John Colicos
Born	(1928-12-10)December 10, 1928 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died	March 6, 2000(2000-03-06) (aged 71) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1950–1999
Spouse	Mona McHenry ​ ​ (m. 1956; div. 1981)​
Children	2

John Colicos (December 10, 1928 – March 6, 2000) was a Canadian actor.^[1] He performed on stage and on television in the United States and Canada.

Colicos was born inToronto, Ontario, to aGreek father and aCanadian mother.^[2]

Colicos began his acting career with the Canadian Art Theatre,^[3] before the Montreal Repertory Theatre, later winning aDominion Drama Festival award.^[4]

Colicos was named best actor at the 1951 Dominion Drama Festival.^[4][5] Colicos worked briefly at the Old Vic company in England.^[4]

Colicos worked at CBC Radio, with Andrew Allen, and later appeared in CBC dramas.^[4]

In 1957 he appeared inMary Stuart at thePhoenix Theatre in New York City and in 1963 he appeared inTroilus and Cressida at theStratford Festival inStratford, Ontario, Canada.^[4] His other New York theatre credits areKing Lear (1956),The Devils (1965–1966),Serjeant Musgrave's Dance (1966), andSoldiers (1968).^[6][7] Colicos' skill in acting resulted in his being chosen to play the title role in a memorable and first-ever production ofKing Lear (1964) at the Stratford Festival.^[8]

He appeared asMonks in a television version ofOliver Twist for theDuPont Show of the Month series in 1959. He also gave memorable performances in 1966 on theCBS soap operaThe Secret Storm; as the unscrupulousThomas Cromwell in the 1969 movie version ofAnne of the Thousand Days; and as the governor of Umakran in the episode "The Goddess Calabra" from the 1973 TV showThe Starlost.

OnAmerican television, he established himself as ascience-fiction villain icon, portraying the firstKlingon ever seen in theStar Trek franchise,CommanderKor in theOriginal Series episode "Errand of Mercy" (1967).^[9] Colicos worked with Gene Roddenberry designing the look the Klingons have onStar Trek (1966). Budget constraints prevented the extensive makeup the Klingons were supposed to have so Colicos suggested they have a leathery Genghis Khan look, dark skin and hair.^[10] He also portrayedLord Baltar in the originalBattlestar Galactica movie andtelevision series. Over a quarter-century after his initial appearance in theStar Trek franchise, Colicos reprised his role as the 140-year-old Kor in three episodes ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, telecast between 1994 and 1998.^[11]

Aside from his science-fiction roles, Colicos also appeared numerous times in episodic television from the 1960s onwards, including the portrayal of the villain on three episodes ofMission: Impossible. He appeared in four episodes of theCBC docu-dramaThe National Dream as the "railway general"William Cornelius Van Horne^[12] and appeared in seven episodes ofMannix. The last person shot and killed in the television seriesGunsmoke (1955–1975) was Judge Flood, played by Colicos in episode 631, "Hard Labor".

Several years after hisBattlestar Galactica tenure, Colicos again ventured into science fiction. In August and September 1981, he portrayedMikkos Cassadine, a demented, power-mad businessman bent on freezing the world, on theABC soap operaGeneral Hospital. He was also the voice of theX-Men villainApocalypse/En Sabah Nur (1993–1995) in theFox Kids animatedX-Men television series in the nineties, and twice played rogue alien Quinn in the first season (1988–1989) ofWar of the Worlds.

In 1982 he ventured into educational TV withTVOntario's award-winning production ofProphecy with John Colicos. The writer/director, Dr. Robert Gardner, recalled his initial meeting with the actor: "I had seen him scores of times in movies and television and I was very nervous. In truth, though, he was a joy to work with. Once he sensed that you were prepared he was thoroughly professional. His presence in the ninety-minute production was the main reason it went on to win the prestigious Gold Medal at the Atlanta International Film Festival."

He appeared in TV commercials during the 1990s forAmerica's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses. Colicos' final acting appearance was his reprise of Count Baltar in the concept demonstrationtrailerBattlestar Galactica: The Second Coming, exhibited at manyscience fiction conventions in 1999.^[13]

Colicos wed Mona McHenry in 1956 and divorced in 1981. They had two sons, Nicolas (also an actor) and Edmund.^[13] Colicos died in Toronto on March 6, 2000, at the age of 71, after a series of heart attacks.^[14]

• John Colicos at theInternet Broadway Database
• John Colicos at theInternet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
• John Colicos at theAmerican Film Institute Catalog
• John Colicos at theTCM Movie Database
• John Colicos atRotten Tomatoes
• John Colicos atApple TV+
• John Colicos atVirtual History
• John Colicos atMemory Alpha
• John Colicos atIMDb

• 1928 births
• 2000 deaths
• 20th-century Canadian male actors
• Canadian male film actors
• Canadian male television actors
• Canadian male voice actors
• Canadian people of Greek descent
• Members of the Order of Ontario
• Male actors from Toronto

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