On this day, Yiannis Michalopoulos, the beloved judge of the small screen, was born

On a day like today in 1927, the actor Yiannis Michalopoulos was born. Most people knew him as a supporting film actor and a television star, although when he wasn’t co-starring with Vougiouklakis and Vlachopoulou or playing court officials on the small receivers, he was writing history on the theater board.

And all this from a young man with a good voice who started timidly as a radio announcer, but along the way he was completely won over by acting. Another outstanding talent of the Dramatic School of the National Theater, the first and foremost theatrical Michalopoulos acted in prose and revue plays alongside equally great actors, such as Kyveli, Lambeti, Horn, Iliopoulos, Rizos, Konstandaras, Kondou and Chronopoulou.

But also in the cinema, who can forget his roles in the films “A man of all trades”, “Ah, that’s my wife”, “My aunt the hippie”, “A crazy, crazy forty-year-old”, “Youth of a five-year-old” , “Ah, if only I were a man”, “Stavros is cunning”, “Kategaris” and so many more?

As for television, Michalopoulos wrote his own chapter as our national judge, both as lawyer Demosthenes Parlatos in Costas Pretenderis’s comedy series “The Master Advocate” (1970), which made him famous throughout Greece, and as president of court in the phenomenon sitcom “Swear Please”! (1982).

As one of the last great actors born in the interwar years and who combined in equal doses theatrical education, knowledge and morals, Michalopoulos was transformed with ease from the strict, but belligerent, director of Dimitris Papamichael in “Ah, this is my wife” to in love-struck Greek-American Pete in “My Hippie Aunt”, alongside Rena Vlachopoulou.

In addition to his acting career, the actor had an inexhaustible artistic vein: he made models, made scenery and painted, while measuring almost fifty years of presence in the theater!

“In the theater I only had acquaintances, only Giannis was my friend,” Katerina Gioulaki confessed about the particularly kind man at his funeral in 2016. Besides, the whole neighborhood near the Nursing Home where he lived called him “Lord”. In addition to being modest and humble, he was a real tease and the scenes were often shaken by Michalopoulos’ humor, by one of his phrases or a simple gesture…

Early years

Yiannis Michalopoulos was born on April 22, 1927 in Athens. The family lived in Exarchia and later settled in Metz. Not much is known about his youth, however we know from spartan stories that the boy wanted to become a despot!

He had made with his hands, which were always artistic, a model of a church, as the little boy really wanted to become a priest. But then fate would strike! One day the mock-up hits his head and injures him slightly. Giannis was stubborn: “God didn’t want me to wear a corset”, he said and forgot the shape.

And that’s how he decided to become an actor, as already at the age of 24 (1951) he was going on the airwaves with his wonderful layered voice. He also finished the Dramatic School of the National Theater in the same year, even collecting every penny he got from the National Theater (he was studying and working at the same time on the first stage of the country) to replace the broken strings on the violin that was scratching.
He gave up the violin, complaining that it was the fault of “my fat fingers”, but with acting, the love was to be timeless…

A great career begins

He will make his regular theatrical debut in 1951, with the best actor card in hand, when he plays the role of Octavius ​​in Goldenoni’s comedy “The Strange Women”. In the same year, he will also appear at the Herodeion with the Thymelic Troupe of Linos Karzis, in the Aristophanic “Lysistrata” as a leading dancer.

Michalopoulos liked all kinds of theater and it is true that he was tried in many. He even performed in musicals, without being a dancer or singer. His weakness was, however, comedic roles, as he was also a great humorist in his personal life!

At the same time, he steadily continued to work as a radio announcer when the National Radio Foundation was housed in Zappeion, as his good articulation and the correct Greek he spoke were not something you found easily. His radio career spanned from 1952-1962 and left its own legacy on the airwaves. He would never get involved with radio, as he had a special relationship with the medium. After 1962 he appeared on the radio frequencies as a member of recorded theatrical performances.

But he felt that acting was winning him more and more day by day. Which he served faithfully for fifty years (1951-2002) and along the way collaborated with everyone, from Myrat, Diamantopoulos, Alkaiou, Constantara, Kontou, Gionakis and Rizo to Voutsa, Parava, Chronopoulou, Tsivilika, Gioulakis and Dandoulakis. From 1966 onwards, Michalopoulos has been a conductor in many theater groups.

