THE ZARAX ASSOCIATION IS A CULTURAL ASSOCIATION BASED
IN SYDNEY, COMPRISED
OF MEMBERS HAILING FROM
THE ZARAKA REGION IN
LAKONIA, GREECE
ABOUT WELL KNOWN ZARAKITES
TELLY SAVALAS
GEORGE PETROLEKAS and GEORGE DRIVAS
PANAGIOTIS KRITIKOS
WILLIAM STAVROPOULOS
TELLY SAVALAS "Who Lovesya, Baby?"
Lollipop sucking Telly Savalas was best known for playing the title role of Theo in the hit 1970s crime drama series "Kojak".
However, his best professional performance was in the 1962 movie "Birdman of Alcatraz", in which he received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.
Telly Savalas was born Aristotelis Savalas on 21 January 1922 in Garden City New York, as the second of five children to Greek-American parents. His mother Christina (nee Kapsalis) was a New York City artist and a native of Sparta and his father Nick Savalas (originally Tsavalas) was a Greek restaurant owner originally from Geraka in Zaraka. In his early years Telly only spoke Greek (which many of us can relate to) and attended Lynn Classical High school in Lynn Massachusetts before graduating in 1940.
After a haunting event that was to stay with him for the remainder of his life (in which as a life- guard he was unable to rescue a man from drowning), Telly entered Columbia University School of General Studies. He studied a variety of subjects including English, radio, and psychology before graduating in 1948. It was during this period that he fell in love with radio and television.
Savalas served three years in the army between 1943 and 1946 working for the State Department as host of the "Your Voice of America" series.
A number of years passed before he launched his acting career in his late 30s but, from that point on, he had a television and movie career that spanned many decades. In addition to movies, he appeared in television commercials and was even on one episode of the Australian supernatural tel- evision show "The Extraordinary". His many tal- ents included singing, with which he had some chart success. He decided to retain his trademark bald head after he shaved his head for the role of Pontius Pilate for the movie "The Greatest Story Ever Told".
Savalas was married three times. He had one daughter from his first marriage and two daughters from his second marriage. His third and final
marriage produced a son named Christian, who is an actor, singer and songwriter and a daughter Ariana who is an actress, singer and songwriter.
Savalas had many hobbies and interests, including horse racing (in which he
owned and raced a very successful
horse). He was a philanthropist, con-
tributing funds to St. Sophia and St. Nicolas cathedrals in Los Angeles and sponsoring a program to bring electricity in the 1970s to his ancestral home of Gereka. He was also a generous, graceful and compassionate man, helping many actors break into their first role in the same way that Burt Lancaster had helped him.
In his later years, Savalas was overwhelmed by the deaths of many of his relatives - especially his younger brother George in 1985 (who played detective Stavros in the Kojak series) and his beloved mother in 1989 (who had been his best friend and supporter).
In the same year that his mother died Savalas was diagnosed with cancer of the bladder. He refused to see a doctor until 1993 and finally succumbed to the disease on 22 January 1994 at the age of 72.
Right to the end, Savalas continued to star in many roles. Mourners who attended his funeral included Angie Dickenson, Nicolette Sheridan, Jenifer Aniston (his god daughter), Kevin Sorbo and Frank Sinatra. His two ex-wives also attended the funeral, demonstrating the charisma and calibre of the man. He has been honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"Everybody should have a little Greek in them" A Star to the very end.
TOP
PAUL SPYROS SARBANES
Paul Sarbanes was born to Spyros Sarbanes (1891-1957) from Ahladokambo and to Matina Tsigounis (1908- 2001) from Elika (the daughter of a priest). His parents
owned the Mayflower restaurant on Salisbury's Main Street and were very humble people who understood the importance of hard work and the value of education. In June 1960 he married Christine Dunbar of Brighton, England with whom he fathered three children.
Sarbanes' parents instilled in him from an early age the principles of fairness and oppor- tunity, which led to a life of service.
In 1966 he won the Maryland House of Delegates in Baltimore City and, during his four years as State Legislator, served on the Judiciary and the Ways and
Means Committees.
In 1970 he was elected to the United States House of
Representatives (and a number of other committees) and in 1974 was selected by his Democratic Party colleagues on the House Watergate Committee to introduce the first Article of Impeachment for obstruction of justice against the current President Richard Nixon.
In 1976 he was elected to the United States Senate and was re-elected in 1982, 1988, 1994 and 2000. His last election made history, being the first time a senator was elected for five consecutive terms and 30 years.
