George Chakiris

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Birthday:

16 September 1934, Norwood, Ohio, USA

Height:

180 cm

George Chakiris made his film debut at the age of 12 singing in the chorus of Song of Love (1947). Following his graduation from high school, he supported his night-time dancing, singing and dramatic lessons with a daytime job clerking in a Los Angeles department store. Later he started his acting/dancing career appearing in musicals such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)--he is one of the ballet dancers escorting Marilyn Monroe in "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend"--White Christmas (1954), The Girl Rush (1955), There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), Brigadoon (1954), and Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956). In 1957, he made his debut as a dramatic actor in Under Fire (1957). In 1958 he traveled to New York hoping for a Broadway "break." Hearing that Jerome Robbins was casting the London company of "West Side Story", he auditioned and was awarded the co-starring role of Riff. He played the part for almost two years on the West End stage before acting, singing and dancing as Bernardo in the Robert Wise film version (West Side Story (1961)), a performance that earned him a Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Since then, he starred in a succession of films, including Diamond Head (1962) with Charlton Heston, La ragazza di Bube (1964) with Claudia Cardinale, Les demoiselles de Rochefort (1967) with Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac and Gene Kelly, The Big Cube (1969) with Lana Turner, Why Not Stay for Breakfast? (1979), Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again (1982), and Pale Blood (1990). He is one of the most traveled stars in motion pictures, having been to such locations as Hawaii, Japan, Mexico, Italy, England, Spain, and France. His nightclub career was launched to rave reviews at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas and Harrah's Club in Lake Tahoe. In the 1970s and 1980s, his career focused on television and music. He appeared as guest star in several TV series such as Hawaii Five-O (1968) (Death is a Company Policy - 1972), Wonder Woman (1975) (Death in Disguise - 1978), CHiPs (1977) (Fox Trap - 1983), Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983) (Lost and Found - 1984), Murder, She Wrote (1984) (Weave a Tangled Web - 1989), and he joined the cast of Dallas (1978) from 1985 to 1986. He has released several records: "George Chakiris," "Memories Are Made of These," "The Gershwin Song Book," "West Side Story's Dynamic...". Recently, he has appeared in several plays and stage musicals: after "The King and I" in the US in 1995, he performed in Britain the role of Rochester in "Jane Eyre". Show less «

[about his Oscar-winning role in West Side Story (1961)] I wouldn't mind even if it's the ONLY thing people remember me for. It was a privil...Show more »

[about his Oscar-winning role in West Side Story (1961)] I wouldn't mind even if it's the ONLY thing people remember me for. It was a privilege just to be there and to contribute to something so wonderful. The last scene still gets me every time. It still brings tears to my eyes. Show less «

Working with [Jerome] Robbins was the greatest experience I ever had, because it was Jerry who first showed me how a dancer could express hi...Show more »

Working with [Jerome] Robbins was the greatest experience I ever had, because it was Jerry who first showed me how a dancer could express himself in dancing rhythms and how an actor could intensify his dramatic performance with the graceful, expressive body movements of a dancer. Show less «

[on his studio contract] If they didn't have specific work by the pay deadline, they'd stick you in anything. So I wasn't always used well.

You do have to keep visible, but keeping visible with good material is very difficult.

The parallel between acting and making jewelry is quite similar. There is discipline, patience, persistence and dedication in making both su...Show more »

The parallel between acting and making jewelry is quite similar. There is discipline, patience, persistence and dedication in making both successful. Show less «

[on kids picking on others and being unkind to them] Later, I was asked to join a fraternity and I didn't join it for that reason. I did not...Show more »

[on kids picking on others and being unkind to them] Later, I was asked to join a fraternity and I didn't join it for that reason. I did not appreciate nor like that some kids were treated that way. Show less «

I wasn't having a great time making movies. I'd have loved better material.

Dancing is such an incredible means of expression, even if it's just in dance class.

[on Pale Blood, his last film, 1990] Ooooh, that was a tough one. I took it because the writer-director had come up with this totally differ...Show more »

[on Pale Blood, his last film, 1990] Ooooh, that was a tough one. I took it because the writer-director had come up with this totally different take on a vampire film. But lo, and I don't know what happened, SHE got replaced and a producer ended up directing it. I ended up not doing anything in it; it was boring, I thought. I've never seen it. I never want to see it. I know if I did, I wouldn't like it. Show less «

I love acting, especially in the theater, and I'd love to look at more opportunities, but the jewelry continues to be the dominant thing for...Show more »

I love acting, especially in the theater, and I'd love to look at more opportunities, but the jewelry continues to be the dominant thing for me. Show less «

[on his jewelry design] It would be a wonderful collaborative effort to design a special one-of-a-kind piece for someone. The process of doi...Show more »

[on his jewelry design] It would be a wonderful collaborative effort to design a special one-of-a-kind piece for someone. The process of doing it is the exciting, creative part...and that would be a total joy to undertake. Show less «

[on making jewelry] It's so nice to be able to create something and have a beautiful finished piece to hold in your hand.

[on his jewelry business] I don't like the business side of it at all. I like designing the jewelry pieces.

I used to love every movie musical I saw. There was one that stood out, The Barclays of Broadway. When I first heard about it, I couldn't wa...Show more »

I used to love every movie musical I saw. There was one that stood out, The Barclays of Broadway. When I first heard about it, I couldn't wait for it to open. I was counting the days. Finally, it came. I took the bus downtown to see it. One the way home, my neck hurt, I kept touching my neck. I had the mumps. So it seems I saw the movie in just the nick of time. Show less «

[on Marilyn Monroe and her work on the Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend number] She worked so hard. Every time we had a break, she went rig...Show more »

[on Marilyn Monroe and her work on the Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend number] She worked so hard. Every time we had a break, she went right back to her place to wait and start up again. Show less «