Mickey Hargitay | |
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 Hargitay in 1964 | |
| Born | Miklós Károly Hargitay (1926-01-06)January 6, 1926 |
| Died | September 14, 2006(2006-09-14) (aged 80) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Spouses | |
| Children | 4, includingMariska Hargitay[a] |
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Miklós Károly "Mickey"Hargitay[b] (January 6, 1926 – September 14, 2006) was a Hungarian-American actor and bodybuilder.[1]
Born inBudapest, Hargitay emigrated as a young man of 21 to the United States in 1947. Known as "Mickey", he eventually became a naturalized American citizen. He became known as a competitivebodybuilder, helping popularize the sport and winningMr. Universe in 1955. His bodybuilding gave him an entree to acting.[2]
In 1958, Hargitay married actressJayne Mansfield. During their marriage, Hargitay and Mansfield made four movies together:Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957),The Loves of Hercules (1960),Promises! Promises! (1963), andPrimitive Love (1964). The couple were estranged by the time Mansfield gave birth to actressMariska Hargitay in 1964. Mariska believed herself to be Hargitay's daughter before learning at age 25 that her biological father was singerNelson Sardelli.
Miklós Károly Hargitay was born inBudapest,Kingdom of Hungary (present-day,Hungary) on January 6, 1926. His parents were Ferenc Hargitay and Mária Hargitay (née Rothsischer).[3] Hargitay was one of four children of an athletic father.
He and his brothers were all brought up as athletes. During his youth, Hargitay was part of an acrobatic act with his brothers. The act was so popular that the brothers performed throughout Hungary, including the largest opera house in Budapest.
After being introduced tospeed skating by his brother, Hargitay began competing in meets. In 1946, he won the Middle European championship at 500 and 1,500 meters, and placed second in the 5,000 meter race.[2][4] He was also a proficientfootball player.[1][5] He drew on his athleticism as an underground fighter duringWorld War II.[5][6]
In 1947, aged 21, Hargitay emigrated from Hungary to the United States[3] to avoid being drafted into military service by theSoviet Union.[7] TheHungarian People's Republic was then part of theEastern Bloc, with close ties to communist Russia.
Hargitay settled inIndianapolis, where he worked as a plumber and carpenter. He also performed in an acrobatic act with his first wife, Mary Birge.[5] He was inspired to beginbodybuilding after seeing a magazine cover featuringSteve Reeves.[8] Hargitay won theNational Amateur Body-Builders' Association (NABBA)Mr. Universe award in 1955.[6]
Hargitay is credited with influencing the enormous interest in physical fitness prevalent in the US during the 1950s. He appeared as a pin-up model in fitness magazines.[5] AfterMae West saw his photo on a magazine cover, she recruited Hargitay for her muscleman revue.[6]
Hargitay's first film role came whenJayne Mansfield demanded that he be cast in her movie,Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957).[9] The two fell in love and were described as inseparable.20th Century Fox did not want Hargitay to appear inRock Hunter because they disliked Mansfield's view of Hargitay as her "only" lover; Fox preferred theirsex symbols to be single.[citation needed]
In 1960, Hargitay and Mansfield played the lead roles inThe Loves of Hercules.[7] The film was shot in Italy, and has never been released in movie theaters in the United States, though it is available onNetflix under the titleHercules vs. Hydra and under its original title as episode 1108 ofMystery Science Theater 3000 (2017).[citation needed] Over the next four years, Hargitay and Mansfield would appear together inPromises! Promises! (1963) andPrimitive Love (1964). In 1965, Hargitay played the lead role inBloody Pit of Horror without Mansfield.[5]
Hargitay's acting career was not limited to the United States; he also appeared in many Italian productions,[6] and acted in Hungarian directorGyörgy Szomjas' 1988 film,Mr. Universe.[10]
In 2003, Hargitay guest-starred onLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit. He performed as a witness to a violent crime.[7]
Hargitay's first wife was fellow acrobat Mary Birge. Hargitay had a daughter with Birge.[11] Hargitay and Birge later divorced.[7]
Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield met in 1956 while he was performing inThe Mae West Show at the Latin Quarter. When Mansfield noticed Hargitay performing, she allegedly told the waiter, "I'll have a steak and that tall man on the left."[9] The couple married on January 13, 1958 at theWayfarers Chapel inRancho Palos Verdes, California. They had two sons. Jayne also had a daughter namedMariska Hargitay, who stars onLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit.[3] Hargitay remodeled much of his and Mansfield'sBeverly Hills mansion, known as "The Pink Palace",[12] building its famous heart-shaped swimming pool. In November 2002, the house was razed by developers who had purchased it fromEngelbert Humperdinck.[citation needed]
In May 2025, Mariska Hargitay confirmed that singer-comedianNelson Sardelli was her biological father, although she had believed Mickey Hargitay to be her biological father until she was 25.[13][14][15][16] Despite learning that he was not her biological father, Mariska still remained loyal to Mickey.[17]
In May 1963, Hargitay and Mansfield filed for divorce inCiudad Juárez. The divorce was ruled invalid, and the two reconciled in October 1963. After Mariska's birth, Mansfield sued for the Juárez divorce to be declared legal and ultimately won. The divorce was recognized in the United States on August 26, 1964. After Mansfield's death in a car crash on June 29, 1967, Hargitay sued Mansfield's estate for over US$275,000 ($2.59 million in 2024[18]) to support the children. In their divorce decree, Mansfield had agreed to pay child support, as well as to give Hargitay approximately $70,000 ($710,000 in 2024[18]) in cash and property.[citation needed]
Hargitay married Ellen Siano on April 14, 1968. They remained married until his death.[5][3][7]
On September 14, 2006, Hargitay died inLos Angeles, California, aged 80, frommultiple myeloma. In Hargitay's obituary, theLos Angeles Times quoted bodybuilding historian Gene Mozee as stating: "Walter Winchell once said that what [President] Eisenhower did for golf, Mickey Hargitay did for bodybuilding, because he brought it to the forefront... Back in those days, bodybuilding was thought of as a freakish, unusual activity that wasn't popular with the general public... At that time, athletic coaches discouraged lifting weights, thinking you'd become musclebound. And along came Mickey Hargitay, a great all-around athlete".[1]
Hargitay was portrayed byArnold Schwarzenegger in the 1980 television filmThe Jayne Mansfield Story.[6]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? | Bobo Branigansky |
| 1957 | Slaughter on Tenth Avenue | Big John |
| 1960 | The Loves of Hercules | Hercules |
| 1963 | Promises! Promises! | King Banner |
| 1964 | Primitive Love | Hotel Bell Captain |
| 1964 | Revenge of The Gladiators | Fabius |
| 1965 | Stranger in Sacramento | Mike Jordan |
| 1965 | Sheriff Won't Shoot | Allan Day |
| 1965 | Bloody Pit of Horror | Travis Anderson |
| 1966 | Three Bullets for Ringo | Ringo Carson |
| 1966 | Sette donne d'oro contro due 07 | Mark Davis |
| 1967 | Cjamango | Clinton |
| 1970 | Ringo, It's Massacre Time | Mike Wood |
| 1971 | Lady Frankenstein | Captain Harris |
| 1972 | Delirium | Herbert Lyutak |
| 1973 | Black Magic Rites | Jack Nelson |
| 2001 | Szemétdomb | Mickey |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | The Wild Wild West | Monk | Episode: "The Night of the Fugitives" |
| 1972 | Cool Million | Frederick | Episode: "Mask of Marcella" |
| 2003 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Grandfather on escalator | Episode: "Control"; final appearance |
Inspired by a magazine cover of muscleman Steve Reeves
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| National | |
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