Andréas Voutsinas
Encyclopedia
Andréas Voutsinas was a Greek
actor and theater director. In the English-speaking world, he was best known for his roles in three Mel Brooks
films, The Producers
(1968), The Twelve Chairs
(1970) and History of the World, Part I
(1980).
Career
Andreas Voutsinas was born in Khartoum
, Sudan
on 22 August 1932 by parents from Lixouri
Kefalonia
, Greece
. Andreas Voutsinas had studied acting and costume design at the Old Vic School and drama and song at the Webber Douglas Academy in New York and attended the school of Lee Strasberg
.
In 1957 he joined the Actors Studio
. He worked as an actor and director on Broadway in Elia Kazan
's films with Jules Dassin
and Luc Besson
.
He directed more than 130 performances of classical and contemporary repertoire in London, Paris, New York, Canada and Greece.
Voutsinas became the original Carmen Ghia after befriending Mel Brooks' girlfriend of the time, Anne Bancroft
. She recommended him to Brooks and said Voutsinas would be perfect for the part. Voutsinas, a lifetime member of Actor's Studio since 1957, spent many years working in summer stock
theater and as an assistant to Elia Kazan
, before he met Jane Fonda
, with whom he got involved and whom he cast in the leading part in Fun Couple, his Broadway directorial debut in 1960.
Voutsinas later followed Fonda to Hollywood where he coached her in a number of movies. He then started working as a coach for many others, including Faye Dunaway
and Warren Beatty
. Following Fonda to Paris to coach her in Roger Vadim
's Barbarella
(the two were not a couple anymore), he decided to found Le Theatre Des Cinquante, an acting workshop based on the principles of Lee Strasberg. Many famous French actors and actresses started attending his classes, and at the same time he successfully began directing plays for the French theater.
It was not until the early 1980s that he eventually moved to his native Greece, where he continued his career directing a wide range of repertoire from Tennessee Williams
to Euripides
, mainly for the State Theater of Northern Greece in Thessaloniki
. His productions were also staged during summer in the Athens Festival
in Herodion, as well as in the Epidaurus Festival. He continued working between the two countries while he appeared in many French and Greek films, including Le Grand bleu (1988) and Safe Sex
(1999).
Andreas Voutsinas taught acting at the State Theatre of Northern Greece from 2002 to 2009.
Death
Voutsinas died of a respiratory tract infection
on June 8, 2010 at age 79, after several days of hospitalization in Henry Dunant
Hospital in Athens
.
External links
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
actor and theater director. In the English-speaking world, he was best known for his roles in three Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
films, The Producers
The Producers (1968 film)
The Producers is a 1968 American satirical dark comedy cult classic film written and directed by Mel Brooks. The film is set in the late 1960s and it tells the story of a theatrical producer and an accountant who want to produce a sure-fire Broadway flop...
(1968), The Twelve Chairs
The Twelve Chairs (1970 film)
The Twelve Chairs is a 1970 American slapstick comedy film directed by Mel Brooks, starring Frank Langella, Dom DeLuise and Ron Moody. The screenplay was written by Brooks. The film is loosely based on a Russian 1928 novel The Twelve Chairs by Ilf and Petrov...
(1970) and History of the World, Part I
History of the World, Part I
History of the World, Part I is a 1981 comedy film written, produced, and directed by Mel Brooks. Brooks also stars in the film, playing five roles: Moses, Comicus the stand-up philosopher, Tomás de Torquemada, King Louis XVI, and Jacques, le garçon de pisse...
(1980).
Career
Andreas Voutsinas was born in Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
on 22 August 1932 by parents from Lixouri
Lixouri
Lixouri is the main town on the peninsula of Paliki in the island of Kefalonia, one of the Ionian Islands of western Greece. Lixouri is the second largest community in Kefalonia after Argostoli and before Sami and is the capital of the small peninsula...
Kefalonia
Kefalonia
The island of Cephalonia, also known as Kefalonia, Cephallenia, Cephallonia, Kefallinia, or Kefallonia , is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, with an area of . It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Andreas Voutsinas had studied acting and costume design at the Old Vic School and drama and song at the Webber Douglas Academy in New York and attended the school of Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg was an American actor, director and acting teacher. He cofounded, with directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as "America's first true theatrical collective"...
.
In 1957 he joined the Actors Studio
Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow who provided...
. He worked as an actor and director on Broadway in Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
's films with 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:...
and Luc Besson
Luc Besson
Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
.
He directed more than 130 performances of classical and contemporary repertoire in London, Paris, New York, Canada and Greece.
Voutsinas became the original Carmen Ghia after befriending Mel Brooks' girlfriend of the time, Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft was an American actress associated with the Method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg....
. She recommended him to Brooks and said Voutsinas would be perfect for the part. Voutsinas, a lifetime member of Actor's Studio since 1957, spent many years working in summer stock
Summer Stock
For the article about the theatre genre, see Summer stock theatre.Summer Stock is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical made in 1950. The film was directed by Charles Walters and stars Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, and Phil Silvers...
theater and as an assistant to Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
, before he met Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
, with whom he got involved and whom he cast in the leading part in Fun Couple, his Broadway directorial debut in 1960.
Voutsinas later followed Fonda to Hollywood where he coached her in a number of movies. He then started working as a coach for many others, including Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
and Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
. Following Fonda to Paris to coach her in Roger Vadim
Roger Vadim
Roger Vadim was a French screenwriter, director, and producer as well as a journalist, author and actor, who launched Brigitte Bardot's career in the film And God Created Woman.-Early life:...
