Melina Mercouri
Encyclopedia
Melina Mercouri born as Maria Amalia Mercouri (18 October 19206 March 1994) was a Greek
actress, singer and politician
.
As an actress she made her film debut in Stella (1955) and met international success with her performances in Never on Sunday
, Phaedra
, Topkapi
and Promise at Dawn
. She won the award for Best Actress
at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival
, and she was also nominated for an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Award
s, and two BAFTA Awards
.
A political activist
during the Greek military junta of 1967–1974, she became a member of the Hellenic Parliament
in 1977 and the first female Minister for Culture of Greece
in 1981. Mercouri was the person who, in 1983, conceived and proposed the programme of the European Capital of Culture
, which has been established by the European Union
since 1985.
She was a strong advocate for the return of the Parthenon Marbles
, which were removed from the Parthenon
and are now displayed in the British Museum
, to Athens
.
, Greece
in 1920, the daughter of Stamatis Mercouris, a former cavalry
officer, member of Parliament for the Democratic Socialist Party of Greece
and former Minister for Public Order of Greece, and Eirini Lappa, originated from a prominent family of Athens. Spyridon Merkouris
, her paternal grandfather, was one of the most successful Mayors of Athens and played a major role in her early life.
When she completed her secondary education, she was admitted to the National Theatre
's Drama School after reciting a poem by Kostas Karyotakis
. Dimitris Rontiris
was her teacher and she graduated in 1944.
Aged 21, she married her first husband, Panos Harokopos, a wealthy landowner; they divorced in 1962.
and played the role of Electra
in Eugene O'Neill
's play Mourning Becomes Electra
in 1945. In 1949 she had her first major success in the theatre playing Blanche DuBois
in A Streetcar Named Desire
, written by Tennessee Williams
and staged by Karolos Koun
's Art Theatre. Until 1950, she also worked in the same theatre in other plays by Aldous Huxley
, Arthur Miller
, Philip Jordan and André Roussin
. She then moved to Paris
, where she appeared in boulevard plays by Jacques Deval and Marcel Achard
, and met famous French
playwright
s and novel
ists such as Jean Cocteau
, Jean-Paul Sartre
, Colette
and Françoise Sagan
. In 1953, she received the Marika Kotopouli
Prize and returned to Greece two years later. At the Kotopouli-Rex Theatre, Mercouri starred in plays like Macbeth
by William Shakespeare
and L'Alouette
by Jean Anouilh
.
film Stella (1955), directed by Michael Cacoyannis (also the director of Zorba the Greek
). The film received special praise at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival
, where she met for first time the American
film director
Jules Dassin
, with whom she would share her life, as they got married in 1966, and career. As a start, the next year she starred in the latter's He Who Must Die
and other films by Dassin followed featuring Mercouri, such as The Law
(1959).
She became well-known to international audiences when she starred in Never on Sunday
(1960), in which Dassin was the director and co-star. For this film, Mercouri received the Best Actress Award
at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival
and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress
and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
.
After her first major international success, she went on to star in Phaedra
(1962), for which she was nominated again for the BAFTA Award
and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Drama. The recognition of her acting talent did not stop though, as her role in Topkapi
(1964) granted her one more nomination, this time for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Mercouri worked with other famous directors as well, such as Joseph Losey
, Vittorio De Sica
, Ronald Neame
, Carl Foreman
, Norman Jewison
, and starred in films like Spanish language
The Uninhibited
by Juan Antonio Bardem. She continued her stage career in the Greek production of Tennessee Williams
's Sweet Bird of Youth
(1960), under the direction of Karolos Koun
. In 1967, she played the leading role in Illya Darling
(from 11 April 1967 to 13 January 1968) at Broadway
, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, while her performance in Promise at Dawn
(1970) gave her another Golden Globe Award
nomination.
On 11 June 1967, Mercouri appeared on one of the final episodes of "What's My Line" (the venerable panel show would leave the air that fall, after seventeen years). After the panel were blindfolded, a strange man appeared on-stage and proclaimed himself "the second mystery guest". Host John Charles Daly
quickly called for "the relieving crew" and said "schedule two" (a code word used on live broadcasts in case of an emergency: the cameras are turned to a neutral position and the sound is cut off). The man talked a bit about a dating service he apparently owned before being hustled off the stage by announcer Johnny Olsen and executive producer
Gil Fates
. Daly merely apologized to the panel, and the program continued.
Melina Mercouri concentrated on her stage career for the following years, playing in the Greek productions of The Threepenny Opera
and, for a second time, Sweet Bird of Youth, in addition to the ancient Greek
tragedies
Medea
and Oresteia.
