Anton Karas Anton Karas Anton Karas (7 July 1906 – 10 January 1985) was a Viennese zither player and composer, best known for his internationally famous 1948 soundtrack to Carol Reed's "The Third Man", which came about as a result of a chance meeting. Born in Vienna, one of five children of a factory worker, Anton Karas was already keen on music as a child. He wanted to become a band leader, which because of the family's financial situation was impossible. However, he was allowed to learn to play an instrument, as were his two brothers and two sisters. He later reported
Archie Karas been compared to Nick the Greek, another high-stakes gambler of Greek origin. Karas was born on November 1, 1950 in Antypata on the island of Cephalonia, Greece. He grew up in poverty and had to shoot marbles as a teenager to avoid going hungry. His father, Nickolas, was a construction worker who struggled financially. Karas ran away from home at the age of 15 after, in a rage, his father threw a shovel at him, barely missing his head. He never saw his father again. Nickolas died four years later. Karas worked as a waiter on a ship, making $60