George Chakiris is an American-Greek dancer, singer and actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

.

Early life

Chakiris was born in Norwood, Ohio

Norwood, Ohio

Norwood is the second most populous city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The city is an enclave of the larger city of Cincinnati. The population was 21,675 at the 2000 census. Originally settled as an early suburb of Cincinnati in the wooded countryside north of the city, the area is...

, to Steven and Zoe (née

Married and maiden names

A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....

 Anastasiadou) Chakiris, immigrants from Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. Chakiris studied at the American School of Dance.

Career

Chakiris made his film debut in 1947, in the chorus of Song of Love

Song of Love (film)

Song of Love is a biopic starring Katharine Hepburn, Paul Henreid, Robert Walker, and Leo G. Carroll, directed by Clarence Brown and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer....

. For several years he appeared in small roles, usually as a dancer or a member of the chorus in various musical film

Musical film

The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...

s. He was one of the dancers in Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....

's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend

Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend

"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" is a song introduced by Carol Channing in the original Broadway production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes , which was written by Jule Styne and Leo Robin...

" number in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), and appeared as a dancer alongside Rosemary Clooney

Rosemary Clooney

Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...

 in White Christmas

White Christmas (film)

White Christmas is a 1954 Technicolor musical film starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye that features the songs of Irving Berlin, including the titular "White Christmas"...

(in the "Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me" number). He can also be seen in the "Chop Suey" number in the musical film Flower Drum Song

Flower Drum Song

Flower Drum Song was the eighth stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It was based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. The piece opened in 1958 on Broadway and was afterwards presented in the West End and on tour...

and the funeral dance in the MGM musical film Brigadoon

Brigadoon

Brigadoon is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. Songs from the musical, such as "Almost Like Being in Love" have become standards....

.

His biggest success came with the film West Side Story

West Side Story (film)

West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...

(1961

1961 in film

The year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...

), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...

 for his role as Bernardo, leader of the "Sharks". Prior to the film, he'd appeared as "Riff," leader of the "Jets," in the West End (London) production of the same musical. He starred as a doctor in the film Diamond Head

Diamond Head (film)

Diamond Head is a film starring Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, George Chakiris, and James Darren, directed by Guy Green, and released by Columbia Pictures. The original music score was composed by John Williams, Hugo Winterhalter composed the theme, and Darren sang the title song...

(1963) opposite Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...

 and Yvette Mimieux

Yvette Mimieux

Yvette Carmen Mimieux is a retired American movie and television actress.-Early life and career:Yvette Mimieux was born in Los Angeles, California, to a French father and Mexican mother, Carmen Montemayor...

, and appeared alongside Gene Kelly

Gene Kelly

Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...

 in Jacques Demy

Jacques Demy

Jacques Demy was one of the most approachable filmmakers to appear in the wake of the French New Wave. Uninterested in the formal experimentation of Alain Resnais, or the political agitation of Jean-Luc Godard, Demy instead created a self-contained fantasy world closer to that of François...

's French musical Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (1967).

In addition to film, Chakiris performed on stage in London and around the U.S. and for television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

. In the early 1960s, he embarked on a career as a pop singer

Pop Singer

"Pop Singer" is the début single from London-based glam rockers Rachel Stamp. It was released in February, 1996 through WEA. The single was released as a 2 track CD Single and limited edition pink 7" vinyl of 1000 copies...

, resulting in a couple of minor hit songs. In 1960, he recorded one single with noted producer Joe Meek

Joe Meek

Robert George "Joe" Meek was a pioneering English record producer and songwriter....

.

Chakiris worked more in television in the 1970s and 1980s, appearing on such shows as Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman (TV series)

Wonder Woman is an American television series based on the DC Comics comic book superhero of the same name. Starring Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor, the show originally aired from 1975 to 1979....

; Medical Center

Medical Center (TV series)

Medical Center is a medical drama series which aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976.-Synopsis:The show starred James Daly as Dr. Paul Lochner and Chad Everett as Dr. Joe Gannon, surgeons working in an otherwise unnamed university hospital in Los Angeles. The show focused both on the lives of the doctors...

