Kurt Yaghjian

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 Menottis The Death of the Bishop of Brindisi in May 1963 He is of Armenian descent Menotti was impressed with the expressiveness of Yaghjians 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 CocaCola Ford Motors Dominos 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