Zorba The Greek Dies

Mexican acting legend Anthony Quinn died yesterday (3 June), aged 86. The Oscar-winning actor, best known for his role as Zorba The Greek, died of respiratory failure in a Boston hospital after being admitted 17 days ago suffering form pneumonia. Quinn defied humble beginnings as a butcher, boxer, street-corner preacher, slaughterhouse worker and shoeshine boy to pursue an acting career that would bring him two best supporting actor Academy Awards for Viva Zapata! in 1952 and Lust For Life in 1956. Quinn went on to build his fame alongside Gregory Peck and David Niven in The Guns of Navarone with Peter O’Toole in Lawrence of Arabia and in his most widely known role as peasant hero Zorba. Leaving behind 13 children and a legacy of more than 150 films, Quinn has come a long way towards satisfying the boundless ambitions he had as a child. “I never satisfied that kid but I think he and I have made a deal now," he told the Associated Press in 1987. "It's like climbing a mountain: I didn't take him up Mount Everest, but I took him up Mount Whitney. And I think that's not bad."