Everything about Melina Mercouri totally explained
Melina Mercouri (
Greek:
Μελίνα Μερκούρη, born
Maria Amalia Mercouri) (
Athens, Greece,
October 18,
1920 –
New York City,
March 6,
1994) was an
Academy Award-nominated
Greek actress, singer, and political activist. She was a member of the
Hellenic Parliament, and in
1981 she became the first female
Minister for Culture in
Greece.
Early life
The most important person in her early life was her grandfather
Spyros Merkouris, who was mayor of Athens for many decades. Her father was a member of Parliament. The marriage of her parents ended when she was a youngster and she lived with her mother. Her uncle was
George S. Mercouris, the leader of the
Greek National Socialist Party who became Chairman of the Bank of Greece during the
Axis Occupation of Greece during WWII (1941-1944).
Her first lover was actor
George Papas, but she married
Panagis Harokopos, a wealthy landowner. They married during the
Second World War and her husband's wealth helped them survive the harsh times of
Nazi occupation. She later maintained that although she loved her husband, their marriage was a mistake .
Actress
Her first movie, the Greek language film
Stella (1955), was directed by
Michael Cacoyannis, the director of
Zorba the Greek. It brought her to Cannes, where it was nominated for the
Golden Palm. It didn't win the prize, but she met there the man of her life, director
Jules Dassin. Dassin and Mercouri lived together for the rest of her life. They had no children.
Melina became well-known to international audiences when she starred in the
1960 film
Never on Sunday, directed by Jules Dassin. (The couple collaborated on its 1967 musical stage adaptation,
Illya Darling, for which she received a
Tony Award nomination, as well.) Nominated for an
Academy Award for
Never on Sunday, she went on to star in such films as
Phaedra (1962),
Topkapi (1964), and
Gaily, Gaily (1969).
Mercouri retired from film acting in 1978. Her last film,
A Dream of Passion, was directed, as were most of her films, by her husband
Jules Dassin. Her co-star in the film was
Ellen Burstyn. In 1980, she starred in the Greek production of
Sweet Bird of Youth by
Tennessee Williams, in the lead role, which had been originated on Broadway by
Geraldine Page.
Singer
One of her first songs was by
Manos Hadjidakis and
Nikos Gatsos. It was titled
Hartino to Fengaraki and was a part of the Greek production of
A Streetcar Named Desire in 1949, in which she starred as
Blanche DuBois. The first official recording of this, now-legendary song was made by
Nana Mouskouri in 1960, although the company Sirius, created by
Manos Hadjidakis, issued in 2004 a recording that Melina made for
French TV during the 1960s. Her recordings 'Athene ma Ville' and 'Melinaki' were popular in France. Her recording of 'Feggari mou, Agapi mou (Phaedra)' was quite popular and was later covered by Xaris Alexiou.
Politician
During the period of U.S.-backed military dictatorship in Greece (see
Greek military junta of 1967-1974) from
1967 to
1974, Mercouri lived in
France. When the dictatorship revoked her Greek citizenship, she said, "I was born a Greek and I'll die a Greek.
Mr. Pattakos was born a fascist and he'll die a fascist." During those years she recorded four records in France, one with Greek lyrics and the other three with French lyrics, all created by Greek musicians. They were highly popular, and since being remastered and reissued, are still critically acclaimed. Her husky and unusual voice made her the perfect performer of some great Greek songs which are known classics and performed by hundreds of singers.
When democracy returned to her home country, she returned, and became first a member of Parliament for
PASOK. She later became the first female Minister of Culture in Greece in 1981, and served in that position for two terms until 1989. She took this office again in 1993, and served until 1994. In 1971, she wrote her autobiography,
I Was Born Greek.
As Minister of Culture, she proposed the
Cultural Capital of Europe ideal within the framework of cultural policy of the European Community. Athens inaugurated this institution in 1985. She advocated the return of the
Parthenon Marbles, now a part of the British Museum collection, that Lord Elgin removed from the
Acropolis. In anticipation of the return of the marbles, a new museum has been created under the
Parthenon to host the collection and other pieces from the monument that are being removed and restored.
Death
Melina Mercouri died in 1994 in a New York hospital at the age of 73 from
lung cancer, survived by her husband, Dassin. She had been a heavy
smoker and when she died, hundreds of Greek citizens left her favourite brand of cigarettes as a memorial at her shrine.
Her body was returned to Athens.She received a state funeral, at the Proto Nekrotafeio (First Cemetery) equivalent to that of a Prime Minister. Thousands of Greeks attended the funeral.
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