John Colicos (December 10, 1928 – March 6, 2000) was a Canadian actor.[1] He performed on stage and television in the United States and Canada.
Early life[]
Colicos was born in Toronto, Ontario, to a Greek father and a Canadian mother.[2]
Career[]
Colicos began his acting career with the Canadian Art Theatre,[3] before the Montreal Repertory Theatre, later winning a Dominion Drama Festival award.[4]
Colicos was named best actor at the 1951 Dominion Drama Festival.[4][5] Colicos worked briefly at the Old Vic company in England.[4]
Colicos worked CBC Radio, with Andrew Allen, and later appeared in CBC dramas.[4]
In 1957, he appeared in Mary Stuart at the Phoenix Theatre in New York City and in 1963, he appeared in Troilus and Cressida at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, Canada.[6] His other New York theatre credits are King Lear (1956), The Devils (1965–1966), Serjeant Musgrave's Dance (1966), and Soldiers (1968).[7][8] Colicos's skill in acting resulted in his being chosen to play the title role in a memorable and first-ever production of King Lear (1964) at the Stratford Festival.[9]
He appeared as Monks in a television version of Oliver Twist for the DuPont Show of the Month series in 1959. He also gave memorable performances in 1966 on the CBS soap opera The Secret Storm; as the unscrupulous Thomas Cromwell in the 1969 movie version of Anne of the Thousand Days; and as the governor of Umakran in the episode "The Goddess Calabra" from the 1973 TV show The Starlost.
On American television, he established himself as a science-fiction villain icon, portraying the first Klingon ever seen in the Star Trek franchise, Commander Kor in the Original Series episode "Errand of Mercy" (1967).[10] Colicos worked with Gene Roddenberry designing the look the Klingons have on Star Trek (1966). Budget constraints prevented the extensive makeup the Klingons were supposed to have so Colicos suggested they have a leathery Genghis Khan look, dark skin and hair. He also portrayed Count Baltar in the original Battlestar Galactica movie and television series. Over a quarter-century after his initial appearance in the Star Trek franchise, Colicos reprised his role as the 140-year-old Kor in three episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, telecast between 1994 and 1998.[11]
Aside from his science-fiction roles, Colicos also appeared numerous times in episodic television from the 1960s onwards, including the portrayal of the villain on three episodes of Mission: Impossible. He appeared in four episodes of the CBC docu-drama The National Dream as the "railway general" William Cornelius Van Horne and appeared in seven episodes of Mannix. The last person shot and killed in the television series Gunsmoke (1955–1975) was Judge Flood, played by Colicos in episode 631, "Hard Labor".
Several years after his Battlestar Galactica tenure, Colicos again ventured into science fiction. In August and September 1981, he portrayed Mikkos Cassadine, a demented, power-mad businessman bent on freezing the world, on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. He was also the voice of the X-Men villain Apocalypse/En Sabah Nur (1993–1995) in the Fox Kids animated X-Men television series in the nineties, and twice played rogue alien Quinn in the first season (1988–1989) of War of the Worlds.
In 1982, he ventured into educational TV with TVOntario's award-winning production of Prophecy with John Colicos. The writer/director, Dr. Robert Gardner, recalled his initial meeting with the actor: "I had seen him scores of times in movies and television and I was very nervous. In truth, though, he was a joy to work with. Once he sensed that you were prepared he was thoroughly professional. His presence in the ninety-minute production was the main reason it went on to win the prestigious Gold Medal at the Atlanta International Film Festival."
