Christopher John George was an American television and film actor who starred in the 1960s television series The Rat Patrol.
31 Facts About Christopher George
2.
Christopher George was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1967 as Best TV Star for his performance in the series.
3.
Christopher George was the recipient of a New York Film Festival award as the Best Actor in a Television Commercial.
4.
Christopher George was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, on February 25,1931, the son of Greek immigrants John George and Vaseleke George.
5.
Christopher George's father was a traveling salesman during his childhood.
6.
Christopher George accompanied his father on selling trips to cities such as Akron, New York City, Chicago, St Louis, Memphis, and Detroit.
7.
That was where Christopher George first became interested in acting; at Greek school they performed Greek plays and recited Greek poetry.
8.
When he was young, George felt bound to become a priest in the Greek Orthodox Church, and his family prepared him for it; his brother Nick said that all through his childhood, Christopher was an altar boy and a choir boy and that his parents and the priest were trying to groom him to become a priest.
9.
Christopher George served as an altar boy at St Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Miami.
10.
Christopher George enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on October 13,1948, at Jacksonville, Florida, at age 17.
11.
Christopher George lied about his age on his recruitment form by giving his year of birth as 1929, which then stuck with him for most of his adult life.
12.
Christopher George completed a three-year enlistment with the Marines and stayed for an additional year, before requesting an honorable discharge and returning home to Miami.
13.
Christopher George served in the 4th Supply Company, in Stockton, California.
14.
Christopher George earned the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.
15.
Christopher George was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, along with his brother Nick, who attended the University of Miami.
16.
Christopher George held down a variety of jobs before he began acting for a living, including working as a private investigator and as a bartender in a Miami bar.
17.
Christopher George owned and operated eateries and beer bars, one called the Dragnet Drive-In in Miami and another in Stockton, California.
18.
Christopher George worked as a bouncer in tough restaurants and held a pilot's license.
19.
Christopher George was hired by a friend who owned a 110-foot converted Canadian gunboat and transported cargo through the Caribbean for two years.
20.
Christopher George studied acting under Wynn Handman and landed roles in Off-Broadway productions of popular plays of the day.
21.
Christopher George's career took off after he made a 60-second TV commercial for shaving cream, where he played the young man in the "Good morning, Mr Gray" shaving spot, and won the New York Film Festival Award for best actor in a commercial.
22.
Christopher George appeared in roles on the television series Naked City and Bewitched.
23.
Christopher George first appeared on the screen when he landed a role in the film In Harm's Way, playing a dying sailor for 30 seconds.
24.
Christopher George first rose to prominence playing a supporting role in the Howard Hawks-directed Western film El Dorado starring both John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in the lead roles.
25.
From 1966 to 1968 over the course of two seasons and 58 episodes, Christopher George played the lead role of Sergeant Sam Troy on The Rat Patrol.
26.
Christopher George sustained a concussion, tearing something in his neck and injuring his back.
27.
Christopher George narrated a documentary about the careers of Craig Breedlove and Lee Breedlove, a husband-and-wife auto racing team, The Racers: Craig and Lee Breedlove.
28.
Christopher George followed that success with a busy string of horror, action, splatter and slasher B movies over the next seven years, including Dixie Dynamite co-starring Warren Oates; Day of the Animals ; City of the Living Dead ; Graduation Day ; Enter the Ninja ; Pieces and Mortuary.
29.
Archive records show that George was under contract with J Walter Thompson for this work.
30.
Christopher George first met actress Lynda Day in New York where they were doing a fashion layout; prophetically, she was modeling the bride's outfit and he was the groom.
31.
Christopher George died of a heart attack at age 52 in the late evening of November 28,1983, at Westside Hospital in.