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LOS ANGELES CONCIERGE ASSOCIATION

 

 all photography by michael durand except where noted / copyright 2007 / durand productions / all rights reserved / use by permission only

 

 

 

JIRAYR H. ZORTHIAN

photograph by Michael Durand

Jirayr Zorthian was one of the most talented, colorful and spirited artists in California over the last 50 years. Living on his 45 acre ranch in the mountains above Pasadena, near Los Angeles, Jirayr created a huge body of diversified, intriguing and controversial artwork. Jirayr started drawing and creating art at age three and continued throughout his 92 years of life. In between, from tales of surviving the Armenian genocide to partying with the rich and famous, Jirayr's stories are a glimpse at a life very few people ever have the great fortune to live.

Jirayr Zorthian was the subject of durand productions' "All the World's a Stage," Pasadena's Television of Arts and Culture, featuring over two hours of interviews, art commentary and views of the famous Zorthian ranch.

 "All the World's a Stage"

Pasadena's Television

of Arts and Culture

 

 

 

 

 

 

ZDVD

Chapters:

 

1.   Introduction

2.   Charlie Parker

3.   Early Family Photos

4.   Armenia to New Haven

5.   Colonel Zorthian

6.   Fantasmagoria

7.   The Outdoorsman

8.   Leonardo di Altadena

9.   les in mor

10. Richard Feynman

11. Nudity is not Pornography

12. Death of Piggy # 2

13. Betty

14. Dabney

15. The Patio

16. Zoreligion

17. Centaur

18. Zorwrestling

19. The Snake Hat

20. The Purpose of Life

          is Living

21. The Ending

22. Extra Video: Spring

Primavera 2004 - Celebration

of the Life of Jirayr Zorthian

 

 

 

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Zorthian DVD will be donated to a charity of Dabney Zorthian's choosing.

"My charity of choice, so far, is a Palestinian Israel non violent support group.  I'll find out the information to forward to you."

- Dabney

  

 

 

 

To purchase a copy of the Zorthian DVD please visit:

 

 

ABRIL BOOKS

415 E. Broadway Ave.,  Suite # 102, Glendale, California  91205

818-243-4112   http://www.abrilbooks.com/openingframe.htm

 

 

CANTERBURY RECORDS

805 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California  91101

626-792-7184   www.canterburyrecords.com

 

 

PASADENA MUSEUM OF HISTORY

470 West Walnut Avenue, Pasadena, California  91103

626-577-1660   http://www.pasadenahistory.org/

 

 

RANCHO BAR

(One of Jirayr's favorite watering holes. Ask the locals to tell you their "Jerry" stories!)

2485 North Lake Avenue, Altadena, California  91001

626-798-7634

 

 

SARDARABAD BOOKSTORE

1111 South Glendale Avenue, # 106, Glendale, California  91205

818-500-0790     http://www.sardarabad.org

 

 

UAS - THE UNDERGROUND ART SOCIETY

2473 North Lake Avenue, Altadena, California  91001

626-794-8779     www.undergroundartssociety.com

 

 

VROMAN'S BOOKSTORE

695 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California  91101

626-449-5320    fax:  626-792-7308    www.vromans.com

 

 

WEBSTER'S VILLAGE

2450 North Lake Avenue, Altadena, California  91001

626-797-1163    www.webstersvillage.com

 

 

 

To have a Zorthian DVD shipped to your mailbox, please send a check or money order to:

 

durand productions

465 South Madison Avenue, Studio 312

Pasadena, California  91101

 

$ 25 per DVD includes shipping and handling. Remember to include your mailing address. Please call for a discount on multiple orders. Retailers are invited to call for special prices. 626-584-3899.  Please allow four weeks for delivery. Questions? Call 626-584-3899.

 

Thank you.

 

 

For more information about Jirayr Zorthian, please visit www.zorthian.com

Read the review in the September 1, 2005 issue of the Pasadena Weekly

Click here to read reviews of the Zorthian DVD: ZDVD Feedback

Zorthian DVD featured on Richard Feynman website, August 24, 2005: www.feynman.com

Zorthian DVD featured on Friends of Tuva website

 

Special thanks to Brad Macneil and Mike Bingley for their many contributions to the ZDVD project.

