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Sotiris Moustakas
Sotiris Moustakas
	Moustakas in the movie Enas nomotagis politis (1974).
Born	Sotiris Moustakas; 17 September 1940; Kato Platres, Limassol, British Cyprus
Died	4 June 2007 (aged 66); Athens, Greece
Nationality	Greek
Citizenship	Cyprus; Greece
Years active	1964–2007
Spouse	Maria Bonellou (1973-2007)
Children	1

Sotiris Moustakas (Greek: Σωτήρης Μουστάκας) (17 September 1940 – 4 June 2007) was a Greek Cypriot actor born in Kato Platres, Limassol. His acting career lasted for over four decades, with 1960s–80s as his most successful years. He was described as an "Actor without a Label" cause of his variety of playing in theatrical plays (many different genres), films, television movies, television series, videotape/videocassette movies and many more with great reviews and success in all of them. He became internationally famous with his role "Mimithos" in 1964 Oscar-winning film Zorba the Greek. After that he became a national star in Greece, being part of the Golden Age of the Greek Cinema (1950s–1970s). His last cinema performance was in 2007 Goya Award-winning film El Greco, where he played "Titian". He gave his voice in the Greek dub of 2007 Disney film Meet the Robinsons, as his last role. He mainly played comedy roles throughout his career. Moustakas was regarded as one of the greatest Greek comedian actors in history.

Early life

He was born in Kato Platres of Limassol District, in British Cyprus. He was the youngest of seven siblings.

Career

One of the most significant comic actors of Greece and Cyprus, Moustakas graduated from the National Theater of Greece and was known for his portrayal of offbeat, neurotic yet likable characters. In many of his movies he portrayed multiple roles. He appeared primarily in modern films and plays, although he also performed several roles in classical works.

Moustakas' international film debut came in 1964 in the Oscar-winning Zorba the Greek starring Anthony Quinn, in which he played Mimithos, the village idiot. For that film Moustakas lost his Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor only for two more minutes of filming. As Moustakas said, they had filmed many more minutes of playing, but they didn't put all the scenes on the film's final cut.

Although his recent work was mainly in the theatre, he also had a role in the 2007 film El Greco.

Political activities

Although not widely advertised, Moustakas in his youth was involved in the Greek Cypriot national liberation struggle of EOKA against British colonialism, acting as a messenger, and writing political graffiti. During that period, he was arrested by the British and spent 7 months in jail.^[1]

Death

Moustakas felt unwell during rehearsals for an upcoming Aristophanes play, and was transferred to the General State Hospital of Athens. He was taken to the intensive care unit, where he died in the early morning hours of 4 June 2007. He had been suffering from cancer for some years.^[2] At his funeral, his coffin was draped with a Greek flag.^[3]

Personal life

He was married to the Greek actress Maria Bonellou, with whom he has a daughter, Alexia. His wife, Maria, died on August 30, 2007, due to Alzheimer, at the age of 66, about 3 months after the death of Sotiris.

