Legendary Greek actor Kostas Voutsas has passed away at the age of 88, after a long battle with lung disease.

The beloved actor was on life support over the last month at Athens’ Attikon Hospital, and he died at 4:20 am today, February 26, with his family by his side.

Actor Dimitris Makalias posted a message on his social media pages announcing the passing of his mentor: “You always wanted to make people laugh and that is how you will be remembered. With both tears and a smile.”

Voutsas was born in Athens in 1931 and moved to Thessaloniki in 1932. He studied at the Drama School of the Macedonian Conservatory of Thessaloniki and made his stage and screen debut in 1953. In 1961 Voutsas’ breakthrough came when the Greek film director Giannis Dalianidis offered him a leading role in his phenomenally successful youth melodrama O Katiforos.

Dozens of statements of condolences have been pouting in to the family on social media since the news was published.

source greekcitytimes.com