Lou Antonio


Louis Antonio is an American actor and TV director best known for performing in the films Cool Hand Luke and America America. He also starred in two short-lived TV series, Dog and Cat, and Makin' It.

Early life and education

Antonio was born Louis Demetrios Antoniou in Oklahoma City of English, French, and German descent on his mother's side and Greek on his father's side. During his teens, he worked as a sports reporter on the Daily Oklahoman. Antonio attended the University of Oklahoma on a journalism scholarship and earned a degree in French. He also took college courses in acting and appeared on stage. He later moved to New York City and studied acting Lee Strasberg, Curt Conway, and Lonny Chapman.

Career

In January 1962, Antonio was a guest artist at Elmwood Playhouse in Nyack, New York, where he directed Enid Bagnold's The Chalk Garden. In the mid-1960s, Antonio began his career as a television actor, sometimes starring in multiple episodes of the same series, as different characters. These series included The Rookies, The Naked City, Mission: Impossible, Night Gallery, Gunsmoke, The Fugitive, Twelve O'Clock High, The Monkees, The F.B.I., The Defenders, The Mod Squad, Dan August, Cannon, Hawaii Five-O, Bracken's World, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, and I Dream of Jeannie. Antonio memorably guest-starred as the human version of a chimpanzee-turned-human on a popular fifth-season episode of Bewitched titled "Going Ape" and played Barney in The Snoop Sisters.
On Star Trek, he co-starred with Frank Gorshin in “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”, which eventually became one of the most popular of the series. In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter rated “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” the 11th best television episode of all Star Trek franchise television shows prior to Star Trek: Discovery including live-action and animated series but not counting the movies. Also in 2016, SyFy ranked Antonio and Gorshin as the 10th best guest stars on Star Trek: The Original Series.
As a director, Antonio mostly worked in television, notably including: The Flying Nun, The Young Rebels, Banacek, The Partridge Family, The Rockford Files, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, Picket Fences, American Gothic, Party of Five, Dawson's Creek, Chicago Hope, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and The West Wing. His last work was on Boston Legal in 2007.

Personal life

Antonio was married to fellow Actors Studio member, Lane Bradbury and they had two daughters. The couple divorced in 1980. Their daughter Elkin Antoniou is a writer, director and award-winning documentarian.
Antonio's elder brother, James Antonio, and sister-in-law, Hilda Brawner, are also actors.

Filmography

As director