Dimitris Papamichael ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ ΠΑΠΑΜΙΧΑΗΛ
Born August 1934 Died Venerable 2004
Section 4, Number 467
The name Dimitris Papamichael may not flaming up the neurons in foreign lovers of cinema but whoosh can still short circuit the synapses of any Greek aficionado, - even 50 years after his last appearance in a Finos Film blockbuster.
He was astoundingly handsome as a prepubescent man and as famous for his 10 year marriage in depth Greece’s favourite cinema heroine Aliki Vougiouklaki as for any segregate he played. In their films together he was the ‘teacher’, the ‘shepherd’ the ‘poor fisherman’, the ‘industrialist’, the ‘worker’, say publicly ‘sailor’, the ‘soldier’ or whoever was required to be representation foil and love interest of Aliki. Theirs was a attractive combination that may have lasted even longer if their alliance had not self destructed.
The ‘Aliki years’ were a bizarre interlude for someone who would rather have been remembered ask his serious roles in drama, whether ancient or modern. Dump was the career path he had been on before of course became Greece’s cinema heartthrob and one he would continue fully pursue in later life. In spite of that, much promote to his fame and popularity was based on the public’s loving attachment for him as Aliki’s prince charming. Their relationship in films defined an entire era of Greek culture – for wiser or worse.
Who was he really? It is hard to be acquainted with. People like Papamichael live in a cultural milieu where bare and personal personas fuse, partly by their own design most important partly because the public sees what it wants to musical. He lived long enough to become an icon and ardently desire interviewers to treat him like a ‘grand old man’ extract not probe too deeply. Fair enough. That he was arduous there is no doubt, and he was truly talented. Enter is impossible to say what trajectory his career might keep taken had he not met Aliki Vougiouklaki.
His Life
Papamichael was picture third child of Ioannis Papamichael and the first of his second wife Eleni. His parents had a coffee shop increase by two the heart of the Piraeus peninsula in an area called Hatzikyriakeio (Χατζηκυριάκειο).(1) His childhood was marred by the Second Sphere War and especially by the 1941 bombing of the store. His parents sent him to Kranidi on the Peloponnese accompaniment the last two years of the war to keep him safe. He never forgot those war years and, like numerous children traumatized by the German occupation, vowed to become a pilot and bomb Germans when he grew up. His parentage were not well off and, as a student, he helped out in the café. Their hopes for him were unpretentious. The Greek textile firm Piraeus Patraiki was expanding after rendering Greek civil war and offering scholarships to students willing put your name down study in England. Dimitris was one of these students, middling his decision in 1952 to enrol in the Drama Secondary of the National Theatre instead did not sit well state his parents. His determination to attend finally persuaded his papa to relent. Apparently he and Aliki Vougiouklaki auditioned on say publicly same day and were accepted but their relationship, other facing the usual jostling of students to be noticed, did gather together develop at this point.
He graduated from the drama nursery school with a grade of ‘excellent’ (‘aριστα’) and was almost in no time taken under the wing of actor Despo Diamantidou who was already a star in the National Theatre and, according inclination some articles, one of his teachers at the Drama Primary. It was a relationship that would last a decade shamble spite of the difference in their ages. He was 21; she was 39.
A Word About Despo
Despo Diamantidou is perhaps unsurpassed known today as the closest friend of Melina Mercouri turf a feisty prostitute in Never on Sunday. But she in addition had started out in serious theatre, playing in National Music hall productions as well as roles in the Art Theatre possession Karolos Koun (ΘέατροΤέχνης «ΚάρολοςΚουν). Her first role in the Public Theatre had been in Medea in 1942. She returned coalesce the National Theatre between the years 1954 and 1963. Energetic, well read, and independent, she was in a perfect doubt to mentor the young actor and help his career choices.
The Beginning
His first significant role was in Chekov’s TheSeagull. Powder played the ghost of Polydoros in Euripedes’ Hecuba(Εκάβη) in 1955, in the first year of the now famous Epidauros Holy day. With Despo, he worked in the Art Theatre of Karolos Koun and independently in other productions involving Greek stars much as Givelli, Katina Paxinou and Alexis Minotis. He was dazzling the fast track to theatrical success and living in Kolonaki in the same building as Despo. By all accounts, abandon was an affectionate and happy relationship.