She retired from film acting in 1978, when she played in her last film, A Dream of Passion
, directed by her husband Jules Dassin. Her last performance on stage was in the opera Pylades at the Athens Concert Hall
in 1992, portraying Clytemnestra
.
and Nikos Gatsos
. It was titled Hartino to Fengaraki ("Papermoon") 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 'Athenes, ma Ville', a collaboration with Vangelis
, and 'Melinaki' were popular in France. Her recording of 'Feggari mou, Agapi mou' (Phaedra) was quite popular and was later covered by Haris Alexiou.
in Greece
by a group of colonels of the Greek military
on 21 April 1967, she was in the United States
, playing in Illya Darling
. She immediately joined the struggle against the Greek Military Junta and started an international campaign, travelling all over the world to inform the public and contribute to the isolation and fall of the colonels. As a result, the dictatorial regime revoked her Greek citizenship
and confiscated her property. When her citizenship was taken away, she said: "I was born a Greek
and I will die a Greek. Mr. Pattakos
(one of the colonels) was born a fascist and he will die a fascist", a phrase which represented her love of Greece and democracy
.
There were terrorist attempts against her, including an assassination attempt in Genoa
, Italy
. However, she did not stop her fight against the dictatorship with interviews, concerts marches and speeches given all around the world. 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.
in 1974, Mercouri settled in Greece and was one of the founding members of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement
(PASOK), a centre-left
political party
. She was a member of the party's Central Committee and a rapporteur for the Culture Section, while being involved in the women's movement as well. In the Greek legislative elections of 1974
, she was a PASOK candidate in the Piraeus B
constituency, but the 7,500 votes were not enough to secure a seat for her in the Hellenic Parliament
(she needed 33 more votes), something that came true in the elections of 1977
, when she obtained the highest number of votes in the whole of Greece.
, being the first female in that post. She would serve in that position for two terms until 1989, when PASOK lost the elections and New Democracy
formed a cabinet. As Minister for Culture, Mercouri took advantage of her fame abroad and got in contact with great European leaders in order to promote Greece. She strongly advocated the return to Athens
of the Parthenon Marbles
, that were removed from Parthenon
and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens
by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin
, and are now part of the British Museum
collection in London
. In anticipation of the return of the marbles, she held an international competition for the construction of the New Acropolis Museum
, designated to display them and finally established in 2008.
One of her greatest achievements was the establishment of the institution of the European Capital of Culture
within the framework of cultural policy of the European Union
, that she had conceived and proposed in 1983, with Athens inaugurating this institution being the first title-holder in 1985, while she was a devoted supporter of the Athens bid to host the Centennial Olympic Games
. In 1983, during the first Greek presidency of the Council of the European Union
, Mercouri invited the Ministers for Culture of the other nine member states of the European Union
at Zappeion
, in order to increase the people's cultural awareness, since there was not any reference to cultural questions in the Treaty of Rome, which led to the establishment of formal sessions between the Ministers of Culture of the European Union. During the second presidency of Greece in 1988, she supported the cooperation between Eastern Europe
and the European Union, which was finally implemented one year later with the celebration of the Month of Culture in Eastern countries.
Mercouri also commissioned a study for the integration of all the archaeological sites of Athens so as to create an archaeological park free from traffic, where residents and visitors could enjoy the history of the city. In order to promote the Greek culture
, she introduced free access to museums and archaeological sites for Greek citizens, organized a series of exhibitions of Greek cultural heritage and modern Greek art worldwide, supported the restoration of buildings of special architectural interest and the completion of the Athens Concert Hall
, backed the project of the Museum of Byzantine culture
in Thessaloniki
, established annual literary pizes, promoted Greek cinema
and finally established the municipal theatres and conservatories.
in a municipality which traditionally provided New Democracy
with strong support. After PASOK's win in the election of 1993
, she was back at the Ministry for Culture. Her major goals in this second term in office were: to create a cultural park in the Aegean Sea
in order to protect and enhance the environment and civilization of the Aegean Islands
, and to link culture with education at all education levels
, introducing a system of post-training of teachers.
.jpg)
Melina Mercouri died on 6 March 1994 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
, New York City
, from lung cancer
, aged 73. She was survived by her husband, Jules Dassin
. She received a state funeral
with Prime Minister
's honors at the First Cemetery of Athens
four days later. Thousands attended her funeral.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
actress, singer and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
As an actress she made her film debut in Stella (1955) and met international success with her performances in Never on Sunday
Never on Sunday
Never on Sunday is a 1960 Greek black-and-white film which tells the story of Ilya, a prostitute who lives in the port of Piraeus in Greece, and Homer, an American tourist from Middletown, Connecticut — a classical scholar enamored with all things Greek. Ilya is a character close to the...
, Phaedra
Phaedra (film)
Phaedra was a 1962 motion picture directed by Jules Dassin as a vehicle for his wife Melina Mercouri, after her world-wide hit Never on Sunday.The film was the fourth collaboration between Dassin and Mercouri, who took the title role...
, Topkapi
Topkapi (film)
Topkapi is a heist film made by Filmways Pictures and distributed by United Artists. It was produced and directed by the emigre American film director, Jules Dassin...
and Promise at Dawn
Promise at Dawn
Promise at Dawn is a 1970 drama film directed by Jules Dassin. It is based on the 1960 novel Promise at Dawn by Romain Gary.-Cast:* Melina Mercouri - Nina Kacew* Assi Dayan - Romain age 25* Didier Haudepin - Romain age 15...
. She won the award for Best Actress
Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Actress Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of films at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.-Award Winners:-External links:* * ....
at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival
1960 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Georges Simenon *Marc Allégret *Louis Chauvet *Diego Fabbri *Hidemi Ima *Grigori Kozintsev *Maurice Leroux *Max Lippmann *Henry Miller...
