In Remembrance: Vassilis Fotopoulos

     Vassilis Fotopoulos, the Academy Award winning art director of Zorba The Greek (1964), has passed away on January 14, 2006 in Athens, Greece. He was 72.

     Born in Kalamata, Greece in 1934, Fotopoulos worked as a stage designer for the National Opera House, the National Theatre and the State Theatre of Northern Greece.

     Fotopoulos designed 75 sets for director Elia Kazan’s 1963 film America, America, though his name was removed from the credits by Kazan, who allegedly told Fotopoulos “Who would believe that these scenes were made by a Greek boy?” The movie would go on to receive an Academy Award for art direction, which was picked up by Gene Callahan.

     In addition to his Oscar winning work for Zorba The Greek, Fotopoulos worked with Francis Ford Coppola on the director’s breakthrough 1966 film You’re A Big Boy Now. He also directed the 1969 Greek film Orestis.