Actor Lefteris Vournas’ suicide shocks Greek society

If there is ever a story (or should we say drama) that proves that fame and recognition do not bring happiness, the story of Lefteris Furnas is the most typical example.

His true life story the actor Not what “looked” like and was seen by many, it could have been a scenario for a Greek drama film from the 60s.

Pain, sadness, alienation, rejection, depression. All this (and perhaps much more) created in the mind of Lefteris Furnas a situation with which he could not argue. Try to fight it.

But the “enemy” was invincible. And when he felt that everything around him was collapsing like a tower of cards, he ended his life in a tragic way. He was only 46 years old.

Losses that were never compensated

Lefteris Vournas was born in the midst of World War II. He saw his first daylight in Athens on June 4, 1942, in a country emerging from the worst winter in its modern history. When he was only two years old, he lost his mother, Niki Theotokatos, and was left with his sister and father, Giannis Vournas.

Losing his mother at such a young age was a huge blow to his psyche, but even that was nothing compared to what was to come.

With the end of the great massacre came its outbreak. From the civil warFather Lefteris Fornas was a leftist, and had to flee after being pursued by the vengeful right-wing state as a political refugee to Tashkent.

As if all this were not enough, little Lefteris Furnas was also forced to separate from his sister. He himself was adopted by his grandmother’s sister. An old woman who did nothing but heal open wounds. The woman was financially well off and Furnas lacked nothing materially. Everything else was missing, though. All that would have formed a strong character capable of overcoming all setbacks.

Furnas became a man of terrible feelings. He was very introverted, moody, and kept to himself for long periods. The older he got, the more he sought out his father. The role model of a father was something he had been deprived of and he wanted to make up for.

After several years, many attempts, great anxiety and long hours of searching, Lefteris Vournas managed to contact his father and managed to convince him so that they could meet. The appointment was set in the port of Patras. However, Yiannis Vournas had no intention of staying in Greece.

He built his life in exile, with a new family (he also had a child) in the Soviet Union, and there he returned very quickly. They say that he left on the same boat that came to Greece! As is quite natural, everything that remained inside Lefteris Vournas, “broke” with a wave.

Despite the many and varied problems he faced in his personal life, Lefteris Fornas succeeded and exploited – certainly not to the extent he could have – the great talent he had for acting.

At the age of only 18, he starred alongside Irini Papa, Andreas Barkoulis and Nikos Kouroukoulos in Bouboulina. The role he played (playing the heroine’s son, Georgios Giannouz) was small, but despite playing alongside the “sacred beasts” of cinema, he managed to stand out with his talent and natural beauty.

It is said that Corculus and Barcoulis were the ones who convinced him to go to acting school in order to develop his talent. He listened to them, studied at drama school, graduated with honors, and began a wonderful career with dozens of participation in films and theatrical performances.

At the age of 20, he also took to the stage when he participated in the play “Red Lights.” It is noteworthy that over the course of 10 years, he participated in larger or smaller roles in about 30 films, some of which left their mark on the Greek scene. Cinema.

Lefteris Fornas quickly became one of the most popular actors of that golden generation and won many points in the artistic field.

The tragic ending and the vile rumours

But none of this, no matter how successful he was, could compensate for the huge emotional gaps he had in his personal life. It is said that the countdown began after that meeting he had with his father. At the same time, even if his childhood was bad and the woman who raised him did not strengthen him emotionally, her death shocked him.

Those who knew him say that these two events were a major setback for Furnas in his years of depression and introversion. Already in 1971 he was married to Athena Furnas, but it seems that this was not enough – despite her constant efforts – to prevent what was coming.

When his stepmother died, without saying a word, Fornas left the house he had been living in with his wife in Voula and went to stay at the old woman’s house in Piazza America.

He stayed there for less than a year, and at some point, as suddenly as he had left, he returned to his home in Fula. However, he was not the same person anymore. He had sunk into a state of depression. What frightened those around him was that he seemed to have given up on life, and at the same time he did not show even the slightest inclination to do anything to reverse it all. He had pretty much even stopped eating.

Furnas’ last theatrical performance was with Martha Karagiannis. Everyone hoped that his return to acting would be an “electric shock” and bring him back or at least give him the will to fight it. But in vain… Nothing had changed in Furnas’ psyche and the end seemed closer than ever.

On this day, July 1, 1987, he ended his life in a horrific way. First, he took a large amount of pills, then cut his veins and then jumped from the third floor of the apartment building in which he lived. He did everything to make sure he wouldn’t escape, taking away all hope from those who tried to save him.

A few days before Fornas’ suicide, on June 13, 33-year-old Vassilis Korkoumelis died. The famous designer, who became known throughout the world under the pseudonym Billy Bow, died of AIDS.

When Furnas was taken to the hospital and learned of his death, many journalists and photojournalists rushed there. Many of his colleagues also went to the hospital, including Favorite Actor Stavros Paravas. When the actor saw the “bad devastation” outside the hospital, he told reporters: “For God’s sake! You didn’t do that to Billy Boo either!”

These words of Paravas were enough to spark a host of rumors about the reasons that led Furnas to apparent ruin. In those days he heard that the actor had taken exams but He committed suicide. Before he took the results in his hands, he was afraid for them.

His wife dispelled all these rumors and ordered tests on the body of Lefteris Fornas. After some time, the results came out and were negative, which brought back to the forefront as an answer to the question of “why” the depression and poor psychological state of the premiere of Zen, who could still offer a lot to cinema and film. stage.