Spyros Kalogirou

Biography

Spyros Kalogirou (Kypseli, 3 November 1922 - Athens, 27 June 2009) was a Greek theatre and film actor, best known for his villainous roles on the big screen. His trembling voice and fierce appearance were characteristic. He acted in many films, both on television and in cinema, and when he played such roles he was very convincing. He also participated in many theatrical performances but did not have many collaborations with his wife, as she was at the National Theater and he was more involved with independent theater. After the '80s they formed their own troupe, staged performances and toured. He acted in approximately two hundred plays and in all genres of theater, classical and contemporary writers, from theater of the absurd (Eugene Ionesco) to revue, but also in many of the Greek dramaturgy. He first appeared in cinema in 1955 in Dimis Dadiras’ film O agapitikos tis voskopoulas. Since then, he has participated in more than 60 films, alongside the biggest names in Greek cinema. He appeared in about 55 films, including: Athens at Night, Stefania, Machine Gun Concerto, The Fairy and the Boy, The Blonde Teacher, Maria of Silence, The Man with the Carnation, and Stakaman. However, the film that left an era was Lola, in which Spyros Kalogirou had said the unforgettable phrase "There's a lot of money, Aris", to his then co-star Nikos Kourkoulos about the "eyes" of Jenny Karezi. In 1966, at the Thessaloniki Film Festival, he was awarded an honorary distinction for his performance in the short film Jimmy the Tiger by Pantelis Voulgaris, and in 1971, the film critics awarded him the Silver Apollo for his role in the film Abuse of Power. He was honored with the Golden Head of the Vakhtangov Theater in Moscow. He also appeared in television series (Even Married People Have a Soul).