, and she was also nominated for an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
s, and two BAFTA Awards
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
.
A political activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
during the Greek military junta of 1967–1974, she became a member of the Hellenic Parliament
Hellenic Parliament
The Hellenic Parliament , also the Parliament of the Hellenes, is the Parliament of Greece, located in the Parliament House , overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece....
in 1977 and the first female Minister for Culture of Greece
Minister for Culture (Greece)
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is a government department of Greece entrusted with the preservation of the country's cultural heritage, the arts, as well as sports, through the subordinate General Secretariat for Sport...
in 1981. Mercouri was the person who, in 1983, conceived and proposed the programme of the European Capital of Culture
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
, which has been established by the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
since 1985.
She was a strong advocate for the return of the Parthenon Marbles
Elgin Marbles
The Parthenon Marbles, forming a part of the collection known as the Elgin Marbles , are a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures , inscriptions and architectural members that originally were part of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens...
, which were removed from the Parthenon
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their virgin patron. Its construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although...
and are now displayed in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, to Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
.
Early life
Maria Amalia Mercouri was born in AthensAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
in 1920, the daughter of Stamatis Mercouris, a former cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
officer, member of Parliament for the Democratic Socialist Party of Greece
Democratic Socialist Party of Greece
The Democratic Socialist Party of Greece was a political party founded by George Papandreou in 1935.The party emerged from a split in the Liberal Party.The party was replaced in 1950 with the formation of the Georgios Papandreou Party....
and former Minister for Public Order of Greece, and Eirini Lappa, originated from a prominent family of Athens. Spyridon Merkouris
Spyridon Merkouris
Spyridon Merkouris was a Greek politician and long-time mayor of Athens in the early 20th century.He was born in Ermioni in 1856. Elected as mayor of Athens in 1899, he held the post continuously until 1914. As a committed royalist, in 1917, during the National Schism, he was exiled to Corsica...
, her paternal grandfather, was one of the most successful Mayors of Athens and played a major role in her early life.
When she completed her secondary education, she was admitted to the National Theatre
National Theatre of Greece
The National Theatre of Greece is based in Athens, Greece.-History:The theatre was originally founded in 1880 with a grant from King George I and Efstratios Rallis to give theatre a permanent home in Athens...
's Drama School after reciting a poem by Kostas Karyotakis
Kostas Karyotakis
Kostas Karyotakis is considered one of the most representative Greek poets of the 1920s and one of the first poets to use iconoclastic themes in Greece. His poetry conveys a great deal of nature, imagery and traces of expressionism and surrealism...
. Dimitris Rontiris
Dimitris Rontiris
Dimitris Rontiris was a Greek actor and director.-Biography:Rotiris began at a military school in which he left with grace for studying law at the University of Athens. The theatrical of his course began in 1919 as an actor. Later on, he went to Austria where he learned theatre, art history and...
was her teacher and she graduated in 1944.
Aged 21, she married her first husband, Panos Harokopos, a wealthy landowner; they divorced in 1962.
Early years on stage
After her graduation, Mercouri joined the National Theatre of GreeceNational Theatre of Greece
The National Theatre of Greece is based in Athens, Greece.-History:The theatre was originally founded in 1880 with a grant from King George I and Efstratios Rallis to give theatre a permanent home in Athens...
and played the role of Electra
Electra
In Greek mythology, Electra was an Argive princess and daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. She and her brother Orestes plotted revenge against their mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus for the murder of their father Agamemnon...
in Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
's play Mourning Becomes Electra
Mourning Becomes Electra
Mourning Becomes Electra is a play cycle written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26 October 1931 where it ran for 150 performances before closing in March 1932...
in 1945. In 1949 she had her first major success in the theatre playing Blanche DuBois
Blanche DuBois
Blanche DuBois is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Streetcar Named Desire...
in A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
, written by Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
and staged by Karolos Koun
Karolos Koun
Karolos Koun was a Greek theater director, widely known for his lively staging of ancient Greek plays. He had been praised all over Europe for his bawdy, colorful stagings of the 5th century BC political comedies of Aristophanes...
's Art Theatre. Until 1950, she also worked in the same theatre in other plays by Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
, Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
, Philip Jordan and André Roussin
André Roussin
André Roussin, , was a French playwright. Born in Marseille, he was elected to the Académie française April 12, 1973.-Bibliography:*1933 Patiences et impatiences*1944 Am Stram Gram...
. She then moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where she appeared in boulevard plays by Jacques Deval and Marcel Achard
Marcel Achard
Marcel Achard was a French playwright and screenwriter whose popular sentimental comedies maintained his position as a highly-recognizable name in his country's theatrical and literary circles for five decades...
, and met famous French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
s and novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ists such as Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
, Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
, Colette
Colette
Colette was the surname of the French novelist and performer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette . She is best known for her novel Gigi, upon which Lerner and Loewe based the stage and film musical comedies of the same title.-Early life and marriage:Colette was born to retired military officer Jules-Joseph...
and Françoise Sagan
Françoise Sagan
Françoise Sagan – real name Françoise Quoirez – was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Hailed as "a charming little monster" by François Mauriac on the front page of Le Figaro, Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois...
