Actor Mickey Hargitay dies at age 80:
Born Miklos Hargitay in 1926, he emigrated from his native Hungary to the United States after World War II. He became interested in bodybuilding in the 1950s and was named Mr. Universe, Mr. America and Mr. Olympia in 1955.“My dad’s a bit of a superhero,” Mariska Hargitay told the National Public Radio show “Fresh Air” last year.
He parlayed his perfect physique into a performing career when Mae West tapped him to be one of the musclemen in her stage show.
It was there that Hargitay met Mansfield, whom he married in 1957. That same year, he made his big-screen debut in “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.” He went on to star opposite his wife in three films: “The Loves of Hercules,” “Promises! Promises!” and “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?”
The couple had three children together, including Mariska, before divorcing in 1964. Mansfield died in a car crash in 1967.