in 1919 and died there in 1935. People transferred his ashes to Yerevan and buried him in the Pantheon. Now the Pantheon is called by his name. Unfortunately, Turks destroyed most of his works.

The landmarks named after Komitas and movies about him;

• The Yerevan State Musical Conservatory.

• The central square of Vagharshapat.

• Komitas Avenue, the main thoroughfare of Yerevan’s Arabkir District.

• The writers’ and poets’ pantheon.

• The Komitas Museum near to the Pantheon

• Komitas – 1989 – Director: Don Askarian

• Alter Ego – 2016 – Director: Vigen Chaldranyan

Yaşar Kurt’s striking resemblance to Komitas

In 2009 a famous Turk rock singer Yaşar Kurt came to Armenia for a concert.  Once he entered a shop in Armenia and saw a CD with a picture of Komitas. Yaşar was surprised as the person in the picture looked exactly like him. He thought that it was him and argued with the seller.  The workers of the shop told him that Komitas was a famous singer and composer.

Yaşar went back to Turkey asked his mother to tell him the truth about him. Soon it turned out that his ancestor was the survivor of the Armenian Genocide. And all his family and ancestors are also Armenians. Only now Yaşar understands why he wants to cry every time he hears Armenian songs.

Komitas Vardapet is a beginning without any limitations. It is important to realize that anything we do, anything we play connected with him as he established a new way of musical thinking. His musical art has a big value, it is the highest level of the Armenian school of composition.

Article Komitas is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.

― William Saroyan

William Saroyan Biography

This man with a non-Armenian name “William”  and an Armenian surname was born in 1908, August 31 in Fresno, California, in a poor family of Armenian immigrants from Bitlis, Turkey.

The American – Armenian William, at the age of three, together with his brother Henry and his sisters Zabel and Cozette spent several years at the Fred Finch Orphanage in Oakland right after their father’s (Armenak Saroyan) death.

After five years, the family reunited in Fresno. His mother, Tagoohi, started to work at a cannery. William Saroyan’s formidable maternal grandmother Lucy (also widowed), who had a great influence on him, joined the household.

Armenak Saroyan was an enduring source of motivation and encouragement for his son, even though William had quite blurry memories of him. Armenak was a writer as well.

His son, William, meant to succeed and continue the unfinished path of his father.

After his mother, Tagoohi showed him some writings of his father, it motivated him to become a writer too.

Many of Saroyan’s stories represent his childhood experiences among the Armenian-American fruit growers of the San Joaquin Valley or dealt with the rootlessness of the immigrant.

First edition (publ. Harcourt Brace) Illustrated by Don Freeman

The short story collection “My Name is Aram” (1940), an international bestseller, was about a young boy and the colorful characters of his immigrant family.

Saroyan left the school early. His school work was too slow. There was constant friction because of boredom and frequent reminders that he was a son of an immigrant.  He also did not have college in his plans.

When he was 12, he, by chance, read the Guy de Maupassant story “The Bell”. After that, his desire to become a writer started to get deeper. He became a frequent visitor to Fresno’s public library. He learned to touch-type at the Technical School as well.

Saroyan left school at 15 and continued his education on his own by reading, writing and supporting himself by taking various jobs, such as working as an office manager for the San Francisco Telegraph Company.

At the age of 18, Saroyan started to think that Fresno was too small for him. He wanted to leave and chase his destiny.

So, his first stop was Los Angeles, where the hopeless William joined the National Guard. However, it lasted only for two weeks.

A short story of his was accepted by The Overland Monthly (a western magazine which in its day had published the work of such famous writers as Jack London and Ambrose Bierce).

A year after being outside Fresno, Saroyan took a Greyhound Bus to New York. Unfortunately, he discovered on arrival that his suitcase was now in New Orleans by mistake. And the worst part is that all his money was there… After about six months, he returned to California. This time more mature, wiser and quite embarrassed, but meantime, he was glad to clear out the expectation that he would suddenly write something which would be successful enough to bring him instant fame.

An Armenian journal “Hairenik” published his work in 1933. William Saroyan, however, was getting tired of refusals in other journals and magazines. He was about to stop sending stories to the “idiot editors of insignificant magazines.”

In 1934 though, he sent to “Story”(a national magazine) “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze,” a story about a young writer who starves to death, with dignity.

The editors of the magazine were looking for a new, outstanding writing talent. They accepted Saroyan’s story in the end and paid fifteen dollars.

In After Thirty Years: The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (1964) he tells his readers that he informed the editors that during the whole January (1934) he would send them a new story every single day.

In the middle of the month, a telegram arrived from the editors of the magazine saying that his stories caught great interest and that he should keep sending.

