The Oscar-winning star portrayed rival gang leaders in the stage and screen versions of the classic musical. He remembers dancing with Marilyn Monroe, playing Dracula and his role as a trombone
“I don’t think I was good enough,” confesses George Chakiris. “I was too nervous.” Zooming from Los Angeles, the 86-year-old star is not appraising his Oscar-winning role in West Side Story or his stints as a chorus dancer in golden age musicals with Marilyn Monroe and Cyd Charisse. He is recalling appearing alongside Compo, Clegg and Foggy in an episode of Last of the Summer Wine. What sort of country-lane hijinks did that involve? “I was a movie director or something. I don’t remember … Isn’t that awful?”
Not really – it was 25 years ago and he has pretty much retired. But IMDb lists Chakiris as playing a bank manager in the forthcoming movie Not to Forget. He seems to have forgotten about it. “Do you know what? I did do one day on a movie,” he recollects. “Why would I want to go and do one day on a film? I asked myself that question, then did it anyway. It was a very nice experience.”