; Hawaii Five-O

Hawaii Five-O

Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...

; Dallas

Dallas (TV series)

Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...

; Murder, She Wrote

Murder, She Wrote

Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...

; and the TV daytime drama Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara (TV series)

Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...

. He appeared in the final episode of The Partridge Family

The Partridge Family

The Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...

as an old flame/suitor to Shirley Partridge (Shirley Jones

Shirley Jones

Shirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known musical films, such as Oklahoma! , Carousel , and The Music Man...

, also a musical theater veteran). Their kiss goodbye was the final scene in the program's run.

Chakiris had a recurring role on the TV show Superboy

Superboy (TV series)

Superboy is a half-hour live-action television series based on the fictional DC Comics comic book character Kal-El's early years as Superboy. The show ran from 1988–1992 in syndication...

as Professor Peterson during the series' first two seasons from 1988-1990. Chakiris's last role to date was in a 1996 episode of the sitcom Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...

. 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.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1947	Song of Love Song of Love (film) Song of Love is a biopic starring Katharine Hepburn, Paul Henreid, Robert Walker, and Leo G. Carroll, directed by Clarence Brown and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer....	Choir boy	as George Kerris
1951	The Great Caruso The Great Caruso The Great Caruso is a 1951 biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Joe Pasternak with Jesse L. Lasky as associate producer from a screenplay by Sonya Levien and William Ludwig. The original music was by Johnny Green and the cinematography by...	Dancer	uncredited
1952	Stars and Stripes Forever Stars and Stripes Forever (film) Stars and Stripes Forever is a 1952 American biographical film about late 19th/early 20th Century composer John Philip Sousa, played by Clifton Webb...	Ballroom dancer	uncredited
1953	Give a Girl a Break Give a Girl a Break Give a Girl a Break is a 1953 musical comedy film directed by Stanley Donen, starring Debbie Reynolds and the dance team of Marge and Gower Champion. A young Bob Fosse has a featured role.-Plot:...	Dancer	uncredited
	Second Chance Second Chance (1953 film) Second Chance is a 1953 American color film noir, directed by Rudolph Maté. The picture, shot on location in Mexico in 3-Dimension, features Robert Mitchum, Linda Darnell, and Jack Palance...	Background Observer in Dance Sequence	uncredited
	Gentlemen Prefer Blondes	dancer
	The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. is a musical fantasy film, the only feature film ever written by Theodor Seuss Geisel , who was responsible for the story, screenplay and lyrics...	Dancer	as George Kerris
1954	There's No Business Like Show Business There's No Business Like Show Business (film) There's No Business Like Show Business is a 20th Century Fox musical film that was released on December 16, 1954. The title is borrowed from the famous song in the stage musical Annie Get Your Gun....
	The Country Girl The Country Girl (1954 film) The Country Girl is a 1954 drama film adapted by George Seaton from a Clifford Odets play of the same name, which tells the story of an alcoholic has-been actor struggling with the one last chance he's been given to resurrect his career. It stars Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and William Holden. Seaton,...	Dancer with pick	uncredited
	White Christmas White Christmas (film) White Christmas is a 1954 Technicolor musical film starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye that features the songs of Irving Berlin, including the titular "White Christmas"...	Dancer in 'Mandy' and 'Love' numbers	uncredited
	Brigadoon Brigadoon (film) Brigadoon is a 1954 MGM musical feature film made in CinemaScope and Ansco Color based on the Broadway musical of the same name by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. The film was directed by Vincente Minnelli and stars Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, and Cyd Charisse...	Specialty dancer	uncredited
