Mike Lane
| Mike Lane | |
|---|---|
 Mike Lane and Angela Stevens in The Harder They Fall (1956) | |
| Born |
Michael Michael Lane January 6, 1933 Washington D.C., United States |
| Died |
June 1, 2015 (aged 82) Palmdale, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, wrestler |
| Years active | 1957–1994 |
| Height | 6'8" (2.03 m) |
| Weight | 275 lb (125 kg) |
Michael "Mike" Michael Lane (January 6, 1933 – June 1, 2015) was an American professional wrestler and actor.
Biography
Lane's formidable size (height 6'8" or 2.03 m, weight 275 lbs or 125 kg) led him to work in the King Bros. Circus boxing tent and wrestling tent where he would take on all comers. He also wrestled professionally under the name "Tarzan Mike" in 1952–1959.[1]
Lane was discovered by Columbia Pictures and made his acting debut in The Harder They Fall.[2]
Lane was given dramatic and boxing lessons to appear as the giant Toro Moreno, an outclassed boxer based on Primo Carnera.[3]
Lane made numerous television appearances including a regular role as Frank N. Stein in Monster Squad.
On November 25, 1958, in the episode "The Hunted" of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series Sugarfoot, starring Will Hutchins in the title role, Lane plays a former soldier, John Allman, who has become mentally unbalanced as a result of the terror of an Apache attack on his United States Army unit. Despite the efforts of a sympathetic Sugarfoot, Allman engages in bank robbery and murder and is tracked down by an impatient posse led by Clay Calhoun (R.G. Armstrong). Francis De Sales appears as Major Sterling in the episode, which is based on a story in True West Magazine.[4]
Selected filmography
- The Harder They Fall (1956) as Toro Moreno
- Frankenstein 1970 (1958) as the Monster
- Who Was That Lady? (1960) as Glinka
- Ulysses Against the Son of Hercules (1962) as Hercules/The Son of Hercules
- A Name for Evil (1973) as Fats
- The No Mercy Man (1973) as Big Jack
- The Master Gunfighter (1975) as Frewen
- Zebra Force (1976) and Code Name: Zebra (1987) as Carmine Longo
- Grotesque (1988) as Frank N. Stein
- Demon Keeper (1994) as Asmodeus
- Maverick 1st season "Stampede" episode (1957–8) as fighter Noah Perkins
References
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mike Lane. |
- ↑ Mike Lane. wrestlingdata.com
- ↑ "'Harder They Fall' Opens; Prizefight Film Stars Bogart and Steiger Schulberg Novel Made Into Stinging Movie". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ↑ LIFE. Time Inc. 16 April 1956. pp. 103–. ISSN 0024-3019.
- ↑ ""The Hunted", Sugarfoot, November 25, 1958". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
External links
- Mike Lane at the Internet Movie Database