Michael Cacoyannis was a well-known Greek Cypriot film director, producer, and screenwriter who was widely regarded as one of the leading torchbearers of Greek cinema on an international stage. He was best known for the 1964 film ‘Zorba the Greek’ (‘Alexis Zorbas’), which introduced Greek cinema to an international audience. The film received numerous nominations, including three ‘Academy Honors,’ one ‘Grammy Award,’ five ‘Golden Globe Awards,’ and four ‘BAFTA’ awards. He has directed operas and stage plays, including a musical adaptation of “Zorba the Greek” in 1983. Several of his works were inspired by classical works, particularly those by Euripides, the Greek tragedian. He had made a number of notable films that were both critically praised and commercially successful over the years. ‘Windfall in Athens’ (‘Kyriakatiko xypnima’), ‘Stella,’ ‘A Girl in Black’ (‘To koritsi me ta mavra’), ‘A Matter of Dignity’ (‘To telefteo psemma’), ‘Electra,’The Wastrel’ (‘Il Relitto,’) and ‘Iphigenia He was nominated for five Academy Awards, a record for any Cypriot cinema figure. Three for ‘Zorba the Greek’ for Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director, and one each for ‘Iphigenia’ and ‘Electra’ in the category of Foreign Language Film.
Childhood & Early Life
Adrian Mitchell was born on the 24th of October 1932, in a location near Hampstead Heath, to Jock Mitchell and Kathleen Fabian. His father worked as a research scientist, while his mother taught in a public school. He went to the ‘Monkton Combe School’ in Bath, England, and afterwards transferred to the ‘Greenways School.’ His first play, ‘The Animals’ Brain Trust,’ was performed while he was a student at ‘Greenways School.’ Mitchell was nine years old at the time.
Adrian then enrolled in Wiltshire’s ‘Dauntsey’s School,’ where he and his buddy Gordon Snell wrote and performed a number of plays. He was recruited to the ‘Royal Air Force’ in 1951, though he had no intention of joining. His time in the military was only a year long. Later, he continued his English studies at ‘Christ Church’ college, which is associated with ‘Oxford University.’ During his time at the institution, he was named editor of the ‘Isis Magazine.’ He was also the president of the university’s poetry organization.
Career of Adrian Mitchell
Adrian was hired as a reporter by the newspaper ‘Oxford Mail’ after graduating from ‘Oxford University.’ Between 1955 and 1957, he worked for the daily for two years. He subsequently went to work for the English newspaper ‘Evening Standard’ in London for roughly three years.
Soon after, he wrote his first novel and also his first television drama, and subsequently began working as a freelance writer, writing for newspapers and tabloids such as the ‘Daily Mail,’ ‘Sun,’ and ‘Sunday Times,’ among others. During the 1960s, he quit from his newspaper job and focused on his creative works, writing poems, stories, and plays.
‘If You See Me Coming,’ a novel he wrote in 1962, was one of his most well-known works at the time.
He worked as a writer’s workshop instructor at the University of Iowa from 1963 to 1967. Following that, he was appointed as a ‘Granada Fellow in the Arts’ at the ‘University of Lancaster.’ Three additional of the writer’s works, ‘Wartime,’ ‘Bodyguard,’ and ‘Man Friday,’ were published in the 1970s.
This poet has written a great number of poems, some of which are aimed towards children. He was a prolific playwright, with a total number of plays that much outnumbers his collection of poems and novels. In the year 1972, Mitchell was a fellow of the ‘Wesleyan University’s’Centre for the Humanities’ division. During 1974-75, he worked as a resident writer at the ‘Sherman Theatre’ in Cardiff for a year. Later, as a visiting writer, he was involved with the ‘Billericay Comprehensive School.’ In 1980, he was named a Judith E. Wilson Fellow at Cambridge University, where he stayed for one year.
In 1982, the playwright was named resident writer at the ‘Unicorn Theatre for Children,’ a position he held for a year.
He was a ‘Fellow in Drama’ at Singapore’s ‘Nanyang University’ in 1995. He was also the ‘Dylan Thomas Fellow’ during Swansea’s ‘UK Year of Literature’ in the same year. At the same time, Adrian was awarded a fellowship for a Drama course at ‘Nanyang University.’
He adapted C.S. Lewis’ story and wrote ‘The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe’ as a play. This performance took place in 1998. His works ‘Dancing in the Street: A Poetic Party’ and ‘Draft as a Doughnut,’ both for children, were released in 1999. The former is poetry for children, while the latter is a children’s drama. In the year 2000, his book of poems, ‘All Shock Up: Poems 1997-2000,’ was published. Another collection of Adrian’s poems, ‘The Shadow knows: Poems 2001-2004,’ was published four years later.
Major Projects of Adrian Mitchell
One of Adrian Mitchell’s most well-known compositions is the poem “To Whom It May Concern.” This is a satirical poem with an anti-war tone that was composed during a time when thousands of people died in the ‘Vietnam War’ under the pretence of bringing peace, democracy, order, and freedom to the country.
This poem was first spoken in front of a big audience in 1965 at London’s ‘Royal Albert Hall.’ This has been changed multiple times in response to ongoing wars and can be used to any current conflict. It demonstrates how conflict may have both physical and psychological effects on people.
Achievements & Awards
In 1961, he was given the ‘Eric Gregory Award,’ and five years later, he was given the ‘PEN Prize for Translation.’ He received the ‘Tokyo Festival Award’ for Television in 1971. He was also awarded the prestigious ‘Gold Medal of the Theatre of Poetry.’ In 1997, he received an honorary doctorate from the ‘North London University.’ The ‘Red Pepper Magazine’ awarded this writer the title of ‘Shadow Poet Laureate.’ In 2004, he was also awarded the ‘Best Collection of Children’s Poetry’ by the ‘Poetry Book Society.’ His poem ‘Draft as a Doughnut’ was shortlisted for the ‘CLPE Poetry Award’ the following year.
Personal History and Legacy
He initially married Maureen Bush, with whom he had three children: Danny, Briony, and Alistair. He then married Celia Hewitt and has two children named Beattie and Sasha with her. Celia is an actress who also manages a bookshop in Highgate called ‘Ripping Yarns.’ This writer died of a heart attack on December 28, 2008, and the literary world was shocked and saddened by his demise. Mitchell’s anthology of poems, ‘Come on Everybody: Poems 1953-2008,’ was published posthumously in 2012.
Estimated net Worth
Adrian is one of the wealthiest poets and one of the most well-known. Adrian Mitchell’s net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.