A natural talent who excelled in Greek theater for over half a century, Yannis Gionakis belongs to the generation of the country’s great comedians, even though he limited himself to two main characters. Initially, he played the role of the irreplaceable, good-natured “kountentes,” and later—now as a leading man—that of the nervous, eccentric, loudmouth, with some notable and distinctive roles in between, such as in the films “Tuesday the 13th” and “Ten Days in Paris.”.
Gionakis belongs to the category of leading actors whom we prefer for the supporting roles he played in films, in the early years of his career, as he is perhaps the only Greek actor who, in just a few minutes, created a huge wave of laughter and won the hearts of all Greeks, thanks to his explosively hilarious performance as Brilis in the classic comedy “The Yellow Gloves.”.
However, Yannis Gionakis, whom we lost 20 years ago and whose 100th birthday we mark today (September 18, 1922)—was not only a prominent performer of folk comedy, variety shows, and a key representative of Dimitris Psathas’s works, also left his mark as an actor through classic repertoire plays, while his boundless, undeniable passion for women would bring him into conflict with the law in the “Kozanita case.”.
From the Medical School to the Historic Basement
Yannis Gionakis was born in Athens on September 18, 1922. He had a happy childhood; his sister was the quiet one in the family—“French and piano”—while he was the ringleader of mischief. Even as a teenager, it seemed he would follow in his father’s footsteps, who was a doctor. Indeed, he enrolled in the Medical School at the University of Athens, but dropped out after four years. In the early 1940s, while hanging out with his friends, he would put on impromptu performances, complete with funny faces, impersonations, and other comedic antics, catching the attention of Alekos Sakellarios, who asked him if he had ever thought of becoming an actor. He replied in the negative, but a short time later, when his medical school closed due to the war, he made up his mind and abandoned medicine to study at Karolos Koun’s theater school and the Hellenic Conservatory.
What was unusual for that time was that his parents did not object to his decision to pursue acting, and he made his stage debut in the play “The Last White Crow” at the historic Underground Hall of the Art Theater. Gionakis was a self-taught musician and dancer, teaching himself to play the piano and dance with castanets—skills that would prove crucial to his career. This became evident when he burst onto the scene in 1945 with the revue—the genre he adored and which propelled his career to new heights.
Greek Comedy and Mayakovsky
Although he appeared in dozens of revues and comedies—many of which were written by Dimitris Psathas—especially after he founded his own theater company in 1959, Gionakis also starred in numerous plays by the greatest foreign playwrights, from Molière to Mayakovsky. Many of the Greek comedies, as was customary at the time, would later be adapted for the silver screen.
The Most Beloved Goofball
He made his film debut in 1946 in Sakellarios’s film “A Shoe from Your Hometown.” In the 1950s, he would appear in several films in supporting roles or as a co-lead, most notably in the musical comedy ‘Adekari in Love“ alongside genre veterans Koulis Stoligas, Nikos Rizos, and Sperantza Vrana. The 1960s would mark his triumphant breakthrough when he took on the iconic role of Brilis in Sakellarios” comedy ‘The Yellow Gloves,“ starring the brilliant Nikos Stavridis. The side-splitting performance he delivers during those few minutes on screen, embodying the character of the ”village fool“ with such conviction, and making the most of the incredible lines written for him by the director and Christos Giannakopoulos, would make him, in record time, the favorite comedian of all Greeks.
So, after his triumph as Brilis, he began to take on bigger roles, but for several years he didn’t give up the small, powerful roles, which gave him the freedom to showcase his talent and ultimately steal the show from the leading actors, even when they were top-tier actors or undisputed stars. Such as in the romantic comedy “Alice in the Navy,” the comedy “Sucker Gambre,” or the noteworthy comedy “The Bride Ran Away,” starring Jenny Karezi. We’ll focus on this one, as Gionakis will portray, with verve and conviction, the charming, effeminate receptionist at a provincial hotel.
Insatiable
In 1963, she starred in the well-known comedy “Tuesday the 13th” alongside the cautious Stavridis, while in 1964, among the ten films she appeared in that year, he would once again co-star with Stavridis—with whom he formed a great on-screen duo—in the comedy “Kosmos and Kosmakis,” playing the role of a con artist. In the mid-1960s, Gionakis would change direction, beginning to star in films written specifically for him. His greatest success would be the comic satire ‘The Insatiable,“ a slapdash film directed by Dimos Dadiras, but based on Psathas’s excellent play of the same name, with Gionakis—without shying away from exaggeration—proving quite good in the role of the greedy barber. His last major success was the comedy ”The Barber’s Beauty,“ while he has since moved on to the style of the eccentric, loud-mouthed ”The Crooked Stick,“ ”My Sister Wants a Beating,“ ”The Bed-Murmurer,“ ”The Stubborn One,“ and others.
Gionakis, who appeared in a total of 117 films, would also venture into direct-to-video films, managing to appear in more than 30 of them, believing—erroneously—that they could successfully replace theatrical film production.
The Kozanita Case
Women dominated his personal life. A passionate womanizer, even though he married once in 1957—his “beloved” Zeta, who gave him two daughters—Gionakis never stopped straying. As his daughter, the actress Polina Gionaki, would later say, «He was an unfaithful husband and didn’t even know how to hide it.» In October 1984, he was arrested for shooting his then-lover, Aphrodite Kozanita, three times at her home in Kastri, because she had asked him to break up with her. He was arrested, remanded in custody, and brought to trial on charges of attempted murder. The incident, of course, would make headlines; rumors would run rampant, and the public’s imagination would be set ablaze. No one knows exactly what happened that night in Kastri, but one thing is certain: the victim will testify in court that Gionakis had no intention of killing her. The popular actor will serve his 15-month prison sentence, but those who knew him well have said that he was never able to get over this setback, compounded by the diabetes from which he suffered and which caused him constant problems.
The Tough Finale
Nevertheless, he will continue to perform on stage, act in films, and reevaluate his life, his family, his daughters, and his granddaughters. Gionakis’s health would be compromised by diabetes, and in 1998 he would suffer his first serious stroke. He would spend the last four years of his life bedridden, due to the strokes he suffered as well as the amputation of his leg. He died on August 25, 2002, and was buried at the First Cemetery in the presence of many of his colleagues and a large crowd of people.
In his final days, when some people “teasingly” asked him about his reputation as a womanizer, he always said that his greatest lover would always be “the stage.” That was what he missed. Its scent, the lights, the applause, and of course the laughter—just like his own—ringing in his ears…
Harry Anagnostakis
