Guzh Manukyan, People's Artist of Armenia, has passed away at the age of 88, the Union of Theatrical Workers of Armenia reported.

He was born on May 6, 1937, in Gyumri. In 1958, he graduated from the acting department of the Yerevan Fine Arts and Theater Institute. He performed at the Kapan Drama Theater from 1958 to 1959, then joined the Yerevan State Youth Theater from 1959 to 1967. Starting in 1967, he became part of the actor ensemble at various Yerevan drama theaters.

Among his most notable stage roles were: Mitrofan in Denis Fonvizin’s The Minor, Saro in Anush (based on Hovhannes Tumanyan), Pyotr in Maxim Gorky's The Philistines, Buckingham in Shakespeare’s Richard III, Bluntschli in Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man, Karandyshev in Alexander Ostrovsky’s Without a Dowry, Tigran the Great in Perch Zeytuntsyan’s Call of the Gods—for which he received the Armenian State Prize in 1981—and Alfred in Shaw’s My Fair Lady.

Manukyan also appeared in films starting in 1964. His screen roles included: Marcelin in Mourning Snow (based on Henri Troyat’s work, directed by Yuri Yerznkyan, 1978, for television), Armen in The Best Half of Life (directed by Albert Mkrtchyan, 1979), and Guy in Die on a Horse (directed by Grigor Melik-Avagyan, 1980).