Kurt Yaghijan Amahl and the Night Visitors 1965

Kurt "Frenchy" Yaghjian (or Yahjian; born February 9, 1951,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

) is an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actor and singer known for his appearance as

Annas Annas (also Ananus or Ananias;Goodman, Martin, "Rome & Jerusalem", Penguin Books, p.12 (2007) , ; grc-x-koine, Ἅννας, ; 23/22 BC – death date unknown, probably around AD 40) was appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the first High ...

in the 1973 film '' Jesus Christ Superstar''.

Biography

Kurt Yaghjian is the only son of Haig Yaghjian, a former assistant conductor of the

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...

, and was a member of a school choir that participated in the premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's ''The Death of the Bishop of Brindisi'' in May 1963. He is of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

n descent. Menotti was impressed with the expressiveness of Yaghjian's face and recommended him to

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

for the role of Amahl in '' Amahl and the Night Visitors'' in 1963, the first time that the production was videotaped, previous versions having been shown live. The videotaped version with Yaghjian was shown annually until 1966. In 1971 he graduated from

North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...

. He has taken part in advertising campaigns for products such as

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

Ford Motors Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobile ...

Domino's Pizza Domino's Pizza, Inc., trading as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware domiciled and headquartered at the Domino's Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor ...

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

, Cadillac, Chevrolet,

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...

and Sprite. He appeared in the original

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of '' Jesus Christ Superstar'' from 12 October 1971 to 30 June 1973 as a

leper Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

, a reporter and as understudy to

Ben Vereen Benjamin Augustus Vereen (born October 10, 1946) is an American actor, dancer and singer. Vereen gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals '' Jesus Christ Superstar'', for which he received a T ...

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...

. Yaghjian recorded backing vocals for Milk and Honey album of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

and

It's Alright (I See Rainbows) ''It's Alright (I See Rainbows)'' is the sixth solo album by Yoko Ono, and her second release after the death of husband John Lennon. As a variation of a theme concerning its predecessor, the back cover features a transparent image of Lennon in a ...

album of Yoko Ono. He recorded backing vocals for the

Road to Nowhere "Road to Nowhere" is a rock song written by David Byrne for the 1985 Talking Heads album ''Little Creatures''. It also appeared on '' Best of Talking Heads'', '' Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites'', the ''Once in a Lifetime'' box set and t ...

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

in 1985, and for the

Let the River Run "Let the River Run" is a song written, composed, and performed by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, and the theme to the 1988 Mike Nichols film ''Working Girl.'' The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award ...

of Carly Simon in 1988. From the early 1990s until after the events of September 11, 2001 Yaghjian was in a band called Little Isidore and the Inquisitors. In October 2001 he joined another band called ''Kenny Vance and the Planotones''. His musical appearances include Amahl in the television movie '' Amahl and the Night Visitors'' (1963),

in '' Jesus Christ Superstar'' (1973) (film and soundtrack),Epic Films: Casts, Credits and Commentary on More Than 350 Historical Spectacle Movies, By Gary Allen Smith, 2d ed., 2015, pp. 136-137 and '' Hair'' (1979).

References

External links

*
Yaghjian on 'The Ultimate Jesus Christ Superstar' website
in '' Amahl and the Night Visitors''
An Interview of Kurt Yaghjian with Tom Meros
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaghjian, Kurt 1951 births American male singers American male film actors Male actors from Baltimore Living people American people of Armenian descent University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni

Biography

See also

References

External links