Stratis Karras

Stratis Karras (1934-1992). Stratis Karras was born in the village of Trigona on Lesvos, the son of George Karras and Irene nee Aivalikli. His father was a marble sculptor. His parents divorced a few months after his birth, so Karras grew up with his mother. He spent his early childhood in his hometown. Due to his illness from tonsillitis and the need for hospitalization, he lived from 1944 in Mytilini, where he finished elementary school and enrolled in high school. In 1953 he settled in Athens where he finished high school. He studied at the Film School of Lykourgos Stavrakos (1955-1956) and the Drama School of Pelos Katselis, where after graduation he taught acting until Katselis' death in 1981. In 1970 he left for Dallas, where he taught acting to graduate students at the University of Trinity, at the invitation of the director of the Dallas Theater Center. There he met the actress and dramatist Nellie Diaks, whom he married in 1972 and with whom he had two children, Strati-Aggelos and Irini. From 1976 to 1977 he collaborated with Manos Katrakis at the Mikro Hellenic Folk Theater and taught at the theater group of the University of Athens. In 1977 he was appointed professor at the Drama School of the National Theater and in 1980 director of the Drama School of K.TH.BE. He was also a member of the Board of Directors. and then (1987) General Manager of Hellenic Radio, while in 1989 he launched a long-range radio station in Mytilini. In 1981 he created the Motion Theater Wor…