His former wife, Debbie Ann Smith, later married Tyrone Power and became his third wife and widow.
On September 28, 1966, Minardos and Eric Fleming were shooting a scene on the Huallaga River in Peru for a TV movie called "High Jungle". The canoe they were in tipped over and both Fleming and Minardos were thrown into the river. Minardos managed to swim to shore, but Fleming drowned.
UCLA graduate, previously studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. Contract player at 20th Century Fox in the 1950's.