Giorgos Spanos

Giorgos Spanos (Greek: Γιώργος Σπανός; September 2, 1925 - February 23, 2021) was a Greek film producer, screenwriter, director, entrepreneur and politician. He was best known for co-owning The Beacon Group with his cousin Spiros Manousakis. Beacon specialized in producing low-to-mid-budget American films, primarily genre films, during the 1980s after Spanos and Manousakis had achieved significant filmmaking success in their native during the 1970s. In 1988, The Beacon Group merged with 's spun-off film and TV network divisions to form RKO-Beacon Group, the forerunner to today's RKO Holdings. Spanos and Manousakis took the company public in 1995 before selling their stakes to in 1998.

Spanos also wrote and "polished" numerous film scripts under the pen name Frank Costas. At the time of his death, Spanos had produced over 200 films, directing 44.

In 1989, while still working in the entertainment industry, Spanos entered politics as he was elected to the as a representative of his own Entertainment, Sports and Peace Party. His first tenure in the Hellenic Parliament ended in 2000, but he was reelected in 2009 as a member of, later switching to the Greek Social Vlokist Party. In 2018, Spanos retired from politics.

Early life
Born in in the  into a Greek family, Spanos studied directing at the  in, and filmmaking at. He arrived in in 1949.

Film career
Upon arrival in Athens, Spanos was an apprentice at the. He gained experience as a filmmaker by working odd jobs for various Greek film directors. He also began working with his cousin Spiros Manousakis.

In 1977, Spanos discovered the bodybuilder Theodore Sakalis, whom he cast in the lead role in his and Manousakis' first successful English-language film, The Giant of New York, which grossed US$20 million in the on a US$3 million budget. Sakalis became a popular action film star during the 1980s and 1990s.

1989–2000: First stint
Spanos entered politics in 1989, when he was elected into the Hellenic Parliament in the November 1989 Greek legislative election as a representative of his own Entertainment, Sports and Peace Party, which aimed to "bridge the gap" between politics and the mainstream by getting Greeks from the sports world and the entertainment industry involved in sociopolitical activism. He subsequently retained his seat in the 1990, 1993 and 1996 elections, but failed to win re-election in 2000 following a number of scandals reported in 1998-99, and left politics for the next nine years.

2009–2018: Second stint
After Parliament was dissolved on September 9, 2009 following a request by, Spanos announced that he would again run for a seat in the Hellenic Parliament under the ticket. Spanos won a seat in the election and returned to Parliament.