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Athens - Michael Cacoyannis, the Cyprus born-filmmaker and screenwriter who directed the 1964 film classic Zorba the Greek, starring Anthony Quinn, has died at an Athens hospital. He was 89.
Officials at a state-run hospital said Cacoyannis died early on Monday of complications from a heart attack and chronic respiratory problems.
Cacoyannis won multiple awards and worked with such well-known actors as Melina Mercouri, Irene Papas, Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave and Candice Bergen. But he was best known internationally for the Academy Award-winning Zorba the Greek - the 1964 adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis' novel - joining up with composer Mikis Theodorakis, whose score for the movie remains an enduring Greek anthem.
The movie won two technical awards at the 1965 Oscars, while Lila Kedrova won for best supporting actress. But Cacoyannis and Quinn both lost out to My Fair Lady, which was voted best picture that year.
Early life
Cacoyannis was born in 1921 in the Cypriot port of Limassol, when the Mediterranean island was still a British colony. He studied law in London, but soon followed his interest in the arts, working for the BBC's Greek service, studying drama, and eventually getting acting parts in the theater.
Cacoyannis had no children and is survived by his sister Giannoula.
Officials at a state-run hospital said Cacoyannis died early on Monday of complications from a heart attack and chronic respiratory problems.
Cacoyannis won multiple awards and worked with such well-known actors as Melina Mercouri, Irene Papas, Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave and Candice Bergen. But he was best known internationally for the Academy Award-winning Zorba the Greek - the 1964 adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis' novel - joining up with composer Mikis Theodorakis, whose score for the movie remains an enduring Greek anthem.
The movie won two technical awards at the 1965 Oscars, while Lila Kedrova won for best supporting actress. But Cacoyannis and Quinn both lost out to My Fair Lady, which was voted best picture that year.
Early life
Cacoyannis was born in 1921 in the Cypriot port of Limassol, when the Mediterranean island was still a British colony. He studied law in London, but soon followed his interest in the arts, working for the BBC's Greek service, studying drama, and eventually getting acting parts in the theater.
Cacoyannis had no children and is survived by his sister Giannoula.
Funeral arrangements were not immediately known.
