Robert Drivas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Robert Drivas | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Choromokos November 21, 1938 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | June 29, 1986 (aged 47) New York, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, director |
| Years active | 1957-1983 |
Robert Drivas (November 21, 1938 - June 29, 1986) was an American actor and theatre director.
Drivas was born Robert Choromokos in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Hariklia (née Cunningham-Wright) and James Peter Choromokos.[1] Drivas studied at the University of Chicago and the University of Miami. After further training at the Greek Playhouse in Athens, Greece and with the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami Beach, he made his New York City debut in the role of Rameses in 1958 in the play The Firstborn, starring Anthony Quayle as Moses. He continued to perform on stage with One More River (1960), The Wall (1960), The Irregular Verb to Love (1963), and And Things That Go Bump in the Night (1965), which he also directed. In 1963 he won a Theatre World Award for his performance in Mrs. Dally Has a Lover.
Drivas was associated with many well-known theatrical figures of his time. These included playwrights Terrence McNally, whose play The Ritz he directed in 1975, and Edward Albee, who directed Drivas in the 1983 premiere of Albee's harshly received play The Man Who Had Three Arms. Other directing credits include Bad Habits, for which he won an Obie Award, Legend, Cheaters, It Had to Be You, a revival of the musical Little Me, and Peg, a musical biography of songstress Peggy Lee, with lyrics and book by the star herself.
Concurrent with his theater work, Drivas appeared in television, beginning in 1958. He showed great intensity and power in guest-starring roles on 1960s crime shows and dramas such as Route 66, N.Y.P.D., The Defenders, The Fugitive and The F.B.I..
Drivas' first theatrical film appearance was in the role of "Loudmouth Steve" in the classic prison drama Cool Hand Luke (1967). This debut led to more film work, Drivas soon sharing the screen with Rod Steiger and Claire Bloom in the The Illustrated Man (1969). Though Drivas' performance was mezmerizing, the film was a commercial failure and was not the star-making role for Drivas it might otherwise have been. Drivas also excelled as the cool, but idealistic, son of David Janssen in "Where It's At" (1969), but again, the film was dismissed and Drivas' career did not advance.
Though he did not not become a star popular with general audiences, a cult following has grown up around his distinctive persona and unusual performances, and his premature death at age 47 of AIDS-related complications includes him in the company of important artists lost to that epidemic.
