My Big Fat Greek Wedding": Does The Dad Survive

In the 2002 film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Michael Constantine played the role of Gus Portokalos, the father of Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos). Constantine died in 2021 at the age of 94, but he had already given his blessing to the third film in the franchise, which was released in 2023.

Michael Constantine, the actor who played the dad, died in 2021 at 94

Michael Constantine, the actor who played the father in the hit movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," died in 2021 at 94.

Constantine was born Gus Efstratiou (or Efstration, according to some sources) on May 22, 1927, in Reading, Pennsylvania, to Greek immigrants Andromache (née Fotiadou) and Theocharis Ioannides Efstratiou, a steel worker. He began his career on the New York stage in the mid-1950s as an understudy to Paul Muni in "Inherit the Wind." He made his big-screen debut in 1959 with "The Last Mile," directed by Howard W. Koch, and appeared in several TV guest-starring roles in the 1960s.

Constantine won an Emmy Award in 1970 for his portrayal of Seymour Kaufman, the principal of Walt Whitman High, in the ABC series "Room 222." He went on to play memorable roles in films such as "The Hustler" (1961) and "Beau Geste" (1966) and TV shows like "The Twilight Zone," "The Flying Nun," and "Remington Steele."

However, it was his role as Gus Portokalos, the Windex-wielding patriarch in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (2002) and its sequel, that made him a household name. Constantine's portrayal of the loving but overprotective father, proud of his Greek heritage, won him a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also reprised the role for the short-lived TV series "My Big Fat Greek Life."

Constantine died on August 31, 2021, at his home in Reading, Pennsylvania, due to natural causes. He was 94. His co-stars and colleagues from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," including Nia Vardalos and Rita Wilson, paid tribute to him on social media, remembering him as a talented actor and a beloved friend.

Constantine played Gus Portokalos, a Windex-wielding father

Michael Constantine, who played Gus Portokalos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, passed away at the age of 94 in 2021. Constantine was born Gus Efstratiou (or Efstration, according to another source) in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1927. His parents, Andromache (née Fotiadou) and Theocharis Ioannides Efstratiou (or Theoharis Ioannides), were Greek immigrants.

Constantine began his career on the New York stage in the mid-1950s, making his Broadway debut in the ensemble of the hit play Inherit the Wind. He went on to play character roles on and off-Broadway, including in Compulsion and The Miracle Worker. In 1959, he made his big-screen debut in The Last Mile, and soon became a familiar face on television, appearing in numerous guest roles throughout the 1960s.

In My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Constantine played the stubborn, overprotective, and proud Greek father of Toula Portokalos, who believes that Windex can cure almost any ailment. His portrayal of Gus was so memorable that he became widely recognised for this role, despite having a long and varied career before and after the film. Constantine reprised the role in the short-lived TV series My Big Fat Greek Life and in the 2016 sequel film My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.

The third film in the franchise, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, was released after Constantine's death, but he had given his blessing to the project before he passed away. The film focuses on the family fulfilling Gus' last wish to visit his village in Greece, and Constantine's presence is still felt in the movie.

Gus' death is addressed in the third film

The death of Gus Portokalos, the patriarch of the Portokalos family, is addressed in the third instalment of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'. Actor Michael Constantine, who played Gus in the first two films, died in 2021, before the third film was made.

The film, which was shot in Greece, sees the family fulfilling Gus' last wish: to visit his village in the Mediterranean country. The family travels to Gus' ancestral village, where he was never able to return, and his character dies before the action of the third film starts.

Writer-star Nia Vardalos said that Constantine gave his blessing to the third film before he died. "He had told me he wouldn't be able to join us for the third film and his wish was that we go on," she said. "I wrote the screenplay to reflect Michael's decision and will always treasure his last messages to me, hoping we were filming soon."

Producer Rita Wilson explained how Constantine's death informed the plot of the third film: "Originally we were going to bring the family to Greece with Michael Constantine's character coming back to his childhood village," she said. "But he got older and then he got sick, and then he passed away."

The film is based on a one-woman play by Nia Vardalos

The 2002 film My Big Fat Greek Wedding is based on a one-woman play by Nia Vardalos. The play was a 45-minute monologue workshop, written by and starring Vardalos, which was first developed in the HBO Workshop. It was then tested in Chicago, Toronto, and Europe, before being performed at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Los Angeles in August 1997.

The one-woman show was based on Vardalos's own family in Winnipeg, Canada, and her experience of marrying a non-Greek man (actor Ian Gomez). The play was popular and sold out for much of its run, in part due to Vardalos's marketing it across Greek Orthodox churches in the area.

Rita Wilson, who is herself of Greek origin, saw the play and convinced her husband, actor Tom Hanks, to see it. Hanks later said that casting Vardalos in the lead role of the film adaptation "brings a huge amount of integrity to the piece because it's Nia's version of her own life and her own experience. I think that shows through on the screen and people recognize it."

Vardalos began meeting with executives about making a film version of the monologue and started writing a screenplay. However, the meetings proved fruitless as the executives insisted on making changes that Vardalos objected to, including changing the plot and the family's ethnicity.

Two months after the monologue's initial run ended, Hanks's production company, Playtone, contacted Vardalos about producing a film based on her vision. They also agreed to remount the play as a one-woman show in January 1998 at the Globe Playhouse in West Hollywood for a three-night-a-week run.

Vardalos gained fame with the film adaptation of her play, which was a critical and commercial success. The sleeper hit quickly became one of the highest-grossing independent films of all time and the number one romantic comedy of all time. Vardalos was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her work on the film.

The film was directed by Joel Zwick

The 2002 romantic comedy film My Big Fat Greek Wedding was directed by Joel Zwick and written by Nia Vardalos. The film is based on Vardalos's own experience of marrying a non-Greek man and was adapted from her one-woman show.

Zwick's direction of the film, which was an international co-production between the United States and Canada, helped it become a sleeper hit. Despite never hitting the number one spot for a box office weekend and being an independent film with a $5 million budget, it ultimately grossed over $368.7 million worldwide, becoming one of the top romantic films of the 21st century.

Zwick's work on My Big Fat Greek Wedding also received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 76% approval rating, with critics describing it as "good-hearted, lovable, and delightfully eccentric, with a sharp script and lead performance from Nia Vardalos." Similarly, Metacritic gave the film a score of 62 out of 100, indicating "generally favourable" reviews.

The success of the film, which was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 75th Academy Awards, spawned a franchise, including two sequels and a TV series.

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