 

Paintings by Jirayr Zorthian

Follow the link to see the Zorthian paintings available at the Trigg Ison Fine Art Studio.

 

"The Eating Machine"

 

Male Goat

"Male Goat"

 

Jenny

"Jenny"

 

The Divorcement

"The Divorcement"

 

Anatomy Of A Bottle

"Anatomy of a Bottle"

 

The Conference

"The Conference"

 

Souffle'

"Souffle'"

 

The Pirate

"The Pirate"

 

"The Awakening"

Jirayr Zorthian

A portrait of Jirayr Zorthian, legendary artist. Done on a whale's
tooth handled knife belonging to Doug Larner, long-time friend of the late artist
 

Micro-Scrimshaw
by Bob Hergert
12 Geer Circle
Port Orford, OR 97465
(541)-332-3010

http://www.scrimshander.com/JirayrZorthian.html

Other Zorthian links:

www.zorthian.com

http://therearno.com/zorthian/zorthian.htm

St Johnsville, N.Y.  PostOffice

http://www.triggison.com/zorthian/zorthian.html

 

http://eroticsgallery.com/zorthian.html  (for adults)

 

Paul J. Karlstrom's 1997 oral history interviews of Jirayr Zorthian

for the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art.

 

The Last Bohemian, RIP
Jirayr Zorthian, 1911–2004
by Paul J. Karlstrom

for the L.A. Weekly

http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/09/art-karlstrom.php

 

 

Send us YOUR feedback: dp@durandpro.com

 

Thank you!

 

Feedback on the Zorthian DVD

 

 April 19, 2005

 

 Letter to the Editor, Pasadena Star-News:

 A special television series begins Friday, April 22 when a six-episode program called “Jirayr Zorthian, His Life in His Words” is shown on “All the World’s a Stage,” Pasadena’s Television of Arts and Culture.

 Jirayr Zorthian was a beloved, eccentric, very talented, free-spirited artist who created drawings, paintings, sculptures and architecture until his passing at the age of 92 in January, 2004. Jirayr lived with his family on his 45 acre ranch in the mountains above Pasadena for over 50 years, raising horses, slaughtering livestock for food, enjoying friendships with people like Charlie Parker and Richard Feynman and creating a diverse portfolio of fascinating works of art.

 “All the World’s a Stage” spent two days videotaping interviews with Jirayr on his ranch  to create this special video history on this amazing man with wonderful stories to tell.

 “Jirayr Zorthian, His Life in His Words” can be seen on “All the World’s a Stage” on Charter cable channel 56 (PCAC) in Pasadena and Altadena and is available on the web at www.pasadena56.tv. For the next twelve weeks the program will be running episodes one through six in order, changing each weekend, then repeating for another cycle.

Show times are 10 am and 10 pm on Fridays, 8:30 am and 8:30 pm on Saturdays. As always, we encourage community involvement in creating our show. If you have a cd, a photo, video, if you have story ideas or if you have questions or comments about the Zorthian series, please call Durand Productions, Video and Television at 626 – 584 – 3899.

 Thank You,

Michael Durand, Executive Producer

“All the World’s a Stage,” Pasadena’s Television of Arts and Culture

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Show to be repeated in the not-too-distant future. To receive and e-mail (Z-mail) update, just send an e-mail and say, at least, "Z-mail" and, BINGO, you're on the list.

OBITUARY

January, 2004

Jirayr Zorthian, bon vivant Pasadena artist, dies at 92

By Gene Maddaus , Pasadena Star-News
Staff Writer

PASADENA -- Col. Jirayr H. Zorthian, a larger- than-life painter and sculptor whose trash-strewn hilltop ranch has played host to hordes of intellectuals, artists, and naked nymphs over the past half- century, died Tuesday afternoon. He was 92.

Zorthian's reputation as an eccentric artist and socialite has grown into myth over the last decade, as he celebrated each new birthday surrounded by nude models who dangled grapes into his mouth.

"He was alive. He was a living person who was bouncing and curious and excited about life,' said his widow, Dabney, who married Zorthian in 1957. "He made my life quite marvelous.'

