Mike Mazurki


Mike Mazurki was a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in more than 142 films. Although educated as an attorney, his hulking 6 ft 5 in presence, craggy face, and croaking voice had him often typecast as brainless athletes, tough guys, thugs, and gangsters. Memorable roles included Moose Malloy in Murder, My Sweet, Splitface in Dick Tracy, Yusuf in Sinbad the Sailor, and "The Strangler" in Night and the City. He was the founder and first president of the Cauliflower Alley Club.

Early years

Mazurki was born Markiian Yulianovych Mazurkevych in the village of Kupczyńce, near what was then Tarnopol, Galicia, Austria-Hungary.
Mazurki attended high school at the LaSalle Institute in Troy, New York. Upon graduation, he changed his name to "Mike". He played football and basketball at Manhattan College, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1930.
After earning his bachelor's degree, Mazurki graduated from Fordham Law School and became an attorney. 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 professional football and basketball player.

Career

Mazurki had trained as a professional wrestler, but turned to acting after serving as Mae West's bodyguard. Mazurki was discovered by Josef von Sternberg and given a bit part in his film The Shanghai Gesture. 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 lurid film noir based on Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe novel ‘’Farewell My Lovely’’, Murder, My Sweet. He portrayed the psychotic, knife-wielding murderer Splitface in the original Dick Tracy. He played a frightening, knuckle-cracking henchman in the noir Abandoned, bone-crushing wrestler "The Strangler" in Night and the City , and had a role imitating the manner of a George Raft henchman in the Billy Wilder comedy, Some Like It Hot. He continued to wrestle during his acting career. His slurred speech was reportedly due to a wrestling injury to his Adam's apple. Following the death of Victor McLaglen, Mazurki appeared in several films for John Ford.
In addition to his film work, Mazurki made guest appearances on many popular television shows, among them My Friend Flicka, The Untouchables, Bachelor Father, Daniel Boone, Gilligan's Island, The Munsters, I Dream of Jeannie, Bonanza, and Gunsmoke, to name just a few. In 1964, he played Cully Barstow, a yacht hand, in "The Case of the Missing Button", an episode of Perry Mason in which he threatened Mason and Paul Drake with a set of brass knuckles. He also played Arthur Jacks in the episode "The Case of the Deadly Verdict". He was a regular as well on the short-lived sitcom The Chicago Teddy Bears. In 1966–67, he performed as the caveman "Clon" in It's About Time.
In 1972, he landed his only starring role in a film as Trapper in Challenge 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 comedy Mob Boss, which was released just two months before he died. Along with his film and television appearances, Mazurki was seen in the hit Rod Stewart music video "Infatuation", playing the bodyguard protecting a woman from a stalker. 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.

