Profile Text
Birth Name: Gus Efstratiou
Date of Birth: May 22, 1927
Place of Birth: Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date of Death: August 31, 2021
Place of Death: Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Ethnicity: Greek
Michael Constantine was an American actor. He was known in particular for playing Gus Portokalos in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding films, and Tadzu Lempke in Stephen King’s Thinner . His roles also included the shows The Untouchables , Hey Landlord , Room 222 , The Odd Couple , Sirota’s Court , and My Big Fat Greek Life ; the films The Last Mile , The Hustler , Island of Love (1963), Quick, Before It Melts ; Beau Geste , Hawaii (1966), In Enemy Country , Skidoo , If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium ; Justine , Don’t Drink the Water , The Reivers , Peeper , Voyage of the Damned , The North Avenue Irregulars , The Forty Days of Musa Dag , Pray for Death , In the Mood , Prancer , Deadfall , My Life (1993), and The Juror ; the made-for-tv movies Deadly Harvest , Death Cruise , The Night That Panicked America , Summer of My German Soldier , The Pirate (1978), and Crisis in Mid-Air ; and the mini-series 79 Park Avenue .
Michael is the son of Greek parents, Andromache/Andromki Fotiadou/Foteadou (Ανδρομάχη Φωτιάδου) and Theoharis/Theodore Ioannides Efstratiou [Θεοχάρης Ιωαννίδης Ευστρατίου], a steel worker. He had two children with his former wife, actress Julianna McCarthy.
Michael’s paternal grandfather was named Efstratios Ioannides.
Michael’s paternal grandmother was named Catherine Emmanuel.
Michael’s maternal grandfather was named Fotious Fotiou.
Michael’s maternal grandmother was named Fotini Tsingerli.
Source: Michael Constantine on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org