Vachik Mangassarian, actor in ‘Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.’, dead at 78

January 28, 2022:

Vachik Mangassarian, a character actor with dozens of credits including Marvel’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and feature “The Stoning of Soraya M.,” has died. He was 78.

His reps at McCaffrey Talent Management told Deadline that he died Saturday of COVID complications.

Born in Iran of Armenian descent in 1943, Mangassarian came to the U.S. in the mid-1960s, working in theater and occasionally returning to Iran, where he had roles in films including some by Iranian director Samuel Khachikian. He eventually landed his first Hollywood role in “The South’s Shark” (1978).

Vachik Mangassarian died from COVID complications, his reps confirmed.
(Photo by Tibrina Hobson/WireImage)

By the mid-’80s, he began scoring guest shots on such popular series as “The Fall Guy,” “The A-Team,” “Sledge Hammer!” and “Murder, She Wrote.” Mangassarian would work steadily through the 2010s, guesting on shows including “Murphy Brown,” “Falcon Crest,” “Jake and the Fatman,” “NYPD Blue” and “JAG,” along with some telefilms.

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Mangassarian landed a key role in Cyrus Nowrasteh’s 2008 film “The Stoning of Soraya M.,” playing the father of a young woman sentenced to death amid false charges. Starring Shohreh Aghdashloo and Jim Caviezel, the film won an NAACP Image Award, took prizes at the Los Angeles and Ghent film festivals and was nominated for the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Vachik Mangassarian attends screening of ‘Price For Freedom’ at Laemmle Music Hall on June 28, 2017, in Beverly Hills, California.
(Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

Mangassarian also was instrumental in getting the script for “Lost and Found in Armenia” made into a movie, which got a U.S. theatrical release in 2012. It starred Angela Sharafyan and Jamie Kennedy and was the first time in Armenian cinematic history that Armenian and American actors performed in same feature.

After that, the actor continued to land guest-star TV roles on such series as Marvel’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “NCIS: Los Angeles.” Mangassarian also anchored his own radio and later television show, “The Armenian National Network” for 10 years.

Vachik Mangassarian (upper right) poses for a portrait during the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival held at the Sutton Place Hotel.
(Photo by Jeff Vespa/WireImage)

Survivors include two sisters, Linda Lalaian of Glendale and Elda Hacopian of Maryland and their spouses; nephews Derek Hacopian and Ara Hacopian and niece Aida Hacopian.

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