. In 1953, she received the Marika Kotopouli
Marika Kotopouli
-Biography:Kotopouli was born on 3 May 1887 in Athens, to Dimitris and Eleni. Her parents were also actors, and Marika's first stage appearance came during one of their tours, in the play "The Coachman of the Alps"...
Prize and returned to Greece two years later. At the Kotopouli-Rex Theatre, Mercouri starred in plays like Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and L'Alouette
L'Alouette (The Lark)
L'Alouette is a 1952 play by Jean Anouilh about Joan of Arc. It was presented on Broadway in English in 1955, starring Julie Harris as Joan and Boris Karloff as Pierre Cauchon. It was produced by Kermit Bloomgarden.The English adaptation was by Lillian Hellman and the incidental music was by...
by Jean Anouilh
Jean Anouilh
Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1943 play Antigone, an adaptation of Sophocles' Classical drama, that was seen as an attack on Marshal Pétain's...
.
International success
Her first movie was the Greek languageGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
film Stella (1955), directed by Michael Cacoyannis (also the director of Zorba the Greek
Zorba the Greek
Zorba the Greek is a 1964 film based on the novel Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. The film was directed by Cypriot Michael Cacoyannis and the title character was played by Anthony Quinn...
). The film received special praise at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival
1956 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Maurice Lehmann *Arletty *Louise de Vilmorin *Jacques-Pierre Frogerais *Henri Jeanson *Domenico Meccoli *Otto Preminger *James Quinn *Roger Regent *María Romero...
, where she met for first time the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Jules Dassin
Jules Dassin
Julius "Jules" Dassin , was an American film director, with Jewish-Russian origins. He was a subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, and subsequently moved to France where he revived his career.-Early life:...
, with whom she would share her life, as they got married in 1966, and career. As a start, the next year she starred in the latter's He Who Must Die
He Who Must Die
He Who Must Die , is a 1957 French film directed by Jules Dassin. It is based on the novel Christ Recrucified by Nikos Kazantzakis. It was entered into the 1957 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Jean Servais - Photis* Carl Möhner - Agha...
and other films by Dassin followed featuring Mercouri, such as The Law
The Law (1959 film)
The Law is a 1959 Italian film directed by Jules Dassin.-Cast:* Gina Lollobrigida - Marietta* Pierre Brasseur - Don Cesare* Marcello Mastroianni - Enrico Tosso, the Engineer* Melina Mercouri - Donna Lucrezia* Yves Montand - Matteo Brigante...
(1959).
She became well-known to international audiences when she starred in Never on Sunday
Never on Sunday
Never on Sunday is a 1960 Greek black-and-white film which tells the story of Ilya, a prostitute who lives in the port of Piraeus in Greece, and Homer, an American tourist from Middletown, Connecticut — a classical scholar enamored with all things Greek. Ilya is a character close to the...
(1960), in which Dassin was the director and co-star. For this film, Mercouri received the Best Actress Award
Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Actress Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of films at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.-Award Winners:-External links:* * ....
at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival
1960 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Georges Simenon *Marc Allégret *Louis Chauvet *Diego Fabbri *Hidemi Ima *Grigori Kozintsev *Maurice Leroux *Max Lippmann *Henry Miller...
and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :...
.
After her first major international success, she went on to star in Phaedra
Phaedra (film)
Phaedra was a 1962 motion picture directed by Jules Dassin as a vehicle for his wife Melina Mercouri, after her world-wide hit Never on Sunday.The film was the fourth collaboration between Dassin and Mercouri, who took the title role...
(1962), for which she was nominated again for the BAFTA Award
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Drama. The recognition of her acting talent did not stop though, as her role in Topkapi
Topkapi (film)
Topkapi is a heist film made by Filmways Pictures and distributed by United Artists. It was produced and directed by the emigre American film director, Jules Dassin...
(1964) granted her one more nomination, this time for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Mercouri worked with other famous directors as well, such as Joseph Losey
Joseph Losey
Joseph Walton Losey was an American theater and film director. After studying in Germany with Bertolt Brecht, Losey returned to the United States, eventually making his way to Hollywood...
, Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio de Sica
Vittorio De Sica was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement....
, Ronald Neame
Ronald Neame
Ronald Elwin Neame CBE, BSC was an English film cinematographer, producer, screenwriter and director.-Early career:...
, Carl Foreman
Carl Foreman
Carl Foreman, CBE was an American screenwriter and film producer who wrote the notable film High Noon. He was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s.-Biography:...
, Norman Jewison
Norman Jewison
Norman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...
, and starred in films like Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
The Uninhibited
The Uninhibited
The Uninhibited is a 1965 Spanish film directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and starring Melina Mercouri, James Mason and Hardy Kruger. It was entered into the 1965 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:...
by Juan Antonio Bardem. She continued her stage career in the Greek production of Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
's Sweet Bird of Youth
Sweet Bird of Youth
Sweet Bird of Youth is a 1959 play by Tennessee Williams which tells the story of a gigolo and drifter, Chance Wayne, who returns to his home town as the accompaniment of a faded movie star, Princess Kosmonopolis , whom he hopes to use to help him break into the movies...
