Greek actor Kostas Tsakonas died in a central hospital in Athens at the age of 72 years after a battle with cancer. Sources close to him say that he had numerous health problems since a stroke five years ago. His funeral will be held on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at Argyroupolis cemetary in South Athens.

In an interview with daily newspaper Espresso he had spoken of his battle with cancer. “I don’t intend to give up. I’m fighting because I know that at some point we’ll all leave this life. What does it matter if its today, tomorrow, now… I’m trying to fight with laughter otherwise I would have left long ago. Let nobody else suffer my pain. They’re intolerable. I’ll fight though,” he had said.

Born on October 12, 1943, he went on to study at the leonidas Trivizas Drama School and prestigious Veaki School. The popular actor made his acting debut in a short film, “Kostas Zirinis”, however he soon grew in popularity with a number of major roles in film, theater and television. He will always be a great comedy actor, particularly for his work in Eighties and Nineties VHS movies. His major role was “Learn How to Read and Write Son” (1981).