Trivia for
Alexis Zorbas (1964) More at IMDbPro »

• Anthony Quinn had a broken foot during filming, and thus couldn't perform the dance on the beach as scripted, which called for much leaping around. Instead, he did a slow shuffle. Director Mihalis Kakogiannisasked Anthony Quinn what the dance was, and Anthony Quinn made up a name and claimed it was traditional.
  
  
• Cameo: [George P. Cosmatos] the disgruntled boy who writes down the illiterate Zorba's thoughts for him.
  
  
• Simone Signoret was the original choice for Madame Hortense. After filming began, director 'Michael Cacoyannis' realized that she wasn't what he wanted for the part and asked permission from Darryl F. Zanuck to replace her. He agreed and he proposed Bette Davis. 'Michael Cacoyannis' though had Lila Kedrova in mind. Darryl F. Zanuck had no idea who Lila Kedrova was, or how she even looked, but he trusted 'Michael Cacoyannis' very much, so he agreed.
  
  
• Herschel Bernardi was nominated for the 1969 Tony Award (New York City) for Actor in a Musical for "Zorba" in the musical adaptation of this movie.
  
  
• The original Broadway production of "Zorba" opened at the Imperial Theater in New York on November 16, 1968, ran for 305 performances and was nominated for the 1969 Tony Award for the Best Musical. Anthony Quinn and Lila Kedrova who starred together in this movie version appeared in the revival of Zorba in 1982-3 with Lila Kedrova winning the 1984 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. "Zorba" was nominated for the 1969 Tony Award (New York City) for the Best Musical.
  
  

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