He appeared in TV commercials during the 1990s for America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses. Colicos's final acting appearance was his reprise of Count Baltar in the concept demonstration trailer Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming, exhibited at many science fiction conventions in 1999.[12]
Personal life[]
Colicos wed Mona McHenry in 1956 and divorced in 1981. They had two sons, Nicolas (also an actor) and Edmund.[12] Colicos died in Toronto on March 6, 2000, at the age of 71, after a series of heart attacks.[13]
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Forbidden Journey | Student | |
| 1953 | Appointment in London | Pip | Uncredited |
| Captain Brassbound's Conversion | Sidi el Assif | Television film | |
| 1955 | Barbados Quest | Mustachioed Henchman | |
| 1956 | Bond of Fear | Dewar | |
| Passport to Treason | Pietro | ||
| Breakaway | First Kidnapper | ||
| 1957 | War Drums | Chino | |
| 1959 | Berkeley Square | Tom Pettigrew | Television film |
| 1960 | Family Classics: The Three Musketeers | Porthos | |
| 1961 | The Man Born to Be King | Jesus Christ | |
| 1962 | Cyrano De Bergerac | Comte de Guiche | |
| John Brown's Body | Unknown | ||
| 1964 | The Naked Flame | Blackmailer | Uncredited |
| 1969 | Anne of the Thousand Days | Thomas Cromwell | |
| Dulcima | Mr. Parker | Television film | |
| 1971 | Doctors' Wives | Dr. Mort Dellman | |
| Raid on Rommel | Sgt. Allan MacKenzie | ||
| Red Sky at Morning | Jimbob Buel | ||
| Goodbye, Raggedy Ann | Paul Jamison | Television film | |
| 1972 | The Wrath of God | Colonel Santilla | |
| 1973 | Scorpio | McLeod | |
| Portrait: A Man Whose Name Was John | Numan Menemengioglu | Television film | |
| 1975 | A Matter of Wife... and Death | Joe Ruby | |
| 1976 | Breaking Point | Vincent Karbone | |
| Drum | Bernard DeMarigny | ||
| The Whiz Kid and the Carnival Caper | Moroni | Television film | |
| 1978 | The Bastard | Lord North | |
| 1979 | King Solomon's Treasure | Allan Quatermain | |
| Sergeant T.K. Yu | Gangster | Television film | |
| The Paradise Connection | Major Barclay-Battles | ||
| 1980 | The Changeling | Captain DeWitt | |
| Phobia | Inspector Larry Barnes | ||
| 1981 | The Postman Always Rings Twice | Nick Papadakis | |
| 1986 | The Last Season | Walter Batterinski | |
| 1987 | Nowhere to Hide | General Clay Howard | |
| 1988 | Shadow Dancing | Anthony Podopolis | |
| 1989 | Love and Hate: The Story of Colin and JoAnn Thatcher | Serge Kujawa | Television film |
| 1990 | In Defense of a Married Man | Charles Evers | |
| 1995 | No Contest | Senator Donald Wilson | |
| 1997 | The Last Don | Eli Marrion | Television miniseries |
| Windsor Protocol | Gerhardt Heinzer / Albert Greenfield | Television film | |
| 1998 | Thunder Point | Heinzer | |
| My Father's Shadow: The Sam Sheppard Story | Richard Eberling | ||
| 1999 | Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming | Baltar | Short film |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Sunday Night Theatre | Christopher "Kit" Marlowe | Episode: "Will Shakespeare" |
| Douglas Fairbanks Presents | Brown | Episode: "The Heel" | |
| Playbill | Unknown | Episode: "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime" | |
| 1953–1960 | General Motors Theatre | Uturu / Luke Richardson / Kroll | 4 episodes |
| 1954 | The Secret Storm | Matthew Devereaux | |
| 1955 | London Playhouse | Charlie | Episode: "Adeline Girard" |