Filmography

  • Belle of the Nineties as New Orleans Audience Admirer
  • Black Fury as Security Force Applicant
  • Each Dawn I Die as fellow prisoner
  • The Last Alarm as Onlooker
  • The Shanghai Gesture as The Coolie
  • Dr. Renault's Secret as Rogell
  • The Moon and Sixpence as Tough Bill
  • That Other Woman as Thug
  • Gentleman Jim as Jake Kilrain
  • It Ain't Hay as Bouncer
  • Prairie Chickens as Henchman Charlie
  • Taxi, Mister as Henchman Joe
  • Mission to Moscow as Russian Machinist Workman
  • Bomber's Moon as Kurt
  • Behind the Rising Sun as Japanese Wrestler
  • Thank Your Lucky Stars as Olaf
  • Swing Fever as Wrestler
  • Henry Aldrich Haunts a House as The Goon
  • Whistling in Brooklyn as Henchman on Ship
  • Lost Angel as Fighter
  • Shine On, Harvest Moon as Bouncer
  • Summer Storm as Tall Policeman Bending Over Petroff
  • The Canterville Ghost as Metropolus
  • The Missing Juror as Cullie — Masseur
  • The Princess and the Pirate as Pirate
  • Murder, My Sweet as Moose Malloy
  • The Horn Blows at Midnight as Bass Player / Humphrey Rafferty
  • The Spanish Main as Erik Swaine
  • Abbott and Costello in Hollywood as Klondike Pete
  • Dick Tracy as 'Splitface'
  • Dakota as "Bigtree' Collins
  • The Thin Man Goes Home as First Man outside barber shop
  • Live Wires as Patsy 'Pat' Clark
  • Mysterious Intruder as Harry Pontos
  • The French Key as Sam Cragg
  • Sinbad the Sailor as Yusuf
  • Killer Dill as Little Joe
  • Unconquered as Bone
  • Nightmare Alley as Bruno
  • I Walk Alone as Dan
  • Relentless as Jake
  • The Noose Hangs High as Chuck
  • Neptune's Daughter as Mac Mozolla
  • Come to the Stable as Sam
  • Rope of Sand as Pierson
  • The Devil's Henchman as Rhino
  • Abandoned as Hoppe
  • Samson and Delilah as Leader of Philistine soldiers
  • Night and the City as The Strangler
  • Dark City as Sidney Winant
  • He's a Cockeyed Wonder as 'Lunk' Boxwell
  • Pier 23 as Ape Danowski
  • Criminal Lawyer as 'Moose' Hendricks
  • Ten Tall Men as Roshko
  • The Light Touch as Charles
  • My Favorite Spy as Monkara
  • The Egyptian as Foreman, House of Death
  • New York Confidential as Arnie Wendler
  • New Orleans Uncensored as Big Mike
  • Blood Alley as Big Han
  • Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier as Bigfoot Mason
  • Davy Crockett and the River Pirates as Bigfoot Mason
  • Kismet as Chief Policeman
  • Comanche as Flat Mouth
  • Around the World in 80 Days as Hong Kong Drunk
  • Man in the Vault as Louie
  • Hell Ship Mutiny as Ross
  • The Man Who Died Twice as Rak
  • The Buccaneer as Tarsus
  • Some Like It Hot as Spats's henchman #1
  • Alias Jesse James as Dirty Dog Tough
  • The Facts of Life as First Husband in Motel Room
  • Swingin' Along as Bookie
  • The Errand Boy as Blonde 'Movie Siren'
  • Pocketful of Miracles as Big Mike
  • Zotz! as Igor
  • Five Weeks in a Balloon as Slave Captain
  • Donovan's Reef as Sgt. Monk Menkowicz
  • It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World as Miner bringing medicine to his wife
  • 4 for Texas as Chad
  • Cheyenne Autumn as Senior First Sergeant Wichowski
  • The Disorderly Orderly as Moving Van Passenger
  • 7 Women as Tunga Khan — Bandit Leader
  • The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin as Mountain Ox
  • Which Way to the Front? as Rocky
  • The Centerfold Girls as The Caretaker
  • Challenge to Be Free as Trapper
  • Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood as Studio Guard
  • Paesano: A Voice in the Night as Bodyguard
  • The Magic of Lassie as Apollo
  • The One Man Jury as Kayo's Handler
  • Gas Pump Girls as Moiv
  • Alligator as Gatekeeper
  • The Man with Bogart's Face as Himself
  • ...All the Marbles as Referee in Chicago
  • Doin' Time as Bruno
  • Amazon Women on the Moon as Dutch
  • Dick Tracy as Old Man at hotel
  • Mob Boss as Don Taglianeti

    Television

  • My Friend Flicka — episode — The Old Champ as Hercules
  • Have Gun – Will Travel — episode — Ella West as Breed
  • Official Detective "The Policeman's Gun" as Banning
  • Have Gun – Will Travel — episode — Love's Young Dream as Power
  • The Texan - episode - Captive Crew as Kale
  • Perry Mason — episode — The Case of the Counterfeit Crank as Cully Baxter
  • Have Gun – Will Travel — episode — Don't Shoot the Piano Player as Jo Jo
  • Perry Mason — episode — The Case of the Missing Button as Cully Barstow
  • Daniel Boone — episode — Lac Duquesne as Akasheta
  • The Munsters — episode — Knock Wood, Here Comes Charlie as Leo 'Knuckles' Kraus
  • Wagon Train — episode — The Duncan McIvor Story as Lance Corp. Otto Moller
  • Laredo — episode — Pride of the Rangers as Pvt. Percy Flower
  • Gilligan's Island — episode — Friendly Physician as Igor/Ginger Grant
  • It's About Time — TV series 1966 — 1967 — 26 episodes
  • Daniel Boone — episode — Gabriel as El Toro
  • F Troop — episode — Our Hero,What's His Name as Geronimo
  • Rango — episode — Diamonds Look Better Around Your Neck Than a Rope as Jake Downey
  • Batman — episode — The Wail of the Siren as Allegro
  • I Dream of Jeannie — episode — Jeannie and the Great Bank Robbery as Girard
  • The Beverly Hillbillies -The Great Tag-Team Match as Wrestler
  • Bonanza — episode — Stage Door Johnnies as Big Man
  • Bonanza — episode — Dead Wrong as Big Jack
  • Land of the Giants - episode - Giants, and All That Jazz as Loach
  • My Three Sons - episode - What Did You Do Today, Grandpa? as Hugo
  • Adam-12 — episode — Bank Robbery as Claude Terry
  • Gunsmoke — episode — Trafton as Whale
  • Mannix — episode — Days Beyond Recall as Kony
  • Kung Fu — episode — Superstition as Hannibal
  • The Rockford Files — episode — A Fast Count as Choo-Choo
  • Charlie's Angels — episode — Mother Angel as Robbins
  • Fantasy Island — episode — Naughty Marietta/The Winning Ticket as Swamp Rat
  • Fantasy Island — episode — Love Island/The Sisters as Ugh