George Chakiris | |
---|---|
Born | Norwood, Ohio, U.S. | September 16, 1932
Other names | George Kerris |
Occupation(s) | Actor, dancer |
Years active | 1947–1996, 2021 |
Website | GeorgeChakiris.com |
George Chakiris (born September 16, 1932) is an American actor and dancer. He is best known for his appearance in the 1961 film version of West Side Story as Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks gang, for which he won both the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture.
Chakiris was born on September 16, 1932, in Norwood, Ohio, to Stelianos (Steve) and Zoe (née Anastasiadou) Chakiris, Greek immigrants from Turkey. He is one of eight siblings. [1] [2] [3]
His family moved to Long Beach, California, in 1944. He attended Jefferson Junior High school and was graduated in 1950 from Woodrow Wilson Classical High School, both in Long Beach. [4] [5]
Chakiris attended one year at Long Beach City College, but wanted to pursue a career in dance, so he dropped out and moved to Hollywood. He worked in the advertising department of May Company California, a department store, and studied dance at night. [4] [5]
Chakiris made his film debut at age 15 in 1947 in the chorus of Song of Love . [5]
For several years he appeared in small roles, usually as a dancer or a member of the chorus in various musical films, including The Great Caruso (1951), Stars and Stripes Forever (1952), Call Me Madam (1953), Second Chance (1953), and The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953).
He was a dancer in Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" number in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), and he appeared in Give a Girl a Break (1953) and White Christmas (1954).
He can be seen in the wedding dance in the MGM musical film Brigadoon (1954), and appeared in There's No Business Like Show Business (1954).
Chakiris was sometimes cast in non-Caucasian roles, including in West Side Story as a Puerto Rican and in Diamond Head as a native Hawaiian.
Chakiris appeared uncredited as a dancer in White Christmas (1954) and appeared in a close-up with Rosemary Clooney while she sang "Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me". A publicity photo of this generated fan mail, and Paramount signed him to a movie contract. "I got lucky with the close-up with Rosemary," said Chakiris. [6] [7]
Chakiris appeared in The Country Girl (1954) and The Girl Rush (1955), dancing with Rosalind Russell in the latter. He received a positive review from Hedda Hopper. [8]
MGM borrowed him for Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), and he danced in Las Vegas. [9]
Chakiris had a small non-dancing part in Under Fire (1957).
About 1958, frustrated with the progress of his career, Chakiris left Hollywood for New York. The stage musical West Side Story had been running for a year on Broadway, and Chakiris auditioned for Jerome Robbins. He was cast in the London production as Riff, leader of the Jets. The musical launched on the West End in late 1958, and Chakiris received excellent reviews, playing it for almost 22 months. [10]
The Mirisch Brothers bought the film rights to West Side Story and screen-tested Chakiris. They thought his dark complexion made him more suited to the role of Bernardo, leader of the Sharks, and cast Russ Tamblyn as Riff. Filming took seven months. [11] [4]
The film adaptation of West Side Story (1961) was hugely successful, and Chakiris won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. This led to a long-term contract with the Mirisch Company. [12]
Chakiris played the lead role in Two and Two Make Six (1962), directed by Freddie Francis.
Chakiris starred as a doctor in the film Diamond Head (1963), opposite Charlton Heston and Yvette Mimieux. [13]
In the early 1960s, he embarked on a career as a pop singer, resulting in a couple of minor hits. In 1960, he recorded a single with producer Joe Meek.
Chakiris's fee around this time was reported to be $100,000 per movie. [14] His first new film for the Mirisches was Flight from Ashiya (1964), shot in Japan with Yul Brynner and Richard Widmark.
The Mirisches reunited Chakiris with Brynner in Kings of the Sun (1963), an epic about the Mayans, which was a box-office flop. Chakiris went to Italy to make Bebo's Girl (1964) with Claudia Cardinale.
