Zari Elmassian
Zaruhi Elmassian, from a 1933 publication.
Born	Zaruhi Elmassian October 12, 1906 Lynn, Massachusetts
Died	February 6, 1990 (aged 83) Los Angeles , California
Nationality	American
Other names	Zaruhi Elmassian Vartian (after marriage)
Occupation	Singer

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 [ edit ]

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 [ edit ]

Elmassian sang on a radio program in 1929, ^[6] and with the San Francisco Opera from 1930 to 1932, in productions of Hansel und Gretel , Manon , Tannhauser , 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 [ edit ]

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 [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

• Zari Elmassian at IMDb
• Zari Elmassian at the British Film Institute ^{[ better source needed ]}
• Zari Elmassian at AllMusic
• A 1939 photograph labeled "Radio singer Zaruhi Elmassian" in the University of Washington collections