Sarbanes has worked hard throughout his public service life and has, over the course of his career, earned the trust and respect of the United States public. He was honoured in 2003 with the prestigious P.H. Douglas Ethics in Government award from the University of Illinois - an award designed to honour individuals who
have contributed substantially to promoting ethics in government.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Sarbanes was chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee that introduced a Bill designed to reform the accounting industry and to restore investor confidence following the collapse of Enron.
The "Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act" was signed into law on 30 July 2002 and has been referred to as the "most far-reaching reforms of American business practices since the time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt".
GEORGE PETROLEKAS and GEORGE DRIVAS
George N Petrolekas was born in 1855 in Haraka and George T Drivas was born in 1870 in Rihea. They were first cousins who emigrated from Zaraka to the United States where they established, in 1892, the Lekas and Drivas Import and Export company.
During the last decade of the 19th century there was a vast migration of Europeans settling in America and Lekas (he had shortened his name in the US) and Drivas saw a need for supplying European products to these new European immigrants and they eventually grew their small company into one of the most successful import/export businesses in the US.
Neither of them had any children and most of their wealth was given to various charities and family.
George Drivas was a large financial donor to Zappeion hospital and orphanage, the national fleet and the philanthropic association "H Agape". He donated 800,000 drachmas (a lot of money in those days) to build the new school in Rihea and donated money to the churches in Rihea and Haraka. He also set aside funds for students of Year 7 and 8 for business studies.
George Lekas funded the construction and upkeep of the beautiful church (Τρείς Ιεραρχες̀) in Haraka - his village of birth. He also established a foundation for the village of Haraka which to this day pays an annuity to the residents of Haraka during the festive seasons of Easter and Christmas. Only residents residing permanently in Haraka are eligible to receive the annuity.
Ο Παναγιώτης Κρητικός γεννήθηκε στο Γέρακα, Ζάρακα στις 17 Νοεμβρίου 1937. Ειναι παντρεμένος με την Ευαγγελία Χαρσούση και εχει μία κόρη και έναν γιο.
Εξελέγη βουλευτής της Β Περιαιώς με το Π.Α.Σ.Ο.Κ στις εκλογές του 1977, 1981, 1985, 1989,1990,1993,1996 και του 2000. Διετέλεσε Α΄Αντιπρόεδρος της Βουλής απο το 22 Απριλίου 2000. Εξελέγη Γ΄Αντοπρόεδρος της Βουλής, στις 22 Νοεμβρίοθ 1989 Α΄Αντιπρόεδρος και στις 23 Απριλίου 1990 ΔΆντιπρόεδρος. Διετέλεσε Πρόεδρος των Επιτροπών Απονομής Βραβείων Ελ. Βενιζέλου, Προστασίας του Απορρήτου των Επικοινωνιών και Αναθεώρησης του Συντάγματος (1996-1997).
Ο Παναγιώτης Κρητικός έλαβε μέρος στον αντιδικτατοικό αγώνα (Εθν. Κίνημα Δημοκρατικής Αντιστάσεως, Ελλ. Αντίσταση, Π.Α.Κ) καταδικάστηκε, βασανίσθηκε και φυλακίσθηκε, κατ'επανάληψη.
Έχει γράψει πολλά βιβλία: <<ο Κανονισμός της Βουλής, Ερμηνεία - Ανάλυση - Σχόλια>>, <<Γ. Παπανδρέου, Κείμενα και Αποφθέγματα>>, <<Αντίσταση κατά της Δικτατορίας>>, <<Αμφίδρομες Σκέψεις>> (Πολιτική Ανάλυση), <<Η Ρήξη>>.<<Η ώρα της Νέας Γενιάς>>,<<Η Απειλή>>, <<Ονείρου Λογισμοί>>, <<Τωςν απελθόντον τα επιτύμβια>>, <<Στον ισκιο του Μεγάλου Βράχου>> (Ποίηση), <<Καραολής>> (Θεατρικό).
WILLIAM STAVROPOULOS
William Stavropoulos was born in Bridgehampton N.Y. in 1939 as one of four children to Spiros Stavropoulos
(1892-1974) from Rihea and Angeliki Tsavalas from Geraka. He married Linda Teofel and has a son named William and a daughter named Angela.
Dr Stavropoulos graduated from Fordham University with a B.S. in pharmaceutical chemistry and received a Ph.D in medicinal chemistry from the University of Washington. He joined Dow Chemical Company (the largest chemical company in the United States and the second largest in the world) and served in a variety of positions including research, marketing and general management. He rose through the company to eventually become Chairman and CEO.
