“Orange dress?”: Yiannis Gionakis, the most beloved “fool” and his incurable passion for women

A natural talent who excelled on the Greek stage for over half a century, Yiannis Gionakis belongs to the generation of great comedians of the country as he is perhaps the only Greek actor who in a few minutes created a huge crater of laughter and conquered the hearts of all Greeks, from his explosively hilarious performance as Brilis in the classic comedy The Yellow Gloves.

But, Giannis Gionakis, who we lost 20 years ago and today marks 100 years since his birth (September 18, 1922), in addition to being an important performer of folk comedy, revue and a key representative of the works of Dimitris Psathas, gave his acting mark and through classic works of the repertoire, while his out-of-bounds, undeniable, passion for women will also bring him face to face with Justice, with the “Kozanita case”.

From Medicine to the historic Underground

Giannis Gionakis was born in Athens, on September 18, 1922. He lived a happy childhood, with his sister being the quiet child of the family, “French and piano” and him being the protagonist of the disorder. Even as a teenager, he showed that he would follow the profession of his father, who was a doctor. Indeed, he will enter the Medical School of the University of Athens, but will drop out after four years. In the early 40s, having fun with his company, he gave an impromptu recital, with funny faces, imitations and other comic games, attracting the interest of Alekos Sakellarios, who asked him if he had thought about becoming an actor. He answered him in the negative, but some time later, when his School was closed due to the War, he will make a decision and leave Medicine to study at the school of Karolos Koon and the Hellenic Conservatory.

Gionakis was a self-taught musician and dancer, learning to play the piano and tap dance by himself, something that will help him decisively in his career. And it showed when he stormed into revue in 1945, the genre he adored and took off his career.

The most beloved fool

He will make his film debut in 1946 in Sakellario’s film “Shoe from Your Place”. In the 1950s he will play supporting roles or as a co-star in several films, with the most typical being the musical comedy “Adekari Erovemovioni” alongside genre experts Kouli Stoliga, Nikos Rizo and Speranza Vrana.

The decade of the 60s will enter triumphantly when he takes the immortal role of Brilis, in Sakellario’s comedy “The Yellow Gloves”, starring the brilliant Nikos Stavridis. The hilarious recital he gives in those few minutes of his appearance, embodying the character of the “village fool” with such conviction, taking advantage of the incredible lines written for him by the director together with Christos Giannakopoulos, will make him a favorite in record time comedian of all Greeks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vG6fSo4qCU

Thus, after his triumph as Brilis, he will start to get bigger roles, but for several years he did not abandon the small strong roles, which gave him the comfort to show his talent and in the end to steal impressions from the protagonists, even if we are talking about top actors or undisputed protagonists. As in the romantic comedy “Alice in the Navy”, in the comedy “Koroido Gabre” or in the noteworthy comedy “The Bride Escaped”, with Jenny Karezi. His last great success will be the comedy “The Beautiful Barber”, while now he has passed into the manner of the strange, out loud “The Crooked Wood”, “My Sister Wants Wood”, “The Bed Murmur”, “The Crazy Head” etc. a.

Gionakis, who acted in a total of 117 films, would also tackle video films, managing to appear in over 30 of them, believing – wrongly – that they could successfully replace film production.

Kozanita case

His personal life was dominated by women. A passionate womanizer, even though he married once in 1957, Zeta’s “beloved”, and gave him two daughters, Gionakis never stopped dating. As his daughter and actress Polina Gionaki would say later “he was an unfaithful husband and he didn’t even know how to cover it up”.

In October 1984, he will be arrested because he shot three times his then romantic partner Aphrodite Kozanita, in her house in Kastri, because she asked him to divorce her. He will be arrested, remanded in custody and will sit on the bench, on the charge of attempted murder. The incident, of course, will make headlines, rumors will give and take, it will ignite the public imagination. No one knows exactly what happened that night in Kastri, but what is certain is that the victim will testify in court that Gionakis had no intention of killing her. The popular actor will buy back his 15-month prison sentence, but those who knew him well said he was never able to get over the hit, coupled with diabetes, which he suffered from and which caused him constant problems.

The difficult ending

Despite this, he will continue to climb the board, act in videos, reevaluate his life, his family, his daughters, his granddaughters. Gionakis’ health will be burdened by diabetes and in 1998 he will suffer his first serious stroke. He will spend the last four years of his life bedridden, due to the strokes he suffered, as well as the amputation of his leg. He will die on August 25, 2002 and will be buried in the First Cemetery in the presence of many of his colleagues and a crowd of people.

In his later years, when some “teasingly” asked him about his reputation as a womanizer, he always said that his great mistress would always be “the stage.” It was what he was missing. Her smell, the lights, the applause and of course the ear-to-ear laughter, like his…

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