Cleopatra was Greek

In response to this debate, the Greeks can offer another perspective on the matter.  To be historically accurate Cleopatra bore the ancient Egyptian title of pharaoh, however the Ptolemaic dynasty was Hellenistic, having been founded 300 years before by Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general of Alexander the Great. As such, Cleopatra’s language was the Greek spoken by the Hellenic aristocracy.

As a result of historical facts somebody could argue that the role of Cleopatra should not go to a woman of color or Angelina Jolie, but to an actress of Greek origin. A great candidate could be Greek-American Jennifer Aniston.

The new project is based on the biography “Cleopatra: A Life”.

Kazan was born Elias Kazanjoglou (Ηλίας Καζαντζόγλου in Greek) in the Anatolian city of the Ottoman Empire, Kayseri, Turkey) to a Greek family.

His family emigrated to the United States in 1913 and settled in New York City, where his father, George Kazanjoglu, became a rug merchant. Kazan’s father expected that his son would go into the family business, but his mother, Athena (née Sismanoglou), encouraged Kazan to make his own decisions.

Kazan attended public schools in New York City and New Rochelle, New York. After graduating from Williams College, Massachusetts, Kazan studied at Yale University’s School of Drama. In the 1930s, Kazan acted with New York’s Group Theatre, alongside (among others) Lee Strasberg, Clifford Odets, and Stella and Luther Adler. During this period, Kazan earned his nickname ‘Gadg,’ short for Gadget – he never learned to love the name. For about 19 months in 1934-36, Kazan was a member of a secret Communist cell.

He became one of the most visible members of the New York elite. Kazan’s theater credits included acting in Men in White, Waiting for Lefty, Johnny Johnson, Golden Boy, and the 1940 revival of Liliom. Kazan directed A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), two of the plays that made Tennessee Williams a theatrical and literary force. He also directed All My Sons (1947) and Death of a Salesman, (1949) the plays which did much the same for Arthur Miller. He received three Tony Awards, winning for All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and J.B.

Kazan’s history as a film director is equally noteworthy, if not more impressive. He won two Academy Awards for Best Director, for Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) and On the Waterfront (1954). He elicited critically acclaimed performances from actors such as Marlon Brando and Oscar winners Vivien Leigh, Karl Malden and Kim Hunter in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) (the film version of Tennessee Williams’ play), James Dean and Oscar winner Jo Van Fleet in East of Eden (adapted from the John Steinbeck novel), Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick, and Jo Van Fleet in Wild River (1960), reportedly one of Kazan’s favorite films, Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass and Andy Griffith in A Face in the Crowd.

Elia Kazan was married three times. His first wife was playwright Molly Day Thacher. They were married from 1932 until her death in 1963; this marriage produced two daughters and two sons. His second marriage, to the actress Barbara Loden, lasted from 1969 until her death in 1980, and produced one son. Lastly, he was married to Frances Rudge from 1982 until his death in 2003 at the age of 94. He also had a long-term affair with Constance Dowling during his first marriage, which ended when Dowling went to Hollywood in 1944 to make Up in Arms under contract to Samuel Goldwyn.

Kazan remained controversial in some circles until his death for testimony he gave before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1952, in which (after previously refusing to do so) he named associates from his days as a member of the Communist Party of the United States of America in the 1930s. He began his career as an actor and stage manager for New York’s Group Theatre Company, which was just recently established. His involvement in the group led him to join the “American Communist Party” in 1934. He was only involved with the Communist Party for a short time; however, he was quickly recognized as a potential communist by the HUAC.

Elia Kazan died in 2003.

(With information from Wikipedia – Photo retrieved from a collection donated to the Library of Congress)

“How American films depict Greek Americans tells us more about American culture than about Greek Americans. Cinema generally reflects contemporary cultural beliefs. By presenting those values in vivid forms, cinema reinforces them. The general rule is that screenwriters, directors, cinematographers, and actors do not have any special knowledge of Greek America and reproduce the dominant negative and positive cultural stereotypes”, states  Dan Georgakas in his latest project “The Greek American Image in the American Cinema”

He is the director of the Greek American Studies Project at the Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, Queens College-City University of New York. He is also a long-time editor of Cineaste film quarterly. His major occupation is that of writer and editor. For many years, however, he taught courses at Queens College and New York University.

Dan Georgakas

He has conducted a unique filmography (still in progress), which offers an account of the image of Greek Americans in American cinema, reveals how mainstream America has perceived Greek Americans at any given moment and how American cinema has reacted to that perception. For the purpouses of the project, Greek America is composed of immigrants and any offspring who self-define themselves as Greek.

How did you come up with the idea to create the Greek American Film List?

The Greek American Image in American Cinema grew out of an article I wrote for Cineaste in which I noted that European ethnic images (not just Greeks) were largely absent in Hollywood films. The only exception to that rule is the Irish.

What is your goal with the project?

I wish to identify how Greek Americans are depicted in American films. I want to see if any thematic emerge that involve sex, chronology, foreign affairs, and the like. I commenced the project without any preconceived notions of what these themes might be.

Was there a previous bibliography similar to your project?

