Biography

Gus Trikonis was a very efficient and underrated director of delightfully down-and-dirty '70s drive-in, low-budget, exploitation fare. Born on November 21, 1937, in New York City, Trikonis began his show business career as both an actor and a dancer in Broadway plays and movies. His most popular film role was as Indio in the magnificent musical classic West Side Story (1961). He made his debut as director in 1969 with the biker flick Five the Hard Way (1969), following it with the pleasingly silly soft-core romp The Student Body (1976) and the marvelously lively psycho trash gem The Swinging Barmaids (1975). The first-rate Nashville Girl (1976) and the immensely entertaining Moonshine County Express (1977) were two superior entries in the then-fashionable redneck picture sub-genre. The Evil (1978) was likewise a strong and scary haunted house horror item. The hilariously rowdy blue collar comedy Take This Job and Shove It (1981) was Trikonis' biggest mainstream success, while the extremely fun and funky Dance of the Dwarfs (1983) was a nifty blend of both the jungle action adventure and monster horror movie genres. By the early '80s Trikonis began directing mostly for television. He did a bunch of made-for-TV pictures and directed episodes of such TV shows as Baywatch (1989), Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995), Quantum Leap (1989), Baywatch Nights (1995), Burke's Law (1994), The Commish (1991), Hunter (1984), Wiseguy (1987), The Flash (1990) and The Twilight Zone (1985). Trikonis was married to screen megastar Goldie Hawn. Outside of acting and directing, Trikonis has done several oil paintings.
- IMDb mini biography by: fmetz

[on Goldie Hawn] Before you know it, she said to me, 'Let's get married because I'm becoming a star, and I don't want to say I'm just living with a guy; I want a husband.'

She went off and did all kinds of wild, weird things. She was running around with Warren Beatty, Barbra Streisand and Jack Nicholson, the 1 percent. It was not my world; I was out of step with them. So we grew apart and split, then she called me one day and said, 'I want a divorce.' I ended up asking her for $75,000, and she screamed, 'How dare you ask me for that kind of money!' She was making millions, and I had $175 in my bank account. But after she had her freakout, she realized I wasn't trying to gouge her, and that it was more than fair. The whole thing was painful, because I loved her.

I last saw Goldie in the late 1990s, when we both ended up on the same flight to Germany. She looked good then, and she looks good now. She's probably had a facelift or two, but whatever. We were always friendly and on good terms, and I know she's done some positive work with kids through her Hawn Foundation. Now she's back making movies, and I say good for her!