Michael "Mikis" Theodorakis ( ; born 29 July 1925) is a Greek songwriter and composer. He has written over 1000 songs. He was born in Chios, Greece. His career began in 1943. He is 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.