michael "mikis" theodorakis ( ; 29 july 1925 – 2 september 2021) was a greek songwriter and composer. he wrote over 1000 songs. he was born in chios, greece. his career began in 1943. he was known for composing the movie scores for "zorba the greek" (1964), "z" (1969), and "serpico" (1973). he is known as greece's best-known composer. he was awarded the lenin peace prize.