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TürkçeGeorge Chakiris
Photos with George Chakiris
Biography
Norwood, Ohio, USA
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). Read more... 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, Bebo's Girl (1964) with Claudia Cardinale, The Young Girls of 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".
Actor
Character:
Choir Boy
Song of Love 1947
9
Character:
Ballroom Dancer
Stars and Stripes Forever 1952
25
Character:
Chorus Boy
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 1953
7
Character:
Dancer
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. 1953
8
Character:
Dancer in 'The Ocarina' Number
Call Me Madam 1953
14
Character:
Dancer
Give a Girl a Break 1953
7
Character:
Dancer
White Christmas 1954
17
Character:
Specialty Dancer
Brigadoon 1954
32
31
Character:
Dancer with Pick
The Country Girl 1954
5
Character:
Chorus Boy in 'Hillbilly Heart' Number
The Girl Rush 1955
8
Character:
Young Groom
Meet Me in Las Vegas 1956
9
Character:
Pvt. Steiner
Under Fire 1957
1
Character:
Bernardo
West Side Story 1961
20
Character:
Larry Curado
Two and Two Make Six 1962
11
Character:
Himself - Winner: Best Actor in a Supporting Role & Co-Presenter: Documentary Awards
The 34th Annual Academy Awards 1962
6
Character:
Himself - Presenter: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
The 35th Annual Academy Awards 1963
6
Character:
Etienne
Les demoiselles de Rochefort 1967
19
Character:
The Caliph
Kismet 1967
10
Character:
Johnny Allen
The Big Cube 1969
1
Character:
Himself
George Chakiris Homecoming 2012
0
Character:
Himself
Q N' A with Mikki and Shay 2011
0
Character:
Himself
The Mystery of Natalie Wood 2004
11
Character:
Himself
Golden Globes 50th Anniversary Celebration 1994
0
Character:
Michael Fury
Pale Blood 1990
7
Character:
Himself
America's Dance Honors 1990
0
Character:
Himself - Presenter
The 12th Annual Golden Laurel Awards 2001
0
Character:
Himself
We Have a Dream 2013
0
Character:
Himself
12th Annual Los Angeles Polish Film Festival 2012
0
Character:
Daniel Espinoza
Santa Barbara 1984
0
Character:
Angelo Spinelli
Scarecrow and Mrs. King 1983
0
Character:
Himself
The Carol Burnett Show 1967
0
Character:
Ric Montenez
Hell Town 1985
0
Character:
Himself - Past Winner
The 75th Annual Academy Awards 2003
7
Character:
Dancer
The Great Caruso 1951
28
Character:
Himself
Ford Star Jubilee 1955
0
Character:
Dancer
Flower Drum Song 1961
16
Character:
Mousey the Dip
The Jackie Gleason Show 1966
0
Character:
Himself
The Garry Moore Show 1958
0
Character:
GI in Tank
Paris brûle-t-il? 1966
0
Character:
Alex Solkin
Medical Center 1969
0
Character:
Bebo
Bebo's Girl 1964
0
Character:
Himself
Dinah's Place 1970
0
Character:
Brett Cole
Matt Houston 1982
0
Character:
Professor Peterson
Superboy 1988
0
Character:
Max Bernard
Last of the Summer Wine 1973
0
Character:
Himself
AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Robert Wise 1998
0
Character:
Himself
The 70th Annual Academy Awards 1998
12
Character:
Frédéric Chopin
Notorious Woman 1974
0
Character:
Himself
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions: America's Greatest Love Stories 2002
0
13
Character:
Himself
Actors Day in LA - LA Women's Theatre Festival 0
0
Character:
Himself
Round Six: The Results 0
2
Character:
Himself
Betty Garrett/George Chakiris 0
0
Character:
Bernardo
Episode #8.4 0
9
Character:
Himself
5ème nuit des Césars 0
0