Michael Constantine, who played the patriarch of the protagonist family in the popular mess comedy in My Great Greek Wedding, has died at the age of 94.
The actor died Aug. 31 at his home in Reading, Pennsylvania. As the family has confirmed in Reading Eagle, the performer died of natural causes surrounded by his family. Apparently the artist had been ill for years, although it has not been revealed what pathology he was suffering from.
Born on May 22, 1927 and the son of Greek immigrants, Constantine began his acting career on New York stages in the 1950s before securing some television roles. He starred in series such as The Untouchables, The Unknown Dimension, Perry Mason and The Dick Van Dyke Show until 1969 when he joined Room 222. He shot 113 episodes in the role of Seymour Kaufman.
He made his big screen debut in 1959 with Electric Chair for Eight Men and later appeared in titles such as The Lifeguard with Paul Newman; Hawaii with Julie Andrews, Gene Hackman and Max von Sydow; The USA in the Russian zone, The Thieves or The Journey of the Cursed, among other feature films.
His best-known role came in 2002, when he was chosen to play Gus Portokalos in My Great Greek Wedding. He reprized his role in the sequel, which premiered in 2016 and was his last job as an actor.
Nia Vardalos, star of the two films, said goodbye to her partner via Twitter. “Michael Constantine, the father of our family and cast, a gift to the written word and always a friend. Acting with him was like a wave of love and fun. I will treasure this man who gave life to Gus. he gave a lot of laughs and now he deserves a break. We want you, Michael, “he said.