GEORGE CHAKIRIS BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
George Chakiris was born on September 16th, 1934 in Norwood, Ohio and began his interest in acting as a child actor. By the age of twelve he debuted in his first film, "Song of Love" (1947) starring Katharine Hepburn, Paul Henreid, Robert Walker and Leo G. Carroll, followed by an un-credited role as a dancer in, "The Great Caruso" (1951).
After gaining some more experience he began adding such musical film credits to his resume as, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953) starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell with Charles Coburn, "White Christmas" (1954) starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen and Dean Jagger, "There's No Business Like Show Business" (1954) starring Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, Marilyn Monroe, Dan Dailey, Mitzi Gaynor, Hugh O'Brian, Rhys Williams, Frank McHugh and Johnnie Ray, "The Girl Rush" (1955) starring Rosalind Russell, Fernando Lamas, Eddie Albert and Gloria DeHaven, "Brigadoon" (1954) starring Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Cyd Charisse and Eddie Quillan and "Meet Me in Las Vegas" (1956) starring alongside Cyd Charisse, Dan Dailey, Agnes Moorehead, Lili Darvas, Jim Backus, Oscar Karlweis, Liliane Montevecchi, Cara Williams with guest stars and cameo appearances by Jerry Colonna, Paul Henreid, Lena Horne, Frankie Laine, Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, Pier Angeli, Peter Lorre, Tony Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.
In 1958 he made his Broadway debut in, "West Side Story" portraying the lead role of Riff. He played this role for two years and later was cast in the film version in 1961 and featuring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno and Simon Oakland. As his career progressed he continued to add such credits to his resume as, "Diamond Head" (1963) starring Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, France Nuyen, Vaughn Taylor, Philip Ahn and James Darren, "Bebo's Girl" (1963) with Claudia Cardinale, "The Young Girls of Rochefort" (1967) co-starring starring Catherine Deneuve and Gene Kelly , "The Big Cube" (1969) co-starring Lana Turner and Richard Egan, "Why Not Stay for Breakfast?" (1979) also starring Gemm Craven and Yvonne Wilder and "Pale Blood" (1990).
In addition to his numerous film roles, Chakiris also appeared on a variety of television series such as, "Hawaii Five-O", "CHiPS", "Superboy", "Murder, She Wrote", "Dallas", "Medical Center", "Fantasy Island" and "Santa Barbara".
Along with his career as an actor he is also a talented vocalist and has released several records, "George Chakiris", "Memories Are Made of These", "The Gershwin Song Book" and "West Side Story's Dramatic".
Most recently he has returned to his love of working as a stage performer appearing in the musical, "The King and I" and "Jane Eyre".
Filmography
1996 Last of the Summer Wine
1995 Les filles du Lido
1992 Human Target
1990 Pale Blood
1989-1990 The Adventures of Superboy
1989 Murder, She Wrote
1988 Santa Barbara
1985-1986 Dallas
1985 Hell Town
1984 One Life to Live
1984 Poor Little Rich Girls
1984 Nihon no omokage
1984 Scarecrow and Mrs. King
1983-1984 Matt Houston
1983 CHiPs
1978-1982 Fantasy Island
1979 Why Not Stay for Breakfast?
1978 The New Adventures of Wonder Woman
1970-1975 Medical Center
1975 Ten from the Twenties
1974 Notorious Woman
1974 The Partridge Family
1974 Thriller
1972 Hawaii Five-O
1969 The Jackie Gleason Show
1969 The Big Cube
1968 The Day the Hot Line Got Hot
1968 Sharon vestida de rojo
1967 Kismet
1967 The Young Girls of Rochefort
1966 Is Paris Burning?
1966 The Mona Lisa Has Been Stolen
1964 McGuire, Go Home!
1964 633 Squadron
1964 Flight from Ashiya
1963 Bebo's Girl
1963 Kings of the Sun
1963 Diamond Head
1962 Two and Two Make Six
1961 Flower Drum Song
1961 West Side Story
1957 Under Fire
1956 Meet Me in Las Vegas
1955 The Girl Rush
1954 There's No Business Like Show Busines
1954 The Country Girl
1954 White Christmas
1954 Brigadoon
1953 Give a Girl a Break
1953 Second Chance
1953 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
1953 The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.
1952 Stars and Stripes Forever
1951 The Great Caruso
1947 Song of Love
