Michael Constantine

Michael Constantine
Constantine (right) with Lloyd Haynes in Room 222 (1969)
Born	Gus Efstratiou (1927-05-22) May 22, 1927 Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1953–2018
Spouse(s)	Julianna McCarthy (1953–69; divorced; 2 children)

Michael Constantine (born May 22, 1927) is an American actor of Greek descent.

He is most widely recognized for his portrayal of Kostas "Gus" Portokalos, the Windex bottle-toting Greek father of Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos), in the surprise hit film My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002). Earlier, he earned much acclaim for his extensive television work, especially as the long-suffering high school principal, Seymour Kaufman, on ABC's sitcom, Room 222, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1970; he was again recognized by the Emmy Awards, as well as the Golden Globe Awards, the following year. After the conclusion of Room 222, Constantine portrayed night court magistrate Matthew J. Sirota on the 1976 sitcom Sirota's Court, receiving his second Golden Globe nomination. Constantine reprised his role as Gus Portokalos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016).

Life and career

Constantine was born Gus Efstratiou in Reading, Pennsylvania, the son of Andromache Efstratiou (Ανδρομάχη Ευστρατίου; née Fotiadou [Φωτιάδου]) and Theoharis Ioannides [Θεοχάρης Ιωαννίδης] (a steel worker), both immigrants from Greece.

He began his career on the New York stage and in the mid-1950s as understudy to Paul Muni in Inherit the Wind. While in the cast, he met and married actress Julianna McCarthy on October 5, 1953; they had two children, Thea Eileen and Brendan Neil. The marriage ended in divorce in 1969, the same year that Constantine began his role on Room 222.

He studied acting with such prominent mentors as Howard Da Silva. He was playing character roles on and off Broadway in his mid-twenties, supplementing his income as a night watchman and shooting-gallery barker. In 1959, he appeared in his first film, The Last Mile (1959). He had a small but memorable supporting role in The Hustler (1961). In 1964 and 1965, Constantine appeared on Perry Mason, both times as the murderer. He played the role of wannabe private eye Dillard in "The Case of the Blonde Bonanza", then he played Pappy Ryan in "The Case of the Runaway Racer". In 1967, he appeared in the first part of "The Judgment", the two-episode conclusion of The Fugitive, starring David Janssen. Constantine played a long-suffering anti-organized-crime agent in Walt Disney's caper film The North Avenue Irregulars (1979), where he appeared alongside Edward Herrmann and Cloris Leachman. He also played an organized crime mobster who worked for Frank Nitti in the television version of The Untouchables.

He played Santa Claus in Prancer (1989). In 1993, Constantine appeared in the independent drama Question of Faith, starring Anne Archer and Sam Neill. He played Tadzu Lempke in Stephen King's Thinner (1996). In 2002, he enjoyed an unexpected comeback as the Windex-toting Gus Portokalos in the hit movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a role he reprised on the short-lived television series My Big Fat Greek Life, and a sequel film with the original cast, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, which was released on March 25, 2016.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	The Last Mile	Convict Ed Warner
1961	The Hustler	Big John
1963	Island of Love	Andy
1964	Quick, Before It Melts	Mikhail Drozhensky
1964	Profiles in Courage	Future U.S. Senator from Georgia, Tom Watson
1966	Hawaii	Mason
1966	Beau Geste	Rostov
1968	Skidoo	Leech
1968	In Enemy Country	Ladislov
1969	Justine	Memlik Pasha
1969	If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium	Jack Harmon
1969	Don't Drink the Water	Commissar Krojack
1969	The Reivers	Mr. Binford
1972	Deadly Harvest	Stefan Groza	TV movie
1975	The Night That Panicked America	Jess Wingate	TV movie
1976	Voyage of the Damned	Luis Clasing
1976	Peeper	Anglich
1978	Summer of My German Soldier	Harry Bergen	TV movie
1978	The Pirate	Yashir	TV movie
1979	The North Avenue Irregulars	Marv Fogleman
1979	Crisis in Mid-Air	Frank Piovano	TV movie
1983	The Forty Days of Musa Dagh	Talaat Pasha
1985	Pray for Death	Newman
1987	In the Mood	Mr. Wisecarver
1989	Prancer	Mr. Stewart
1991	By a Thread	Unknown
1993	Question of Faith	Unknown
1993	My Life	Bill
1993	Deadfall	Frank
1996	The Juror	Judge Weitzel
1996	Thinner	Tadzu Lempke
2002	My Big Fat Greek Wedding	Gus Portokalos	Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Hissy Fit
2016	My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2	Gus Portokalos

