Memorial Marathon Honoring George Best Costacos To Be Held 7/11

The events in honor of the late Broadway actor/singer George "Best" Costacos are continuing in his native Greece on the beautiful island of Aegina, where George was laid to rest last November. The first George "Best" Costacos Memorial Marathon will be held on Saturday, July 11, 2009.

The event is being sponsored by the Mayor of Aegina and the organization Philoxenia whose president is Mr. Nikos Kostakos. It is noteworthy that this is the first time that such an event is being organized in Greece for a member of Actors' Equity, the largest and most prestigious actors' union in the United States. The organizers stated that "George "Best" Costacos had a great love and admiration for the history and culture of ancient Greece and we felt the best way to honor him was to organize a marathon as was done in ancient Greece for distinguished members of society".

Before becoming a successful Broadway actor/singer, George Costacos participated in the Balkan Games and won several medals for gymnastics. He always had a great love and appreciation of athletics and therefore he was especially honored to be the only Actors' Equity member to be invited to participate in the Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

The organizers of this years' marathon indicated that their goal is to make this an annual event. At this year's ceremony, the mayor of Aegina, Mr. Panagiotis Koukoulis, will name a central street in Aegina after George "Best" Costacos. The marathon will take place on Saturday, July 11, 2009 and the route will follow some of the most beautiful areas of Aegina including ancient archeological sites such as the ancient temple of Afeas, through Aghios. Nektarios and ending at Aghia Marina. The winners will be presented with works of art donated by famous artists living and working in the United States including Lydia Venieri, Nikos Floros, Efi Foung, Dimitris Kouros, Haritos. They will all be attending the event. The medals will be presented by Olympic medalists Voula Patoulidou and Maria Georgatou.

In addition, a newly formed George "Best" Costacos Cultural and Cancer Research Foundation was established in New York City in honor of the life and work of the late performer. The foundation will support brain cancer research and also provide support for young actors/singers.

George Costacos not only had an impressive career in theater and dance, he was also a concerned and active citizen, performing many charity events for causes that were important to him. Many of his colleagues and friends from New York are scheduled to attend this marathon including the president of Actors' Equity, Mr. Mark Zimmerman as well as the Director of Communications, Mr. David Lotz, the conductor Maestro Konstantine Kitsopoulos, as well as Dr. David Lyden, Stavros S. Niarchos Chair and Associate Attending Physician at Weill Cornell Medical Center and Ms. Dora Ziongas, from the American Cancer Society and many, many more friends, colleagues and fans from around the world.