Friends And Fans Join To Honor George Best Costacos 3/16

Friends, colleagues, and fans will gather to honor the memory of the late actor and singer George Best Costacos on Monday, March 16, 2009 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Actors' Equity Audition Center, 165 West 46th Street, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10036. Steve Ross, Seth Weinstein and Lynn Manuel are among those who will commemorate the work of this gifted artist by performing some of George's best-known and beloved songs. The event is open to the public.

Beside his great talent as a performer, George was a proud and very active member of Actors' Equity. There is no more suitable place to remember George, who stood tirelessly on the front line during the union's struggles on behalf of actors' rights.

George made news as the only Actors' Equity member invited from the US to perform in the Athens 2004 Olympics Opening Ceremony, with the blessings of then-President Patrick Quinn. George's image was issued on the official commemorative materials and he was commended in The Congressional Record in Washington DC.

George's love of life, dedication to his work, and humanitarian spirit were memorable to all who met him. To honor his memory and in recognition of his talent and life's work, a series of benefit concerts is planned with renowned artists from the US and Europe. Proceeds will support the Actors' Equity Foundation as well as brain cancer research.
In his native country, the mayor of Aegina will name a street after him. In addition, the island will host an annual George Best Costacos Memorial Marathon with runners from Europe and US. Next summer, he will receive a posthumous award from the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Karolos Papoulias.

With his passionate sense of drama and boundless energy, George Costacos was dubbed "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."

Highlights of his career include a sold-out appearance at The Metropolitan Room and performances with Steve Ross at the Metropolitan Museum of Art the 45th Street Theater, The National Arts Club, and Lincoln Center's Bruno Walter Auditorium (also with Julie Wilson). George's acclaimed musical Greek Gifts, directed by Seth Weinstein, was performed in a concert version sponsored by the New York Foundation. A second version with choir was performed at the Dicapo Theatre under the musical direction of Broadway maestro and Queens Symphony Orchestra Musical Director Constantine Kitsopoulos, who directed George in numerous concerts in the metropolitan area.

George Costacos died suddenly at the age of 44 in Hanover, Germany of complications from a brain tumor. The handsome singer/actor was laid to rest on November 23rd , 2009 on his native island of Aegina, near Athens, with an emotional community outpouring and a funeral attended by his many friends, relatives and neighbors as well as numerous international dignitaries including the Mayor Athens, the German Consul and local officials. His splendid voice was broadcast in the cathedral and streets of Aegina as his funeral procession marched towards his final internment, near his grandparents. "Broadway George" leaves behind many friends and relatives in the US and Greece.