Titos Vandis(1917-2003)

Titos Vandis was a Greek actor whose long career spanned theatre, film, television and international stage productions, while he was also active in public life as a member of the Greek Communist Party. Raised in Thessaloniki after spending part of his childhood in Switzerland, he studied at the Thessaloniki Conservatory and later at the Drama School of the National Theatre, beginning his stage career in the 1930s with a performance in Spyros Melas' play Ioudas. Over the following decades he worked with major theatrical figures and companies in Greece, including productions associated with Marika Kotopouli, and eventually formed his own touring troupe while also appearing with leading institutions such as the National Theatre of Northern Greece. His film career included roles in Never on Sunday (1960) alongside Melina Mercouri, the crime film Murder Backstage (1960) where he portrayed the detective Bekas, and the Nikos Koundouros film The River (1960), while his later international work brought him to American cinema and television after relocating to the United States in the 1960s. During this period he appeared in productions such as Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972) and the horror classic The Exorcist (1973), and made guest appearances in well-known television series including Kojak (1973), M*A*S*H (1972) and Hawaii Five-O (1968). Vandis also performed on Broadway in the stage adaptation Illya Darling, based on Never on Sunday, further expanding his presence abroad before eventually returning to Greece, where he continued working in theatre and screen projects. In addition to acting he published the reflective book 'Kouventa me tous filous mou', presenting memories and personal observations from a life closely connected to the performing arts and the political currents of his time.