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Greek-American
A Greek-American is a citizen of the United States who has significant Greek heritage. Greek-Americans have a heavy concentration in New York City (most notably in Astoria) and Chicago. Tarpon Springs, Florida is also home to a large Greek-American community.
List of Famous Greek-Americans
- Helene Alexopoulos , Ballet dancer.
- Ernie Anastos , WCBS-New York co-anchorman.
- Jennifer Aniston, Actress.
- John Aniston, Actor.
- Peter Angelos , owner of the Baltimore Orioles.
- George Argyros, U.S. ambassador to Spain.
- Michael Bilirakis, Congressman from Florida.
- Vasili Bogazianos, actor.
- Tom Carvel, founder of the Carvel Ice Cream franchise.
- John Cassavetes, movie director.
- Nick Cassavetes , movie director.
- Bob Costas, NBC Sportscaster.
- Christos Cotsakos , co-founder of E*Trade.
- Nick the Greek Dandolos, gambler.
- Frank Dicopoulos, Actor.
- Michael Dukakis, Former Governor of Massachusetts, and Democratic Presidential Candidate.
- Christopher Georges , journalist, the Wall Street Journal.
- George Gekas, Congressman from Pennsylvania.
- Arianna Huffington, Author and Columnist.
- Iakovos, former Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America.
- George Kariotis , businessman, ran against Michael Dukakis for Governor of Massachusetts in 1986.
- Robert Karvelas , actor; portrayed Larrabee on Get Smart.
- Melina Kanakaredes, Actress.
- Elia Kazan, movie director.
- Alex Karras, Actor.
- Anthony Kiedis, lead singer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
- Alexi Lalas, soccer player.
- Tommy Lee, heavy metal drummer.
- Greg Louganis (Greek by adoption; ethnically Samoan and Swedish). Athlete.
- Andy Manatos, Former Assistant Secretary of Commerce.
- John Negroponte, United States Director of National Intelligence nominee.
- Nicholas Negroponte, Scientist.
- John Allen Paulos, Mathematician
- Alexander Payne, Academy award winning movie director.
- Jack Pierce, acclaimed make up artist.
- John Rigas, founder of Adelphia Communications Corporation
- Pete Sampras, Tennis Player.
- Paul Sarbanes, U.S. Senator representing the state of Maryland.
- George Savalas, actor.
- Telly Savalas, actor.
- John Sitilides, Executive Director of the Western Policy Center .
- Olympia Snowe, Republican Senator from Maine.
- Alex Spanos , Owner of the San Diego Chargers
- John Stamos, Actor.
- George Stephanopoulos, Political Commentator, Former White House Communications Director.
- George Tenet, Former Director of the U.S. CIA.
- Paul Tsongas, Former Senator from Massachusetts
- TAKI 183, Graffiti artist.
- Frances Fragos Townsend , Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor.
- Rita Wilson, actress.
- Billy Zane, Actor.
Popular Culture
- The popular 1970s show Kojak featured Telly Savalas as Greek-American police detective Theo Kojak, and his brother George as Detective Stavros. Kojak was originally supposed to be Polish (hence the name), but this was changed to match Savalas' profile.
- The 2002 comedy film My Big Fat Greek Wedding portrayed the love story of a Greek-American woman (portrayed by Greek-Canadian Nia Vardalos) and a non-Greek American man. It also examines the protagonist's troubled love/hate relationship with her cultural heritage and value system. The movie spawned an unsuccessful TV series, My Big Fat Greek Life .
- The Famous Teddy Z was a acclaimed but short-lived TV series about a fictional talent agent named Teddy Zakalakis, portrayed by Jon Cryer.
- The TV series Full House was about a family that included Greek-American Uncle Jesse, portrayed by John Stamos. Jesse's Greek dad was also recurring character.
- The Greek Restaurant was a recurring sketch in the early years of Saturday Night Live. More recently, Tina Fey has often joked about her Greek heritage on the show.
- Tom's Restaurant, a Greek-American owned business, has become one of the symbols of urban New York life.
- Elektra Natchios is a Marvel Comics superhero, portrayed by Jennifer Garner in the 2005 movie Elektra.
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