(1960), under the direction of Karolos Koun
Karolos Koun
Karolos Koun was a Greek theater director, widely known for his lively staging of ancient Greek plays. He had been praised all over Europe for his bawdy, colorful stagings of the 5th century BC political comedies of Aristophanes...
. In 1967, she played the leading role in Illya Darling
Illya Darling
Illya Darling is a musical with a book by Jules Dassin, music by Manos Hadjidakis, and lyrics by Joe Darion, based on Dassin's 1960 film Never on Sunday.-Production:The show previewed in a tour of Philadelphia, Toronto and Detroit for nine weeks...
(from 11 April 1967 to 13 January 1968) at Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, while her performance in Promise at Dawn
Promise at Dawn
Promise at Dawn is a 1970 drama film directed by Jules Dassin. It is based on the 1960 novel Promise at Dawn by Romain Gary.-Cast:* Melina Mercouri - Nina Kacew* Assi Dayan - Romain age 25* Didier Haudepin - Romain age 15...
(1970) gave her another Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
nomination.
On 11 June 1967, Mercouri appeared on one of the final episodes of "What's My Line" (the venerable panel show would leave the air that fall, after seventeen years). After the panel were blindfolded, a strange man appeared on-stage and proclaimed himself "the second mystery guest". Host John Charles Daly
John Charles Daly
John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly (generally known as John Charles Daly or simply John Daly (February 20, 1914 – February 24, 1991) was an American journalist, game show host and radio personality, probably best known for hosting...
quickly called for "the relieving crew" and said "schedule two" (a code word used on live broadcasts in case of an emergency: the cameras are turned to a neutral position and the sound is cut off). The man talked a bit about a dating service he apparently owned before being hustled off the stage by announcer Johnny Olsen and executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
Gil Fates
Gil Fates
Joseph Gilbert Fates was an American television producer.Nicknamed "Gil", Fates was the executive producer of What's My Line?. Fates produced the game show its entire quarter-century span of CBS and syndicated runs...
. Daly merely apologized to the panel, and the program continued.
Melina Mercouri concentrated on her stage career for the following years, playing in the Greek productions of The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
and, for a second time, Sweet Bird of Youth, in addition to the ancient Greek
Theatre of Ancient Greece
The theatre of Ancient Greece, or ancient Greek drama, is a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece between c. 550 and c. 220 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political and military power during this period, was its centre, where it was...
tragedies
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
Medea
Medea (play)
Medea is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, based upon the myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC. The plot centers on the barbarian protagonist as she finds her position in the Greek world threatened, and the revenge she takes against her husband Jason who has betrayed...
and Oresteia.
She retired from film acting in 1978, when she played in her last film, A Dream of Passion
A Dream of Passion
A Dream of Passion is a 1978 Greek drama film directed by Jules Dassin. The story follows Melina Mercouri as an actress playing Medea who seeks out a mother, portrayed by Ellen Burstyn, in jail for murdering her own children.-Awards:...
, directed by her husband Jules Dassin. Her last performance on stage was in the opera Pylades at the Athens Concert Hall
Athens Concert Hall
The Athens Concert Hall is a concert hall located in Athens, on Vassilissis Sofias Avenue....
in 1992, portraying Clytemnestra
Clytemnestra
Clytemnestra or Clytaemnestra , in ancient Greek legend, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Mycenae or Argos. In the Oresteia by Aeschylus, she was a femme fatale who murdered her husband, Agamemnon – said by Euripides to be her second husband – and the Trojan princess...
