Kostas Voutsas ( el, Κώστας Βουτσάς; born Konstantinos Savvopoulos ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Σαββόπουλος; 31 December 1931 – 26 February 2020) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

actor, director, and writer.

Personal life

Voutsas was born in

Vyronas Vyronas ( el, Βύρωνας) is a suburban town and a municipality in the southeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. The town is named after George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, the famous English poet and writer, who is a national ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in 1931 to a refugee family from Epivates, and moved to

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

in 1932. He studied drama at the Drama School of the Macedonian Conservatory of Thessaloniki and made his stage and screen debut in 1953. His breakthrough came in 1961, when Giannis Dalianidis gave him a key part in his phenomenally successful youth melodrama Ο Κατήφορος (1961). He soon became one of the best and most popular comic actors of his generation and created personal groups, starring in many Greek comedies by top play-writers and classics like Aristophanes' "Sfikes" (as Philokleon), Molière's "Le bourgeois gentilhomme" (title role) etc. He also starred in about 60 movies, mostly comedies and musicals of the 'golden era' of Greek commercial cinema and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Thessaloniki Film Festival in 1984. Voutsas was the father of Alexandra (Sandra) Voutsa from his marriage with Erika Broyer, Theodora Voutsa and Nikoleta Voutsa from his marriage to Theano Papaspirou and Fivos Voutsas from his fourth and last marriage in 2016, with Aliki Katsavou. With his 3rd wife Evi Karagianni didn't have any children and was a stepfather for her child Anthemos Ananiades. Voutsas died of a lung infection on 26 February 2020 at an

hospital, aged 88.

Career

He was a major actor in Finos Films and went on to star in about 60 movies, mostly comedies and musicals of the 'golden era" of Greek commercial cinema. In 1961 his breakthrough came when the Greek film director

Giannis Dalianidis Giannis Dalianidis ( el, Γιάννης Δαλιανίδης; 31 December 1923 – 16 October 2010) was a Greek film director. His first film was ''Mousitsa'', released in 1959, which was followed by a series of musicals. Between 1974 and 1981, ...

gave him a leading role in his phenomenally successful youth melodrama '' O Katiforos''. He soon became one of the best and most popular comic actors of his generation and created personal groups, starring in many Greek comedies by top playwrights and classics like

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...

' ''

The Wasps ''The Wasps'' ( grc-x-classical, Σφῆκες, translit=Sphēkes) is the fourth in chronological order of the eleven surviving plays by Aristophanes. It was produced at the Lenaia festival in 422 BC, during Athens' short-lived respite from the ...

'' (as Philokleon),

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...

's ''

Le bourgeois gentilhomme ''Le Bourgeois gentilhomme'' (, translated as ''The Bourgeois Gentleman'', ''The Middle-Class Aristocrat'', or ''The Would-Be Noble'') is a five-act ''comédie-ballet'' – a play intermingled with music, dance and singing – written by Molière ...

'' (title role), etc. He was always more committed to being a theatrical actor. In an interview with the Athens daily newspaper ''To Vima'', he said: "Playing in movies has helped me a lot, but I was always committed to the theatre and that was my highlight." His acting technique is being studied at the University of Patras. He received many lifetime achievement awards:

Thessaloniki International Film Festival The Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF), organized by the cultural institution of the same name under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture, is held every November in Thessaloniki.TIFF features international competition secti ...

and more.

Filmography

Cine movies

TV series

Actor: * Nou Dou Fun Park (2008) (TV/Theatre) * Oti peite upourge mou (1998) (TV/Theatre) .... Richard Willow * Ena agathi sto stefani mou (1989) (V) .... Dimitris * Glykeia mou Koutsi, apo to Halkoutsi (1988) (V) .... Kostas .... a.k.a. Glykeia mou koutsi (Greece: reissue title) * I zoi arhizei sta saranta (1988) (V) * O erotiaris gatos (1988) (V) .... Kostas * Kalokairinos erastis (1988) (V) .... Kostas * O antras tis hronias (1988) (V) .... Akis * I love thranio (1988) (V) .... Schoolmaster * O kourdistos erastis (1987) (V) .... Kostas * Areso kai kykloforo (1986) (V) .... Babis .... a.k.a. Kai leftas kai adekaros (Greece: alternative title) Voice actor: * '' Up'' (2009) .... Carl Fredricksen (Greek voice) Director: * "Nou Dou Fun Park" (2008) (TV) * "Allagi... kai to louri tis manas" (1982) .... a.k.a. Enas kleftis ston Paradeiso (Greece: TV title) * "O anthropos mas" (1975) TV series Writer: * "Istories horis dakria" (1991) TV series (writer) * "Gabros me to zori" (1990) (V) (writer) * "Ta touvla" (1985) (idea)

Achievements

In 1984 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the

Thessaloniki Film Festival The Thessaloniki Film Festival is a Thessaloniki-based cultural institution focusing on cinema. The Institution organizes the Thessaloniki International Film Festival every November and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival every March, while its ...

References

External links

* * http://www.tovima.gr/default.asp?pid=2&ct=4&artId=314482&dt=10/02/2010 (in Greek) {{DEFAULTSORT:Voutsas, Kostas 1931 births 2020 deaths Greek male film actors Greek male stage actors Actors from Thessaloniki Greek Macedonians