Michael Constantine, an Emmy-winning actor who achieved world fame by playing the father of Windex’s girlfriend in the 2002 film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” has died. He was 94 years old.
Constantine died Aug. 31 at his home in Reading, Pennsylvania, from natural causes, his family said. The news was confirmed Thursday to The Associated Press by her agent, Julia Buchwald.
Constantine has appeared in television shows such as “My Favorite Martian”, “The Twilight Zone”, “Bonanza”, “Hogan’s Heroes”, “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, “The Fugitive”, “Quincy, ME”, “The Love Boat “,” Remington Steele “,” MacGyver “and” Murder, She Wrote “. His big break was the role of director in “Room 222,” an ABC comedy-drama set in a racial diversity institute in Los Angeles, for which he won an Emmy for an outstanding performance by an actor. with a supporting role in 1970.
But she became best known for her work in the independent comedy “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” which focused on a middle-class Greek American woman who falls in love with a middle-upper-class white Anglo-Saxon Protestant. Constantine reprized her role in the TV series “My Big Fat Greek Greek Life” and in the 2016 movie, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.”
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding” became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time, with an internal revenue of $ 241.4 million. It was based on the one-star play by writer Nia Vardalos and produced by Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson for just $ 5 million.
Initially, Constantine auditioned for Gus and told The Hollywood Reporter that he was eager to read Vardalos ’screenplay, wary of how it might represent the Greco-American experience.
“I was worried that someone would write something Greek. Is it going to be bad or someone who really knows the Greeks? So I read the script and said, ‘Yes, obviously this person knows the Greeks,’ “he said.
Vardalos paid tribute to Constantine on Twitter, writing: “Acting with him came with a lot of love and fun. I will value this man who gave life to Gus. It made us laugh so much and it deserves a break now ”.
Constantine was the son of Greek immigrants. He began his stage career and was on Broadway in the late 50s and early 60s on shows such as “Arturo Ui”, “The Miracle Worker” and “Inherit the Wind”.
He debuted on the big screen alongside Mickey Rooney in “The Last Mile” and had roles in “The Hustler”, “Don’t Drink the Water”, “Prancer”, “The Reivers”, “My Life” and “The Jury.”
Constantine married and divorced twice. Among the survivors are his sisters, Patricia Gordon and Chris Dobbs.