He acted in 633 Squadron (1964), a war movie with Cliff Robertson, the last movie he made for the Mirisches. Chakiris later said he made a mistake with his Hollywood films by looking at the "potential" of them instead of the quality of the roles. [15]
Chakiris played a Greek terrorist in Cyprus in a British film, The High Bright Sun (1965), with Dirk Bogarde. He went to Italy for The Mona Lisa Has Been Stolen (1965) and France for Is Paris Burning? (1966). [16]
He appeared with Catherine Deneuve and Gene Kelly in Jacques Demy's French musical film The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967). Around this time, his manager cancelled his contract with Capitol Records. [17] However, he enjoyed his time in Europe, saying he had time to "experiment and refine my craft." [15] He also performed a nightclub act at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, his first stage work since West Side Story. The show was successful and led to Chakiris receiving an offer to appear with Jose Ferrer in a TV production of Kismet (1967). He appeared in The Day the Hot Line Got Hot (1968) in France, and The Big Cube (1969) with Lana Turner in America. He made Sharon Vestida de Rojo (Sharon Dressed in Red) (1970) in Spain. [18]
In 1969, Chakiris did a stage production of The Corn Is Green in Chicago with Eileen Herlie. He enjoyed the experience and it revived his confidence as an actor. He said all the films he made after West Side Story had been "a waste of time...it was difficult to take them seriously...It was my fault and no one else's". [19]
Chakiris accepted a dramatic role on TV's Medical Center to change his image. [19]
He starred in the first national tour of the Stephen Sondheim musical Company , in the role of Bobby, from 1971-1972.
Chakiris worked heavily on TV in the 1970s and 1980s in Britain and the U.S., guest-starring on Hawaii Five-O , Police Surgeon , Thriller , Notorious Woman , Wonder Woman , Fantasy Island , CHiPs , Matt Houston , Scarecrow and Mrs. King , Poor Little Rich Girls , Hell Town and Murder, She Wrote .
He appeared in the final episode (March 22, 1974) of The Partridge Family as an old high school boyfriend to Shirley Partridge (Shirley Jones). Their kiss goodbye was the final scene in the program's run. He also starred in the Terry Marcel film Why Not Stay for Breakfast? (1979).
Chakiris appeared in several episodes of Dallas and had a role on Santa Barbara .
Chakiris was top-billed in the vampire film Pale Blood (1990). On TV, he had a recurring role on the series Superboy as Professor Peterson from 1988 to 1990, and guest-starred on Human Target and the miniseries The Girls of Lido.
On stage, he starred in the musical in a Long Beach Civic Light Opera production of The King and I in 1995. [20]
On March 23, 1998, on the 70th Academy Awards telecast, he appeared in the "Oscar's Family Album" segment, a historic gathering of 70 actors who have received both competitive and honorary awards seated onstage together. [21]
He has given occasional television interviews since then, but is mostly retired. His hobby of making sterling silver jewelry has turned into a new occupation, [22] working as a jewelry designer for his own brand, George Chakiris Collections, consisting of handmade original sterling silver jewelry.
In 2012, he presented a musical about veganism titled Loving the Silent Tears. [23] [24]
In 2021, Chakiris appeared in the film Not to Forget (2021), which aims to raise awareness and funds for the fight against Alzheimer's disease. The movie, directed by Valerio Zanoli, stars Karen Grassle and five Academy Award winners: George Chakiris, Cloris Leachman, Louis Gossett Jr., Tatum O'Neal, and Olympia Dukakis.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1947 | Song of Love | Choir boy | As George Kerris |
1951 | The Great Caruso | Dancer | Uncredited |
1952 | Stars and Stripes Forever | Ballroom dancer | Uncredited |
1953 | Call Me Madam | Dancer in 'The Ocarina' Number | |
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T | Dancer | As George Kerris | |
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | Dancer ("Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend") | Uncredited [25] | |
Second Chance | Background Observer in Dance Sequence | Uncredited | |
Give a Girl a Break | Dancer | Uncredited | |