Zorthian's health has been failing for the past several months. In early November, he hosted the coronation of the Doo Dah Queen at the Zorthian Ranch in Altadena. He spent most of the evening seated by the bonfire, watching delightedly as contestants stripped, flashed, danced and sang amid a festive atmosphere of music and alcohol.

He was admitted to the hospital shortly thereafter, and missed the Doo Dah Parade. He was readmitted on Saturday night, and died shortly after noon Tuesday of congestive heart failure.

"He was the most fun-loving madcap sprite I have ever known,' said Pasadena spokeswoman Ann Erdman, who has been to many parties at the ranch over the past 10 years.

"Pasadena without Zorthian that doesn't make any sense right now,' said Tom Coston, director of the Light-Bringer Project, and coordinator of the Doo Dah Parade.

Funeral arrangements are pending. In addition to his wife, Zorthian is survived by a brother, Barry, five children, Barry, Seyburn, Toby, Alan and Alice, and several grandchildren.

Known for most of his life as "Jerry,' Zorthian was born in 1911 in Western Anatolia, in Turkey. He and his immediate family survived two waves of Armenian massacres. His father, an Armenian political writer, was separated from the family for three years during the genocide, and presumed executed. His extended family was killed.

The family escaped to Europe, and then to America in 1923, and settled in New Haven, Conn. A draftsman from an early age, Zorthian got a master's in fine arts from Yale, before leaving to study art in Italy during the mid-1930s. At 5 feet 2 inches tall, he was a skilled dancer and a champion high school wrestler. He came close to wrestling in the 1932 Olympics. In his year-and-a-half of traveling in Europe, Zorthian witnessed the rise of fascism.

He returned to the United States painted murals throughout the Depression. One mural, for the governor's mansion in Nashville, Tenn., earned him the honorary title of colonel, which he proudly used on his business card.

He joined the U.S. Army during World War II. Stationed stateside, he used his language skills for Army intelligence. He also painted a massive mural, "The Phantasmagoria of Military Intelligence Training,' which years later he considered to be his masterpiece.

He married Betsy Williams, an heiress to a shaving cream fortune, and moved to Altadena in 1945, settling on his nine-acre ranch at the top of Fair Oaks Avenue.

He divorced, and once claimed to be the first man in California to receive alimony. He raised three children by his first wife and two by Dabney Zorthian, but two others died young, tinging Zorthian's life with tragedy. A daughter died of heart failure and Zorthian accidentally backed over a son in his driveway, a blow from which friends said he never fully recovered.

His art reflected the pain of the massacres, finding salvation in nudes. Much of his work focused on female genitalia, and some friends described his paintings, jokingly, as "every man's fantasy.'

Zorthian believed that "woman was the savior of everything,' his wife said.

Zorthian remade the grounds over the decades, sculpting art out of refuse. Wags joked the place resembled "the Eagle Rock dump,' while others found it "bohemian,' though he didn't like the term.

He became known throughout Southern California for wild parties that would last several days, and became friends with Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. Celebrities like Charlie Parker and Andy Warhol came to call, but all were welcome, famous or not.

Zorthian liked "anybody that could make beauty out of nothing,' his son Toby said.

When he was 82, Zorthian began throwing large birthday parties with his "naked nymphs," celebrating as well the renewed vigor of springtime.

"I have 19 more years left before I die,' he said at his 90th birthday party in 2001. "I have 19 years of work that has to be finished. I don't have time to die.'

Several of the nymphs came to his bedside on Sunday afternoon, said Sara Streeter, the head nymph.

"We danced a little bit around him, but the nurse was really cautious with not wanting us to excite him... He was kicking his feet,' Streeter said.

Now, she believes Zorthian is "surrounded by nymphs.'

 

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durand productions

465 South Madison Avenue, Suite 312, Pasadena, CA  91101

626 - 584 - 3899          durandpro@aol.com

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Destination Pasadena,  Craftsman Video and Durand Piano are divisions of durand productions

 

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all photography by michael durand except where noted / copyright 2007 / durand productions / all rights reserved / use by permission only

_______________________________

 

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