Melina Mercouri

Melina Mercouri, the vivacious actress with a husky laugh who went on to become Greece's Minister of Culture, died yesterday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. Miss Mercouri, whose greatest screen success was her role as a flamboyant prostitute in the 1960 film "Never on Sunday," was 68, her family said, although references disagree on the year of her birth. The cause was complications from lung cancer, said Patricia Turi, a hospital spokeswoman. Miss Mercouri was hospitalized in early February and underwent surgery on Feb. 23 to remove cancerous tissue, but her conditioned deteriorated on Saturday because of an infection, Ms. Turi said. Coming from a politically prominent family, the actress was a passionate anti-Fascist who lost her citizenship and property in 1967 for her aggressive opposition to the junta that held power in Athens for seven years, until 1974. She then speedily returned home and entered politics, winning election to Parliament in 1977 as a Socialist. Miss Mercouri was appointed Culture Minister in 1981 after the Socialists won a landslide victory. She served in the post until 1989, when her party lost power, and then returned when the party was re-elected in October. "Never on Sunday," the story of a nurturing trollop who refused to work more than six nights a week, established Miss Mercouri as an international star. The movie was directed by Jules Dassin, her close companion and later her husband. Mr. Dassin, the son of a New York barber, fled to Europe after being blacklisted in Hollywood in the 1950's. Mr. Dassin directed, and often wrote and produced, most of Miss Mercouri's nearly 20 other movies, including "He Who Must Die" (1957), about life overtaking a Passion play in a primitive village on Crete; Mr. Dassin co-adapted the story from the novel "The Greek Passion," by Nikos Kazantzakis. Other joint efforts included "Phaedra," a 1961 tale of a woman lusting for her stepson, and "A Dream of Passion," a 1978 variation of Medea's child-murders. Both were based on, or inspired by, ancient Greek dramas. Their other team efforts included "Topkapi," a well-regarded 1964 museum-theft caper; "10:30 P.M. Summer," a 1966 story of a descent into alcoholism, and "Promise at Dawn" (1970), from a memoir by Romain Gary about his unconventional mother. Miss Mercouri conquered Broadway in a 1967 musical adaptation of "Never on Sunday" titled "Illya Darling," prompting Walter Kerr of The New York Times to hail her as "a creature you'd be happy to take home to mother, if mother was out." Politics and Pacifism The outspoken actress and politician with a flashing smile and feline movements was a favorite of interviewers, who called her a charming, forceful and quotable woman very much in love with life. She spoke French, German and English, as well as Greek.