This acceptance of him as a writer was a great success, and hence, made a huge impact on his life.

His stories soon started appearing in such magazines as “The American Mercury”, “Harper’s”, “Scribner’s”, ” The Yale Review” and “The Atlantic Monthly”.

In October 1934, Random Hous(the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world) published “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze” and “Other Stories”. The book, as a collection of short stories, was a best-seller.

Soon he planned to visit Europe together with the land of his descendants.

The impact of his first journey on his life, according to a lot of references to it in his later writings, was huge. During his trip, in Moscow, he met the famous Armenian poet Yeghishe Charentz.

Throughout his life, Saroyan visited Armenia four times, in 1935, 1960, 1976 and 1978, and even saw his play “My Heart’s in the Highlands” in Yerevan theatre after G. Sundukyan staged by Vardan Adjemyan. Arno Babadjanyan wrote the music.

Victor Ambartsumian and William Saroyan

More collections of short stories: “Inhale and Exhale”, “Three Times Three”, “Little Children”, “The Trouble with Tigers”, “Peace, It’s Wonderful”. He wrote them in a variety of styles and moods.

His most successful early collection was “My Name Is Aram” (1940). It is a book which represents the Armenians of his hometown in the days of his boyhood.

Career

William Saroyan’s career as a playwright began with his first play,  “My Heart’s in the Highlands” in 1939, produced by the Group Theatre.  His greatest theatrical success, “The Time of Your Life” quickly followed the play. In 1940, William Saroyan rejected the Pulitzer Prize for his play “The Time of Your Life” since it was “no more great or good” than anything else he had written.

A series of Broadway productions (Love’s Old Sweet Song, The Beautiful People, Across the Board on Tomorrow Morning, Talking to You, Hello Out There) followed The Time of Your Life. For a period in 1941, he established a Saroyan Theatre at the Belasco.

In 1941 he took time off from his theatre activities to write a film scenario in Hollywood, The Human Comedy. He sold the script to MGM. for sixty thousand dollars. Then he offered to buy it back for a larger sum when they refused his demand to produce and direct the film himself. A trade paper denounced the studio when it declined.

The novel-turned-movie starring Mickey Rooney was a hit and won the Academy Award for best picture and original story for the screenplay. But it was hard to Saroyan’s liking. He turned the script into a novel, which became his most successful book.

In October 1942, during the WWII, Saroyan joined the army although he was a pacifist.  His absence from Broadway during the war was damaging his career as a playwright. After the war, public interest in his works was decreasing due to changes in opinion and taste.

The Cave Dwellers was the one exception to his exile from New York. The play opened in 1957.

Though the decrease in interest in his works, William Saroyan remained a popular figure and continued to write.  He began to write in the genre of memoir, including A Bicycle Rider of Beverly Hills (1952) and Short Drive, Sweet Chariot (1966).  His last major book Obituaries (1979) received a National Book Award nomination.

In Paris, in desperation, he wrote “The Assyrian”. This long story is about a dying writer, who is on his way his homeland to which he feels drawn. The story became the basis of a new collection. 

Personal life

Early in the following year, he married Carol Marcus, a young socialite and a friend of Oona O’Neill. They had two children Aram and Lucy. After the birth of their son Aram, Saroyan had to go to England. After six years, however, William and Carol divorced. Then they remarried in 1951, but it was no success.  They divorced for the second and final time two years later. The marriage, especially in its final stages, had been a costly and a killing experience. He was head-over-heels in debt to the Tax Collector.

His two novels, “Rock Wagram” and “The Laughing Matter”,  hold the major theme of marriage breakdown. He also wrote a shorter fantasy work “Tracy’s Tiger”. None of these was commercially successful, but soon afterward he had a surprise worldwide hit with a pop song, ‘C’mon-a My House,’. The singer is Rosemary Clooney.

Saroyan most likely never really recovered from his unhappy marriage and the three wasted years in the army. In his fifties, after moving to Malibu, he regained his soul sufficiently.

In 1952 he published “The Bicycle Rider in Beverly Hills”. It was the first of his several book-length experiments in autobiography. A warm-hearted novel of the theatre (written for his daughter and serialized in the Saturday Evening Post), “Mama, I Love You”, a new collection of short stories “The Whole Voyald” and a book for his son  “Papa, You’re Crazy” followed the book.

He had another play on Broadway, The Cave Dwellers, in 1957, and there were a number of television productions and adaptations of his works.

Meantime, he was publishing short stories and articles in the usual wide variety of magazines and journals. During the six years at Malibu, he earned around a quarter of a million dollars. But these earning did nothing to improve his tax situation; the debt remained.