1955	The Girl Rush	Chorus boy, 'Hillbilly Heart' number	uncredited
1956	Meet Me in Las Vegas Meet Me in Las Vegas Meet Me in Las Vegas is an MGM musical comedy produced by Joe Pasternak and directed by Roy Rowland filmed in Eastman Color and CinemaScope. The film has a running time of 112 minutes.-Cast and crew:...	Young groom	as George Kerris
1957	Under Fire	Pvt. Steiner	uncredited
1961	West Side Story West Side Story (film) West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...	Bernardo	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the... Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year....
1962	Two and Two Make Six Two and Two Make Six Two and Two Make Six is a 1962 film directed by Freddie Francis. It stars George Chakiris and Janette Scott.-Cast:* George Chakiris as Larry Currado* Janette Scott as Irene* Alfred Lynch as Thomas 'Tom' Ernest Bennett* Jocelyn Lane as Julie Matthews...	Larry Curado
1963	Diamond Head Diamond Head (film) Diamond Head is a film starring Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, George Chakiris, and James Darren, directed by Guy Green, and released by Columbia Pictures. The original music score was composed by John Williams, Hugo Winterhalter composed the theme, and Darren sang the title song...	Dr. Dean Kahanna
	La ragazza di Bube La ragazza di Bube (film) La ragazza di Bube is a 1963 Italian crime film drama directed by Luigi Comencini and starring Claudia Cardinale and George Chakiris.In terms of plot the film is a relatively faithful adaptation of Carlo Cassola’s 1960 novel La ragazza di Bube; but its atmosphere is distinctly different, as the...	Bebo
	Kings of the Sun Kings of the Sun Kings of the Sun is a 1963 movie directed by J. Lee Thompson set in Mesoamerica at the time of the conquest of Chichen Itza by Hunac Ceel. The story is about Mayan refugees who sail to the Mississippi River Valley and lay the foundation for the Mississippian culture complex...	Balam
1964	The High Bright Sun The High Bright Sun The High Bright Sun is a 1964 British action film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, George Chakiris and Susan Strasberg. It is set in Cyprus during the EOKA uprising against British rule in the 1950s...	Haghios
	633 Squadron 633 Squadron 633 Squadron is a 1964 British film which depicts the exploits of a fictional Second World War British fighter-bomber squadron. It was based on a novel of the same name by Frederick E. Smith, published in 1956, which itself drew on several real Royal Air Force missions. The film was directed by...	Lt. Erik Bergman
	Flight from Ashiya Flight from Ashiya Flight from Ashiya is a 1964 film about the U.S. Air Force's Air Rescue Service, flying out of Ashiya Air Base, Japan. In this fictionalized film set in the early 1960s, a flight crew's mission is to rescue a liferaft of Japanese civilians stranded in rough seas.- Plot :The movie centers on three...	2nd Lt. John Gregg
1966	Is Paris Burning?	GI in tank
	Il Ladro della Gioconda	Vincent
1967	Les Demoiselles de Rochefort Les Demoiselles de Rochefort The Young Girls of Rochefort is a 1967 French musical film directed by Jacques Demy, starring Catherine Deneuve, her sister Françoise Dorléac, Jacques Perrin, Michel Piccoli, Danielle Darrieux, George Chakiris, Grover Dale and Gene Kelly. The choreography was by Norman Maen.Michel Legrand composed...	Étienne
1968	Sharon vestida de rojo
	Le Rouble à deux faces	Eric Ericson
1969	The Big Cube The Big Cube The Big Cube is a 1969 Warner Bros. thriller directed by Tito Davison and starring Lana Turner, Karin Mossberg , George Chakiris, Dan O'Herlihy and Richard Egan; it was one of Lana Turner's last movies...	Johnny Allen
1979	Why Not Stay for Breakfast?	George Clark
1982	Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again Jekyll and Hyde...Together Again is a 1982 comedy based on the novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film is more like a cross between the original story and some aspects of The Nutty Professor...	Himself
1990	Pale Blood	Michael Fury

