Trivia of George Chakiris

Trivia of George Chakiris (16 September 1932)

*Made his film debut at the age of 15 singing in the chorus of Song of Love (1947).He sang with the St.Luke's Episcopal Church choir.

*When he began to take dance classes he heard others speak of their family's disapproval, but Chakiris and his siblings “couldn't have asked for better parents”. He spent days working an office job in Los Angeles, then took night classes at the American School of Dance. The main thing he did at dance school was ballet.

*He was one of the tuxedoed male dancers surrounding Marilyn Monroe for the 'Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend' number in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953).He also was one of the male dancers in White Christmas (1954).

*Chakiris’ breakthrough role came in 1961 when he played the character of Bernardo in the musical film “West Side Story.” (In broadway, Chakiris was cast as Riff, leader of the Jets, he was later chosen to play Riff’s arch rival).The movie was a huge success and won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Chakiris also won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film. He became the first person of Greek descent to win an Academy Award.

*During filming West Side Story (1961), George Chakiris was the only one out of the main characters to not be dubbed. This was because he had no hard solo songs to sing.

*He often remembered as a "Latin Lover" type in Hollywood, but is actually the son of Greek immigrants from Turkey.

*Retired from acting in the 1990s but continued his work as a choreographer.