Biography

Kostas Karras (Athens, 21 June 1936 – 6 May 2012) was a Greek actor and politician. He studied Political Science in London and acting at the National Theatre's Drama School. He was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. In 1963 he graduated from the Pelos Katselis Drama School and the same year made his debut in Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. At that time, he began his successful collaboration with Ellie Lampeti, with whom he was in a relationship, and appeared, among others, in works such as Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park" (in the role of Paul Parker) and Tennessee Williams's Bus Stop (in the role of Kowalski). Since then, he has created his own theatrical groups and achieved personal success in Nikolai Gogol's Diary of a Madman and Noel Coward's The Evil Spirit (as Charles). His contribution as an actor to Greek cinema is significant, where he first appeared in 1961. However, his best film appearance is considered to be the role of Menelaus in Michael Cacoyannis' Iphigenia (1977). On Greek television, he starred with great success in many series. From 2000 to 2007, he was a member of the Greek Parliament with the New Democracy party. He was honorary president of Smile of the Child since 1994. He organized the first international fundraiser for the victims of the Bosnian War. He repeatedly gave performances to support vulnerable social groups. He was awarded by many organizations and associations for his social and humanitarian action (Lions, Smile of the Child, Municipalities and Communities). Since July 2000 he was responsible for the Cultural Movement branch of the New Democratic Party of Greece, cultural associations and the finances of Culture. In the 1994-1996 season he participated in the series Our Father in the role of Kostas Stergiou on ANT1. He died of cancer on May 6, 2012, at the age of 75 and was buried in the First Cemetery of Athens. He left behind his wife, Angeliki Baroutsou, with whom he had been married since 1965 and they had a son, Vasilis. His wife died of a heart attack on December 27, 2023.