Mike Mazurki | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Mazurki as Splitface inDick Tracy (1945) | |
| Born | Markiian Yulianovych Mazurkevych (1907-12-25)December 25, 1907 |
| Died | December 9, 1990(1990-12-09) (aged 82) |
| Alma mater | Manhattan College Fordham University Law School |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1934–1990 |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| 1st President of theCauliflower Alley Club | |
| In office 1965–1990 | |
| Succeeded by | Archie Moore |
Mike Mazurki (December 25, 1907 – December 9, 1990, bornMarkiian Yulianovych Mazurkevych)[a] was a Ukrainian-American actor andprofessional wrestler who appeared in more than 142 films. Although educated as an attorney, his hulking 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) presence, craggy face, and croaking voice had him often typecast as brainless athletes, tough guys, thugs, and gangsters. Memorable roles included Moose Malloy inMurder, My Sweet (1944), Splitface inDick Tracy (1945), Yusuf inSinbad the Sailor (1947), and "The Strangler" inNight and the City (1950). He was the founder and first president of theCauliflower Alley Club.[1]
Mazurki was born Markiian Yulianovych Mazurkevych in the village ofKupczyńce (in present-day Kupchyntsi,Ternopil Raion), near what was thenTarnopol,Galicia, Austria-Hungary (nowTernopil, Ukraine).[2]
Mazurki attended high school at the LaSalle Institute inTroy, New York. Upon graduation, he changed his name to "Mike". He played football[3] and basketball atManhattan College,[4] where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1930.[5]
After earning his bachelor's degree, Mazurki graduated fromFordham Law School and became an attorney.[citation needed] He later said he took up professional wrestling because he could earn around ten times what he could as a lawyer. Mazurki was also a professionalfootball andbasketball player.[6][7]
Mazurki had trained as a professional wrestler, but turned to acting after serving asMae West's bodyguard.[citation needed] Mazurki was discovered byJosef von Sternberg and given a bit part in his filmThe Shanghai Gesture (1941).[7] This led to a long film and television career. Possibly his best-known role was as the slow-witted but dangerously obsessed thug Moose Malloy in the luridfilm noirMurder, My Sweet (1944). He portrayed the psychotic, knife-wielding murderer Splitface in the originalDick Tracy (1945). (Mazurki would play a cameo role, 45 years later, in the1990 Warren Beatty film version of the same name.) He played a frightening, knuckle-cracking henchman in the noirAbandoned (1949), bone-crushing wrestler "The Strangler" inNight and the City (1950) (performing a grueling and highly realistic match against a professional Greco-Roman grappler), and had a role imitating the manner of aGeorge Raft henchman in theBilly Wilder comedy,Some Like It Hot (1959). He continued to wrestle during his acting career. His slurred speech was reportedly due to a wrestling injury to hisAdam's apple.[6] Following the death ofVictor McLaglen, Mazurki appeared in several films forJohn Ford.[citation needed]
In addition to his film work, Mazurki made guest appearances on many popular television shows, among themMy Friend Flicka (as a wrestler facingGene Evans's character "Rob McLaughlin"),The Untouchables,Bachelor Father,Daniel Boone,Gilligan's Island,The Munsters,I Dream of Jeannie,Bonanza, andGunsmoke, to name just a few. In 1964, he played Cully Barstow, a yacht hand, in "The Case of the Missing Button", an episode ofPerry Mason in which he threatened Mason and Paul Drake with a set ofbrass knuckles. He also played Arthur Jacks in the episode "The Case of the Deadly Verdict" (1963). He was a regular as well on the short-livedsitcomThe Chicago Teddy Bears. In 1966–67, he performed as the caveman "Clon" inIt's About Time.[6]
In 1972, he landed his only starring role in a film as Trapper inChallenge to Be Free. As he aged, acting opportunities for Mazurki began to slow in the 1970s and 1980s; nevertheless, he continued working until his death on December 9, 1990. His final film role, that of "Don Taglianeti", is in the low-budget comedyMob Boss, which was released just two months before he died. Along with his film and television appearances, Mazurki was seen in the hitRod Stewart music video "Infatuation" (1984), playing the bodyguard protecting a woman (played byKay Lenz) from a stalker (played by Stewart, whom he punches out). Mazurki later said that he got more fame in the making of this video than in any of the feature films or TV shows in which he'd starred.[8][better source needed]
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