George Foundas

Biography

George Fountas (Mavrolithari, Fokida, 13 February 1924 – Athens, 28 November 2010) was a Greek actor, one of the most important in cinema, theatre and television, known, among other things, for his role in the film Stella (1955), by Michael Cacoyannis. He participated in many other distinguished films of the 1950s and 1960s, including Magic City (1954), The Girl in Black (1956), Never on Sunday (1960) and The Red Lanterns (1963), while he also appeared in the foreign productions America, America (1963) and Zorbas (1964). His most important moment in television is his role in the series Christ is Crucified Again (1975-1976). George Fountas was born on February 13, 1924, in Mavrolithari, Fokida. In 1944, Fountas appeared in the film Applause by Giorgos Tzavellas, which is considered the most important film made during the Occupation. He then studied acting at the Drama School of the Athens Conservatory, where he studied with Emilio Veakis, Dimitris Rontiris and Kostas Mousouris, while also playing football, as a player for the AEK reserve team. At a young age, he also played (amateur) shot put, discus and boxing. He made his first theatrical appearance in the play Nyfiatiko ngai (Wedding Song) by Notis Pergialis. Gradually, he began to appear more and more in films, such as Aegean Raid (1946) by M. Karagatsis and Dead City (1951) by Frixos Eliades. In 1954, he starred in Nikos Koundouros' first film, Magic City, through which he became more widely known. In 1955, Fountas appeared in Stella, directed by Michalis Cacoyannis. This film contains one of the most emblematic scenes in Greek cinema, during which the line "Go away Stella, I'm holding a knife!" is heard. Stella caused a sensation internationally, especially for the performance of Melina Mercouri, and was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival and won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Fountas collaborated with Cacoyannis again shortly afterwards, for The Girl in Black (1956). Between 1960 and 1964, Fountas appeared in many films that received international attention. In 1960, he participated in Jules Dassin's Never on Sunday, again alongside Mercouri. The foreign-language film "Never on Sunday" opened the way for his international career and made him known abroad. In 1963, he appeared in two films that were nominated for the 36th Academy Awards. One was Red Light District (1963), directed by Vasilis Georgiadis, which is considered one of Fundas' most characteristic performances, and the other was America, America by Elia Kazan. In 1964, Fundas collaborated again with Cacoyannis, for the award-winning Zorba the Explorer. Fundas' next major moments were With the Flash in Your Eyes (1966) and Asphalt Fever (1967), directed by Panos Glykofrydis and Dinos Dimopoulos respectively. For his performances in these films, he was awarded Best Actor Awards at the seventh and eighth Thessaloniki Film Festivals. From 1970 onwards, Giorgos Fountas' presence in cinema began to decline. In 1973, he made his first appearance on television, in the series Occupation, which was broadcast on YENED. Two years later, he received a leading role in the series Christ is Recrucified. His last film was Vicky Peziri's dramatized documentary, Tales of the Sea (1997).