Thanasis Veggos
Thanasis Veggos (29 May 1926 – 3 May 2011) was a Greek actor and director born in Neo Faliro, Piraeus. He performed in around 130 films, predominantly comedies in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, starring in more than 50 among them. He is considered one of the best Greek comedy actors of all time. His famous comedic catchphrase was "Καλέ µου άνθρωπε" ("My good man"). Veggos' first appearance in a film was in Windfall in Athens, produced by Mihalis Kakogiannis, which premiered in Athens as Kiriakatiko Xsipnima on 11 January 1954. Nikos Koundouros gave him a role in Magiki polis in 1955. His first major role was in Psila ta heria Hitler ("Hands Up, Hitler"), 1962 and continued many more films. For his acting in What did you do in the war, Thanasi? (1971), the public of Thessaloniki °apotheosized° him and the movie won three awards at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. He often played everyman characters struggling to get by, but he has also played anti-heroes, he has acted in pure dramas, and on stage in the comedies of Aristophanes. His characters were often self-named "Thanasis". He often worked with directors Panos Glykofridis and Giorgos Lazaridis. In 1995, Theo Angelopoulos cast Veggos and American actor Harvey Keitel in "Ulysses Gaze". In 1997, in the role of Dikaiopoli he appeared in a live performance at the ancient Epidaurus theater. In 2000, he survived a car accident involving a collision with a train. He later participated in advertisements promoting road safety. A documentary of his life, whose title translates as A Man for All Seasons, was made in 2004. He always did his own stunts including the most dangerous ones, like hanging from a rope tied to a balcony fifty feet above a pavement without anything to break his fall, walking through a glass door, or falling down a stone staircase head first. During the "Golden Sixties" of the Greek film industry he made his most popular comedy films such as the sequel of Secret Agent 000, Papatrehas, Enas trellos Vengos and many others, also with surrealist humor, most of them by his own company Θ-Β Comedies (Θ-Β Tainies Geliou) which founded in 1964. In 2008, Veggos was appointed Commander of the Order of the Phoenix by the President of Greece, Karolos Papoulias. On 3 May 2011, he died at 7:10 a.m. He had been hospitalized at the Red Cross hospital, in Athens, since 18 December 2010. He is survived by his wife Asimina and two sons. He will always be remembered in the more than 120 films and more recent documentaries that he starred in. The phrase "τρέχει σαν το Βέγγο" (English translation: "runs like Veggos") has been adopted into common usage in the Greek language since nobody has run more or faster than Veggos in his many slapstick comedies.
Ulysses' Gaze
as Taxi DriverAn exiled filmmaker finally returns to his home country where former mysteries and afflictions...
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Never on Sunday
as ThanasisAn American scholar in Greece sets about improving the local prostitute with whom he is infatuated.
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Crazy of all Greece
as Thanasis KoukourasThanasis works in the café he inherited from his father and hopes that his children will manage...
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Jack of All Trades, Master of None
as Thanasis BirbilisThanasis Vengos plays a poor young man that comes to Athens looking for a job. We watch as he...
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Το Κλωτσοσκούφι
as JanitorA young woman asks from a ship magnate to help her immigrate to Australia but he falls in love...
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The Ogre of Athens
as SpathisA peaceful, frightened little man is mistakenly identified as "The Dragon", a notorious criminal...
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Ο Παπατρέχας
as Polydoros LagosPolydoros Lagos is a janitor in an ordinary Athens' block in the 1960s who's struggling to serve...
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Erotic Stories
as VangelisA modest film of three independent parts showing sad couple stories.
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Lisa and the Other Woman
as Petros ValdisA rich girl leaves her family to avoid marrying the person her father has chosen for her. Her...
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Thou-Vou Bald Agent, Operation: Havoc
as Thou-VouThou-Vou and his new partner, MAP31, accept three imaginary tasks from a cunning director who is...
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Madalena
as PolicemanMadalena is a tough seventeen-year-old who is forced to take on her father's ferry business...
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Hooray for Madness
as RomeosA good-hearted guy, Romeos, who thinks he's a big "Kazanova", comes out of the madhouse. At the...
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The Policeman of the 16th Precinct
as ThomasIlias dresses himself in a police uniform as part of a complex burglary plot. Unfortunately for...
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Vengos the Crazy Kamikaze
as Thanasis TrampasA breadwinner, Thanasis Trampas, decides to open a shop renting motorbikes. When the local...
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The Flight of the Swan
as uncreditedAlexis is an explosive personality, passionate about life, humanity, nature, love and beauty....
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Papadopoulou family
as SpyrosYoung Alexis Vranas (Stefanos Linaios) returns to Athens form studying abroad and starts working...
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Runaway Bride
as HarilaosIn her delicate bridal gown and bent on finding her beloved, a determined would-be wife flees...
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School for Chauffeur Ladies
as BabisBabis and Dinos have a driving school in partnership with several customers. And while fetching...
