Nico Minardos
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Nico Minardos (born Nicholas Minardos; February 15, 1930,
Pangrati Pagrati () is a neighborhood in Athens, Greece, having an estimated population of 35,173 residents. Named after the ancient sanctuary of Hercules Pancrates ("All Powerful"), its frontage runs from Vasilissis Sofias Avenue along to Vasileos Kon ...
, Athens – August 27, 2011,
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. History The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans in the United States, ...
) was a Greek-American actor.


Work in Hollywood

His first Hollywood screen appearance was as an extra in the 1952 film '' Monkey Business''. His film credits also include ''
Holiday for Lovers ''Holiday for Lovers'' is a 1959 American DeLuxe CinemaScope comedy film directed by Henry Levin. Based on a 1957 play of the same title by Ronald Alexander, the film stars Clifton Webb, Jane Wyman, Jill St. John and Carol Lynley. Plot Ro ...
''; ''
Twelve Hours to Kill ''Twelve Hours to Kill'' (also known as ''12 Hours to Kill'') is a 1960 American crime drama film directed by Edward L. Cahn and starring Nico Minardos and Barbara Eden. Plot Martin Filones (Nico Minardos), a young Greek man, witnesses the murder ...
''; ''
It Happened in Athens ''It Happened in Athens'' is a 1962 American sports comedy-drama film released by 20th Century-Fox. It is directed by Andrew Marton and features Jayne Mansfield, newcomer Trax Colton, Maria Xénia, Nico Minardos, Roger Browne in his debut, an ...
''; and ''
Cannon for Cordoba ''Cannon for Cordoba'' is a 1970 American Western film. Filmed in Spain, the larger part of the movie takes place in Mexico in 1912. Directed by Paul Wendkos, it stars: George Peppard, Pete Duel, Giovanna Ralli and Raf Vallone, and features ...
''. The majority of Minardos's work was in television, where he made guest appearances in a wide variety of shows. Due to his dark looks and accent, he was often cast as a Mexican. He appeared in "Have Gun Will Travel" S2 E19 "The Monster" as Carlos (1960). He played a thief in the ''
Maverick Maverick or Maveric may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau T-32 M ...
'' episode, "The Judas Mask"; a doctor in ''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...
'' episode "The Gift"; and two roles in the TV show ''
Alias Smith and Jones ''Alias Smith and Jones'' is an American Western television series that originally aired on ABC from January 1971 to January 1973. The show initially starred Pete Duel (and, after Duel's death, Roger Davis) as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy ...
,'' first as a bandit chief in "Journey from San Juan", and then as the Alcalde of a Mexican resort town in "Miracle at Santa Marta". These latter two appearances reunited him with ''
Cannon for Cordoba ''Cannon for Cordoba'' is a 1970 American Western film. Filmed in Spain, the larger part of the movie takes place in Mexico in 1912. Directed by Paul Wendkos, it stars: George Peppard, Pete Duel, Giovanna Ralli and Raf Vallone, and features ...
'' co-star,
Pete Duel Peter Ellstrom Deuel (February 24, 1940 – December 31, 1971), known professionally as Pete Duel, was an American stage, television, and film actor, best known for his starring role as outlaw Hannibal Heyes (alias Joshua Smith) in the tele ...
, who played Hannibal Heyes, the alias Smith of the title. He was cast as an Italian, Giangiacomo, in the 1965 ''
Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...
'' episode "The Case of the Sad Sicilian". Minardos also appeared in an episode of ''
Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective fiction, detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law. They run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, Califor ...
'' titled "The Loose Connection" (1973). In 1975, Minardos starred in and produced ''
Assault on Agathon ''Assault on Agathon'' is a 1975 drama film directed by László Benedek and starring Nico Minardos, Nina van Pallandt, Marianne Faithfull and John Woodvine. It is based on a novel by Alan Caillou. Premise Cabot Cain is a Western secret agent a ...
'' based on the book by
Alan Caillou Alan Samuel Lyle-Smythe MBE, M.C. (9 November 1914 – 1 October 2006), who wrote under the name Alan Caillou, was an English-born author, actor, screenwriter, soldier, policeman and professional hunter. Biography Alan Lyle-Smythe was born in ...
. It is the story of a revolutionary from World War II, the mysterious Agathon, who is committing terrorist acts in Greece and Albania. Minardos stars as Cabot Cain, a Western agent assigned to stop Agathon and locate a missing Interpol agent. Minardos obtained financing for the film from
Kjell Qvale Kjell Qvale (July 7, 1919 – November 2, 2013Kjell Qvale passes at 94< ...
, a Bay Area-based automotive entrepreneur who was then the majority shareholder in
Jensen Motors Jensen Motors Limited was a England, British manufacturer of sports cars and commercial vehicles in West Bromwich, England. Brothers Alan and Richard Jensen gave the new name, Jensen Motors Limited, to the commercial- and sports car body-making ...
. Minardos had approached Qvale for a product placement deal to use a
Jensen Interceptor The Jensen Interceptor is a grand touring car which was hand-built at the Kelvin Way Factory in West Bromwich, near Birmingham in England, by Jensen Motors between 1966 and 1976. The Interceptor name had been used previously by Jensen for the ...
during filming but ultimately convinced Qvale to finance the entire movie.
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
distributed the film but it was a financial failure. Minardos's last appearance on the screen was in an episode of ''
The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...
'' in 1983.