.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Stella | Stella | |
| 1957 | He Who Must Die He Who Must Die He Who Must Die , is a 1957 French film directed by Jules Dassin. It is based on the novel Christ Recrucified by Nikos Kazantzakis. It was entered into the 1957 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Jean Servais - Photis* Carl Möhner - Agha... |
Katerina | |
| 1958 | The Gypsy and the Gentleman | Belle | |
| 1959 | The Law The Law (1959 film) The Law is a 1959 Italian film directed by Jules Dassin.-Cast:* Gina Lollobrigida - Marietta* Pierre Brasseur - Don Cesare* Marcello Mastroianni - Enrico Tosso, the Engineer* Melina Mercouri - Donna Lucrezia* Yves Montand - Matteo Brigante... |
Donna Lucrezia | |
| 1960 | Never on Sunday Never on Sunday Never on Sunday is a 1960 Greek black-and-white film which tells the story of Ilya, a prostitute who lives in the port of Piraeus in Greece, and Homer, an American tourist from Middletown, Connecticut — a classical scholar enamored with all things Greek. Ilya is a character close to the... |
Ilya | Won - Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival) The Best Actress Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of films at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.-Award Winners:-External links:* * .... Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress Academy Award for Best Actress Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :... |
| 1961 | Long Live Henry IV... Long Live Love | Marie de Médicis | |
| The Last Judgement The Last Judgement (1961 film) The Last Judgement is a 1961 commedia all'italiana film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It was coproduced with France.It has an all-star Italian and international cast, including Americans Jack Palance, Ernest Borgnine; Greek Melina Mercouri and French Fernandel, Anouk Aimée and Lino... |
Foreign lady | ||
| 1962 | Phaedra Phaedra (film) Phaedra was a 1962 motion picture directed by Jules Dassin as a vehicle for his wife Melina Mercouri, after her world-wide hit Never on Sunday.The film was the fourth collaboration between Dassin and Mercouri, who took the title role... |
Phaedra | Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :... Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
| 1963 | The Victors The Victors (film) -Overview:The film follows a group of U.S. soldiers through Europe during World War II, from Britain in 1942, through the fierce fighting in Italy and France, to the uneasy peace of Berlin. It is adapted from a collection of short stories called The Human Kind by British author Alexander Baron,... |
Magda | |
| 1964 | Topkapi Topkapi (film) Topkapi is a heist film made by Filmways Pictures and distributed by United Artists. It was produced and directed by the emigre American film director, Jules Dassin... |
Elizabeth Lipp | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| 1965 | The Uninhibited The Uninhibited The Uninhibited is a 1965 Spanish film directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and starring Melina Mercouri, James Mason and Hardy Kruger. It was entered into the 1965 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:... |
Jenny | |
| 1966 | A Man Could Get Killed A Man Could Get Killed A Man Could Get Killed is a 1966 adventure comedy film directed Ronald Neame and Cliff Owen, shot on various locations in Portugal and starring James Garner, Melina Mercouri, Sandra Dee, Anthony Franciosa, and Robert Coote, as well as the fourteen year old Jenny Agutter in a minor role. The... |
Aurora | |
| 10:30 P.M. Summer 10:30 P.M. Summer 10:30 P.M. Summer is a 1966 American drama film directed by Jules Dassin, husband of star Melina Mercouri.-Plot:Maria and Paul, a couple in their forties, travel through Spain with a new friend, Claire , a younger woman. The couple's daughter is also part of the trip... |
Maria | ||
| 1969 | Gaily, Gaily Gaily, Gaily Gaily, Gaily is a 1969 comedy film directed by Norman Jewison. It is based on the Autobiographical novel by Ben Hecht and stars Beau Bridges, Melina Mercouri, Brian Keith, and George Kennedy.... |
Lil | |
| 1970 | Promise at Dawn Promise at Dawn Promise at Dawn is a 1970 drama film directed by Jules Dassin. It is based on the 1960 novel Promise at Dawn by Romain Gary.-Cast:* Melina Mercouri - Nina Kacew* Assi Dayan - Romain age 25* Didier Haudepin - Romain age 15... |
Nina Kacew | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
| 1974 | The Rehearsal The Rehearsal (film) The Rehearsal is a 1974 film produced by Jules Dassin that is a cinemagraphic indictment of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974.-Cast:*Jules Dassin*Olympia Dukakis*Stathis Giallelis*Lillian Hellman*Melina Mercouri... |
Belle | |
| 1975 | Once Is Not Enough Once Is Not Enough Once Is Not Enough is a 1973 novel by Jacqueline Susann. It was the #2 best-selling novel of 1973 in the United States. It was made into a 1975 film Once Is Not Enough, Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough, directed by Guy Green and starring Kirk Douglas, Deborah Raffin, David Janssen and Brenda... |
Karla | |
| 1977 | Nasty Habits | Sister Gertrude | |
| 1978 | A Dream of Passion A Dream of Passion A Dream of Passion is a 1978 Greek drama film directed by Jules Dassin. The story follows Melina Mercouri as an actress playing Medea who seeks out a mother, portrayed by Ellen Burstyn, in jail for murdering her own children.-Awards:... |
Maya | |
| 1981 | Gynaikes stin exoria | Narrator |
As singer
One of her first songs was by Manos HadjidakisManos Hadjidakis
Manos Hatzidakis was a Greek composer and theorist of the Greek music. He was also one of the main prime movers of the "Éntekhno" song ....
and Nikos Gatsos
Nikos Gatsos
-Biography:Nikos Gatsos was born in 1911 in Asea in Arcadia, a district of the Peloponnese, where he finished primary school . He attended high school in Tripoli, where he became acquainted with literature and foreign languages. Afterwards, he moved to Athens, where he studied literature,...
. It was titled Hartino to Fengaraki ("Papermoon") and was a part of the Greek production of A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
in 1949, in which she starred as Blanche DuBois
Blanche DuBois
Blanche DuBois is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Streetcar Named Desire...
. The first official recording of this, now-legendary song was made by Nana Mouskouri
Nana Mouskouri
Nana Mouskouri , born Ioánna Moúschouri on October 13, 1934, in Chania, Crete, Greece, is a Greek singer who has sold about 300 million records worldwide in a career spanning over five decades, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She was known as Nána to her friends and...
in 1960, although the company Sirius, created by Manos Hadjidakis
Manos Hadjidakis
Manos Hatzidakis was a Greek composer and theorist of the Greek music. He was also one of the main prime movers of the "Éntekhno" song ....
, issued in 2004 a recording that Melina made for French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
TV during the 1960s. Her recordings 'Athenes, ma Ville', a collaboration with Vangelis
Vangelis
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis...
