Thanasis Veggos

Thanasis Veggos

Thanasis Veggos (29 May 1926 – 3 May 2011) was a Greek actor and director born in Neo Faliro, Piraeus. He performed in around 130 films, predominantly comedies in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, starring in more than 50 among them. He is considered one of the best Greek comedy actors of all time. His famous comedic catchphrase was "Καλέ µου άνθρωπε" ("My good man").

Veggos' first appearance in a film was in Windfall in Athens, produced by Mihalis Kakogiannis, which premiered in Athens as Kiriakatiko Xsipnima on 11 January 1954. Nikos Koundouros gave him a role in Magiki polis in 1955. His first major role was in Psila ta heria Hitler ("Hands Up, Hitler"), 1962 and continued many more films. For his acting in What did you do in the war, Thanasi? (1971), the public of Thessaloniki °apotheosized° him and the movie won three awards at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. He often played everyman characters struggling to get by, but he has also played anti-heroes, he has acted in pure dramas, and on stage in the comedies of Aristophanes. His characters were often self-named "Thanasis". He often worked with directors Panos Glykofridis and Giorgos Lazaridis. In 1995, Theo Angelopoulos cast Veggos and American actor Harvey Keitel in "Ulysses Gaze". In 1997, in the role of Dikaiopoli he appeared in a live performance at the ancient Epidaurus theater. In 2000, he survived a car accident involving a collision with a train. He later participated in advertisements promoting road safety. A documentary of his life, whose title translates as A Man for All Seasons, was made in 2004. He always did his own stunts including the most dangerous ones, like hanging from a rope tied to a balcony fifty feet above a pavement without anything to break his fall, walking through a glass door, or falling down a stone staircase head first. During the "Golden Sixties" of the Greek film industry he made his most popular comedy films such as the sequel of Secret Agent 000, Papatrehas, Enas trellos Vengos and many others, also with surrealist humor, most of them by his own company Θ-Β Comedies (Θ-Β Tainies Geliou) which founded in 1964. In 2008, Veggos was appointed Commander of the Order of the Phoenix by the President of Greece, Karolos Papoulias. On 3 May 2011, he died at 7:10 a.m. He had been hospitalized at the Red Cross hospital, in Athens, since 18 December 2010. He is survived by his wife Asimina and two sons. He will always be remembered in the more than 120 films and more recent documentaries that he starred in. The phrase "τρέχει σαν το Βέγγο" (English translation: "runs like Veggos") has been adopted into common usage in the Greek language since nobody has run more or faster than Veggos in his many slapstick comedies.

Acting

2011

2003

2000

About Winds and Waters

Λύσσανδρος

1996

Steps

Iason Makris

1995

Ulysses' Gaze

Taxi Driver

1990

1990

1989

Champion

Thanasis Manaris / Sakis

1989

1989

1988

1983

Crazy of all Greece

Thanasis Koukouras

1982

1980

1979

The Wicked World of Thanasis

Thanasis Mpesagiampesas

1978

Which Way to the Septic Tank?

Thanasis Papathanasis

1976

1973

The Charlatan

Thanasis / Athanasia / Lefteris

1971

1971

1971

Holidays in Vietnam

Thanasis Hatzifapas

1969

1969

An Unbelievable Sucker

Thanasis Hatzipapageorgakopoulokonstadinogiannopoulos

1967

Help! Vengos Visible Agent '000'

Thou Vou (Athanasios Bobas)

1967

1966

Papatrechas

Polydoros Lagos

1964

The Hustler

Kanellos Karabatsas

1964

1964

1963

Blind Nache Marlon Brando

Stefanos Avgerinos

1963

1962

Min eidate ton Panai?

Panagis Papapanagopoulos

1962

1962

1962

Astronauts

Thanasis

1962

Odd Jobs

Mitros

1962

1962

1962

1962

The Jar

Andreas

1962

The Proud

Priest

1961

1961

Sharp as a Needle

Detective Van Gray

1961

Diamanto

Karderinas

1961

1961

Who Is Margarita?

Grigoris Ladias

1960

The Dawn of Triumph

Περιπτεράς

1960

1960

Madalena

Policeman

1960

1960

1960

Sunday's Date

Car Workshoper

1960

1960

1960

1960

1960

1959

Wandering Jews

Thomas Kalafatis

1959

Mousitsa

Foivos

1959

1959

1959

1959

1958

1958

1958

Holidays in Aegina

Thodoros' assistant

1958

Just for One Night

Sirios's assistant

1958

1957

1956

1956

1956

1955

1955

Production

Directing

Infos

Full Name
Thanasis Veggos
Gender
Male
Date of Birth
5/29/1927
Date of Death
5/3/2011
Website
http://www.veggos.gr/
Also Known As

Thanasis Vengos

Thanassis Veggos

Thanassis Vengos

Thanasis Vegos

Θανασης Βεγγος

Θανάσης Βέγγος