John Donovan Cannon graduated from high school in his hometown of Salmon, Idaho, in 1940. His subsequent studies at the Academy of Dramatic Arts were interrupted as a result of wartime military service from 1942 to 1945. After the war, Cannon returned to New York to complete his training and acting on the stage, both on and off-Broadway, trying his hand at a wide variety of parts, mostly in classical plays. He essayed "Petruchio" in "The Taming of the Shrew" and appeared on Broadway in "Henry IV", "Lysistrata" and "Peer Gynt". Leading roles were few and far between, however.
Award-winning Greek-American actor Michael Constantine (born 22 May 1927) is best known for his portrayal of the Windex bottle-toting family patriarch "Gus Portokalos" in the sleeper hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002). Before his appearance in that movie and the subsequent TV series based on it, he was primarily known for his portrayal of principal "Seymour Kaufman" in the series Room 222 (1969), for which he won a 1970 Emmy Award as Best Supporting Actor (in 1971, he also received a second Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe nomination as Best Supporting Actor for the role).
