Famous director of “Zorba the Greek” dies at 89
26.07.2011
15:40
Greece is mourning the loss of a great man of the arts and cinematography, director Michael Cacoyannis. He died at the age of 89 of heart and breathing problems after having been admitted to hospital a few days ago.
Greece is mourning the loss of a great man of the arts and
cinematography, director Michael Cacoyannis. He died at the age of 89 of
heart and breathing problems after having been admitted to hospital a
few days ago.
A pioneer of the post-war Greek cinema, director of great international successes and the “father” of “Stella” and “Zorba the Greek”, he rejected the vanity, fame and riches of Hollywood and decided to remain a loyal child of quality theatre. His career portfolio is full of marvelous “writings”, while he also established The Michael Cacoyannis Institute for the proper and at-length study and dissemination of cinema and the theatre arts.
He was born in Limassol, Cyprus, on June 11, 1922 and lived in the world’s capitals as a “bohemian with my Hellenic identity as my sole ‘supply’, a true virtue indeed”, as he himself describes it in his biography.
He studied Law and Theatre in London and worked as an actor and director on the English stage between 1941 – 1951, as director of the "Cyprus Times" at the BBC (1941-1951) and as an actor in the English theatre (1945-1951), while at the same time getting extra lessons in theatre directing at the Old Vic. In 1951 he returned to Athens.
As an actor, he shone in “Caligula”, a part for which he was selected by Albert Camus himself.
Due to a string of coincidences, his life changed for the better and his future collaborations with certain people he met meant to prove him one of the best talents in cinema that Greece ever had.
A pioneer of the post-war Greek cinema, director of great international successes and the “father” of “Stella” and “Zorba the Greek”, he rejected the vanity, fame and riches of Hollywood and decided to remain a loyal child of quality theatre. His career portfolio is full of marvelous “writings”, while he also established The Michael Cacoyannis Institute for the proper and at-length study and dissemination of cinema and the theatre arts.
He was born in Limassol, Cyprus, on June 11, 1922 and lived in the world’s capitals as a “bohemian with my Hellenic identity as my sole ‘supply’, a true virtue indeed”, as he himself describes it in his biography.
He studied Law and Theatre in London and worked as an actor and director on the English stage between 1941 – 1951, as director of the "Cyprus Times" at the BBC (1941-1951) and as an actor in the English theatre (1945-1951), while at the same time getting extra lessons in theatre directing at the Old Vic. In 1951 he returned to Athens.
As an actor, he shone in “Caligula”, a part for which he was selected by Albert Camus himself.
Due to a string of coincidences, his life changed for the better and his future collaborations with certain people he met meant to prove him one of the best talents in cinema that Greece ever had.
His 1954 film “Sunday Awakening” won him an Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1955. As for “Stella”, it was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in 1955 but the left wing in the country “skewered” it.
In the following years came “Electra” with Irene Papas, financed by the United Artists film studio, but the doors opened fully for Cacoyannis after his unforgettable Academy Award-winning “Zorba the Greek”.
Cacoyannis was known internationally and had worked with Melina Mercouri, Tom Courtenay and Candice Bergen among others.
He had received an Athens Academy Award for his overall work.
In the following years came “Electra” with Irene Papas, financed by the United Artists film studio, but the doors opened fully for Cacoyannis after his unforgettable Academy Award-winning “Zorba the Greek”.
Cacoyannis was known internationally and had worked with Melina Mercouri, Tom Courtenay and Candice Bergen among others.
He had received an Athens Academy Award for his overall work.
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