| 1956 | You Are There | Alexander Smith | Episode: "Mr. Christian Seizes the Bounty (April 28, 1789)" |
| The Adventures of Hiram Holliday | Thief | Episode: "Lapidary Wheel" | |
| 1957 | Studio One | Gold Root | Episode: "The Rice Sprout Song" |
| 1958–1960 | DuPont Show of the Month | Mr. Arrow / Monks / Fernand Mondego / Hindley | 4 episodes |
| 1959 | Folio | Unknown | Episode: "Ward No. Six" |
| The Unforeseen | Count Cagliostro | Episode: "Checkmate" | |
| Startime | Andy | Episode: "A Clearing in the Woods" | |
| 1960 | The Play of the Week | Mortimer | Episode: "Mary Stuart" |
| NBC Sunday Showcase | Aaron Burr | Episode: "Our American Heritage: Not Without Honor" | |
| Our American Heritage | Aaron Burr | 2 episodes | |
| Omnibus | Gen. George McClellan | Episode: "He Shall Have Power" | |
| 1960–1963 | The United States Steel Hour | Dr. Steve Bruchesi / Edmund Hobert / Silvio | 3 episodes |
| 1961 | Vanity Fair | Rawdon Crawley | Episode: "Part 1" |
| 1961–1963 | Festival | Galileo Galilei / Gregers Werle / Poet / Lord Arthur Savile | 4 episodes |
| 1962 | Playdate | Puff / Ernst Herman / Dr. Bruchesi | 3 episodes |
| 1965 | The Defenders | District Attorney / District Attorney Scott Turner | 2 episodes |
| Profiles in Courage | Sen. Davis / Patrick Henry | ||
| Armchair Mystery Theatre | Ricardo | Episode: "Licence to Murder" | |
| 1967 | T.H.E. Cat | King Delphine | Episode: "A Slight Family Trait" |
| Star Trek: The Original Series | Kor | Episode: "Errand of Mercy" | |
| A Choice of Futures | Prime Minister Robert Ghiberti | Episode: "1999" | |
| 1967–1970 | Mission: Impossible | Chief of Internal Security Manuel Ferrar / Milos Kuro / Commissioner Taal Jankowski | 3 episodes |
| 1967–1974 | Mannix | Dr. Myles Considine / Lytell / Duke Benedict / Alton K. Moore / David Barker / Eddie Lee Prentiss | 7 episodes |
| 1969 | The Name of the Game | Rafael | Episode: "High Card" |
| 1970 | The High Chaparral | Matthew Kendall | Episode: "The Journal of Death" |
| Then Came Bronson | Harve Traine | Episode: "Still Waters" | |
| It Takes a Thief | The Man | Episode: "Project "X"" | |
| The Young Rebels | British Colonel | Episode: "The Blood of an Englishman" | |
| 1970–1975 | Hawaii Five-O | Lorenzo Corman / Mr. Thorncrest | 2 episodes |
| 1971 | Night Gallery | Survivor | Segment: "Lone Survivor" |
| 1972 | Longstreet | Arnold Zaduck | Episode: "Sad Songs and Other Conversations" |
| The F.B.I. | Logan | Episode: "The Test" | |
| 1972–1975 | Dr. Simon Locke | Dekker / Police Sergeant | 2 episodes |
| 1973 | The Starlost | The Governor | Episode: "The Goddess Calabra" |
| 1974 | The Magician | Paul Gunther | 2 episodes |
| The Lives of Benjamin Franklin | Unknown | Episode: "The Ambassador" | |
| Salty | Dobbs | Episode: "For the Price of Freedom" | |
| The National Dream | Cornelius Van Horne | Television miniseries | |
| 1974–1975 | Performance | Smirnov | 2 episodes |
| 1974–1976 | Medical Center | Tom Evans / Weldman | 2 episodes |
| 1975 | Gunsmoke | Judge Flood | Episode: "Hard Labor" |
| Insight | Gus Mangel | Episode: "The Pendulum" | |
| Bronk | Martin | Episode: "Terror" | |
| Petrocelli | Dimitri | Episode: "Terror on Wheels" | |
| Harry O | Walter Nesbitt | Episode: "The Madonna Legacy" | |
| 1976 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Moroni | 2 episodes |
| 1977 | The New Adventures of Wonder Woman | Ambassador Orrick | Episode: "The Queen and the Thief" |
| 1978 | Switch | Gilchrist | Episode: "Coronado Circle" |
| Quincy, M.E. | Harlan Standish | Episode: "Gone But Not Forgotten" | |
