Buck Kartalian
Publicity photo of Kartalian
Born	Vahe Kartalian (1922-08-13)August 13, 1922 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	May 24, 2016(2016-05-24) (aged 93) Mission Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1953–2006
Spouse(s)	Mary Evonne Bannister (m. 1952;div. 1957) Margaret Poloshjian ​ ​ (m. 1959; died 2015)​
Children	3

Vahe "Buck"Kartalian (August 13, 1922 – May 24, 2016) was an Americancharacter actor.^[1]

Vahe Kartalian was born on August 13, 1922, inDetroit,Michigan, the son ofArmenian immigrants. He had four sisters and one brother. When Kartalian was two, their family moved toNew York City.^[2] His father, a baker,^[3] died when he was 11.^[2] DuringWorld War II, Kartalian served in theUnited States Navy on adestroyer in thePacific theatre.^[2] After returning home, he worked as a body builder and professional wrestler (called the "Hell's Kitchen Roughneck")^[4] and competed in both regional and national competitions.^[2] Kartalian decided to become an actor after being noticed byBroadway producers.^[5] He never took acting lessons.^[2]

Plays in which Kartalian appeared on Broadway includedOne More River (1960),Golden Fleecing (1959), andRomeo and Juliet (1951).^[6] InRomeo and Juliet, he played Sampson alongsideOlivia de Havilland as Juliet.^[2]

Kartalian appeared in more than 70 films and television shows between 1953 and his retirement in 2006. Kartalian is best known for his role in the filmPlanet of the Apes (1968) as Julius, the brutish gorilla who guarded the captive humans at the Research Complex.^[2] He later played the gorilla Frank in the third film of the series,Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972). Kartalian is also known for his film roles as a sailor inMister Roberts (1955), a prisoner inCool Hand Luke (1967), a shopkeeper inThe Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), and a reverend inThe Rock (1996).^[7]

On television, Kartalian appeared on various shows, includingNaked City,The Untouchables,Get Smart,The Munsters,Batman,Lou Grant,Cagney & Lacey, andFriends.^[1] Kartalian also had a regular role asBruce W. Wolf inMonster Squad (1976).^[8]

He appeared at the 1971Renaissance Pleasure Faire in a public portrayal of "Hercules Magnificus, The Strongest Man in the Known World".^[9]

On January 9, 1952, Kartalian married Mary Evonne Bannister in theCurran Theatre in San Francisco. The ceremony took place on the set of the playMr. Roberts, in which Kartalian was appearing.^[10] They later divorced. Kartalian married Margaret Poloshjian in 1959. They had three children: Aram, Julie, andJason. Jason Kartalian became a film producer and director.^[5]

Kartalian died on May 24, 2016, in a hospital in Mission Hills, California, at age 93.^[1][11]

• Humphreys, Justin (2006). "Buck Kartalian".Names You Never Remember, With Faces You Never Forget: Interviews with the Movies' Character Actors (softcover) (First ed.). Albany, GA: BearManor Media. pp. 172–191.ISBN 978-1-62933-094-5.

• Buck Kartalian atIMDb
• Official website

• 1922 births
• 2016 deaths
• American male film actors
• American male stage actors
• American male television actors
• American people of Armenian descent
• United States Navy personnel of World War II
• Male actors from Detroit
• Professional wrestlers from Detroit
• 20th-century American male actors

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• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from March 2020
• Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses
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