Biography

The son of a Greek immigrant father (merchant) and an English mother, George Coulouris was educated at England's Manchester Grammar School. As an actor he was quite adept at playing villains, particularly wealthy businessmen, but he was just as suitable at playing nobler roles. A member of Orson Welles' famed Mercury Theater players, he appeared in such films as Citizen Kane (1941), Pour qui sonne le glas (1943), Papillon (1973) and Le crime de l'Orient-Express (1974). The film that established him as an interesting and reliable heavy, with his massive shoulders and hooded eyes, was Quand le jour viendra (1943).

Coulouris studied with Elsie Fogerty at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. His London stage debut came in 1925 with "Henry V" at the Old Vic. He was soon playing the Yank at the first British staging of Eugene O'Neill's "The Hairy Ape". By 1929 he had reached Broadway, via a modern dress version of "Measure for Measure". His role as Tallant in "The Late Christopher Bean" took him to Hollywood in 1933 for MGM's film of the play. The next milestone in his burgeoning career occurred when he was playing in "Ten Million Ghosts" and met Orson Welles. They got on well and Coulouris joined Welles' Mercury Theatre, playing Mark Antony in the famous modern dress production of "Julius Caesar" (1937). When Welles went to Hollywood to make "Citizen Kane", Coulouris climbed into movie history in the part of Walter Parks Thatcher, the Kane family's crotchety lawyer and business manager. By that time his future as a cinema actor was assured and he went on to play character parts in a long string of Hollywood productions throughout the 1940s. At the end of the 1940s Coulouris returned to England, joining the Bristol Old Vic where he was notable as Tartuffe, transferring to London. In the '50s and '60s he remained a stalwart stage actor in spite of his movie reputation. He liked nothing better than to grapple with Henrik Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw, August Strindberg, Molière or William Shakespeare. During these years he tackled Dr. Stockman in Ibsen's "An Enemy of the People", Patrick Flynn in Sean O'Casey's "The Plough and the Stars", the father in Jean-Paul Sartre's "Altona", Edgar in Strindberg's "The Dance of Death" and Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". All of these are parts to swell a scene and Coulouris had the flourish to fill them, sometimes to overflowing, always compellingly. In Britain his film parts tended towards the mundane, though he rose to the occasion as the native Babalatchi in Carol Reed's Le banni des îles (1951) and seized rare chances to play comedy in Toubib or not toubib (1954), Rendez-vous à Rio (1955) and the Frankie Howerd vehicle The Runaway Bus (1954). Towards the end of his life he tried his hand at writing and produced some charming memoirs describing his early life in Manchester and his early stage experiences. A vivid excerpt was published in the Guardian newspaper in February 1986 and the memoirs are available in full on the official website maintained by his son.

- IMDb mini biography by: George F. Coulouris <george@coulouris.net>, Mary Louise Coulouris (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)

The son of Nicholas Coulouris, a Greek immigrant and Abigail nee Redfern George Alexander, after leaving school, joined his father working in the junk business before turning to the stage and studying at the Central School of Speech and Drama. . His first major stage appearance was in 1928 at the Cambridge Festival Theatre, while his favourite stage part was 'King Lear'. He made his film debut in an uncredited role in 'The Impassive Footman in 1932. The following year in America there was a credited part appearing alongside Lionel Barrymore and Marie Dressler in 'The Late Christopher Bean' aka 'Her Sweetheart' While in the States he met Orson Welles in 1936 and appeared together in the Broadway production of 'Ten Million Ghosts' after Orson invited him to join his Mercury Theatre Company and in 1937 played Mark Anthony in the company's production of Caesar followed by other productions and a part in the film 'Citizen Kane' for which both he and Orson received a 1941 National Board of Review Award for their performances. While in America he stared in his own Broadway production of 'Richard III' and appeared in a number of films including his two favourites 'Citizen Kane' and 'Watch on the Rhine' , the latter repeating his role from the Broadway production and earning him an Oscar nomination and a certificate for 'Actor of the Month Award' Other media wasn't neglected, he performed in a radio series of 'Bulldog Drumond' while in New York and when he eventually returned to Britain he appeared in numerous television series such as 'Danger Man', 'Doctor Who' and 'Pathfinders to Mars'

- IMDb mini biography by: Tonyman 5