Gus Trikonis (born Kostas Tritchonis; November 21, 1937) is an American actor, dancer, and director.

Career

Trikonis began his career as an actor and dancer, notably appearing in the hugely successful 1961 film ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-19 ...

'' as Indio, one of the "Sharks", as well as dancing with

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...

and

Grover Dale Grover Dale is an American actor, dancer, choreographer, theater director, and publisher. Early life Dale was born Grover Robert Aitken in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Emma Bertha (Ammon) and Ronal Rittenhouse Aitken, a restaurateur. He stud ...

to the frantic "He's My Friend" in 1964's '' The Unsinkable Molly Brown''. Although originally unbilled, on December 3, 1968, Trikonis got his second biggest exposure in front of any audience (the first being in the aforementioned ''West Side Story'', seen at US theatres by about 61 million moviegoers) as one of two main (out of five) male dancers who do

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

's choreography as he sings a Gospel medley as part of a widely watched NBC-TV Special entitled "Elvis". As a director, Trikonis handled several projects from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, mostly low-budget "

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

s". He made several films for

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 1 ...

; Corman called Trikonis one of the best young directors he had ever worked with. From the 1980s to the mid-1990s Trikonis mostly directed television series. He directed episodes of television series including ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonan ...

'', ''

Quantum Leap ''Quantum Leap'' is an American science fiction television series, created by Donald P. Bellisario, that premiered on NBC and aired for five seasons, from March 26, 1989, to May 5, 1993. The series stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a ph ...

'', ''

Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

'', ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

'' and '' Wiseguy''.Gus Trikonis Biography
Film Reference

Personal life

Trikonis was married to actress

Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, dancer, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and G ...

from 1969 to 1976; he was her first husband and they have the same birthday. He later married costume designer Barbara Andrews from 1978 till her death in 2012 and they had one child together; a son (Nicolas born in 1981). His sister Gina also appeared in ''West Side Story'' as Graziella, Riff's girlfriend,''The Great American Playwrights on the Screen: A Critical Guide to Film ...'', page 321 later becoming a costumer and costume/wardrobe supervisor.

Filmography

Director (selection)

Actor

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trikonis, Gus 1937 births Living people Male actors from New York City American male film actors American male television actors Film producers from New York (state) American male screenwriters American television directors Writers from Manhattan Film directors from New York City Screenwriters from New York (state)