# Gus Trikonis
**Gus Trikonis** (born Kostas Tritchonis; November 21, 1937, New York City) is an American director, actor, screenwriter, and former dancer whose screen career runs from the chorus of *West Side Story* (1961), in which he played Indio, to a long run as a director of low-budget 1970s feature films and, from the early 1980s, of network television episodes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) • [2](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2148268/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | November 21, 1937, New York City, as Kostas Tritchonis[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) • [2](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2148268/) |
| Best-known acting role | Indio in *West Side Story* (1961)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) |
| Directing debut | *Five the Hard Way* (1969), a biker film[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) |
| Feature films | *The Swinging Barmaids* (1975), *The Student Body* (1976), *Nashville Girl* (1976), *Moonshine County Express* (1977), *The Evil* (1978), *Take This Job and Shove It* (1981)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) |
| Television directing | Episodes of *Baywatch* (22 episodes, 1989–1997), *Hercules: The Legendary Journeys*, *Quantum Leap*, *The Commish*, *Hunter*, *Wiseguy*, *The Flash*, and *The Twilight Zone* (1985)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) |
| Marriages | Goldie Hawn (married 1969, divorced 1976); Barbara Andrews (1978 until her death on April 2, 2012), one child, Nicholas Trikonis[3](https://flashmagazines.co.uk/gus-trikonis-the-dancer-director-and-hollywood-figure-most-people-forgot-too-quickly/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) |
| Final credit | An episode of *18 Wheels of Justice* (2001), after which he retired from the screen and took up oil painting[2](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2148268/) |
## Early life and dancing career
Trikonis was born in New York City on November 21, 1937, under the name Kostas Tritchonis, and attended the [City College of New York](https://www.edgepedia.org/city-college-of-new-york).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) • [2](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2148268/) He began his career as an actor and dancer in Broadway theater, and the 1991 *International Television Almanac* entry records that he started in the chorus of *West Side Story* on Broadway before turning to direction.[2](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2148268/) • [4](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/1991/International-Television-Almanac-1991-Whos-Who.pdf)
His most popular film role came as Indio, a member of the Sharks, in the 1961 screen version of *West Side Story*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) Through the 1960s he worked steadily in supporting and character parts: Restorff in *[The Sand Pebbles](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-sand-pebbles-film)* (1966), Rio in *The St. Valentine's Day Massacre* (1967), Scorpio in *The Hellcats* (1968), and roles in *Pajama Party* (1964) and *The Unsinkable Molly Brown* (1964), along with single-episode appearances on series such as *The Fugitive*, *77 Sunset Strip*, *The Alfred Hitchcock Hour*, *The Virginian*, and *Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) • [5](https://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/gus-trikonis/1873928/filmography/)
## 1970s feature films
Trikonis moved behind the camera in the late 1960s, directing *Five the Hard Way* (1969), a biker film, as his debut.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) Through the 1970s he directed low-budget drive-in fare: *The Swinging Barmaids* (1975), *The Student Body* (1976), *Nashville Girl* (1976), *Moonshine County Express* (1977), the haunted-house horror film *The Evil* (1978), which he also wrote, and *Dance of the Dwarfs* (1983).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) His biggest mainstream success in this period was the blue-collar comedy *Take This Job and Shove It* (1981).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/)
## Television directing
By the early 1980s Trikonis was directing mostly for television, a phase that produced made-for-TV pictures such as *She's Dressed to Kill* (1979), *Elvis and the Beauty Queen*, *Miss All-American Beauty* (1982), *Dempsey* (1983), *Malice in Wonderland* (1985), and *Christmas Snow* (1986), and episodes of a wide range of series.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) • [6](https://repertoire.cinema.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/director/gus-trikonis/) His series credits include *The Twilight Zone* (1985), *Beauty and the Beast*, *[Wiseguy](https://www.edgepedia.org/wiseguy-tv-series)*, *The Flash*, *[Hunter](https://www.edgepedia.org/hunter-1984-american-tv-series)*, *The Commish*, *Quantum Leap*, *New York Undercover*, *seaQuest DSV*, *Thunder in Paradise*, *Robin's Hoods*, *Burke's Law*, *Baywatch Nights*, *The Sentinel*, *Hercules: The Legendary Journeys*, *Viper*, *Pensacola: Wings of Gold*, and *Baywatch*, on which he directed 22 episodes between 1989 and 1997 and also served as a second unit director.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) • [7](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/gus-trikonis/credits/3030242896/) On Metacritic's career tally, *The Flash* is his highest-scoring series credit at 67 and *Baywatch* his lowest at 42.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/person/gus-trikonis/)
His last directed work was an episode of the series *18 Wheels of Justice* in 2001, after which he retired from the screen and devoted himself to oil painting.[2](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2148268/)
## Personal life
Trikonis married [Goldie Hawn](https://www.edgepedia.org/goldie-hawn) in 1969, before her rise to stardom, and the couple divorced in 1976.[3](https://flashmagazines.co.uk/gus-trikonis-the-dancer-director-and-hollywood-figure-most-people-forgot-too-quickly/) In 1978 he married Barbara Andrews; the marriage lasted until her death on April 2, 2012, and the couple had one child, Nicholas Trikonis.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/) He is the older brother of actress Gina Trikonis.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/)
## References
1. [Gus Trikonis, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872809/)
2. [Gus Trikonis biography, elCinema](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2148268/)
3. [Gus Trikonis: The Dancer, Director, and Hollywood Figure, Flash Magazines](https://flashmagazines.co.uk/gus-trikonis-the-dancer-director-and-hollywood-figure-most-people-forgot-too-quickly/)
4. [TRIKONIS, GUS, International Television Almanac 1991](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/1991/International-Television-Almanac-1991-Whos-Who.pdf)
5. [Gus Trikonis Movies, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/gus-trikonis/1873928/filmography/)
6. [Réalisateur : Gus Trikonis, Répertoire des films classés, Québec](https://repertoire.cinema.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/director/gus-trikonis/)
7. [Gus Trikonis credits, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/gus-trikonis/credits/3030242896/)
8. [Gus Trikonis, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/gus-trikonis/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Film and television directors › Directors of the United States and Canada › Television directors › Live-action scripted television directors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license