's Barbarella
Barbarella
Barbarella is a female given name, variant of Barbara. It may also refer to:* Barbarella by Jean-Claude Forest; the origin of the story** Barbarella , based on the comic book; starring Jane Fonda...
(the two were not a couple anymore), he decided to found Le Theatre Des Cinquante, an acting workshop based on the principles of Lee Strasberg. Many famous French actors and actresses started attending his classes, and at the same time he successfully began directing plays for the French theater.
It was not until the early 1980s that he eventually moved to his native Greece, where he continued his career directing a wide range of repertoire from 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...
to Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
, mainly for the State Theater of Northern Greece 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...
. His productions were also staged during summer in the Athens Festival
Athens Festival
Athens - Epidaurus Festival is an annual arts festival that takes place in Athens and Epidaurus, from May to October. It is one of the most famous festivals in Greece. The festival includes musical, theatrical and other cultural events....
in Herodion, as well as in the Epidaurus Festival. He continued working between the two countries while he appeared in many French and Greek films, including Le Grand bleu (1988) and Safe Sex
Safe Sex (film)
Safe Sex is a 1999 comedy film by Michalis Reppas and Thanasis Papathanasiou. It was a blockbuster in Greece.-Plot:A satire of life in modern Greece, presented through a series of different stories about sex...
(1999).
Andreas Voutsinas taught acting at the State Theatre of Northern Greece from 2002 to 2009.
Death
Voutsinas died of a respiratory tract infection
Respiratory tract infection
Respiratory tract infection refers to any of a number of infectious diseases involving the respiratory tract. An infection of this type is normally further classified as an upper respiratory tract infection or a lower respiratory tract infection...
on June 8, 2010 at age 79, after several days of hospitalization in Henry Dunant
Henry Dunant
Jean Henri Dunant , aka Henry Dunant, was a Swiss businessman and social activist. During a business trip in 1859, he was witness to the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino in modern day Italy...
Hospital in 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...
.
Movies
- The ProducersThe Producers (1968 film)The Producers is a 1968 American satirical dark comedy cult classic film written and directed by Mel Brooks. The film is set in the late 1960s and it tells the story of a theatrical producer and an accountant who want to produce a sure-fire Broadway flop...
(1968) - Histoires extraordinairesHistoires extraordinairesHistoires extraordinaires is a 1968 "omnibus" film comprising three segments...
(1968) (uncredited) - Fräulein DoktorFräulein DoktorFräulein Doktor is a First World War drama filmed in 1968 and released in 1969. It was a European co-production, starring Suzy Kendall, Kenneth More, Capucine, James Booth, Giancarlo Giannini and Nigel Green. It was produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by Alberto Lattuada, with a music...
(1969) - The Twelve ChairsThe Twelve Chairs (1970 film)The Twelve Chairs is a 1970 American slapstick comedy film directed by Mel Brooks, starring Frank Langella, Dom DeLuise and Ron Moody. The screenplay was written by Brooks. The film is loosely based on a Russian 1928 novel The Twelve Chairs by Ilf and Petrov...
(1970) - Un peu, beaucoup, passionnément... (1971)
- Boulevard du RhumBoulevard du RhumBoulevard du Rhum is a 1971 French-Italian-Spanish adventure film directed by Robert Enrico and produced by Alain Poiré. It is based on Jacques Pecheral's novel of the same name...
(1971) - Bel ordure (1973)
- Lily, aime-moiLily, aime-moiLily, aime-moi is a 1975 French comedy film directed by Maurice Dugowson. It was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Jean-Michel Folon - François* Patrick Dewaere - Gaston, dit Johnny Cash* Rufus - Claude* Zouzou - Lily...
(1975) - Monsieur Balboss (1975)
- A Dream of PassionA Dream of PassionA 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:...
(1978) - Les Charlots contre Dracula (1980)
- History of the World, Part IHistory of the World, Part IHistory of the World, Part I is a 1981 comedy film written, produced, and directed by Mel Brooks. Brooks also stars in the film, playing five roles: Moses, Comicus the stand-up philosopher, Tomás de Torquemada, King Louis XVI, and Jacques, le garçon de pisse...
(1981) - Les Voleurs de la nuit (1984)
- Les Nouveaux tricheurs (1987)
- Le Grand bleu (1988)
- Gynaikes dilitirio (1993)
- La Patite apocalypse (1993)
- Safe SexSafe Sex (film)Safe Sex is a 1999 comedy film by Michalis Reppas and Thanasis Papathanasiou. It was a blockbuster in Greece.-Plot:A satire of life in modern Greece, presented through a series of different stories about sex...
(1999)
TV
- The Defenders episode the bagman (1963)
- Le Pain noir (1974)
- SolitudesSolitudesSolitudes is a brand of music created by the late Dan Gibson who was a Canadian photographer, cinematographer and sound recordist.During the late 1940s, he took photographs and made nature films, including Audubon Wildlife Theatre. He produced many films and television series. It was through this...
(1977) - Sam et Sally episode Lili (1978)
- Madame Sourdis (1979)
- Prova nifikou (1995)
Stage director
- Le Bonheur à Romorantin (1984 TV show)
- Don JuanDon JuanDon Juan is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra by Tirso de Molina is a play set in the fourteenth century that was published in Spain around 1630...
(1978 TV show)
External links