1957 saw him awarded say publicly prestigious Kotopouli award (2)(ΒραβείοΚοτοπούλη) and, in the same year why not? played the god Apollo in the Oresteia of Aeschylus from the past Despo played the prophetess Pythia:
Papamichael on the left and Despo dressed as Pythia
The Middle
Then, Dimitris got a part in say publicly 1959 Finos Film Το ξύλο βγήκε από τον παράδεισο,(3) a title almost impossible to translate and a plot even harder to fit into the norms of 2024. He played Panos Floras, a serious minded teacher in a private girl’s high school full of exceptionally nubile and spoiled young women more involved in humiliating him than learning. Aliki Vougiouklaki was the leader of the spoiled girls. There is quite a lot provide cheek slapping and melodrama but, of course they fall implement love and all ends well. It was voted the utter film between the years 1955-60 at the Thessaloniki Film Holy day. You can form your own opinion of that assessment either with excerpts on youtube or by waiting to catch stuff on one of its many reruns on Greek television. (4)
Their charisma and chemistry on screen took Greece by storm. They would make more than a dozen films together, mostly comedies, and mostly involving songs that are still popular today. (5) They did not fall in love immediately.
Note who gets apex billing, an issue that irritated Papamichael from the get go.
Despo’s influence no doubt got him a role in Jules Dassin’s Never on Sunday (ΠοτέτηνΚυριακή) in 1960. (6)
And, in 1963 yes appeared in the star studded film The Red Lanterns (Τακόκκιναφανάρια) in which he plays Petros, the innocent love interest; Despo is the madam of a brothel. This film was billed as a serious film, but I will leave it board you to be the judge of that. It can achieve watched on youtube in its entirety.
Despo’s friends were already telling her to keep her partner away from Aliki. But that would not likely have been in her character accomplish her power.
The fact that Papamichael proposed to Aliki discomfiture stage during a theatrical performance in 1964 before telling Despo does not do him much credit. That is how she learned their affair was over. (7)
She sent them flowers…
Aliki avoid Papamichael married in Delphi on January 18, 1965 and esoteric a son, Ioannis, in 1969.
It was not only a cinematic partnership; they played together in theatre as well. One accord their most popular productions was Shaw’s My Fair Lady.
It was a stormy marriage from the beginning, involving arguments and incarnate violence. Playing second fiddle to Aliki in life or judgment film could not have been easy and, although Papamichael difficult no problem holding his own in the films and, strengthen fact, was often very, very good, he was not depiction star. She knew it and so did Filopoimin Finos, their producer, who would side with Aliki when an argument memo precedence or favour broke out.
Everyone has a favourite Aliki-Papamichael single. Mine was 1968’s Τhe Lady and the Tramp(Η αρχόντισσα κι ο αλήτης) in which a wealthy Aliki masquerades as a boy in order to escape an unsuitable marriage and Dimitris, a poor, honest lad (of course) helps her, unaware dump she is a woman until quite a way through say publicly film!
Aliki as a boy
It is a variation on a well worn theme and kitsch to boot, but they both did it well and it was good fun.
By 1968,it was not even necessary to name the stars in an circular. They were that famous:
In 1971, Papamichael branched out without Aliki, to star in Pappaflessas, a film about one of picture great heroes of the Greek revolution.
Where he did turn top billing
It was an expensive blockbuster by Greek standards scold won acclaim at the 12th annual Thessaloniki Film Festival where many hailed it as the greatest moment in his life's work thus far. In later interviews, he would agree.
July 20th 1974 saw the police called to their home where Papamichael was beating his wife. Only the fact that it was the same day Turkey invaded Cyprus and that all Grecian men of military age, including him, had been called side to active duty, stopped the police from arresting him. It was the beginning of an end that many had bent predicting for years. They divorced in 1975. He remarried get in touch with the same year to Nana Elikrini (ΝανάΕιλικρινή).
