Greek comedian and musician Tzimis Panousis dead at 64

The popular comedian and actor Tzimis Panousis died at the age of 64 on Saturday following a heart attack.

His death follows a string of health issues in recent years, including his collapse last December on stage which led to his hospitalization for a few days.

Dimitris Panousis was born in 1954 to a refugee family from Asia Minor and grew up in Holargos in northern Athens.

Apart from his raunchy comedy standup routines and a string of inspired music albums he released with his band Mousikes Taxiarchies beginning in the late 1970s, he also landed movie roles, and made a host of appearances on television programs which turned him into a household name.

Panousis also had regular slots on radio shows where his commentary, which often sailed deep into the realm of political incorrectness, earned him a strong army of cult followers.

He was a defiant satirist who never gave in to the pressure his opponents tried to put on him. He criticized just as harshly the Right and the Left. He will be surely missed, especially since no other man in this day and age would be brave enough to go against the political system and the elites in such a non-conformist way, without thinking about the cost or the ramifications of his actions.