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Michael Constantine
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Michael Constantine (born 22 May 1927) is a American Emmy Award-winning actor.
tantine was born Constantine Joanides in Reading, Pennsylvania, the son of Andromache Efstration (née Foteadou) and Theoharis Joanides (a steel worker), both immigrants from Greece.
Constantine began his career on the New York stage and in the mid-1950s as understudy to Paul Muni in Inherit the Wind.
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Encyclopedia
Michael Constantine (born 22 May 1927) is a American Emmy Award-winning actor.
Biography
Constantine was born Constantine Joanides in Reading, Pennsylvania, the son of Andromache Efstration (née Foteadou) and Theoharis Joanides (a steel worker), both immigrants from Greece.
Constantine 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.
He also 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 is perhaps best known for his extensive TV work, notably his five-season (1969-1974) stint as long-suffering high school principal Seymour Kaufman on Room 222 and his starring appearance as night-court magistrate Matthew J. Sirota on the brief 1976 sitcom Sirota's Court.
He had a small but memorable supporting role in the classic 1961 film The Hustler. He also played Santa Claus in the 1989 film Prancer. He played Tadzu Lempke in Stephen King's Thinner in 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 in the short-lived television series My Big Fat Greek Life.
He married actress Julianna McCarthy in Erie, Pennsylvania on October 5 1953. They had 2 children, Thea Eileen and Brendan Neil. The marriage ended in divorce in 1969.
Filmography
Film
- My Big Fat Greek Wedding - (Gus Portokalos, 2002)
- Prancer - (Mr Stewart/Santa, 2001)
- The Juror - (Judge Weitzel, 1996)
- Thinner - (Tadzu Lempke, 1996)
- Deadfall - (Frank, 1993)
- My Life - (Bill, 1993)
- By a Thread - (1991)
- In the Mood - (Mr Wisecarver, 1987)
- Pray For Death - (Newman, 1985)
- Forty Days of Musa Dagh - (Talaat Pasha, 1983)
- The North Avenue Irregulars - (Marv, 1979)
- Summer of My German Soldier (Harry Bergen, 1978)
- Peeper - (Anglich, 1976)
- Voyage of the Damned - (1976)
- If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium - (Jack Harmon, 1969)
- Justine - (Memlik Pasha, 1969)
- The Reivers - (Mr Binford, 1969)
- In Enemy Country - (Ladislov, 1968)
- Skidoo - (Leech, 1968)
- Beau Geste - (Rostov, 1966)
- Hawaii - (Mason, 1966)
- Quick, Before It Melts - (Mikhail Drozhensky, 1964)
- Island of Love - (Andy, 1963)
- The Hustler - (Big John, 1961)
- The Last Mile - (Convict Ed Warner, 1959)
Television
- 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)
- MacGyver (2 episodes, 1985-1987)
- 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)
- The Fall Guy (1 episode, 1983)
- Fantasy Island (1 episode, 1980)
- Roots: The Next Generations (mini-series, 1979)
- Mary Tyler Moore (1 episode, 1971)
- Room 222 Series - Seymour Kaufman (1969-1974)
- Mission: Impossible (1 episode, 1969)
- Gunsmoke (2 episodes, 1963-1968)
- Hey Landlord (series, 1966-1967)
- The Fugitive (3 episodes, 1965-1967)
- 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)
- The Jean Arthur Show (2 episodes as Carnella, 1966)
- Perry Mason (2 episodes, 1964-1965)
- The Outer Limits (1 episode, 1964)
- The Twilight Zone (1 episode, 1964)
- The Eleventh Hour as Dr. Jamison in episode "And God Created Vanity" (1963)
- Channing (1 episode, 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)
External links
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