Known for his puppet theater stories with the hunchbacked character Karagiozi who represented the virtues and vices of the average Greek.
Learned his craft from his father, Sotiris Spatharis, who was also a puppet master.
His first performance was in 1942. He usually worked alone behind a small semitransparent screen although he collaborated with theater and dance companies as well.
Established the Spatharis Museum of the shadow theatre in Maroussi in 1991.