| The Six Million Dollar Man | General Norbukov | Episode: "The Moving Mountain" | |
| W.E.B. | Harry Brooks | 2 episodes | |
| The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries | Col. L. Morbius | Episode: "Search for Atlantis" | |
| 1978–1979 | Battlestar Galactica | Count Baltar | Main role |
| 1979 | Charlie's Angels | Anton Karazna | Episode: "Angel in a Box" |
| Vegas | Dr. Victor Durrand | Episode: "Dan Tanna Is Dead" | |
| 1981 | General Hospital | Mikkos Cassadine | 1 episode |
| 1984 | The Yellow Rose | Nick Pappas | Episode: "Sport of Kings" |
| Scarecrow and Mrs. King | Ilya Kreschenko | Episode: "Playing Possum" | |
| 1985 | The Hitchhiker | Mr. Stregga | Episode: "Petty Thieves" |
| 1987 | Street Legal | Farraday | Episode: "A Little Knowledge" |
| I'll Take Manhattan | banker, Lester Maypole | Television miniseries | |
| 1987–1988 | Night Heat | Karakonis / Lech Koretski | 2 episodes |
| 1987–1989 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Lestrade / Moriarty / Carter Talbot | 2 episodes |
| 1989 | War of the Worlds | Quinn | 2 episodes |
| 1991 | E.N.G. | Lionel Hirsch | Episode: "Smoke and Mirrors" |
| 1992–1995 | X-Men | Apocalypse / En Sabah Nur | Voice; 19 episodes |
| 1993 | Beyond Reality | Sinclair | Episode: "Bloodstone" |
| Counterstrike | Vince | Episode: "The Contender" | |
| 1994–1998 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Kor | 3 episodes |
| 1997 | Fast Track | Dr. Wallace Beckett | Episode: "Fathers & Sons" |
References[]
- ↑ "John Colicos". BFI. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012.
- ↑ Moskos, Charles (1989). "Greek Americans: Struggle and Success". Google Books. Transaction Publishers.
- ↑ "Colicos, John". Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia. Retrieved on August 13, 2023.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Actor noted for Stratford roles". The Globe and Mail (March 7, 2000). Retrieved on August 13, 2023.
- ↑ "John Colicos". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved on August 13, 2023.
- ↑ "Actor noted for Stratford roles". The Globe and Mail (March 7, 2000). Retrieved on March 1, 2018.
- ↑ "Theater: 'Lear,' as Colicos Sees Him; Portrait of Tragic King Given on Ontario Stage". The New York Times (June 19, 1964). Retrieved on March 1, 2018.
- ↑ Simonson, Robert (March 8, 2000). "Stage and Film Actor, John Colicos, Dead at 71". Playbill.
- ↑ "King Lear (1964, Stratford Festival of Canada)". Internet Shakespeare Editions. Retrieved on March 16, 2018.
- ↑ Ulster, Laurie (March 11, 2021). "13 Original Series Actors Who Couldn't Get Enough Trek". StarTrek.com.
- ↑ Spelling, Ian (September 8, 1995). "Looking Back with a Formidable Klingon". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on March 1, 2018.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "John Colicos, TV, Film and Stage Actor, 71". The Associated Press. The New York Times (March 8, 2000). Archived from the original on December 25, 2018. Retrieved on March 1, 2018.
- ↑ "John Colicos". The Guardian (March 7, 2000). Retrieved on March 16, 2018.
External links[]
- John Colicos at Wikipedia
- John Colicos at the Internet Movie Database
- John Colicos at the Internet Broadway Database
- John Colicos at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- John Colicos at Turner Classic Movies
- John Colicos at Virtual History
- John Colicos at Find a Grave
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