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What Did You Do in the War, Thanassi?
as Thanasis KarathanasisA wild tale of mistaken identity set during the Nazi occupation of Greece and starring the great...
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Three Ladies and me
as receptionistAs the lithe accountant of an haute couture house on the brink of bankruptcy takes three...
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An Unbelievable Sucker
as Thanasis HatzipapageorgakopoulokonstadinogiannopoulosThanasis and he will become barber, continuing the tradition of...
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Help! Vengos Visible Agent '000'
as Thou Vou (Athanasios Bobas)Vengos studies in a secret agents' academy, dreaming of becoming a great spy like 007....
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Τα ντερβισόπαιδα
as PolydorosUnable to hold down a job for long, two unlucky and perpetually broke friends overhear their...
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The Madman
as Errikos DelaportasAn avid fan of football and fan of Panathinaikos falls for the daughter a fan of Olympiakos. The...
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Min eidate ton Panai?
as Panagis PapapanagopoulosErotic tangles forced Fani and Panai to leave from Athens to Chalkida, there they await new...
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Mimikos and Mary
as HarilaosThe tragic story of a couple that upset Athenian society at the end of the 19th century. Michail...
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Μήτρος και Μητρούσης στην Αθήνα
as MitrosTwo friends from the province dream of going to Athens. On board the train, however, two...
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Lost dreams
as VangelisTwo ambitious junior employees from different social backgrounds, an aspiring author and the...
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I'll Make You Queen
as Antonis TsilivikisAntonis Tsilivikis, a stingy construction contractor, neglects his home and wife Eleni and...
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The Tomboy
as waiterRefusing to realise that she has become a lovely sixteen-year-old woman, a gawky tomboy taunts...
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The mother's curse
as uncreditedAfter the murder of a brutal landowner, and six long years of incarceration, unarmed Tasos...
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Τύφλα Νάχη ο Μάρλον Μπράντο
as Stefanos AvgerinosAn ordinary clerk decides to spend a few days vacationing in a hotel, but when he goes there,...
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Poverty can be bearable while living well
as husbandTwo unfortunate friends are desperately looking for a job to survive and eventually marry their...
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Love Games
as hotel ownerA father is desperately trying to tame his young daughter, while she falls for a young man...
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The Big Cannon
as Thanasis ApaloherisA masseur whose son is a student in Germany learns that he has become a member of the Neo-Nazi...
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Marriage Adventures
as Ice SellerHelena (Xenia Kalogeropoulou) returns to Greece after studying in Paris and on the ship home she...
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The Wise Guy
as ThrasyvoulosAlekos (Dinos Iliopoulos) is in love with Voula (Maria Voulgari) whose brother threatens to kill...
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Liar Wanted
as VrasidasA sharp altercation will pave the way for a brilliant career when a shameless liar meets his...
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A Girl in Black
as PolicemanAgainst the backdrop of a cloudless summer, love's unforeseen complications will entwine an...
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Which Way to the Septic Tank?
as Thanasis PapathanasisA conscientious tanker driver, Thanasis Papathanasis, works hard to help his sister Afroditi...
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Astronauts
as ThanasisAn eccentric and little crazy professor of astrophysics, helped by his assistant and by a naive...
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Sharp as a Needle
as Detective Van GrayTonis and Rena are loved, but their uncles have objections, as they are deadly competitors in...
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Οι χαραμοφάηδες
as uncreditedExarhos is persuaded by his two lazy brothers to sell their shipyard, and they buy a factory in...
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With Heart & Soul
as a FatherTwo brothers are fighting on opposite sides during the Greek Civil War.
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It's a Long Road
as AntonisThree stories dealing with three men and their stance towards life, given their personal...
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The Twins
as Thanasis Soukouroglou / Stamatis Soukouroglou / Boulis HatzifrydisBy a cruel fate, a pair of newborn twin brothers get separated, and one of them becomes a...
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Thanasis, Juliet and the sausages
as Thanasis KarathanasisThanasis (Thanasis Vengos) is an honest working man who has to support his sister’s family as...
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He's a Mad Mad Veggos
as ThanasisWhen Thanassis leaves the orphanage tries to do various jobs but with no consolidates. A private...
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Hands Up, Hitler
as PanagisTwo friends (Thanasis Vengos and Vasilis Diamantopoulos) meet after many years and recollect the...
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O Ippolytos kai to violi tou
as ΙππόλυτοςA poor violinist gets involved in a bizarre adventure, when a drunken customer at the night club...
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Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining
as Dr. Giannis PapadopoulosKostas (Dinos Iliopoulos), a small-time lawyer is tasked with accompanying Smaro (Smaroula...
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Who Is Margarita?
as Grigoris LadiasA girl from the province, who works in a fashion house in Athens, goes to Kos to promote her...
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Eftyhos... trellathika!
as ManolisCharilaos Maraziotis owns a store and owes so much money both to his lenders and to the state,...