, and 'Melinaki' were popular in France. Her recording of 'Feggari mou, Agapi mou' (Phaedra) was quite popular and was later covered by Haris Alexiou.
Activism against the Greek Junta
At the time of the coup d'étatCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
by a group of colonels of the Greek military
Military of Greece
The armed forces of Greece consist of:* The Hellenic National Defense General Staff* The Hellenic Army* The Hellenic Navy* The Hellenic Air ForceThe civilian authority for the Greek military is the Ministry of National Defense....
on 21 April 1967, she was in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, playing in Illya Darling
Illya Darling
Illya Darling is a musical with a book by Jules Dassin, music by Manos Hadjidakis, and lyrics by Joe Darion, based on Dassin's 1960 film Never on Sunday.-Production:The show previewed in a tour of Philadelphia, Toronto and Detroit for nine weeks...
. She immediately joined the struggle against the Greek Military Junta and started an international campaign, travelling all over the world to inform the public and contribute to the isolation and fall of the colonels. As a result, the dictatorial regime revoked her Greek citizenship
Greek nationality law
right|200pxNationality law of Greece is based on the principle of jus sanguinis. Greek citizenship may be acquired by descent or through naturalization. Greek law permits Dual citizenship...
and confiscated her property. When her citizenship was taken away, she said: "I was born a Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and I will die a Greek. Mr. Pattakos
Stylianos Pattakos
Stylianos Pattakos is a Greek military man who was one of the principals of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974 that overthrew the government of Panagiotis Kanellopoulos in a coup d'état on April 21, 1967....
(one of the colonels) was born a fascist and he will die a fascist", a phrase which represented her love of Greece and democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
.
There were terrorist attempts against her, including an assassination attempt in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. However, she did not stop her fight against the dictatorship with interviews, concerts marches and speeches given all around the world. 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.
Involvement in politics
After the fall of the Junta and during the metapolitefsiMetapolitefsi
The Metapolitefsi was a period in Greek history after the fall of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974 that includes the transitional period from the fall of the dictatorship to the Greek legislative elections of 1974 and the democratic period immediately after these elections.The long...
in 1974, Mercouri settled in Greece and was one of the founding members of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement
Panhellenic Socialist Movement
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement , known mostly by its acronym PASOK , is one of the two major political parties in Greece. Founded on 3 September 1974 by Andreas Papandreou, in 1981 PASOK became Greece's first social democratic party to win a majority in parliament.The party is a socialist party...
(PASOK), a centre-left
Centre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
. She was a member of the party's Central Committee and a rapporteur for the Culture Section, while being involved in the women's movement as well. In the Greek legislative elections of 1974
Greek legislative election, 1974
The first free elections since 1964 and after the end of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974 took place in Greece on November 17, 1974 during the metapolitefsi....
, she was a PASOK candidate in the Piraeus B
Piraeus Prefecture
Piraeus Prefecture was one of the prefectures of Greece. It was part of the Attica region and the Athens-Piraeus super-prefecture. The capital of the prefecture was the city of Piraeus...
constituency, but the 7,500 votes were not enough to secure a seat for her in the Hellenic Parliament
Hellenic Parliament
The Hellenic Parliament , also the Parliament of the Hellenes, is the Parliament of Greece, located in the Parliament House , overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece....
(she needed 33 more votes), something that came true in the elections of 1977
Greek legislative election, 1977
In the Greek legislative election, 1977, Prime Minister, Constantine Karamanlis, called for early elections. His party, New Democracy, suffered a significant loss of power, but, nevertheless, Karamanlis managed to secure an absolute majority in the Parliament. The big surprise was the success of...
, when she obtained the highest number of votes in the whole of Greece.
Minister for Culture: 1981–1989
When PASOK won the elections of 1981, Melina Mercouri was appointed Minister for Culture of GreeceMinister for Culture (Greece)
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is a government department of Greece entrusted with the preservation of the country's cultural heritage, the arts, as well as sports, through the subordinate General Secretariat for Sport...
, being the first female in that post. She would serve in that position for two terms until 1989, when PASOK lost the elections and New Democracy
New Democracy (Greece)
New Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic...
formed a cabinet. As Minister for Culture, Mercouri took advantage of her fame abroad and got in contact with great European leaders in order to promote Greece. She strongly advocated the return to Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
of the Parthenon Marbles
Elgin Marbles
The Parthenon Marbles, forming a part of the collection known as the Elgin Marbles , are a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures , inscriptions and architectural members that originally were part of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens...
, that were removed from Parthenon
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their virgin patron. Its construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although...
and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens
Acropolis of Athens
The Acropolis of Athens or Citadel of Athens is the best known acropolis in the world. Although there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification...
by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin
Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin
Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine was a Scottish nobleman and diplomat, known for the removal of marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens. Elgin was the second son of Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin and his wife Martha Whyte...
, and are now part of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
collection in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In anticipation of the return of the marbles, she held an international competition for the construction of the New Acropolis Museum
New Acropolis Museum
The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on its feet, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece...
, designated to display them and finally established in 2008.
