Dionysis Papagiannopoulos

Biography

Dionysis Papagiannopoulos (Greek: Διονύσης Παπαγιαννόπουλος; 12 July 1912 – 13 April 1984) was a Greek actor. He was born in Diakopto in the northeastern part of Achaea in 1912. He studied at the Drama School of the National Theatre of Greece (Ethniko Theatro) in Athens and made his stage debut in 1938, appearing as the Knight in William Shakespeare's King Lear. He excelled in Shakespeare's Hamlet as the Grave Digger and in Dimitris Psathas' Fonazei o Kleftis as General Solon Karaleon. Dionysis Papagiannopoulos acted in all types of plays and appeared in more than 120 films in supporting and leading roles. One of his leading roles in cinema was O Kyr Giorgis Ekpaidevetai (Mr. Giorgis is being educated) (1977) which was the last film made by Finos Film and marked the end of an era. He also worked for television. One of his biggest successes was his role once again as Mr Giorgis for the television show Louna Park. He was generally considered as an actor with an enormous talent and incredible acting techniques. He always left a strong impression in all the roles he had, comical and dramatic. Remarkable was his work in the play To Megalo mas Tsirko by Iakovos Kambanelis, in which he portrayed Theodoros Kolokotronis, Eleftherios Venizelos and Karagiozis. Also he left a very good impression for his work in his last film, Voyage to Cythera directed by the famous Theo Angelopoulos. He died suddenly at the age of 71, in his apartment on Alexandras Avenue, today to the Metro Station Ampelokipoi region, due to a stroke. The people of Diakopto erected a statue in his memory, although, during his life, some had opposed him due to political issues.

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