No other filmography of this type was ever been attempted.

What are the patterns that you can draw from your research in regard to how Greeks were portrayed throughout the years from the beginning of Hollywood?

I have identified approximately 80 films with Greek American characters. I have only been able to view about half of them at this stage of the project. But some themes have begun to emerge. From the 1930s-1950s well over half the Greek American characters are professional gamblers. There is also a theme of Greeks as wrestlers. Broadly, there are many more male characters than female, and the female characters are almost all stereotypical mothers or sisters. From the mid-1950s onward, there begin to be more and more Greek professionals such as attorneys and architects.The first Greek professional identified so far is from a film of the late 1960s.

What was the most common profession that Greeks had in the movies?

See above. Also there is a kind of minor genre featuring sponge divers of Florida. Greeks spongers are almost all positive images.

Were the characters realistic or close to the truth?

Most of the films seen to date tend to stereotypes, They reflect some actuality, they remain stereotypes. The films usually reflect attitudes of their time period.

Did Greeks appear often in American Cinema? Was their appearance in balance with regard to the actual population?

European ethnics are not well-represented in American cinema in other than minor characters. The major exception to this rule are Irish-Americans. Italians would seem to be well-represented, but if gangster films are excluded they are not. In that context, Greek Americans appear in films often as other European ethnics and far more than some much larger groups.

In your opinion were Greeks discriminated in the movies?

No, I don’t see any discrimination directed at Greek Americans. We should also note that many Greeks had prominent careers in Hollywood. Hermes Pan was the choreographer of all the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers. Theoni Aldridge is one of the industry’s most famous costume designers. Dean Tavoularis was set designer on all the Godfather films and most of Copolla’s other movies. Spyro Skouras was studio chief for Twentieth Century-Fox and many Greeks such as Jim Giannapolis remain powerbrokers at Fox. John Casavettes became a Hollywood legend for his innovations and Elia Kazan was a premiere Hollywood director for decades. A.I. Bezzerides was a prominent screenwriter of the 1950s. Telly Savalas was a frequent performer in Hollywood genre films. Etc.

Conversely, do you believe portrayal of Greeks in American cinema had any positive effects? Did it promote Hellenic culture?

Very few of the films have negative portraits of Greeks, which is positive. The stereotypes are usually benign. Most significantly, in the past 20 years, Greeks are often presented as model ethnic Americans. My Big Fat Greek Wedding actually represented culmination of the old trend. That is, the characters were stereotypes and not particularly well-educated, but they were presented very positively. Audiences laughed with their foibles rather than at them. Greek ethnic traits were presented in a manner that universalized them so that groups with far different cultures felt, “They’re just like us.” American cinema has not done much to promote Hellenic culture.

Please add anything else you want .

My comments have been limited to Hollywood films. When I looked at independent films made by Greek Americans, the patterns are much different. For example, there are as many full portraits of women as of men, and nearly all of the films have Greek themes as a major concern. Some lapse into the same stereotyping as seen in Hollywood films, but most present a far more accurate view of Greek America.

In many ways this is a collective project, but I take responsibility for writing all the entries and selecting their ranking. Vassili Lambropoulos reviewed everything, acting as my editor, an idea man, and general counsel. I’ve also received input from a score of persons who write about film or Greek America. I am particularly grateful for the insights provided by Steve Frangos.

Anyone wishing to contact Mr. Dan Georgakas can do so via email: smyrnapress@hotmail.com

The award presentation will offer a retrospective of Costa-Gavras’ works, including 1969’s Oscar-winning political thriller “Z”; 1970’s “The Confession”; 1982 Jack Lemmon starrer “Missing,” another Oscar winner; 1987’s “Betrayed,” with Debra Winger; “Music Box” (1989); and 2002’s Third Reich drama “Amen.”

Quincy Jones calls him “An icon of the American popular music industry.” Nicknamed “the legend of Broadway”, William “PoPsie” Randolph was Broadway’s most famous jazz and rock photographer from 1945 to 1975. He documented the transformation of popular music from jazz and big band music to rock and roll and rhythm and blues. He photographed everyone from Benny Goodman and Billie Holiday to Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones.

PoPsie was born William Sezenias to Greek immigrant parents in New York City in 1920. Being exposed to musicians through early jobs as a towel boy and shoeshine boy, PoPsie was attracted to the entertainment lifestyle and became a manager of swing era bands in the 1930s. He worked his way up to become Benny Goodman’s band manager. Benny and PoPsie had a very close relationship, acting like brothers. PoPsie was even featured in the movie Sweet and Lowdown which starred Benny Goodman in 1944. His character was played by actor Jack Oakie.

By the mid-1940s, PoPsie had married a showgirl and was ready to settle down in New York. He told Benny Goodman that he was interested in photography and Goodman gave him his first camera as a wedding gift. With his connections in the music business, PoPsie built up an impressive clientele of photography subjects.

PoPsie spent his career as a photographer on the streets of New York City at recording studios, jam sessions, concert halls and nightclubs. He was a huge music fan and spent hours and hours taking portraits of musicians and singers at his photography studio on Broadway near the Brill building. His photos appeared frequently in Billboard, Record World and Rolling Stone magazines.