The great theater actor, despite the many successes he co-signed on the board, always remembered “The Sixth Floor” with Dino Iliopoulos and “Mias pentaras niata”. He even singled out “The Exorcist”, staged at the Kaloutas Theater in the 70s.

From 1952-1955 he played in the Ellis Lambeti-Dimitris Horn troupe, with whom he was connected with a deep friendship. And a piggy bank, of course, as it was the mythical artistic couple who would marry him to the woman of his life, Eleni. Giannis and Eleni spent their whole lives together and had a daughter. They would only be separated by her death three years before he too went to find her in Heaven.

Michalopoulos and Lampeti maintained a long-standing friendship. The two continued to hang out even after her relationship with Horn broke up, and Michalopoulos never missed a show.

As a force to be reckoned with, he will make his big screen debut in 1966, already having 15 years of theatrical experience under his belt, in “The Jack of All Trades”, playing the unforgettable John Papas. In the same year, he will also appear in the film “Oh, and to be a man”, establishing an unforgettable supporting cast of the golden age of our commercial cinema.

Using his talent as a vehicle, Michalopoulos transforms into manager Charilaos (or Harry) who has his heart pounding for hare stew in “Ah, this is my wife” (1967), into God-fearing Paschalis Avramidis in the masterpiece “Mias pentaras niata” (1967), into a love-struck Pete, who falls in love with the hippie Vlachopoulos in “My Aunt the Hippie” (1970), Milto Kladara in “Kategaris” (1971) and Orestes Salveris in “A Crazy Crazy Forty One” (1970), who does not let his sister make with her love!

In the twenty years of his cinematic presence (1966-1986), Michalopoulos will act in some twenty films, leaving his mark on the big screen.

A new career would certainly live in the small receivers, erasing an also long and important presence on the glass. Michalopoulos began his judicial roles in the series “The Chief Advocate”, written by Kostas Pretenderis, and directed by Michalopoulos himself. There he played the role of the lawyer Demosthenes Parlatos, in the first essentially comedy series on Greek television!

The series began airing in May 1970 and ran for 256 fifteen-minute episodes, giving Michalopoulos one of his most memorable television roles and his first major personal success.

He had already taken part in the series “The House with the Phoenix” (YENED – 1970), the first series of Greek television, and the world knew him well. Michalopoulos had many more classic series to his credit, such as “The Children of Zebedaeus” (1973-1975), again written by Pretenderis and directed by Michalopoulos himself, although his eternal fame would be secured in 1982, when he starred as the president of the incredible televised court in the unique “Please Swear” (YENED)!

With this role he will be identified in the minds of the Greek public, appearing on television from 1982-1987, in one of the most successful comedy series of the 1980s. The series was an adaptation of Manolis Karabatsakis’ court cartoons and was shown in 90 episodes, in which as we remember, Michalopoulos gave a real recital trying to bring his court back to order!

He also played in the Asimakis Gialamas series “The World and the Cosmos” (1973), which he also directed, as well as in “The Bachelors” (1991) by Yannis Sklavos.

Yiannis Michalopoulos particularly valued Kostas Pretenderis, with whom he was brotherly friends. When he found some time in his busy daily schedule, he threw it into reading, as he was a man of letters and even frequented the bookstore of Philippotis in Solonos.

In 1966 he was honored by the Society of Greek Playwrights for his contribution to modern Greek comedy, while the daughter of the unforgettable Dimitris Psathas, Maria, awarded him for the theatrical interpretations of her father’s plays.

Yiannis Michalopoulos retired from active theatrical action in 2003, when he broke his leg and could no longer climb the board. His last years were spent dealing with health problems, however maintaining his relationships with his old friends, as he was extremely loved in the theater community.

Katerina Gioulaki had confessed: “But I remember great moments that marked our friendship and mutual respect. I remember the time of the Seven Years when we experienced difficult times in the theater and while terrifying events were happening [αναφέρεται στο Πολυτεχνείο], Giannis accompanied me to my house at the risk of our lives, he took me to Exarchia where I lived. Then we had our children babies. I will never forget it”.

Giannis Michalopoulos died on June 10, 2016 at the KAT hospital in Athens, at the age of 89. He had undergone an operation on his leg and a few hours after resuscitation he suffered a seizure.