The artistic biography of the genius, most beloved, most popular Mher Mkrtchyan is shrouded in legend, but the dominant pattern in the press is the pattern, the emphasis on his unhappy character.

There was a fear that on July 4, on the 90th anniversary, everyone would write “that happy and sad man,” literally repeating the tormented title of a biographical TV movie from decades ago, and among the best films and passages will only show the scene of him eating black paper, they will not touch upon Sundukyan’s forty-year biography, etc. And that’s exactly what happened.

It was surprising news that the artist from Gyumri, who died 27 years ago, was not an honorary citizen of Gyumri. Let’s not remember or let’s do remember who won the title only to be deprived of those titles by the decision of the Council.

The most surprised was Gyumri Mayor Samvel Balasanyan, “He’s worth it, it’s powerful … To tell the truth, everything is amazing for me, let’s say, surprisingly, Mher Mkrtchyan, who is still dear to us and very dear to all of us, was not yet an honorary citizen.”

The press mainly broadcast a video made in Yerevan by the Dom Moskvy Center, in which Russian artists Alla Surikova and Elena Drapeko recount memories of the “exoticism” of Mher’s acting in Soviet films “Singles are given dormitories” and “Vanity of vanities.”

The artist himself explained the phenomenon of being loved. “I know people love me. I think it’s because I love them all so much. Each and every one individually.”

The words “one cannot speak on behalf of the nation” are evidence of the artist’s modest and profound nature.

Any memoirs and brochures about the beloved actor are quickly exhausted. However, there are no serious professional books on Mher Mkrtchyan’s complete artistic description, unfortunately, this gap and debt have an explanation.

These days, Zaven Boyajyan’s brief confession was a new and fresh word about Mher Mkrtchyan in our press. “Even the most accurate formulas seem so miserable to travel to that evasive-inexplicable departure that you spread your wings powerlessly. Is it worthwhile to search for the mechanics of miracles with impunity, trying to break through the inexplicable shell? Mher Mkrtchyan was the last to be surprised by the unspeakable great artists and went like Sirano de Bergerac, taking his secret with him.”

Professional thought owes much to Mher Mkrtchyan, for comparison, that the artistic biographies of his contemporaries Khoren Abrahamyan and Sos Sargsyan are more complete.

In the case of Mher Mkrtchyan, his biography still needs to be cleared of additional misfortune, the forerunner of which was false information about Fruz on a well-known Russian television program, claiming that Mher’s daughter Nune was killed in a car accident in Argentina during her father’s lifetime.

It was not difficult to find out the truth, as Nune has a husband (Ruben Terteryan recently died) and a daughter. It has long been established that Nune Mkrtchyan died five years after her father’s death in 1998, due to complications from an operation. However, in 2020, the Armenian press is still circulating the uninformed thesis of the Russian air.

The same fake story was reproduced by other websites.

The article titled “The Most Tragic Comedian” promises to reveal who Frunzik was and remains for all Armenians, quoting Khoren Abrahamyan’s thought: On the other hand, there was always a sense of tragedy in him … ” However, the title leaves its mark.

It’s amazing, and for some reason, they forget to write that Mher Mkrtchyan has an heir, Irina Terteryan, who lives in Argentina. The granddaughter, who returned to Armenia for the first time years ago, provided the Gyumri Museum with the memories of her genius grandfather, which were written by her mother and have not yet been published.

Gayane Mkrtchyan

The views expressed in the column are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of Media.am.