Research Guru
Posted:
Mar 31, 2008, 4:47 PM
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"Never on Sunday" director Dassin dies on Monday
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Late this (Monday) afternoon at an Athens hospital, Never on Sunday director Jules Dassin died at 96.
The cause of death was not made public. A spokeswoman for Hygeia hospital said only that he had been treated there the past two weeks.
Despite his French-sounding name and Greek residence (his wife, Melina Mercouri, starred in his movies), Dassin was born December 18, 1911 in Middletown, Connecticut and raised in New York.
Mercouri starred in NoS and more of his films. Never on Sunday (1960) was both written and directed by Dassin. It won an Oscar in 1961 for best original song; Dassin received Oscar nominations for best director and best writing, story and screenplay.
A leftist activist, Dassin abandoned Hollywood in 1950 during the Communist blacklisting era. His over 20 films included Topkapi.
He also won wide acclaim for the crime film Rififi. That won him the best director prize at the Cannes Film Festival, where he met Mercouri. He married the actress-politician in 1966 and settled permanently in Athens.
Reacting to his death, Greek prime minister Costas Karamanlis called Dassin "a first-generation Greek."
"Greece mourns the loss of a rare human being, a significant artist and a true friend," Karamanlis said in a statement. "His passion, his relentless creative energy, his fighting spirit and his nobility will remain unforgettable."
After Mercouri's death in 1994, Dassin focused on her main unrealized goal while she was Greece's culture minister: trying to persuade the British Museum to return the Elgin Marbles, a large collection of sculptures taken from the Parthenon by a Scottish diplomat nearly 200 years ago. After his wife's death, Dassin created the Melina Mercouri Foundation to continue her work.
Dassin's Hollywood credits include Reunion in France, a 1942 wartime romance with Joan Crawford and John Wayne; Brute Force, a 1947 prison drama starring Burt Lancaster; and detective thriller The Naked City (1948).
"His death fills us all with deep emotion," said socialist opposition leader George Papandreou. "He will be remembered for all his good work and struggles with Melina for his campaign for the return of the marbles, which will continue."
(This post was edited by eminovitz on Mar 31, 2008, 5:03 PM)
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Directing Animator / Contributor
Posted:
Apr 1, 2008, 8:26 AM
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Re: "Never on Sunday" director Dassin dies on Monday
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"Rififi" was memorable with the 20 minute silent jewelry store heist sequence...no dialogue and no background music... to heighten the suspense.
"Topkapi" (a team of expert thieves banding together for an "impossible" heist) was the inspiration for the tv show "Mission: Impossible".
(This post was edited by artytoons on Apr 1, 2008, 8:28 AM)
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Research Guru
Posted:
Apr 1, 2008, 1:47 PM
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Re: "Never on Sunday" director Dassin dies on Monday
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Greece's "bouzouki" music received a huge revival from the title tune and other songs in Never on Sunday. Before the film's release, it had a reputation for being low-class trash, suitable only for brothels and such... just as the tango and R&B were received by many back when they began.
Jules' son Joe (born 1938 in NYC, died 1980 in Papeete, Tahiti of a heart attack) appeared in some of his dad's films. He was hugely successful in France as a pop-rock singer ("Bip Bip," "Les Dalton," "L'Ete Indien," "Aux Champs-Elysees").
(This post was edited by eminovitz on Apr 1, 2008, 1:47 PM)
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