One of her greatest achievements was the establishment of the institution of the European Capital of Culture
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
within the framework of cultural policy of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, that she had conceived and proposed in 1983, with Athens inaugurating this institution being the first title-holder in 1985, while she was a devoted supporter of the Athens bid to host the Centennial Olympic Games
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
. In 1983, during the first Greek presidency of the Council of the European Union
Presidency of the Council of the European Union
The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is the responsibility for the functioning of the Council of the European Union that rotates between the member states of the European Union every six months. The presidency is not a single president but rather the task is undertaken by a national...
, Mercouri invited the Ministers for Culture of the other nine member states of the European Union
Member State of the European Union
A member state of the European Union is a state that is party to treaties of the European Union and has thereby undertaken the privileges and obligations that EU membership entails. Unlike membership of an international organisation, being an EU member state places a country under binding laws in...
at Zappeion
Zappeion
The Zappeion is a building in the National Gardens of Athens in the heart of Athens, Greece. It is generally used for meetings and ceremonies, both official and private.-Constructing the Zappeion:...
, in order to increase the people's cultural awareness, since there was not any reference to cultural questions in the Treaty of Rome, which led to the establishment of formal sessions between the Ministers of Culture of the European Union. During the second presidency of Greece in 1988, she supported the cooperation between Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and the European Union, which was finally implemented one year later with the celebration of the Month of Culture in Eastern countries.
Mercouri also commissioned a study for the integration of all the archaeological sites of Athens so as to create an archaeological park free from traffic, where residents and visitors could enjoy the history of the city. In order to promote the Greek culture
Culture of Greece
The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in Mycenaean Greece, continuing most notably into Classical Greece, through the influence of the Roman Empire and its Greek Eastern successor the Byzantine Empire...
, she introduced free access to museums and archaeological sites for Greek citizens, organized a series of exhibitions of Greek cultural heritage and modern Greek art worldwide, supported the restoration of buildings of special architectural interest and the completion of the Athens Concert Hall
Athens Concert Hall
The Athens Concert Hall is a concert hall located in Athens, on Vassilissis Sofias Avenue....
, backed the project of the Museum of Byzantine culture
Museum of Byzantine culture
The Museum of Byzantine Culture is a museum in Thessaloniki, Greece, which opened in 1994.-History:To design the museum, a nationwide architectural competition was announced in 1977. The competition was ultimately won by the entry of Kyriakos Krokos. Construction of the building began in March...
in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, established annual literary pizes, promoted Greek cinema
Cinema of Greece
Greece has a long and rich cinematic history. Greek films dominate the domestic market, for example Safe Sex had more box office receipts than Titanic. Characteristics of Greek cinema include a dynamic plot, strong character development and erotic themes...
and finally established the municipal theatres and conservatories.
Minister for Culture: 1993–1994
In the legislative elections of November 1989, PASOK lost and Mercouri was elected a member of the Hellenic Parliament and remained a member of the party's Executive Bureau. In 1990, she was a candidate for Mayor of Athens but despite her popularity, she was defeated by Antonis TritsisAntonis Tritsis
Antonis Tritsis was a Greek politician and urban planner, born and raised in the town of Argostoli on the island of Kefalonia.A founding member of PASOK, he was elected MP in the Greek Parliament with PASOK in 1981 and 1985 and served as Minister of Urban Planning, and Minister for National...
in a municipality which traditionally provided New Democracy
New Democracy (Greece)
New Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic...
with strong support. After PASOK's win in the election of 1993
Greek legislative election, 1993
Legislative elections were held in the Hellenic Republic on October 10, 1993. At stake were 300 seats in the Greek parliament, the Voule.The Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Andreas Papandreou, was elected, defeating the conservative New Democracy party of Constantine Mitsotakis.-Results:...
, she was back at the Ministry for Culture. Her major goals in this second term in office were: to create a cultural park in the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
in order to protect and enhance the environment and civilization of the Aegean Islands
Aegean Islands
The Aegean Islands are the group of islands in the Aegean Sea, with mainland Greece to the west and north and Turkey to the east; the island of Crete delimits the sea to the south, those of Rhodes, Karpathos and Kasos to the southeast...
, and to link culture with education at all education levels
Education in Greece
The Greek educational system is mainly divided into three levels, namely primary, secondary and tertiary, with an additional post-secondary level providing vocational training. Primary education is divided into kindergarten lasting one or two years, and primary school spanning six years...
, introducing a system of post-training of teachers.
Death
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center is a cancer treatment and research institution founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
, aged 73. She was survived by her husband, Jules Dassin
Jules Dassin
Julius "Jules" Dassin , was an American film director, with Jewish-Russian origins. He was a subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, and subsequently moved to France where he revived his career.-Early life:...
. She received a state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
with Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Greece
The Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following...
's honors at the First Cemetery of Athens
First Cemetery of Athens
The First Cemetery of Athens is the official cemetery of the City of Athens and the first to be built. It opened in 1837 and soon became a luxurious cemetery for famous Greek people and foreigners....
four days later. Thousands attended her funeral.
External links
- Foundation Melina Mercouri
- Melina Mercouri (Hellenic Ministry of Culture)
- Melina Mercouri at The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Movies