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ATHAN KARRAS

 ATHAN KARRAS

Eulogy

By his grandson Lowell Alexander Byers

Athan Karras was my grandfather, or Papoo as he was known to me.

My father and I felt a special bond to Papoo because he was a fellow actor, but more importantly a beautiful artist. I would like to share a few things about the artist that was my Papoo. This first passage is from my father ...

 The man, who I called Papoo as well, knew everybody, literally. It was hard to have a phone conversation with him for more than a few minutes, since he was sure to receive another call from some friend across the country, or across the globe. However, I would like to take a moment to speak of another aspect of this man. His uniqueness.

     The actor, John Aniston, once told me, “There’s nobody like Athan. Here’s a guy who rented a storefront in a rundown section of LA, put a record player and coffee urn inside it, charged a dollar for admission, and on the strength of his personality alone, packed the place with people who wanted to be around him, and learn to Greek dance night after night.”

     In a 1976 newspaper article, his daughter Daphne, who was getting started as a model in LA, said, “My father was so proud of his heritage, he literally made a career of being Greek.”

     Two years later, at a dinner party Daphne and I gave at my house in Hollywood, Athan was describing how, the rhythm of the music, when combined with the passion, energy, and emotion of Greek dance, raise the dancer to a transformed state of consciousness. When he finished his monologue, Richard L. Coe, the Pulitzer prize winning author and critic, turned to me and said, “My God, that was like being in the middle of a tornado! He’s a force of nature!” He WAS a force of nature.

     He loved his children and grandchildren with the giddiness of a child on Christmas morning. He constantly reveled in all their accomplishments and milestones, yet he was genuinely surprised when his own accomplishments drew attention. When I told the director of one of Lowell's college productions that his grandfather had been a member of Julian Beck’s original “Living Theatre” company, and had choreographed their production of “The Bacchaii”, I might as well have told that director that Athan had signed the Declaration of Independence. I had known him since 1977, and had only learned of his connection to the beginning of Off-Broadway theatre in 2008. Most actors would have announced that fact in the first 10 minutes of any conversation.

     Yes, my father-in-law, Athan, was unique. As the bard says in Hamlet, “…take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again.” He loved his life, loved it too much to want to live it in sections, to live it in declension.

     I am told that in his last moment in this realm, he opened his eyes. I’d like to think I know what he saw. Surrounded by his wife, children, and grandchildren ... he was able to rise up. To stand strong, like Odysseus, on the rock of cloud heavy Olympus. He watches Dawn spread her finger tips of rose over the wine dark sea. A Goddess beside him says, “ Be still, here you need grieve no more; you need not feel your life consumed here; I have pondered it, and I shall help you go.” Then he turns, and bids the Gods to dance.

 Now a few words of my own...

 Passion, Energy, Spirit, One of a Kind

 Someone once said, "There is no must in art because art is free" - I like to think of my Papoo as a free-spirit. He was a man who was put on this earth to create an expression unlike any other. After Greek dancing with him on a calm, beautiful night in Paros, I only wish I could have danced with him at the Intersection. 

 He was devoted to the arts… Writing, Painting, Music, Dance, Acting, he loved them all. He knew and appreciated artists in all disciplines, all over the world.

 He loved all his family unconditionally and was even willing to accept strangers into his home.  On my trip to Greece with him, I very quickly became aware of how well loved and respected this man was by all his fellow Greeks. I hardly had to spend any money the entire trip, since his friends would do absolutely anything for him, in return for all that he had done for them.

 Papoo, I will not only miss you as my grandfather, but as a fellow artist as well. You have inspired me immensely. You made me proud of my Greek Heritage. It was an honor to know you, be related to you, and be a presence in your life. Your Love, Passion, Energy, Spirit: I will carry these with me for the rest my life. Sagapo - Efharisto para poli.   

Lowell Alexander Byers, February 18, 2010

St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Los Angeles, California