Andreas Douzos ( el, Ανδρέας Ντούζος; 17 April 1934 - 29 April 2013) was a Greek theatre and film actor best known for starring in the prominent musical films of the
Finos Films
Finos Film (Greek: Φίνος Φιλμ) is a film production company that dominated the Greek film industry from 1943 to 1977. It was founded by Filopimin Finos in 1942 during World War II. It was the biggest film production company in Greece at ...
, '' Kiss the Girls'' (1965) and ''Rendez-vous in the Air'' (1966) where the films’ publicity and success turned him into a famous actor.
He began appearing in films in 1953 with ''The Damned'' (1953), and from then on he appeared in more than thirty films until 2001. In the theatrical season 1955/1956 he participated, portrayed Nikolios, in the drama play '' The Christ Recrucified'' held at Alsos theatre. A 1955 made-for-theatre adaption of the 1954
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
of the same name written by Nikos Kazantzakis, directed by Takis Mouzenidis with cast of the theatre troupe of Manos Katrakis’ People’s Theatre. When the protagonist actor
Manos Katrakis
Emmanuel "Manos" Katrakis ( el, Εμμανουήλ (Μάνος) Κατράκης; 14 August 1908 – 3 September 1984) was a Greek actor of theater and film.ERT TV channel’s ''Kalitechniko Kafenio'' program in 1985 with presenters Vasilis Tsivilikas,
Costas Ferris
Costas Ferris ( el, Κώστας Φέρρης; born 18 April 1935) is a Greek film director, writer, actor, and producer. He wrote the lyrics of Aphrodite's Child's album ''666''. His 1983 film ''Rembetiko'' won the Silver Bear at the 34th Berli ...
,
Mimis Plessas
Mimis Plessas ( el, Μίμης Πλέσσας; born 12 October 1924) is a Greek composer born in Athens. He began his career in 1952 and has written music for over 100 films, television and radio programs, and theatrical events. He has worked wit ...
, Andreas Douzos revealed "I denied to offer myself to anyone for exchange activities in regards to career benefits", a declaration of being one of his principles.
He studied acting from 1952 to 1955 at the Takis Mouzenidis’s Institute of Musical Theatre (Greek: Σπουδαστήριο του Μουσικού Θεάτρου) and was under the tutelage of renowned acting teacher Takis Mouzenidis.
By the time he was still an acting student at the age 19, he married Anastasia Ntouzou (1937-2016) with whom he had one daughter and a son, Teta (Panagiota) Ntouzou (born 1964) and Steve (Eustathios) Douzos (born 1959) both of whom later were played in roles in Greek low-budget
B-movies
A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...
during the 1980s. He had two granddaughters from his daughter, and one granddaughter and one grandson from his son. When he was about 31-year-old, he relocated from Greece to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, residing from 1967 to 1980 in the borough of
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, during which time he studied directing at the Actors Studio Drama School, and he also attended professional
choreography
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design ...
courses at the
Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance
Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance is located in New York City and is the headquarters to the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and the Martha Graham Dance Company, which is the oldest continually performing dance company in the ...
lasted five years.
Subsequently he returned to Greece, where he relocated permanently in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, he became theatrical entrepreneur founded his own theatrical company in 1982 the Theatrical Businesses Andreas Ntouzos undertook the Superstar Theatre (later renamed Broadway Theatre; today known as the Theatro Katia Dandoulaki) 1000m2 in the Athens district of Kypseli. In 1990/1991 theatrical season, starred in the
Jean de Létraz
Jean de Létraz, pen name of Jean Félix Deletraz, (23 February 1897 - 3 June 1954) was a French playwright, spécialising in vaudeville, who authored nearly 118 plays, among which the most famous is ''Bichon'' written in 1935.
Biography
His fir ...
play ''Chasing love'' (Chasse gardée; Greek: ) staged at the Superstar Thearte which he himself directed.
In 1994, in order to withdraw his business shares due to financial difficulties, he sold the business of theatre to actress
Katia Dandoulaki
Ekaterini "Katia" Dandoulaki ( el, Κάτια Δανδουλάκη; born May 16, 1948) is a Greek theatre, television and film actress. She is best known for her role as protagonist Virna Drakou on the Greek television series ''Lampsi'' in the ...
. His last film role appearance was in the film ''Athens Blues'' (2001; Greek original title it can be literally translated as ''A Day Night'') directed by Giorgos Panousopoulos.
After being diagnosed with
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
, ιn January, 2013 he was seriously injured his head after an accident he sustained at his home and he underwent a medical intervention thereafter, remained in a hospital’s intensive care unit. After several days of hospitalization he died on April 29, 2013, at the age of 76. He was buried at Second Cemetery of Athens on May 2, 2013.