1954 | Brigadoon | Specialty dancer | Uncredited |
White Christmas | Dancer in 'Mandy' and 'Love' numbers | Uncredited | |
The Country Girl | Dancer with pick | Uncredited | |
There's No Business Like Show Business | Dancer | Uncredited | |
1955 | The Girl Rush | Chorus boy, 'Hillbilly Heart' number | Uncredited |
1956 | Meet Me in Las Vegas | Young groom | As George Kerris |
1957 | Under Fire | Pvt. Steiner | Uncredited |
1961 | West Side Story | Bernardo | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture |
1962 | Two and Two Make Six | Larry Curado | |
Diamond Head | Dr. Dean Kahanna | ||
1963 | Kings of the Sun | Balam | |
1964 | La ragazza di Bube | Bebo | English: Bebo's Girl |
Flight from Ashiya | 2nd Lt. John Gregg | ||
633 Squadron | Lt. Erik Bergman | ||
1965 | The High Bright Sun | Haghios | |
1966 | On a volé la Joconde | Vincent | English: The Mona Lisa Has Been Stolen |
Is Paris Burning? | GI in tank | ||
1967 | Les Demoiselles de Rochefort | Étienne | English: The Young Girls of Rochefort |
1968 | Le Rouble à Deux Faces | Eric Ericson | US title: The Day the Hot Line Got Hot |
1969 | The Big Cube | Johnny Allen | |
Sharon Vestida de Rojo | Robert Bowman | English: Sharon Dressed in Red | |
1979 | Why Not Stay for Breakfast? | George Clark | |
1982 | Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again | Himself | |
1990 | Pale Blood | Michael Fury | |
2021 | Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It | Himself | Documentary about Rita Moreno, his costar in West Side Story (1961) |
2021 | Not to Forget | Bank Manager |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1956 | Ford Star Jubilee | Episode: "You're the Top" | |
1968 | The Carol Burnett Show | Episode 18 (January 22, 1968) | |
1969 | The Jackie Gleason Show | Episode: "Mousey the Dip" | |
1970–1975 | Medical Center | Alex Solkin | 3 episodes |
1972 | Hawaii Five-O | Chris Lahani | Episode: "Death Is a Company Policy" |
1974 | The Partridge Family | Capt. Chuck "Cuddles" Corwin | Episode: ". . . - - - . . . (S.O.S.)" |
Thriller | Robert Stone | Episode: "Kiss Me and Die" | |
Notorious Woman | Frédéric Chopin | Miniseries | |
1978 | The New Adventures of Wonder Woman | Carlo Indrezzano | Episode: "Death in Disguise" |
Return to Fantasy Island | Pierre | ||
1982 | Fantasy Island | Captain Claude Dumont | Episode: "The Magic Camera/Mata Hari/Valerie" |
1983 | CHiPs | Bernard DeJardine | Episode: "Fox Trap" |
Matt Houston | Brett Cole | Episode: "The Showgirl Murders" | |
1984 | Matt Houston | Clark Sawyer | Episode: "Waltz of Death" |
One Life to Live | Unknown episodes | ||
Poor Little Rich Girls | Prince Rudolph | Episode: "The Gentleman Caller" | |
Nihon no omokage | Lafcadio Hearn | Japanese miniseries ja:日本の面影 | |
Scarecrow and Mrs. King | Angelo Spinelli | Episode: "Lost and Found" | |
1985 | Hell Town | Ric Montenez | Episode: "Let My Jennie Go" |
1986 | Dallas | Nicholas | 14 episodes |
1988 | Santa Barbara | Daniel Espinoza | |
1989 | Murder, She Wrote | Eric Bowman | Episode: "Weave a Tangled Web" |
1989–1990 | Superboy | Professor Peterson | 9 episodes |
1992 | Human Target | Robillard | Episode: "Chances Are" |
1995 | Les Filles du Lido | Saskia | Miniseries |
1996 | Last of the Summer Wine | Max Bernard | Episode: "Extra! Extra!" |
Kathryn Grayson was an American actress and coloratura soprano.
Victor John Mature was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include One Million B.C. (1940), My Darling Clementine (1946), Kiss of Death (1947), Samson and Delilah (1949), and The Robe (1953). He also appeared in many musicals opposite such stars as Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable.
Tab Hunter was an American actor, singer, film producer, and author. Known for his blond hair and clean-cut good looks, Hunter starred in more than forty films. During the 1950s and 1960s, in his twenties and thirties, Hunter was a Hollywood heart-throb, acting in numerous roles and appearing on the covers of hundreds of magazines. His notable screen credits include Battle Cry (1955), The Girl He Left Behind (1956), Gunman's Walk (1958), and Damn Yankees (1958). Hunter also had a music career in the late 1950s; in 1957, he released a no. 1 hit single "Young Love". Hunter's 2005 autobiography, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star, was a New York Times bestseller.
George Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is remembered for his gangster roles in Quick Millions (1931) with Spencer Tracy, Scarface (1932) with Paul Muni, Each Dawn I Die (1939) with James Cagney, Invisible Stripes (1939) with Humphrey Bogart, and Billy Wilder's comedy Some Like It Hot (1959) with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon; and as a dancer in Bolero (1934) with Carole Lombard and a truck driver in They Drive by Night (1940) with Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino and Bogart.
Russell Irving Tamblyn, also known as Rusty Tamblyn, is an American film and television actor and dancer.
Jeff Chandler was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Cochise in Broken Arrow (1950), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was one of Universal Pictures' more popular male stars of the 1950s. His other credits include Sword in the Desert (1948), Deported (1950), Female on the Beach (1955), and Away All Boats (1956). He also performed as a radio actor and as a singer.
Lawrence Frederick Kert was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for his role of Tony in the original Broadway production of the musical West Side Story. He was nominated for a Tony Award (1971) for his work in the musical comedy Company (1970).
Rhonda Fleming was an American film and television actress and singer. She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most glamorous actresses of her day, nicknamed the "Queen of Technicolor" because she photographed so well in that medium.
George Montgomery was an American actor, best known for his work in Western films and television. He was also a painter, director, producer, writer, sculptor, furniture craftsman, and stuntman. He was engaged to Hedy Lamarr in 1941, and married Dinah Shore in 1943.
What a Way to Go! is a 1964 American black comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Bob Cummings and Dick Van Dyke.
The Pleasure Seekers is a 1964 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Jean Negulesco from a screenplay by Edith Sommer, based on the 1952 novel Coins in the Fountain by John H. Secondari. The film stars Ann-Margret, Tony Franciosa, Carol Lynley, Gardner McKay, and Pamela Tiffin, with Gene Tierney and Brian Keith. Ann-Margret sings four songs composed by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen.
Edward Small was an American film producer from the late 1920s through 1970, who was enormously prolific over a 50-year career. He is best known for the movies The Count of Monte Cristo (1934), The Man in the Iron Mask (1939), The Corsican Brothers (1941), Brewster's Millions (1945), Raw Deal (1948), Black Magic (1949), Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and Solomon and Sheba (1959).
Bella Darvi was a Polish film actress and stage performer who was active in France and the United States.
West Side Story is a 1961 American musical romantic drama film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, written by Ernest Lehman, and produced by Wise. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same title, which in turn was inspired by Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, and George Chakiris and was photographed by Daniel L. Fapp in Super Panavision 70. The music was composed by Leonard Bernstein, with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm is a 1962 American biographical fantasy film directed by Henry Levin and George Pal. The latter was the producer and also in charge of the stop motion animation. The film was one of the highest-grossing films of 1962. It won one Oscar and was nominated for three additional Academy Awards. The cast included several prominent actors—including Laurence Harvey, Karlheinz Böhm, Jim Backus, Barbara Eden and Buddy Hackett.
The Egyptian is a 1954 American epic historical drama film made by 20th Century-Fox. Filmed in CinemaScope with color by DeLuxe, it was directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on Mika Waltari's 1945 novel of the same name and the screenplay was adapted by Philip Dunne and Casey Robinson. Leading roles were played by Edmund Purdom, Bella Darvi, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Gene Tierney, Peter Ustinov, and Michael Wilding. Cinematographer Leon Shamroy was nominated for an Oscar in 1955.
Kings of the Sun is a 1963 DeLuxe Color film directed by J. Lee Thompson for Mirisch Productions set in Mesoamerica at the time of the conquest of Chichen Itza by Hunac Ceel. Location scenes were filmed in Mazatlán and Chichen Itza. The film marks the second project Thompson completed with Yul Brynner within a year — the other being Taras Bulba.
Return from the Ashes is a 1965 British thriller film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Ingrid Thulin, Maximilian Schell, Samantha Eggar and Herbert Lom. It is based on a novel by French crime writer Hubert Monteilhet, adapted for film by prolific screenwriter Julius J. Epstein.
Valentino is a 1951 American biographical film directed by Lewis Allen and starring Anthony Dexter and Eleanor Parker.
Earl Felton (1909–1972) was an American screenwriter.