Ntinos Iliopoulos

Konstantinos – Ntinos – Iliopoulos (1915–2001) was one of the greatest and most renowned actors in Greek cinema and theater. He was born in Alexandreia, Egypt. on June 12, 1915. His father, a wholesale merchant, was of Peloponnesian descent while his mother originated from Yemen. After the economic crisis in 1929, his large family settled in Marseille, where Iliopoulos finished high school with French as the primary language. He arrived in Athens six years later, and pursued commercial studies. He completed his military service, but his discharge coincided with the outbreak of war in 1940, and as such, he donned the green uniform once more and served as a radio operator. He auditioned for the Drama School of the then Royal Theater, but was denied admission. His tenacity and determination to become an actor led him to Giannoulis Sarantidis Drama School. He graduated with honors and stepped into the world of theater in 1944, during the Occupation, making his stage debut with the theater troupe of Katerina Andreadi in Leo Lenz’s play Lady I Love You. Since then, he also participated in the theater troupes of Marika Kotopouli, Mairi Aroni, Dimitris Horn, and many more. In 1954, he founded a theater troupe with Mimis Fotopoulos, with whom he became an unparalleled comic duo. Together, they also co-directed the film You' ve Got to Keep Cool in 1951. He created his own theater troupe three years later and would often direct the troupe’s productions and adapt, in line with Greek ethics, international farces and comedies. In the following years, he focused on revues, starred in musicals, toured the U.S. and Canada. Ntinos Iliopoulos also had an affinity for the seventh art. Cinema entered his life in 1948, when he made his debut on the big screen with Alekos Livaditis’s comedy, Ekato chiliades lires, which was based on Nikos Tsiforos’s script. This was followed by more than 90 films. His body of work also includes three albums – one of which features satirical works by Georgios Souris –, two books with humorous texts, a poetry collection, and of course, his autobiography, titled Enas Hliopoulos onomati Ntinos [An Iliopoulos, named Ntinos], published in 1999 by Agkyra publications.Ntinos Iliopoulos passed away in Athens on June 4, 2001, at the age of 85.