Orestis Laskos was born in Eleusis. After graduating from high school, he moved to Athens, where he enrolled for a while in the Medical School. Then, wanting for a moment to pursue a military career, he attended the Hellenic Army Academy, but he soon left to end up as a singer and actor.

However, around 1930 he crossed over into the film industry. Together with other young film lovers, he founded the production company "Astro Film". He was one of the pioneers of Greek silent cinema. In 1931, he created one of the first remarkable films in the history of Greek cinema, "Daphnis and Chloe", which was a pioneer for the nude scenes and its poetic spirit.

He created a massive number of films and, as a result, other aspects of his creative talent and, in particular, his poetry were overshadowed. In his case, poetry and cinema conflicted: when dealing with one, he usually neglected the other, as can be seen from the dates of his film production compared to those of his poetic editions.

As Emilios Chourmouzios had observed, Laskos was a poet "who voluntarily hid behind the theatre". He had been composing poems since his teenage years. When he was an actor in theatre, he would recite his lyrics to the public "with his thunderous voice". He maintained this practice later on, as public recitation was at the centre of his interests. He published several poem collections over forty years from 1934 to 1974.

During the German Occupation, he maintained the "Alkazar", a vaudeville-inspired theatre near the Larissa Railway Station in Athens. Until 1951, when it closed, influential actors and singers had appeared there, such as Kostas Hatzichristos, Marika Nezer, Danai Stratigopoulou, Maya Melayia, Ketty Diridaoua and others.

In 1942 he married the singer Stella Greka, but they divorced in 1947. From 1960, until he passed away in 1992, he was married to the actress Beata Asimakopoulou, with whom he had a son, Vassilis.

VOULGARIS PANTELIS

PLYTA MARIA