Mickey Hargitay

Miklós Károly "Mickey" Hargitay (January 6, 1926 – September 14, 2006) was a Hungarian-American actor and bodybuilder.

Born in Budapest, Hargitay immigrated to the United States at age 21 in 1947. Known as "Mickey", he eventually became a naturalized American citizen. He became known as a competitive bodybuilder, helping to popularize the sport and winning Mr. Universe in 1955. His bodybuilding gave him an entree to acting. In 1958, Hargitay married actress Jayne Mansfield. Hargitay and Mansfield made four movies together: Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957), The Loves of Hercules (1960), Promises! Promises! (1963), and Primitive Love (1964).

Hargitay and Mansfield had two children. Hargitay also raised Mansfield's daughter, actress Mariska Hargitay, as his own, although she is the biological daughter of Nelson Sardelli.

Early life and early career Miklós Károly Hargitay was born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary (present-day, Hungary) on January 6, 1926. His parents were Ferenc Hargitay and Mária Hargitay (née Rothsischer). Hargitay's father was an acrobat. During his youth, Hargitay was part of an acrobatic act with his brother. He was also a proficient football player, and was a resistance fighter during World War II.

In 1947, aged 21, Hargitay emigrated from Hungary to the United States Hargitay settled in Indianapolis, where he worked as a plumber and carpenter. He also performed in an acrobatic act with his first wife, Mary Birge. Hargitay won the National Amateur Body-Builders' Association (NABBA) Mr. Universe award in 1955.

In 1960, Hargitay and Mansfield played the lead roles in The Loves of Hercules.

In 2003, Hargitay guest-starred on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He played the role of a witness to a violent crime. The couple later divorced. On January 13, 1958, Hargitay and Mansfield married at the Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Hargitay built the famous heart-shaped swimming pool at his and Mansfield's Beverly Hills mansion, known as The Pink Palace.

Hargitay and Mansfield had two sons. she was raised as one of Mickey Hargitay's children Hargitay and Mansfield reconciled in October 1963. A court decree in June 1967 made Hargitay the guardian of the three children including Mariska Hargitay, although they continued to live with Mansfield. Mansfield died in an automobile accident in 1967. Shortly after Mansfield's funeral, Hargitay sued her estate, but lost.

Hargitay married Ellen Siano on April 14, 1968. They remained married until his death in 2006.

Death On September 14, 2006, Hargitay died in Los Angeles, California, aged 80, from multiple myeloma. In Hargitay's obituary, the Los 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.

In popular culture Hargitay was portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1980 television film The Jayne Mansfield Story.

Filmography Film

Television 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