Selected filmography

Zorba the Greek (1964) (a.k.a. Alexis Zorbas, USA) .... Mimithos
To Prosopo tis imeras (1965)
Beethoven kai bouzouki (1965) .... Orfeas
Une balle au coeur (1966) (a.k.a. A Bullet Through the Heart, (International: English title), a.k.a. Devil at My Heels (USA), a.k.a. Mia sfaira stin kardia (Greece))
Na zi kaneis i na mi zi? (1966) .... Solomon
Fos... Nero... Tilefono, Oikopeda me doseis (1966) .... Krikor
Fifis, o aktypitos (1966) .... Michalios Yatayanakis
Kalos ilthe to dollario (1967) .... Henry
Martha (1967) .... Hector (uncredited)
O Modistros (1967) .... Stefanos
O Kosmos trellathike... (1967) .... Pythagoras
O Hazobabas (1967) .... Doctor
Kolonaki: Diagogi miden (1967) .... Pavlos Aspromallis
I Kori tis Pentagiotissas (1967)
Gia tin kardia tis oraias Elenis (1967) (a.k.a. Theotrella neiata... xemoramena geramata), (Greece: reissue title))
Erotes sti Lesvo (1967) (a.k.a. O Thanatos ehase to paihnidi, (Greece))
Adiki katara (1967)
Athina, i klopi tis odou Stadiou (1968) (a.k.a. Nude as a Trap) .... Sotos
Tha ta kapso, ta lefta mou (1968) .... Kleon Karapanos
Ta Psihoula tou kosmou (1968)
O Tsahpinis (1968) .... Kosmas
O Petheropliktos (1968) .... Lavredis
Oi Mnistires tis Pinelopis (1968) .... Filippos
O Boufos (1968) .... Dinos Zafiriou
Pethaino kathe ximeroma (1969)
I Oraia tou kourea (1969) .... Thomas
Xypna koroido (1969) .... Faidonas Tramountanas
H omorfh kai o tzanabetis (1969)
Fovatai o Yannis to therio (1969) (a.k.a. Tha pao stin zougla me ton Tarzan) .... Anastasis
Ena asteio koritsi (1970) .... Antonio
To Paidi tis mamas (1970) .... Fotis
O Ahaireftos (1970) .... Miltos Kourkoutoulis
I Tyhi mou trelathike (1970) .... Liakos
Anastenazoun oi penies (1970) .... Manolios
Arhipseftaros (1971) .... Paminos
Thymios enantion Tsitsou (1971) (a.k.a. Dyo sainia, Ta (Greece: TV title) ... a.k.a. Thymios enantion olon (Greece: TV title) .... Timolis
Oi Andres xeroun n' agapoun (1971) (a.k.a. To timima tis agapis, (Greece: video box title)
Gia mia choufta Touristries (1971) .... Police Officer
Enas nomotagis politis (1974) .... Grigoris Monahogios
Gynaikes sta opla (1979) .... President
O Parthenokynigos (1980) .... Iraklis
Kathenas me tin trella tou... (1980) .... Sotiris
Gefsi apo Ellada! (1980) .... Hungry Man
To Megalo routhouni (1981) .... Alexandros / Thiseas Doxapatris
I 'Nona' (1981) (a.k.a. Nona enantion mafiozou, (Greece: video title)) .... Thiseas Doxapatris / Nona
Pater Gomenios (1982) .... Menios
O Kamikazi tsantakias (1982) .... Poseidonas
Ego... kai to pouli mou (1982) (a.k.a. Knock out ston erota, (Greece: TV title) .... Kokos
To Psonio (1983) .... Sotiris Haritos
To Paizo kai poly andras (1983) .... Zinon Petridis
Kai aftos to violi tou (a.k.a. An itan to violi pouli) (1984)... Lefteris Paganikskis
Mitsos, o rezilis (1984) (a.k.a. O Glykopseftis, (Greece: TV title)) .... Mitsos
Ta Touvla (1985) .... Sotos Stournos
O Roz gatos (1986) .... Archimidis Mantouvalos / Efterpi
O Dynasteias (1986) .... Bebis Karinkopoulos / Dionisakis 'Tarzan' Karinkopoulos / Odysseas
Merikes ton protimoun... ilektroniko (1986) .... Telis / Paraskevas
O Petheropliktos (1987) .... Iakovos
Sexy batsos kai skliros (1987) .... Sotiris Sotiriou / Antonis Kourouflexis
O Tsitsiolinos (1987) .... Lefteris Spanomarias
Kourio o Periklis (1987) .... Periklis
Erastis gia 11 nihtes (1988) .... Angelos Klapsopoulos
Varis glykos kai meraklis (1988) .... Aristeidis
Enas trelos tha mas sossei (1988) .... Timolaos
Andrea prohora (1988)
Diariktis me to zori (1988) .... Michalis Papadimitrakopoulos
Tolmi kai afassia (1988) .... Aristeidis Antoniou
Mhn to paizeis ypourge! (1988)
Peinasmenos kai jenleman (1989) .... Sotiris
O Jogadoros (1989) .... Nektarios Bataktsis
Mia treli treli nychta (1989) .... Sokratis Leonardos
Kapetan Fortounas (1989) .... Manolis
O Alepous (1990) .... Alepous
Kavafis (1996)
Mila mou kai mantarinia (1999)
Oi Aparadektoi (1 episode) - Epitheorisi (????) TV Episode
Petsi kai kokali (2000, TV Movie)
Me ti ginaika tou filou mou (2000)
armege lagous kai koureve helones (2000)
Ti vraki tha paradossis mori? (2001, TV Movie)
Ta Haidemena paidia (2001, TV Series) .... Nikiforos A
O haros vgike pagania (2003)
Emeis xasan autoi masan (2003)
Kai fagane autoi kala kai emeis heirotera (2005)
El Greco (2007) .... Titian (final film role)

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Film	Result
1994	"Panathinea" Theatre Award	Best Actor	Hamlet	Won
1996	"Papadoukas" Award	Best Actor	Two Jobs	Won
2003	Karolos Koun Award	Lifetime Achievement Award	For his contribution in Greek revue theatre	Won