How did William Sezenias become William “PoPsie” Randolph? William got his nickname “PoPsie” during one of his early jobs at a nightclub. The Greek waiters were not happy with how loud PoPsie was and used to tell him “Popsie vreh!” meaning “Shut up!” or “Pipe down!”. The bandsmen heard this and started calling him “PoPsie” and the name stuck.

In Chicago in 1945, PoPsie was working with Benny Goodman’s band serving as their manager. The band was playing at the Chicago Theatre and PoPsie had to make hotel reservations in a hurry, so he went outside the theater to a phone booth to call the hotel. Tired of spelling out his Greek last name to the operator, he looked up to see the Randolph Street sign and said his last name was “Randolph.”

PoPsie’s son, Michael, recalls tagging along with his father to all the major TV studios in New York to photograph guests on shows like American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show. With an office located in the heart of New York’s entertainment district, Popsie was available to capture spontaneous moments on film as well, like Frank Sinatra at Sardi’s restaurant or Barbra Streisand during the recording of Funny Girl.

PoPsie decided to retire in the 1970s to Arizona. However, he died soon after relocating in 1978 at the early age of 57. Thirty years after his death, PoPsie’s son, Michael Randolph, has published a book of PoPsie’s photography called PoPsie NY: Popular Music through the Camera Lens of William “PoPsie” Randolph. The book features highlights from the 100,000 negatives PoPsie left behind when he died. For more information about PoPsie, visit http://www.popsiephotos.com/

The Skouras brothers emigrated from Greece to St. Louis in the early 1900s. They were the sons of a poor sheep herder from Skourohorion, Greece. They saved their money working as busboys and bartenders in downtown hotels, so that by 1914, they were able to invest in a nickelodeon theater in St. Louis. This initial property was named the Olympia and was quickly followed by the acquisition of other theaters. They owned 30 local theaters by 1924.

Five years later, they sold out to Warner Brothers and moved to the west coast. Between 1930 and 1932, Spyros(photo right) worked with Paramount, but left to save the Fox Metropolitan chain from its demise. In 1932, the Skouras Brothers took over the management of over 500 Fox-West Coast theaters.

During the 1930s, Spyros played a significant role in the merger between Fox and 20th Century Pictures. He was appointed president of the new company 20th Century Fox in 1942, and with the assistance of Darryl Zanuck, turned it into one of Hollywood’s most powerful studios. He would serve as president for the next 20 years.

During Spyros’ tenure, he worked to rescue the faltering movie industry from television– its new competitor. 20th Century Fox’s famous advertising slogan, “Movies are Better than Ever”, gained credibility in 1953 when Spyros introduced CinemaScope in the studio’s groundbreaking feature film The Robe. The CinemaScope process of wide-screen projection started a new, yet short-lived trend in colorful epic films.

Meanwhile, brother George became president of United Artists Theaters (now Regal Entertainment Group, owners of the Regal, Edwards and United Artists theater chains). While head of United Artists Theaters, George was part of the Magna Theater Corporation formed in 1953 which introduced the Todd-AO high definition wide screen film format. He died in 1964 at the age of 68.

Charles Skouras went on to become president of National Theaters which at the time owned 650 theaters across the nation. Giving back to the Greek community, Charles built the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles which opened in 1952, a beautiful Greek church that still stands to this day. He died two years later at the age of 65.

During World War II, Spyros was head of the Greek War Relief Agency. Spyros was known throughout Hollywood to have a thick, Greek accent. Bob Hope said: “Spyros has been here twenty years but he still sounds as if he’s coming next week.”

During his reign as president of 20th Century Fox, Spyros oversaw the production of many successful movies. However, his tenure ended in 1962 after the disastrous overspending on the budget of Cleopatra, the epic starring Rex Harrison, Elizabeth Taylor, and Richard Burton. The film was originally budgeted for $2 million, but was made at a cost of $44 million. Widely regarded as one of the biggest flops of all time, the film’s box office failure almost bankrupted 20th Century Fox, and Skouras was blamed for the fiasco. He was replaced by Daryl Zanuck .

As a result, Spyros was re-assigned to the position of board chairman and his control over films was largely taken away. In 1969, he left 20th Century Fox to nurture his other investments which included his own shipping line. He died in 1971 at the age of 78.

Ironically, Cleopatra recouped its investment after several years from box office receipts and television sales. Yet it still remains the most expensive film ever made (adjusting for inflation).

Plato Skouras, son of Spyros and Sara, followed in his father’s footsteps in the movie industry. He formed his own independent film company and produced several independent films. He died in 2004. At the time of his death, he was working on a biography of his father.

The 2nd annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival held a tribute to honor the collaboration between director/actor John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands on Friday, June 27 at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Director Peter Bogdanovich moderated a panel discussion which featured Gena Rowlands, actor Seymour Cassel, producer Al Ruban, and composer Bo Harwood. Following the discussion, there was a screening of “Faces”, the 1968 film directed by Cassavetes which starred John Marley, Gena Rowlands and Seymour Cassel.