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Zari Elmassian

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Zari Elmassian
A photograph of a young smiling woman with short dark glossy hair and dark eyes.
Zaruhi Elmassian, from a 1933 publication.
Born
Zaruhi Elmassian

October 12, 1906
Lynn, Massachusetts
DiedFebruary 6, 1990 (aged 83)
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Other namesZaruhi Elmassian Vartian (after marriage)
OccupationSinger

Zaruhi Elmassian (October 12, 1906 – February 6, 1990), known professionally as Zari Elmassian and later as Zaruhi Elmassian Vartian, was an American singer, best known for her voice work on Hollywood musicals in the 1930s, including The Wizard of Oz.

Early life

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Zaruhi Elmassian was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the daughter of John Elmassian and Satenig Aloojian Elmassian.[1] Her parents were both born in Armenia.[2] The family had moved to Fresno, California, by the time her younger sister Alice was born.[3] She attended Fresno State College, the University of Southern California, the Eastman School of Music, and the New England Conservatory of Music.[4][5]

Career

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Elmassian sang on a radio program in 1929,[6] and with the San Francisco Opera from 1930 to 1932, in productions of Hänsel und Gretel, Manon, Tannhäuser, and Carmen.[7] She later sang with the Los Angeles Opera, and was a busy concert singer and church soloist[8] in California,[9][10] through the 1930s and 1940s.[11][12][13]

Elmassian provided vocal performances for Hollywood musicals, usually uncredited, including It's Great to Be Alive (1933), Naughty Marietta (1935),[14][15] Orchids to You (1935), Here's to Romance (1935), The Great Ziegfeld (1936),[16] Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936), Maytime (1937), Sweethearts (1938), The Girl of the Golden West (1938), The Wizard of Oz (1939),[17][18] and Broadway Serenade (1939). She was also the musical director at St. James Armenian Apostolic Church in Los Angeles,[19] and a member of the Dominant Music Club, a women's club for professional musicians.[20]

With her husband, she starred in an Armenian-language musical melodrama, Anoush (1945),[21][22] based on the work of Hovhannes Toumanyan, and the opera Anoush by Armen Dickranian.[23][24] They also released a record called Armenian Songs,[25] and she can be heard on another album, Oscar Levant Plays Levant & Gershwin.[26]

In 1933, she was in headlines when she was questioned about the murder of dentist Leon Siever, apparently a fan of Elmassian's work at the Los Angeles Opera.[27] Siever was founder and director of the Artists' Endowment, which gave Elmassian a scholarship in 1930.[5]

Personal life

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Elmassian married film editor Setrag Vartian in 1942, in Las Vegas, Nevada.[28][29] She was widowed when Vartian died in 1986, and she died in 1990, in Los Angeles, aged 83 years.[30] The Vartians' joint gravesite is in Inglewood Park Cemetery.[31]

References

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  1. ^ "Obituary for John ELMASSIAN". The Los Angeles Times. 1958-07-29. p. 63. Retrieved 2020-04-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Obituary for John Eimassian (Aged 77)". The Los Angeles Times. 1958-07-29. p. 63. Retrieved 2020-04-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Alice Zakian Obituary". The Los Angeles Times. November 18, 2004 – via Legacy.
  4. ^ "Armenian Film Premier is Set". The Fresno Bee The Republican. 1944-10-26. p. 23. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  5. ^ a b Bruno David Usher, ed. (1933). Who's who in music and dance in Southern California. William J. Perlman. pp. 126-127, 189.
  6. ^ "KTM". The Pasadena Post. 1929-04-20. p. 15. Retrieved 2020-04-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Performance Archive". San Francisco Opera Archive. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  8. ^ "'Messiah' Solo Roles Will be Sung by Noted Artists". The San Bernardino County Sun. 1935-12-18. p. 13. Retrieved 2020-04-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Modern Music Will be Featured in Lecture-Recital at College". The San Bernardino County Sun. 1930-05-05. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-04-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Concert to be Presented by Chorus Mar. 3". The Whittier News. 1931-02-28. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-04-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Soloist to be Heard at Tremont Temple". The Boston Globe. 1939-08-26. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-04-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Recital Scheduled by Zaruhi Elmassian". The Los Angeles Times. 1947-10-12. p. 27. Retrieved 2020-04-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Gifted Pair Give Recital". The Los Angeles Times. 1950-10-23. p. 39. Retrieved 2020-04-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "NAUGHTY MARIETTA". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  15. ^ Vogel, Michelle (2015-06-08). Marjorie Main: The Life and Films of Hollywood's "Ma Kettle". McFarland. p. 123. ISBN 978-1-4766-0426-8.
  16. ^ "The Great Ziegfeld (1936)". AFI Catalog. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  17. ^ Hogan, David J. (2014-06-01). The Wizard of Oz FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Life According to Oz. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4803-9720-0.
  18. ^ Scarfone, Jay; Stillman, William (2004-06-01). The Wizardry of Oz. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 242. ISBN 978-1-61774-843-1.
  19. ^ "St. James Armenian Apostolic Church". The Los Angeles Times. 1981-05-05. p. 114. Retrieved 2020-04-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ ""Our History" and "In Memoriam, Members"". Dominant Music Club. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  21. ^ Price, Michael H. (2003). Forgotten Horrors 3: Dr. Turner's House of Horrors. Midnight Marquee & BearManor Media.
  22. ^ "Anoush (1945)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  23. ^ Masters, Dorothy (1945-04-28). "Two New Films are Spanish and Armenian". Daily News. p. 57. Retrieved 2020-04-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ Gevinson, Alan (1997). Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960. University of California Press. pp. 40–41. ISBN 978-0-520-20964-0.
  25. ^ "An Evening of Armenian Music of America Pressed on 78s". Glendale Arts. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  26. ^ Levant, Oscar (1994), Oscar Levant plays Levant & Gershwin, New York : DRG, retrieved 2020-04-20
  27. ^ "Diva Tells of Acquaintance". The San Francisco Examiner. 1933-12-16. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-04-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ Bishop, Anne (1982). The World of Zaruhi and Setrag Vartan. Los Angeles, Calif.: Bishop's World Who's Who. OCLC 22890998.
  29. ^ "Zaruhi Elmassian is Shower Honoree; Weds S. T. Vartian". San Fernando Valley Times. 1942-08-21. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-04-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "Obituary for Zaruhl Emasslan Vartian (Aged 83)". The Los Angeles Times. 1990-02-10. p. 34. Retrieved 2020-04-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "Zaruhi E. Vartian (1906-1990) buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery located in Inglewood, CA". People Legacy. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
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