Kostas Karras

Kostas Karras (Athens, 21 June 1936 – 6 May 2012) was a Greek actor and politician. He studied Political Science in London and acting at the National Theatre's Drama School. He was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. In 1963 he graduated from the Pelos Katselis Drama School and the same year made his debut in Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. At that time, he began his successful collaboration with Ellie Lampeti, with whom he was in a relationship, and appeared, among others, in works such as Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park" (in the role of Paul Parker) and Tennessee Williams's Bus Stop (in the role of Kowalski). Since then, he has created his own theatrical groups and achieved personal success in Nikolai Gogol's Diary of a Madman and Noel Coward's The Evil Spirit (as Charles). His contribution as an actor to Greek cinema is significant, where he first appeared in 1961. However, his best film appearance is considered to be the role of Menelaus in Michael Cacoyannis' Iphigenia (1977). On Greek television, he starred with great success in many series. From 2000 to 2007, he was a member of the Greek Parliament with the New Democracy party. He was honorary president of Smile of the Child since 1994. He organized the first international fundraiser for the victims of the Bosnian War. He repeatedly gave performances to support vulnerable social groups. He was awarded by many organizations and associations for his social and humanitarian action (Lions, Smile of the…