Michael Cacoyannis, sometimes credited as Michael Yannis, was a Greek Cypriot theatre and film director, writer, producer, and actor.
11 Facts About Michael Cacoyannis
2.
Michael Cacoyannis's most acclaimed work is the 1964 film Zorba the Greek, an adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis' novel of the same name.
3.
Michael Cacoyannis directed the 1983 Broadway revival of the musical based on the film.
4.
Michael Cacoyannis was nominated for an Academy Award five times, a record for any Cypriot film artist.
5.
Michael Cacoyannis received Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for Zorba the Greek, and two nominations in the Best Foreign Language Film category for Electra and Iphigenia.
6.
Michael Cacoyannis received many other international accolades, including the Technical Grand Prize from the Cannes Film Festival, as well as six Palme d'Or nominations.
7.
Michael Cacoyannis graduated from law school and joined the BBC World Service, soon taking charge of its new Cyprus Service.
8.
Michael Cacoyannis's deputy was Beba Clerides, sister of the RAF fighter pilot and future President of Cyprus, Glafkos Clerides.
9.
Michael Cacoyannis was offered the chance to direct Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando in the film Reflections in a Golden Eye, but he declined.
10.
Michael Cacoyannis translated some of Shakespeare's plays Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus and Hamlet into Greek, and Euripides' play The Bacchae into English.
11.
Michael Cacoyannis died on 25 July 2011 in Athens, aged 89.