George Hamilton (actor) (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

George Hamilton (born George Stevens Hamilton on August 12, 1939) is an American film and television actor and occasional film director who lives in Malibu, California.

Name Confusion

George Hamilton (the actor) and George Hamilton IV (the 1960's country singer) are sometimes confused with each other due not only to their names but also their being almost the same age, so much so that Wikipedia (and subsequently various other sources) listed his birth name as "George Stevens Hamilton IV", which is not accurate as he's not the fourth (IV) George Stevens Hamilton (he's the 1st in his family) and obviously an error due to confusion with the singer George Hamilton IV. The two are not related.

Furthermore, his father was George "Spike" Hamilton, a noted big-band musician in the 1st half of the 20th century, and his father is not a "Sr.", as his son's (the actor) middle name is "Stevens", which is the maiden name of the actor's mother, which was Spike's wife. Therefore, George "Spike" Hamilton couldn't possibly be a "Sr." unless his birth middle name just happened to the same as his future wife's maiden name.

Life and career

Hamilton Whtiney hamilton was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Anne Stevens and George W. "Spike" Hamilton. Hamilton began his movie career in 1952. As an actor, he is often compared to (and sometimes confused with) Warren Beatty. He is noted for his perpetual, chestnut-colored suntan and his colorful private life. He is also known for his close personal friendship with Imelda Marcos, erstwhile first lady of the Philippines.

Hamilton was married to actress Alana Stewart from 1970 to 1975. Their son, Ashley Hamilton, was born in 1974. He has a younger son, George Thomas Hamilton, with Kimberly Blackford.

In the mid-1980s he starred in the 6th season of the ABC Aaron Spelling-produced nighttime television serial and Dallas imitator, Dynasty.

Hamilton was a semi-regular panelist on the 1998 revival of Match Game.

In 2003, George hosted The Family, a reality television series on ABC spanning one season in 2003. It starred ten members from a traditional Italian-American family, who were each fighting for a $1,000,000 prize.

In 2006, the debonair actor competed in the second season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars and was voted off in round 6. At age 66 and recovering from knee injuries, Hamilton, unable to match the limber dance moves of his younger competitors, charmed the audience and judges with endearingly silly dances utilizing props including a Zorro mask and sword from his 1981 film Zorro, The Gay Blade.

Hamilton is also recently noted for his appearances in Ritz Cracker and Wheat Thins Toasted Chips commercials and ads with Stacy Keibler, who in Dancing with the Stars, was his off-screen "sweetheart", with the tag line "I know toasted".

Along with a successful movie career, his style of dress is one of the reasons why his career has had stamina and may explain his continued notoriety. At one point he was known for having 100 bespoke suits in his closet. It has been said that his favorite tailor is in Panama. His reputation as 'the real James Bond' was noted as far back as 1981 in the movie The Cannonball Run, when a woman confuses Roger Moore, who played Bond at the time, with Hamilton.

In April of 2006, Hamilton served as Grand Marshall for the 79th Annual Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival in Winchester, Virginia.

In 2006, it was rumored Hamilton will replace Bob Barker on The Price is Right. He did an audition and in March 2007, TMZ reported that Hamilton was a frontrunner to replace Barker. At 67, Hamilton would be the oldest contender for the position, although it would not be an unprecedented move since other game show hosts (such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire host Regis Philbin) have debuted at about the same age. According to Reuters, Hamilton is one of the final 3 contenders to host the show, alongside Mark Steines and Todd Newton. The New York Post reported in July 2007 an unconfirmed report that Hamilton was no longer in consideration and that Steines and Newton were the two remaining contenders. Soon thereafter, Drew Carey was named as Barker's successor.

Filmography

Lone Star (1952)
Crime & Punishment, USA (1959)
Home from the Hill (1960)
All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960)
Where the Boys Are (1960)
Angel Baby (1961)
By Love Possessed (1961)
A Thunder of Drums (1961)
Light in the Piazza (1962)
Two Weeks in Another Town (1962)
The Victors (1963)
Act One (1963)
Looking for Love (1964)
Your Cheatin' Heart (1964)
Viva Maria! (1965)
That Man George (1966)
Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! (1967)
A Time for Killing (1967)
Jack of Diamonds (1967)
The Power (1968)
Togetherness (1970)
Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970) (documentary)
Evil Knievel (1971)
Medusa (1973)
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973)
Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough (1975)
The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977)
Sextette (1978)
From Hell to Victory (1979)
Love At First Bite (1979)
Zorro, The Gay Blade (1981)
The Godfather Part III (1990)
Doc Hollywood (1991)
Once Upon A Crime (1992)
Amore! (1993)
Double Dragon (1994)
Playback (1996)
Meet Wally Sparks (1997)
8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997)
The Little Unicorn (1998)
She's Too Tall (1998)
Bulworth (1998)
Pets (1999)
Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001)
Off Key (2001)
Reflections of Evil (2002)
Hollywood Ending (2002)
The L.A. Riot Spectacular (2005)
Rumor Has It... (2005)

Television Work

A Farewell to Arms (1966) (miniseries)
The Survivors (1969-1970)
Paris 7000 (1970) (canceled after 10 episodes)
The Last of the Powerseekers (1971)
The Dead Don't Die (1975)
Columbo: A Deadly State of Mind (1975)
Roots (1977) (miniseries)
The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver (1977)
Killer on Board (1977)
The Users (1978)
Express to Terror (1979) (pilot for Supertrain)
Institute for Revenge (1979)
Death Car on the Freeway (1979)
The Seekers (1979)
The Great Cash Giveaway Getaway (1980)
Malibu (1983) (miniseries)
Two Fathers' Justice (1985)
Dynasty (cast member from 1985-1986)
Monte Carlo (1986) (miniseries)
Spies (1987) (canceled after 6 episodes)
Poker Alice (1987)
The House on Sycamore Street (1992)
Das Paradies am Ende der Berge (1993)
Two Fathers: Justice for the Innocent (1994)
The Bold and the Beautiful (cast member in 1994)
George & Alana (1995-1996)
Vanished (1995)
The Guilt (1996-1997)
Hart to Hart: Till Death Do Us Hart (1996)
Rough Riders (1997)
Jenny (1997-1998)
Casper Meets Wendy (1998)
P.T. Barnum (1999)
The Family (2003-2004)
Too Cool for Christmas (2004)
Dancing with the Stars (cast member in 2006)
Joey (TV series) (guest appearance 2005)

Trivia

Famously loves cigars and even bought out his own brand.
Has a Spanish grandfather (as stated by himself on Dancing with the Stars)

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.It uses material from the Wikipedia article "George Hamilton (actor)". Reality TV World is not responsible for any errors or omissions this article may contain.