(Video link here.) In 1964, the great Anthony Quinn, then 49, knocked everyone out with the famous scene in the movie Zorba the Greek where he teaches an uptight Englishman how to dance after his business enterprise goes bust. It remains one of the most life-affirming moments in screen history. You can feel the sun and the sea air, and pure joy. We grew up with it, and with the lovely, alive music of composer Mikos Theodorakis.

We’d forgotten about it until the other day, when a reader sent us a video of Quinn, age 84 – two years before he died – dancing the sirtaki from Zorba the Greek, in a sweet reunion with the composer, his dear old friend. There is a stunning amount of love in it.

(Video link here.)

You can stream Zorba the Greek via on Amazon or iTunes.

With huge thanks to Julie Houston for this treasure.

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3 replies on “a dance lesson from zorba + anthony quinn

  1. Oh, Sally. This just did me in. At the first clip, to see that scene once more, but also at feeling the loss not only of Quinn but of the great Alan Bates. The second clip, however, just put me in meltdown mode. I was smiling with tears flowing down my cheeks. Still am. Am also on my way to post this. THANK YOU.

  2. Julie Houston is my ageless superstar of a mom and believe me, she lives her life much like those perfect footsteps of Anthony’ Quinn’s.

  3. By the time I got here, both videos had been suppressed on copyright grounds. What a loss….

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