The Greek who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe
George Chakiris is a successful dancer, singer and an award-winning actor.
He was born on September 16, 1934 in Ohio, America. His father was Stephen Chakiris and his mother Zoe Anastasiadou, immigrants from Greece.
He studied at the American School of Dance and quickly stood out in the competitive field of American showbiz. He made his film debut in 1947, in the chorus of “Song of Love”.
His film career continued into the 1950s, where he participated mainly as a dancer or as a choir member in musicals.
He was one of the dancers in the legendary films, “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (1953) starring Marilyn Monroe.
The greatest success of his career did not take long to come. Ιn 1961, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe, for his role as Bernardo in the musical “West Side Story”. His fee around this time was a reported $100,000 per movie.
During his career he starred in many films and television series, such as “Wonder Woman”, “Medical Center”, “Hawaii Five-0”, “Dallas”, “Murder”, “She Wrote”, “Santa Barbara” and “Family Partritz”.
In the early 1960s, he embarked on a career as a pop singer, resulting in a couple of minor hit songs. Chakiris also had a role in the TV show “Superboy” as Professor Peterson during the first two seasons from 1988 to 1990. His last role was in 1996 in the television series “Last of Summer Wine”. Since then, he withdrawn and has given occasional television interviews.
His hobby of making sterling silver jewelry has turned into a new occupation, working as a jewelry designer for his own brand, George Chakiris Collections, consisting of handmade original sterling silver jewelry. His jewelry is exhibited in the biggest jewelry stores around the world.
Recently unveiled in Japan, The George Chakiris Collections are on display at Tokyo’s prestigious Mitsukoshi Department Store.