Lykourgos Kallergis has passed away

Lykourgos Kallergis, a multifaceted personality with a very significant cultural contribution and a presence in the political arena, died this morning defeated by serious health problems.

His funeral will take place next Tuesday at 5pm at the 1st Athens Cemetery.

Lykourgos Kallergis was born in 1914 at Houmeri, Mylopotamos, Crete, hailing from a family with a political tradition - his father was journalist Stavros Kallergis, a pioneer socialist leader and organizer of the first Labour Day in Greece.

After completing his studies at Karolos Koun’s Drama School, he made his first appearance as Panaretos in Erofili by Hortatsis. He was a founding member and main protagonist at the Art Theatre, participated in a large number of plays, performing several roles from both the Greek and international drama. He was a protagonist of the National Theatre, and Professor of the Drama School. He translated Chekhov's plays and wrote the book "In the wake of the turbulent 20th century". He dealt with the unions for many years, and in 1977 was elected MP with the Communist Party.

He has received the Pirandello and Veakis awards and has been proclaimed an Honorary Doctor of the department of Theatre Studies at the University of Athens. He was married to actress Maria Foka, with whom he had a daughter and had a second marriage with actress Jenny Kollarou, with whom he had a son.