his first wife, Beatrice Launer, in 1962 and married Mercouri in 1966. She later starred in his Promise at Dawn (1970)—during the filming of which, Dassin broke both his legs—and later A Dream of Passion (1978). Affiliation with Greece Dassin was considered a major Philhellene to the point of Greek officials describing him as a "first generation Greek". Along with Mercouri, he opposed the Greek military junta. The couple had to leave Greece after the colonels' coup in 1967. In 1970 they were accused of having financed an attempt to overthrow the dictatorship, but the charges were quickly dropped. Dassin and Mercouri lived in New York City during the 1970s; then, when the military dictatorship in Greece fell in 1974, they returned to Greece and lived out their lives there. In 1974 he and Mercouri made The Rehearsal about the junta. While Mercouri became involved with politics and won a parliamentary seat, Dassin stayed with movie-making in Europe. In 1982 he was a member of the jury at the 34th Berlin International Film Festival. Personal life Marriages Dassin married twice. Before his marriage to Mercouri, he married Beatrice Launer in 1933; she was a New York–born, Jewish–American concert violinist (aka Beatrice Launer-Dassin; 1913–1994), a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music. They divorced in 1962. Their children were Joseph Ira Dassin, better known as Joe Dassin (1938–80), a popular French singer in the 1970s; songwriter Richelle "Rickie" Dassin (born 1940); and actress–singer Julie Dassin (born 1944; also known as Julie D.). Death Dassin died from complications of influenza at the age of 96; he was survived by his two daughters and his grandchildren. Upon his death, the Greek prime minister Costas Karamanlis released a statement: "Greece mourns the loss of a rare human being, a significant artist and true friend. His passion, his relentless creative energy, his fighting spirit and his nobility will remain unforgettable." A major supporter of the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens, for which he established the Melina Mercouri Institution in her memory after her death in 1994, he died a few months before the opening ceremony of the New Acropolis Museum. Preservation The Academy Film Archive has preserved Jules Dassin's film Night and the City, including the British and pre-release versions. In 2000, Rialto pictures restored and released Rififi theatrically. It was subsequently released on home video through The Criterion Collection and Arrow Films.