Television

Constantine was cast as the historical John Chisum in the 1965 episode, "Paid in Full", on the syndicated television anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Ronald Reagan. Keith Andes portrayed Rob Hunter, a former Confederate colonel who visits Kathy McLennan (Aneta Corsaut), the wife of a soldier who had been killed while serving under Hunter in the American Civil War. He discovers that McLennan and her neighboring ranchers have been defrauded by Chisum, who issued legally unclaimable IOUs when he purchased their stock. Hunter works to recover the money owed to the ranchers. He also appeared in another 1965 Death Valley Days episode, "The Great Turkey War", with Parley Baer cast as journalist Horace Greeley.

Constantine's other television appearances include:

• Cold Case (1 episode, 2007)
• My Big Fat Greek Life (7 episodes, 2003)
• Cosby (1 episode, 1997)
• Law & Order (2 episodes, 1992–1994)
• Murder, She Wrote (2 episodes, 1985–1988)
• Simon & Simon (3 episodes, 1984–1988)
• Friday the 13th: The Series ("Pipe Dream" 1988)
• Probe ("Plan 10 From Outer Space", 1988)
• MacGyver (2 episodes, 1985–1987) – Inspector Jan Messic
• Magnum, P.I. (1 episode, 1986)
• Remington Steele (3 episodes, 1984–1986)
• Highway to Heaven (1 episode, 1985)
• Airwolf (1 episode, 1985)
• The Love Boat (2 episodes, 1983)
• Amanda's (1 episode, 1983)
• Mama's Family (1 episode, 1983)
• The Fall Guy (1 episode, 1983)
• Quincy, M.E. (4 episodes) (1981 Dr Arthur Clotti – in season 6, episode 14 "Seldom Silent, Never Heard") ( 1983 Season 8 Episode 3 "Give Me Your Weak") (1979 Season 4 Episodes 14 & 15 "Walk Softly Through the Night" Parts 1 and 2)
• Fantasy Island (1 episode, 1980)
• Roots: The Next Generations (miniseries, 1979)
• 79 Park Avenue (miniseries, 1977)
• The Krofft Supershow: Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (4 episodes, 1976) as The Sorcerer
• Sirota's Court (13 episodes, 1976–1977 series)
• Mary Tyler Moore (1 episode, 1971)
• Room 222 Series – Seymour Kaufman (1969–1974)
• The Streets of San Francisco – Al Davies – in episode "A Wrongful Death" (series, 1973)
• Mission: Impossible (1 episode, 1969)
• Gunsmoke (2 episodes, 1963–1968)
• Combat! (1 episode, 1967)
• The Invaders (1 episode, 1968)
• Hey Landlord (series, 1966–1967)
• The Odd Couple (series, 1970–1975)
• Dundee and the Culhane (1 episode, 1967 series)
• I Spy (2 episodes, 1966)
• The Fugitive (3 episodes, 1965–1967) (Ernie Svoboda, Ben Wyckoff, Arthur Art Howe)
• The Virginian (1 episode 1965)
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea – The Indestructible Man (1 episode 1965)
• The Road West in episode "To Light a Candle" (series, 1966)
• The Dick Van Dyke Show (1 episode, 1966)
• Hogan's Heroes (1 episode, 1966) as Heinrich -episode- "It Takes a Thief...Sometimes"
• The Jean Arthur Show (2 episodes as Carnella, 1966)
• Perry Mason (2 episodes, 1964–1965)
• The Outer Limits (episode 46 "Counterweight", 1964)
• Bonanza (as a new settler whose greedy neighbor refuses him piped water for irrigation)
• Slattery's People (1964) one episode as Hungerford in "Remember The Dark Sins of Youth?"
• The Twilight Zone (1 episode, 1964) as Sheriff Koch in "I Am the Night Color Me Black"
• The Eleventh Hour as Dr. Jamison in episode "And God Created Vanity" (1963)
• The Dakotas as Marshak in "Trouble at French Creek" (1963)
• Channing (1 episode, 1963) as Nick in "No Wild Games for Sophie" (1963)
• The Lloyd Bridges Show (2 episodes, 1962–1963)
• The Untouchables (5 episodes, 1961–1963)
• Target: The Corruptors! (1 episode), 1961
• Brenner (1 episode, 1959)
• My Favorite Martian (TV series) (02 episodes, 1965–1966)

External links

• Michael Constantine at IMDb
• Michael Constantine at the TCM Movie Database
• Michael Constantine at AllMovie