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The Dawn of Triumph
as ΠεριπτεράςA group of resistance fighters during the Occupation, collaborates with a lieutenant who comes...
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The lucky pants
as Thanasis FoukarasA police officer arrests pitiable Thanasis, who admits to having stolen the trousers of a happy...
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Οι Δοσατζήδες
as Thomas KalafatisTwo friends and expert shop assistants pluck up the courage to start their own business and...
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The Girl Has Got an Uncle
as Taxi DriverA young and pretty girl, Violeta, is in love with a kind young artist, Alekos. The feelings are...
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The Bald Student
as Thanasis ChatziathanasopoulosThanasis, a family breadwinner who has been working for 17 years at the Ministry of Measure and...
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The Wicked World of Thanasis
as Thanasis MpesagiampesasSeven short stories of everyday madness starring Thanasis Vengos.
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Holidays in Vietnam
as Thanasis HatzifapasReturning from a 3 year captivity in Vietnam, a kind chemist finds his wife married to his boss...
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Thanasi tightened your belt even more
as Thanasis MaganasThanasis an honest tax official in the tax office. He can not cope and has trouble providing...
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The Fairy Tale Girl
as uncreditedA young girl, who lives in a poor neighborhood with her little brother, falls in love with a...
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Come on People
as AgathoklisThanasis tries to reunite with his wife.He is having for obstacle her mother, which did not want...
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The Magic City
as ThanasisA look at poverty in post-war Athens. Kosmas, a young man living in the slums, constantly tries...
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Ο Καταφερτζής
as Kanellos KarabatsasThanasis is part of a mistaken identity featuring an angry brother concerned about his sister's...
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Quiet Days in August
as Νίκος ΓκούφαςThe stories of three lonely people surviving a sweltering summertime in Athens are interwoven in...
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Χαρούμενοι αλήτες
as WaiterTwo jobbers meet an actor, when the sneak in a theater. The actor is homeless and they invite...
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The Uncle from Canada
as uncreditedWaiting to get their lucky break, three penniless musicians, who are already five months behind...
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One Vengos for All Jobs
as Thanasis HatzikarathanasisAn honest man is trying to find a job, but finds it difficult just because of the honesty. The...
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The King of Gaffes
as FrixosA very clever detective is on a mission to find a shipowner's daughter, having as a sole...
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Μια Του Κλέφτη...
as SalesmanA lawyer goes to Paros to meet his mistress. But trying to get away from her husband, who...
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Dictator calls Thanasis
as Thanasis DelithanasisThe adventures of a photographer, who undertook to take a photographs of exiled dictator from...
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For You My Love
as ManetasMaroula comes from Syros, established in Athens, to work as a servant in a wealthy home, but the...
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Thanasis, Take Your Gun
as ThanasisA wretch jobber tries to find the money to build the house promised to groom, to repay the truck...
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Crazy, Nuts and Vengos
as ThanasisThanasis, the waiter of country tavern "The seven brothers", is preparing to marry the Anthoula....
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Carefree... Nut
as ThanasisIn this color comedy Thanasis trying for years to leave illegally for America to make his life...
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Thanasis in the land of the cuff
as ThanasisThe movie is about dictatorships in Greece – first, the Metaxas regime (1936-1940), and then the...
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Who Thanasis!
as Thanasis TrikorfosA kindhearted owner of a shop falls in love with the girl he hires and, eventually, he finds out...
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With Many Children
as Polykarpos KolovosA poor waiter struggles to provide for his family, while his wife keeps giving birth to twins,...
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Maria Pentagiotissa
as PapalarisThe hopeless love between Maria Pentagiotissa and a man belonging to a different social class.
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A Water Mrs. Baggelio
as uncreditedAt the end of 19th century a landlord meets a young woman at a water spring and she wants to...
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Doctor Z-Vengos
as ThanasisA blunderer barber ends after a misunderstanding to pretend doctor. However the patients...
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Blossoming Almond Tree
as DoctorAgainst the backdrop of a romantic Athenian Easter at a small neighbourhood in...
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Blind Angel
as KotsosTwo young people (Christina Silva and Takis Varlamos), living in a provincial town, fall in love...
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A mistake in love
as ThymiosA simple typewriter is familiar with a garage-facing young man, who is recommended to be a big...
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The Enigma
as LinosA successful young Athenian lawyer, Theodora, who is the daughter of a general, takes on the...
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Experts on the Football Field
as SailorThe everyday lives of some international football players before and after a big game.
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Oi 900 tis Marinas
as PartsaklisIn a countryside village, a veteran politician, Damalas, and a young attorney, Ntinos, son of...
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The Man Who Ran a Lot
as Thanasis ZevedaiosThanasis Zevedaios (Thanasis Vengos) has a shop with watches and running but not enough! Time...
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The Wooden Shoe, the Gun and the Bow Tie
as Hanos (uncredited)In 1927, a student in Athens met three young women and broke up with them during pregnancy to...
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