He had an invitation to write an autobiography. Believing he would finally pay his debts, he produced the autobiographical work, Here Comes, There Goes, You Know Who. But by his own admission, the book did poorly.

Amongst his other activities in the early sixties, he created Sam, the Highest Jumper of Them All with Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop in London, after admiring its production of Brendan Behan’s The Hostage. Two novels followed. Boys and Girls Together and One Day in the Afternoon of the World.

Then in 1964, thirty years after the publication of his first book, he repeated his early effort of writing a new story or piece each day for a whole month, keeping at the same time a daily journal in which he discussed his present life and work in relation to January 1934. He had it published alongside the original stories as After Thirty Years: The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze.

Meanwhile, his plays were highly successful in eastern Europe, especially in Czechoslovakia.

By 1967, he was at last able to declare in “Days of Life and Death and Escape to the Moon”:

‘I’m free… I’ve paid all debts, I’m earning a living.’

In the late sixties, he finally started to “filter”  the mass of the works he had written through the years which had appeared only in magazines or newspapers. The result was an entertaining collection of articles, essays, short stories, memoirs, poems and short plays, each with a specially written introduction.

Indulging his fondness for long titles to the full, he called the collection “I used to Believe I Had Forever, Now I’m Not So Sure”.

In his last book of the sixties, he used the autobiographical device of writing a series of ‘letters’ to various people, eminent and otherwise and most now dead, who had either influenced him or remained in his memory for some important reason. He called the book Letters from 74 rue Taitbout, or, Don’t Go But If You Must Say Hello to Everybody.

Next came Places Where I’ve Done Time (1972). In this one, he used the theme of places that were important in his life. Other works were Sons Come and Go, Mothers Hang in Forever (1976) and Chance Meetings (1978), which is about the sweet memories of some of the more obscure people he had met.

He had always produced a great deal of material that he never got around to publishing. A significant part of his output remained unprinted. His work was still very much in demand in Europe with stage and television productions of his plays in recent years in Czechoslovakia, Romania, Finland, Spain, Germany, and Poland. The Cave Dwellers continues to be a particular favorite.

His last published book was Obituaries (1979).  Latterly the critics were finding much to admire in his work. Obituaries were accorded a generous attention in The New York Times Book Review.

William Saroyan once said that to write was for him simply to stay alive in an interesting way. His career lasted nearly half a century. Through the good times and the bad, he remained a writer in the purest sense, writing almost invariably out of himself, in the manner of a poet, with an only surface commitment to the orthodox literary forms.

His experience with his father’s death at a young age, his time spent in the orphanage, and in later years, his formal schooling, created the “joyous sorrow” which characterizes Saroyan’s works.

He sought in his fictional work to dispense with the device of emotionality or spurious excitement. Nor the creation of strong, memorable characters interested him. Speaking of a novel sent to him by a publisher, he said it wasn’t bad, but it was about specific people in that peculiarly specific way that makes a novel meaningless.

Saroyan barely ever consulted doctors. He thought that the fight against illness and death are personal struggles with God (the Witness), Fate or Bad Luck.

When he visited Europe for the last time in 1980, however, doctors diagnosed him with cancer.

He in 1981 he was buried in Fresno.  However, according to his will, a part of his heart was buried in far-away Armenia, at the feet of Ararat, not far from Lake Van and town of Bitlis – the homeland of his parents.

Now a part of Willam Saroyan’s heart rests in peace among other notable Armenians in the Pantheon of Greats in Yerevan.

Five days before he died in May 1981, at the Veterans Hospital in Fresno, he telephoned a posthumous statement to the Associated Press:

‘Everybody has got to die, but I have always believed an exception would be made in my case. Now what?’

The New York Times described him as ‘an orphan hurt by a sense of rejection, craving love and bursting with talent.’ The Times in London felt that his reputation might come to rest on his later experiments with autobiography. The Time magazine (an old enemy) said that ‘the ease and charm of many of his stories will continue to inspire young writers. It is a legacy beyond criticism.’

Starting as a postman, William Saroyan became someone whose name is mentioned among such great American writers as Hemingway, Steinbeck, Faulkner, and Caldwell.

More than 30 years have passed since he left this earth, and there is no one to be able to fill his place in the literary world.

His own words describing himself:

“Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I’m from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are in English, the surroundings I write about are American, but the soul, which makes me write, is Armenian. This means I am an Armenian writer and deeply love the honor of being a part of the family of Armenian writers.” 

Article William Saroyan is the first on iArmenia: Armenian History, Holidays, Sights, Events.