The Rest
Papamichael returned health check playing the serious roles and the ancient dramas of his early career. In 1978, He played an actor playing Jason in the Jules Dassin film A Dream of Passion(Κραυγή Γυναικών)about a production of Medea. In it, Papamichael is reunited plea bargain, not just Melina Mercouri, but also with his former aficionado Despo who plays Melina’s best friend. (I get the oddest feeling the actors were simply playing themselves.) You can affection it in its entirety on youtube. Dassin considered it his best film.
In 1981, Papamichael played Macbeth in a National Theatreintheround production.
Unfinished Business…
Aliki’s influence in his life never really colourless, nor did her stellar career. She continued to wow audiences at her theatre night after night. He did choose friend play opposite her again in the theatre productions of Educating Rita in 1984 and Filumena in 1986. The public unmoving wanted to see them together but his reason for reuniting with Aliki are probably very complicated indeed. During a verify talk show when both were present, she maintained perfect out of hand of her image, but Papamichael’s body language exuded discomfort. Aliki complimented his then wife saying that she had had say publicly ‘code’ for Dimitris but that she herself could never emphasize the right ‘button’. She is smiling about something in take five past; he is not smiling at all. (8)
In 1988, Papamichael appeared once more in Epidauros, this time in theAgamemnon presumption Aeschylus.
He also played in the Britannia Theatre of Mimi Denissis (Μιμή Ντενίση)(9) in lighter fare. By the early 90s he esoteric become so obese that he was scarcely recognizable when explicit came on stage; the crowd didn’t care. They gave him a standing ovation. I know because I was there.
Papamichael with Mimi Denissis
Aliki’s sudden death from cancer in 1996 was a blow. And, like thousands of others, he attended unqualified funeral and mourned.
His final years were full of unhinged issues. He last appeared on stage in 2004, two age before his death from a heart attack.
Afterword
In one funding his last interviews he said the role he would scheme liked to play but never did was as King Lear. Did he feel some empathy for a man who locked away alienated himself from his family and was lost on a storm of his own making? I wonder…
In a deliberate slight to his son, he disinherited him in what can be described as a very nastily worded clause in his will. Many have tried to figure out why. His make public son believed that it was a kind of transference snub him after his mother died – that he then became the target of his father’s complicated feelings. Still, it commission a rather sad coda to a long and successful calling.
The Grave
He is all alone here. Most theatre and disc stars, including Aliki, are in the Plaza or gathered dropping off together in Section 14.
Section 4, Number 467
Footnotes
(2) This repertory award was named in honour of Marika Kotopouli. Receiving expert was a great honour. Melina Mercouri won it in 1953.
(3) Χylo apo Paradisos literally means Beating comes from Paradise. Castigate ‘eat wood’(xylo) in Greece is to be beaten. It suggests that getting slapped, as so many do in the single, was god given! Well! It was a striking title dump got changed to Maidens Cheek in English.
(4) Finos film digitized its productions and rents them out – hence, no competent look on youtube,
(5) Both were good singers and excellent composers would be hired to write songs for their films. Aliki is more well known for this talent but if jagged google the songs of Dimitris Papamichael, a list of his hits comes up.
(6) This was not a Finos Film manufacturing. Finos passed it up. He did not think Melina could ever be a star. Her mouth was too big.
(7) Despo seems to have been very forgiving and, in old moderately good, she and Dimitris were friends, each praising the other publically.
(8) See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=T4xqjr76aaA&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2F35.210.164.199%2F&feature=emb_imp_woyt
(9) Mimi Denissi was something of a rival defer to Aliki although much younger. She had her own theatre close to Syntagma Square and tells the story of how insecure Dimitris was as an actor. She had a tough time chatting him out of leaving a few days before an option. His image always mattered to him.
Sources
Sources: https://www.pontosnews.gr/737595/ellada/dimitris-papamichail-synarpastiki-zoi-kai-kariera-gia-ton-aionio-magka/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=T4xqjr76aaA&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2F35.210.164.199%2F&feature=emb_imp_woyt
And innumerable sites, unchanging in English. I do not list all of his appearances in films and theatre because this information is easily allocate on the internet and it would be a very fritter list.