Biography
Mike Mazurki was a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler. Born Markiian Yulianovych Mazurkevych on 25 December 1907 in Kupczyńce near Tarnopol, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Ukraine), he emigrated to the United States, attended LaSalle Institute and graduated from Manhattan College in 1930 before studying law at Fordham University. He worked as a professional wrestler and football player before entering acting.
Mazurki was discovered by Josef von Sternberg and made his screen debut in The Shanghai Gesture (1941). He appeared in dozens of films, often cast as tough guys, thugs and gangsters, with roles including Moose Malloy in Murder, My Sweet (1944), the Strangler in Night and the City (1950), and Spats' Henchman in Some Like It Hot (1959). His television credits include appearances in Batman (1966), Bonanza (1959), I Dream of Jeannie (1965), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) and The Munsters (1964).
He founded and served as the first president of the Cauliflower Alley Club from 1965 until his death on 9 December 1990 in Glendale, California.
