The great actor and poet Christos Valavanidis passed away last night. In recent times he had been dealing with serious health problems.

Valavanidis had spent the holiday period in the hospital and, after being discharged, spoke about his serious health ordeal.

“I’m doing well. I had something that will pass; I’m undergoing treatment. It’s not tragic, but it is a serious illness that I absolutely have to take care of, because I’m also an older girl. It’s serious, but it’s not fatal—at least not yet. At some point all of us pay for something; we pay for one of our mistakes,” he had said on the ANT1 show “To Proino”.

He continued:
“It’s an adventure. Patience, patience, and everything will be fine. To get discharged from Laiko Hospital, they had to make sure I was well. They wouldn’t let me leave. I won’t tell you more details. Punctures, injections, vaccines, and so on…”

The actor also spoke about the support he received from his wife and about the condition of Greece’s public healthcare system (ESY) as he experienced it:
“Fortunately, that’s my character—I’m always cheerful. Incredible… Christmas and New Year’s inside Laiko Hospital. I have many impressions. They are things that one day, if God gives me time, I will write about. The nursing and medical staff were excellent. The environment, however, was terrible. Stretchers in the corridors and people working extremely hard. I felt sorry for them. I had my wife beside me, who became very tired taking care of me. She was worried of course—both for me and for herself. Beyond my wife, who is like a guard, the love of the people kept me standing,” concluded Christos Valavanidis.

Who Christos Valavanidis was

He graduated from the Drama School of the National Theatre of Greece in 1973. He collaborated with many private theatre companies as well as the two state theatres in Athens and Thessaloniki. He served almost every genre of acting: ancient drama, Attic comedy, musical theatre, operetta, modern theatre, pantomime, and revue.

Among other productions, he performed in:

• Mormolis and Puss in Boots
• The Taming of the Shrew
• The Visions of Simone Machard
• Alcestis – Cyclops
• Katzourbos
• The Fortune of Maroula
• The Madwoman of Chaillot
• Cyclops – Hecuba
• Antony and Cleopatra
• Dolly

In collaboration with the Municipal Regional Theatre of Agrinio, he played Stelios in “The Courtyard of Miracles” by Iakovos Kambanellis (directed by Giorgos Michailidis).

In 1996, together with his wife Aspasia Kralli, he founded the “Apo Michanis Theatre”, transforming an old factory into a modern, elegant, and functional theatrical venue.

He also appeared in productions such as Foliage by Lars Norén, Reverse Psychology by Charles Ludlam, The Blacksmiths by Milos Nikolic, and The Disorderly Class (a pantomime work co-written and co-directed with Aspasia Kralli). As part of the Cultural Olympiad – Theatrical Monologues 2004, he performed Joop Admiraal’s monologue “Me, My Mother”.

He played Alfred Hitchcock in the play Hitchcock Blonde, the gang leader in the stage adaptation of Dogville by Lars von Trier at the National Theatre, Sir Toby in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, and Stomil in Tango by Sławomir Mrożek. In the summer of 2006 he performed at the Herodes Atticus Theatre during the Athens Festival in Aristophanes’ The Wasps as Bdelycleon. In the winter of 2006–2007 he appeared in the musical “Little Shop of Horrors” as Mushnik.

He also directed Puss in Boots for the State Theatre of Northern Greece (and wrote the lyrics for the songs) and Reverse Psychology by Ludlam.

Valavanidis worked frequently in radio and television, starring in many popular series such as To Minore tis Avgis, Oi Afthairetoi, Siga, I Patrida Koimatai, Oi Andres Den Yparchoun Pia, and Lista Gamou.

He also appeared in films including:

• Loafing and Camouflage by Nikos Perakis
• The Photograph by Nikos Papatakis
• Pamtōchoi S.A.
• The Crying Came Out of Paradise by Michalis Reppas and Thanasis Papathanasiou.