Personal life

He was born Nicholas Minardos in Greece and emigrated to the United States permanently in 1954; he became a naturalized citizen in 1960. Minardos was married twice, first briefly in the mid-1950s to the former Deborah Jean Smith (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Deborah Ann Montgomery). There were no children from that marriage. Two years after the divorce, Deborah married the legendary actor
Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...
, and after he died, producer Arthur Loew Jr. Minardos remarried in 1965. He and his wife Julie had two children together, a son named George and a daughter named Nina. Minardos reputedly lived with the actress
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
in the 1950s and with the actress/dancer
Juliet Prowse Juliet Anne Prowse (25 September 1936 – 14 September 1996) was a British-American dancer and actress whose four-decade career included stage, television and film. She was born in Bombay (today's Mumbai) then of British India, raised in South ...
.


Notable events

On September 28, 1966, Minardos, who was co-starring with actor
Eric Fleming Eric Fleming (born Edward Heddy Jr.; July 4, 1925 – September 28, 1966) was an American actor known primarily for his role as Gil Favor in the long-running CBS Western television series ''Rawhide''. Early life Fleming was born as Edward Hed ...
in an MGM-TV movie filming on location in Peru to be titled ''Selva Alta'' (''High Jungle''), was involved in a canoeing mishap on the
Huallaga River The Huallaga River is a tributary of the Marañón River, part of the Amazon Basin. Old names for this river include ''Guallaga'' and ''Rio de los Motilones''. The Huallaga is born on the slopes of the Andes in central Peru and joins the Marañó ...
in which Fleming drowned. Minardos, a strong swimmer, was unable to rescue Fleming from the rapids and only barely survived himself. Fleming's body was swept away in the turbulent waters and was only found three days later. In 1986, Minardos was one of the defendants in a case related to the
Iran–Contra affair The Iran–Contra affair (; ), also referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the Iran Initiative, or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that centered on arms trafficking to Iran between 1981 and 1986, facilitat ...
, resulting from Minardos' business association with the Saudi arms merchant
Adnan Khashoggi Adnan Khashoggi (; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his business dealings, extensive geopolitical influence, and opulent lifestyle, which earned him the moniker "''The Jay Gatsby, Great Gatsby ...
. Minardos was caught in an FBI sting operation in New York and was indicted by then-U.S. Attorney
Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...
on charges of conspiracy to illegally ship arms to Iran. He was represented by attorneys
William Kunstler William Moses Kunstler (July 7, 1919 – September 4, 1995) was an American attorney and civil rights activist, known for defending the Chicago Seven. Kunstler was an active member of the National Lawyers Guild, a board member of the American Ci ...
and
Ron Kuby Ronald L. Kuby (born July 31, 1956) is an American criminal defense and civil rights lawyer, radio talk show host, and television commentator. He has hosted radio programs on WABC (AM) in New York City and Air America radio. Kuby has defended ...
in this case. Minardos was interviewed by
Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. Known for his investigative journalism, he interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade car ...
for a segment of the show ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
'' regarding his role in the case. Although the indictment was dismissed, the cost of his legal defense drove him to the point of bankruptcy and ended his Hollywood career. Minardos traded his home in Beverly Hills for a sailing yacht in Florida, which he outfitted and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to his Greek homeland with a crew that included his son George.


Later life

Minardos retired to Fort Lauderdale, Florida during the 1990s and 2000s, but moved to Southern California in 2009 after suffering a stroke. He died in 2011 in Woodland Hills, California at age 81. He was the subject of a 2010 documentary about his life titled '' Finding Nico'', produced and directed by his godson Owen Prell, whose father,
Donald Prell Donald B. Prell (July 7, 1924 – July 28, 2020) was an American World War II veteran, venture capitalist and futurist who created ''Datamation'', the first magazine devoted solely to the computer hardware and software industry. Early life Prell ...
, was a longtime friend of Minardos from their bachelor days in Los Angeles in the 1950s.


Filmography


References


External links

* * *Visit the Memorial Website for Nico Minardos: http://www.nicominardos.name/
obituary in ''Variety''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minardos, Nico 1930 births 2011 deaths American male film actors American male television actors Greek emigrants to the United States Male actors from Athens 20th-century American male actors