Greece: Marianna Toli (1977 participant) passes away

by Stratos Agadellis 3,100 views

Unpleasant news coming from Greece today. Marianna Toli, the famous actress and singer who represented the country at the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 along with Pashalis, Bessy Argyraki and Robert Williams has sadly passed away after a strong battle with cancer. 

Marianna Toli was a very popular Greek artist who had starred in numerous musical plays and Greek films. She studied History of the Art at the University of Kentucky in the United States, as well as Classical and Modern Dance in London.

Her career started with her performance at the Lysistrata (Greek: Λυσιστράτη) comedy play in Epidaurus. Some of the musical plays that she had partaken are Annie, Irma and Chicago. In the last few years, she staged many theatrical plays for children, while she served as the director of the Children’s Department of the Greek National Theater, from 2001 to 2003.

At Eurovision

In 1977, the quartet of Pashalis Arvanitidis, Marianna Toli, Robert Williams and Bessy Argyraki was chosen to represent the country at that year’s Eurovision, hosted in London. With the song Mathima solfege (Solfege lesson) by Giorgos Hatzinasios, they managed to finish 5th on the scoreboard with 92 points. This had been Greece’s best Eurovision result for many years, until Antique’s 3rd place in 2001.

The four artists reunited and performed again their great hit at the 2014 Greek national final. But let’s remember their appearance on the Eurovision stage, 41 years later:

Here at ESCToday, we would like to express our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the departed artist. May her soul rest in peace…