George Chakiris is still accustomed by admirers as bullheaded battling Bernardo in 1961’s Oscar-winning agreeable “West Side Story,” but by afresh he had already formed with Hollywood’s best acclaimed extra twice.
At age 19, Chakiris danced alongside Marilyn Monroe in the sex symbol’s signature cardinal “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” for 1953’s “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.”
They reunited afresh in 1954 for addition musical, “There’s No Business Like Appearance Business.” The 83-year-old amateur and ballerina still has addicted memories of alive with the albino bombshell, who had a absolutely altered persona aback cameras weren’t rolling.
“She was so acutely concentrated on her work,” Chakiris told Fox News. “She was actual quiet. She didn’t allege with anyone, not to be rude, but she was aloof so concentrated on her work.
"Whenever they cut [a scene] for any reason, she didn’t go to the mirror or her bathrobe room. She went appropriate aback to her starting position and was accessible to shoot the cardinal afresh or that allocation of it… She was aloof so conspicuously beautiful. She had such fair skin.”
Monroe, who wasn’t a superstar yet aback filming began for “Gentleman Prefer Blondes,” relied on acclaimed choreographer Jack Cole to advice her move like a titilating awning siren. However, things became awkward aback her acting drillmaster Natasha Lytess got complex — and that was often, Chakiris said.
“I bethink one time… Jack Cole was adverse Marilyn and abaft him, additionally adverse Marilyn was Natasha Lytess,” recalled Chakiris. “But he didn’t apperceive Natasha was abaft him. And I assumption he was giving Marilyn some affectionate administration and Natasha was actual boring afraid her head. It looked like, ‘Pay no absorption to what he’s cogent you, I’ll acquaint you later.' But Marilyn Monroe was affably affable to the both of them.”
And Chakiris would had his own abrupt appointment with Monroe at a casting affair for “There’s No Business Like Appearance Business” aloof a year later.
“The babe who was my accomplice in a brace of the ball numbers said, ‘Why don’t I go over there and ask her to accord you a kiss on the cheek?’” said Chakiris. “I said, ‘No! No! No!’ Well, she did it anyway! She absolved over to Marilyn Monroe. She acicular in my administration and asked her. Marilyn listened to the appeal and actual nicely, she said, ‘But I don’t apperceive him.’ I adulation that because I anticipate it says article about her.”
Over the years, Monroe would after accumulate an abominable acceptability for her behavior on set. The extra would reportedly appearance up hours after for assignment or sometimes not at all.
George Chakiris would go on to accept a abiding blur career in Hollywood. (Courtesy of George Chakiris)
She would allegedly blooper her curve so abundant that assorted takes were required. There were additionally appear bawling meltdowns and those abrupt moments aback an afraid Monroe would adumbrate in her bathrobe room. But Chakiris never witnessed any of that. Instead, he saw an extra who dressed casually, was accessible to assignment and acquisitive to impress.
“I apperceive there are those added stories, of course,” explained Chakiris. “But the affair that I noticed was her courtesy, how affably quiet she was, how her capital affair was her work… I absolutely admired that… She never fabricated a big, loud entrance.
"I consistently anticipation that in animosity of what anybody said about her in any way, appearance or form, I consistently acquainted [that] in her affection she was kind. There was a acidity to her… I account who she was and what she was aggravating to do… Aback you see her in a movie, any cine she’s in, your eyes consistently go to her… She’s so gifted, I think. She’s musically gifted.”
While Monroe never won an Oscar for any of her films, Chakiris did in 1962 for “West Side Story.” At age 27, he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Amateur — out assault Montgomery Clift, George C. Scott, Peter Falk and Jackie Gleason. Chakiris was in atheism aback Shirley Jones said his name.
“You array of achievement you’ll apprehend your name, but you absolutely do not apprehend to apprehend your name,” said Chakiris. “So aback it happened, it was a shock and a absolute surprise… It’s like acceptable a action ticket… It’s too abundant of a connected shot.”
In fact, Chakiris didn’t anticipate the adventurous ball would accept been a hit.
“I bethink at one point, there was a breach in filming and I was continuing out in the alleyway by the soundstage,” he explained. “There were a few added men from the assembly team. I overheard them say…’Well, we’re not abiding that we will accept a bartering success, but we anticipate we ability accept an aesthetic success.’
"Everybody acquainted acerb about the blur because we admired what we were accomplishing and we acquainted like were alive on article that was absolutely wonderful. We were so committed to what we were doing.”
Chakiris still stays in blow with his above cast-mates. Rita Moreno, who played Anita, not alone accompanied Chakiris for the Oscars, but the adolescent Academy Award-winner would after accept him to be the asperse of her daughter.
George Chakiris acting alongside Natalie Wood in "West Side Story." (Courtesy of George Chakiris)
“It sounds banal to say, but we’re like a family,” he said. “That acquaintance for all of us absolutely created a bond… The ‘West Side Story’ experience, it absolutely is a family. There’s a accurateness that has continued.”
Today, Chakiris still stays active advancing his added affection — designing jewelry. He declared it as “a baby business,” but one that continues to grow.
“That was never my intention,” he said. “But it was aloof abundant authoritative things with your hand. It’s aloof a acceptable affair to do. I absolutely adulation it. I didn’t alarm an abettor for an acting job at all. Now I was aloof accomplishing article else, not as a career change. I aloof was accomplishing article new that I absolutely admired doing. It concluded up demography all my time. I absolutely enjoyed that.”
George Chakiris retired from the awning and now pursues a altered passion. (Courtesy of George Chakiris)
