Athanasios Veggos (Greek: Αθανάσιος Βέγγος; née Vegkos, Greek: Βέγκος; 29 May 1927 – 3 May 2011) was a Greek actor, filmmaker, comedian, and CEO of Greek film studio Thanasis Vengos Tainies Geliou.
He was born in the Neo Faliro neighborhood of Piraeus in 1927. He performed in around 130 films, predominantly comedies in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, starring in more than 50 among them. He is considered one of the best Greek comedy actors of all time. His famous comedic catchphrase was Καλέ μου άνθρωπε ("My good man").
Veggos was the only son of a power station employee, who had fought with the Greek Resistance in World War II. Vassilis Veggos played an important part in the defense of the Piraeus power station when the Germans attempted to destroy it before departing in 1944, but precisely because of this was dismissed from his job in the post-war purge of leftists. His real surname was "Βέγκος" and, as he had said, he wrote it with ''γγ'' because it looked better in the eyes. Veggos himself was a member of EPON, the youth branch of the left-wing resistance movement EAM, and so served his compulsory military service as an inmate on the notorious prison island Makronisos from 1948 to 1950. On Makronisos he met film director Nikos Koundouros who was also exiled there.
Veggos' first appearance in a film was in Windfall in Athens, produced by Michael Cacoyannis, which premiered in Athens as Kiriakatiko Xsipnima on 11 January 1954. Nikos Koundouros gave him a role in Magiki polis in 1954. His first major role was in Psila ta heria Hitler ("Hands Up, Hitler"), 1962. and continued many more films. For his acting in What did you do in the war, Thanasi? (1971), the public of Thessaloniki apotheosized him and the movie won three awards at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. He often played everyman characters struggling to get by, but he has also played anti-heroes, he has acted in pure dramas, and on stage in the comedies of Aristophanes. His characters were often self-named "Thanasis". He often worked with directors Panos Glykofridis and Giorgos Lazaridis. In 1995, Theo Angelopoulos cast Veggos and American actor Harvey Keitel in "Ulysses' Gaze". In 1997, in the role of Dikaiopoli he appeared in a live performance at the ancient Epidaurus theatre. In 2000, he survived a car accident involving a collision with a train. He later participated in advertisements promoting road safety.
A documentary of his life, whose title translates as A Man for All Seasons, was made in 2004. He always did his own stunts including the most dangerous ones, like hanging from a rope tied to a balcony fifty feet above a pavement without anything to break his fall, walking through a glass door, or falling down a stone staircase head first. During the "Golden Sixties" of the Greek film industry he made his most popular comedy films such as the sequel of Secret Agent 000, Papatrehas, Enas trellos Vengos and many others, also with surrealist humor, most of them by his own company Θ-Β Comedies (Θ-Β Tainies Geliou) which he founded in 1964.
In 2008, Veggos was appointed Commander of the Order of the Phoenix by the President of Greece, Karolos Papoulias.
On 3 May 2011, he died at 7:10 a.m. He had been hospitalized at the Red Cross hospital, in Athens, since 18 December 2010.
Thanasis Veggos was married to Asimina and they had two sons. He will always be remembered for the more than 120 films and documentaries that he starred in. The phrase "τρέχει σαν το Βέγγο" (English translation: "runs like Veggos") has been adopted into common usage in the Greek language since nobody has run more or faster than Veggos in his many slapstick comedies.
1962, Hellenic Association of Film Critics Award, from Hellenic Critics Association
1971, Best Actor Award, from 12th Thessaloniki Festival of Greek Cinema for the film What Did You Do in the War, Thanasis?
1971, Hellenic Association of Film Critics Award, from Hellenic Critics Association for the film What Did You Do in the War, Thanasis?
1972, Best Actor Award, from 13th Thessaloniki Festival of Greek Cinema for the film Thanasis Take Your Gun
1973, Best Actor Award, from 14th Thessaloniki Festival of Greek Cinema for the film The Charlatan
1991, Audience Award, from the Thessaloniki Festival of Greek Cinema for the film The Calm Days of August
1993, Lifetime Achievement Award, from the Thessaloniki Festival of Greek Cinema
2002, Honoree, Municipality of Korydallos Theatre was named Thanasis Veggos Theatre from the Municipality of Korydallos, Attica
2008, Honoree, Evangelismou Square was named Thanasis Veggos Square from the Municipality of Piraeus, Attica
2008, Commander of the Order of the Phoenix, from the President of Greece Karolos Papoulias