He studied in Leninakan Art College and Theatre Studio, then finished
at the Acting Department of Yerevan Institute of Fine Arts and Theatre.
Since 1953 he has performed in the Sundukyan Drama Theatre of Yerevan.
He also directed many successful productions, best of them Maxim
Gorky's "The Lower Depths". His cinema career began in 1955. His famous
roles in
Aybolit-66 (1967),
Kidnapping, Caucasian Style (1967),
Mimino (1977) earned him the reputation of one of
the leading comedy actors in the Soviet Union. But that reputation
sometimes overshadowed his real talent and emotional deepness which he
put in such classics of Armenian cinema as
Yerankyuni (1967),_Menq enq, mer sarere (1970)_,
Hayrik (1973),
Life Triumphs (1977),
Hin oreri yerge (1982),
Tango of Our Childhood (1985). Certainly he was the most famous and
internationally recognized Armenian artist of the 2nd half of 20th
century.
Dykhanie(1989)
Tchanaparh depi Sasuntsi Davit(1988)as Vardan
Kak doma, kak dela?(1987)
Tango of Our Childhood(1985)as Ruben
Sohni Mahiwal(1984)as razboynik Barmandu
Sovetskoye kino(1965)as Self
Kak ukhodili kumiry(2005)as Self
Chtoby pomnili(1993)as Self
