Kurt Yaghjian

History

Kurt "Frenchy" Yaghjian is an American actor and singer known for his appearance as Annas in the 1973 film Jesus Christ Superstar. Kurt Yaghjian is the son of Haig Yaghjian, a former assistant conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, 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 Armenian descent. Menotti was impressed with the expressiveness of Yaghjian's face and recommended him to NBC 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. He has taken part in advertising campaigns for products such as Coca-Cola, Ford Motors, Domino's Pizza, Toyota, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Budweiser and Sprite. He appeared in the original Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar from 12 October 1971 to 30 June 1973 as a leper, a reporter and as understudy to Ben Vereen as Judas Iscariot.

Movies

Superstars: The Documentary
Superstars: The Documentary
In 1971, director Norman Jewison took a group of young actors, singers, and dancers to war-torn Israel to shoot the film adaptation of the hit rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. Filming on location and walking in the footsteps of the actual biblical characters that they were portraying not only made an impact on these performers but on audiences worldwide who, five decades later, still watch annually and love this cinematic presentation. This is their story... in their own words!
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Annas
Recounts the last days of Jesus Christ from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, his betrayer. As Jesus' following increases, Judas begins to worry that Jesus is falling for his own hype, forgetting the principles of his teachings and growing too close to the prostitute Mary Magdalene. After Jesus has an outburst in a temple, Judas turns on him.