| It's only love sung by G. Costacos |
"An admirable talent. Charisma. The cut of a classic movie star."
MEN MAGAZINE
George Costacos was born in Athens in 1964, he was raised on Aegina island. In his early twenties he moved to the US to study physical education but instead became a successful Broadway actor/singer. Before that, George Costacos participated in the Balkan Games and won several
medals for gymnastics. He always had a great love and appreciation of athletics and therefore he was especially honored to be the only Actors' Equity member to be invited to participate in the Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Olympics in Athens. George Costacos died suddenly at the age of 44 in Hannover, Germany of complications from a brain tumor. The handsome singer/actor was laid to rest on November 23rd, 2008 on his native island of Aegina.
George Costacos had a great love and admiration for the history and culture of ancient Greece and the best way to honor him was to organize a marathon as was done in ancient Greece for "distinguished members of society". On the 11th of July 2009, the George Best Costacos Memorial Marathon was organised by his brother Nikos. The Aegina Marathon will keep the memory of George Costacos alive.
George Costacos not only had an impressive career in theater and dance, he was also a concerned and active citizen, performing many charity events for causes that were important to him. Gorge was a proud and very active member of Actor’s Equity in New York. He worked tirelessly on the front line during the union’s struggles on behalf of actors’ rights. His passion and fighting spirit were recognized by the "New York Times" and the French newspaper "Le Monde".
George made news as the only Actors' Equity member invited from the USA to perform in the Athens 2004 Olympics Opening Ceremony. His image was issued on the official commemorative materials and he was commended on the Congressional Statement in Washington DC. George was invited twice to participate live on PBS for The Greek Americans. He is the International Patron of the George Best Foundation in the UK.
George’s love of life, dedication to his work, and humanitarian spirit were memorable to all who met him. George Costacos received countless kudos for diverse and prolific creativity as an actor and a writer, "carving the steady and significant course of a dynamic artist who has bewitched with his multifaceted talent, knows how to magnetize the lens of current events and puts his signature on every aspect of his work" -- to quote a few of the glowing reviews in the abundant international press. With his passionate sense of drama and "boundless energy," George Costacos was dubbed by theatrical leaders and press alike as "an unencumbered spirit with a mission," "an artistic chameleon," "a particularly distinguished actor," "a genuine child of the theater" with "a noteworthy career of quality work and talent that is necessary, if not indispensable." Esquire magazine called George Costacos "The most important Greek of Broadway."
Additional highlights of George Costacos’ career include an appearance at The Metropolitan Room on July 21st 2008, performances with Steve Ross in: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, The 45th Street Theater, The National Arts Club, and Lincoln Center's Bruno Walter Auditorium in the Library for the Performing Arts (the last two also with Julie Wilson). George's critically acclaimed musical Greek Gifts premiered and was recorded with musical direction by Seth Weinstein, it has been performed in benefit concert sponsored by the New York Foundation, and a version with choir at Dicapo Theatre under musical direction by Broadway maestro and music director of the Queens Symphony Orchestra Constantine Kitsopoulos -- who previously directed George in Axion Esti. at Merkin Concert Hall. Other appearances include City Center, Alexander Hamilton Auditorium, Hudson River Museum, Barnes & Noble, Sardi's, Don't Tell Mama, Eighty Eight's, The Greek Cultural Center (sponsored by the NY State Foundation for the Arts) and landmark theatres all along the East Coast.
How George Costacos became linked with George Best
George’s departure from the world of sport to the world of theatre happened when he went on a Fullbright Scholarship to the US to study physical education. “I was a gymnast and wanted to study phys ed but theatre just kept popping up,” he said in an interview with Athens International Radio in late 2007.
“One day I went with a friend to an audition when this lovely woman Susan Matthews, a choreographer, just walked out into the lobby, took one look at me and said: ‘you come and dance’. “I said; ‘hey, I am not a dancer’ but two minutes later she grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me in and I was dancing which was very easy for a gymnast, it was like a warm up. “From that I got to do a show and then I was cast in another show and the next thing I know is that seven years have gone by and I haven’t finished my degree in physical education. So I
decided why not just get a degree in theatre and get it over with.”
“The name thing came about from my very first theatre job,” said Costacos. “I was very nervous and just kept walking about the theatre going: ‘I want to do my best, I want to do my best, I want to do my best’. “So my nickname became Georgie Best and the theatre assumed it was my real name and published it in the programme. “The next thing I know is that I open up a newspaper and Cindy Adams, the syndicated columnist in the New York Post has written that George Best is off to Europe to write. “This was me. Right below me was a piece on Harrison Ford and Candice Bergen, so it was a big deal My phone went crazy that day. “My agent said: ‘why don’t you keep it, it’s a good name, it’s catchy’. Well it took a lot to grow into the name.”
The newly-christened George Best, however, had no idea he was sharing one of the most famous names on the planet until the dawn of the internet age. “I was one of the first actors to have a website,” he said. “When the internet came along I bought the site georgebest.com. Well, you can imagine the amount of emails that came flooding in from people trying to get in touch with the footballer. That was when I began to realise who this guy was.”
Then, during the course of his one-man show Greek Gifts, a more or less autobiographical tour of his own life mixed with song, he chose to come out about his real name and that left him with a website to spare. “At that point I thought now is the time to give this site to George but it was impossible to get hold of him. “I tried and tried and in the meantime there were lots of people coming to me to try and buy the site. But I wasn’t really interested in selling it as I thought it belonged to George. “So I held on to it until his family contacted me, unfortunately after George had died, and that is when I handed it over to them.” As a thank you, the George Best Foundation, which helps with research into liver disease and alcoholism, made him their International Patron. “He was very supportive and interested in our work and his generosity in giving us the georgebest.com domain name will never be forgotten,” said Barbara McNally, the sister of the footballer George Best, who runs the foundation. “I was very upset that I didn’t meet him (Best) as I researched him and realised what a genius he was,” said Costacos who admitted that he did not become a football supporter until 2004 when Greece won the European Championships. That was also the year of the Olympics, when George was invited to be the only member of US Actors Equity union to take part in the Opening Ceremony. His image was issued on the official commemorative materials and he was commended on the Congressional Statement in Washington DC.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GEORGE TO BE FOUND ON:
www.georgecostacos.com
broadwayworld.com