1. Michalis Kakogiannis, usually credited as Michael Cacoyannis or Michael Yannis, was a Greek Cypriot filmmaker, theatre director, and playwright.
11 Facts About Michael Cacoyannis
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Michael Cacoyannis is best known for writing, directing, producing, and editing Zorba the Greek, an adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis' novel of the same name.
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Michael Cacoyannis directed the 1983 Broadway revival of the musical based on the film in addition to writing, directing, designing, and translating dozens of stage play and opera productions.
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Michael Cacoyannis received many other accolades, including the Technical Grand Prize and six Palme d'Or nominations at the Cannes Film Festival.
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Michael Cacoyannis was born Michalis Kakogiannis in on 11 June 1922 in Limassol, which was then part of British Cyprus.
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In 1939, Michael Cacoyannis was sent to London by his father to become a lawyer; however, after graduating from law school, he joined the BBC World Service and soon took charge of its new Cyprus Service.
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Michael Cacoyannis was offered the chance to direct Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando in the film Reflections in a Golden Eye, but he declined and the job went to American filmmaker John Huston.
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Michael Cacoyannis translated some of William Shakespeare's plays such as Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, and Hamlet into Greek, and Euripides' play The Bacchae into English.
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Michael Cacoyannis directed the 1983 Broadway revival of the musical based on the film in addition to writing, directing, designing, and translating dozens of stage play and opera productions.
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From 1959 to 1967, Michael Cacoyannis was in a relationship with Israeli politician and author Yael Dayan, with whom he lived in Athens.
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Michael Cacoyannis died in Athens on 25 July 2011 at the age of 89.