Selected television appearances

Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1956	Ford Star Jubilee Ford Star Jubilee Ford Star Jubilee was a usually live, ninety minute, color anthology series that aired once a month on Saturday nights on CBS at 9:00 P.M., E.S.T. from the fall of 1955 to the fall of 1956...		episode - "You're the Top"
1969	The Jackie Gleason Show The Jackie Gleason Show The Jackie Gleason Show is the name of a series of popular American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970.-Cavalcade of Stars:...		episode - "Mousey the Dip"
1970–1975	Medical Center Medical Center (TV series) Medical Center is a medical drama series which aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976.-Synopsis:The show starred James Daly as Dr. Paul Lochner and Chad Everett as Dr. Joe Gannon, surgeons working in an otherwise unnamed university hospital in Los Angeles. The show focused both on the lives of the doctors...	Alex Solkin	3 episodes
1972	Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...	Chris Lahani	1 episode
1974	The Partridge Family The Partridge Family The Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...	Capt. Chuck 'Cuddles' Corwin	episode - "Anchors Aweigh"
	Thriller Thriller (US TV series) Thriller is an anthology television series that aired during the 1960–61 and 1961–62 seasons on NBC. The show featured host Boris Karloff introducing a mix of macabre horror tales and suspense thrillers....	Robert Stone	episode - "Kiss Me and Die"
	Notorious Woman Notorious Woman Notorious Woman was a 1974 BBC television serial based on the life of French author George Sand. It starred Rosemary Harris in the title role. The seven episodes were written by Harry W...	Frédéric Chopin	TV mini-series
1978	Wonder Woman Wonder Woman (TV series) Wonder Woman is an American television series based on the DC Comics comic book superhero of the same name. Starring Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor, the show originally aired from 1975 to 1979....	Carlo Indrezzano	episode - "Death in Disguise"
	Return to Fantasy Island	Pierre
1982	Fantasy Island Fantasy Island Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...	Captain Claude Dumont	episode - "The Magic Camera/Mata Hari/Valerie"
1983	CHiPs CHiPs CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol...	Bernard DeJardine Fox Trap	TV episode
	Matt Houston Matt Houston Matt Houston is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1982 to 1985. Created by Lawrence Gordon, the series was produced by Aaron Spelling.-Synopsis:...	Brett Cole	episode - The Showgirl Murders
1984	Matt Houston Matt Houston Matt Houston is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1982 to 1985. Created by Lawrence Gordon, the series was produced by Aaron Spelling.-Synopsis:...	Clark Sawyer	episode - "Waltz of Death"
	One Life to Live One Life to Live One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...		unknown episodes
	Poor Little Rich Girls Poor Little Rich Girls Poor Little Rich Girls is a UK reality television program that allowed women from very different professions and classes to switch places to see how the other half lives. The six-part series, directed by Iain Thompson and produced by Simon Kerfoot and Helen Royle, first aired in 2004 on ITV...	Prince Rudolph	episode - "The Gentleman Caller"
	Nihon no omokage	Lafcadio Hearn	mini-series
	Scarecrow and Mrs. King Scarecrow and Mrs. King Scarecrow and Mrs. King is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to May 28, 1987 on CBS. The show starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner as divorced housewife Amanda King and top-level "Agency" operative Lee Stetson who begin a strange association, and eventual romance,...	Angelo Spinelli	episode - "Lost and Found"
1985	Hell Town	Ric Montenez	episode - "Let My Jennie Go"
1986	Dallas Dallas (TV series) Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...	Nicholas	14 episodes.
1988	Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (TV series) Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...	Daniel Espinoza
1989	Murder, She Wrote Murder, She Wrote Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...	Eric Bowman	episode - "Weave a Tangled Web"
1989–1990	Superboy Superboy (TV series) Superboy is a half-hour live-action television series based on the fictional DC Comics comic book character Kal-El's early years as Superboy. The show ran from 1988–1992 in syndication...	Professor Peterson	9 episodes
1992	Human Target Human Target The Human Target is the name of two fictional comic book characters that have appeared in books published by DC Comics. The first is Fred Venable, who appears in Detective Comics #201 , by Edmond Hamilton and Sheldon Moldoff....	Robillard	episode - "Chances Are"
1995	Les Filles du Lido	Saskia	mini-series
1996	Last of the Summer Wine Last of the Summer Wine Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...	Max Bernard	episode - "Extra! Extra!"

External links