# Mike Mazurki
**Mike Mazurki** (December 25, 1907 – December 9, 1990) was a Ukrainian-born American professional wrestler and character actor who played menacing thugs, gangsters, and dull-witted giants in more than 150 film and television roles over more than 50 years on screen. Standing 6 feet 5 inches, he was best remembered as the ex-convict Moose Malloy in the film noir *Murder, My Sweet* (1944), and in wrestling circles as "Iron" Mike Mazurki, co-founder of the Cauliflower Alley Club.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | December 25, 1907, Tarnopol, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Ternopil, Ukraine); December 9, 1990, Glendale, California, of heart failure[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/bio/) |
| Screen persona | Strongarm men, gangsters, and bullies for over 50 years; 175 acting credits listed by IMDb[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/) |
| Signature role | Moose Malloy, the soft-hearted ex-con who hires Philip Marlowe in *Murder, My Sweet* (1944)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/) |
| Wrestling career | Professional heavyweight wrestler from the early 1930s; 6'5" frame, cauliflower ears, and a battered face that became his screen trademark[3](https://slamwrestling.net/legend/mike-mazurki/) |
| Education | Bachelor of Arts from Manhattan College, 1930, near the top of his class; also studied law at Fordham University[3](https://slamwrestling.net/legend/mike-mazurki/) |
| Wrestling legacy | Co-founded and served as first president of the Cauliflower Alley Club (1965); the club's top honor is the Iron Mike Mazurki Award[4](https://ukrainiansportsmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2018-BOOK-IN-WORD.pdf) |
## Early life and education
Mazurki was born Mikhail Mazuruski (also given as Mazurkiewicz) in Tarnopol, Galicia, then part of [Austria-Hungary](https://www.edgepedia.org/austria-hungary) and now Ternopil, Ukraine[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/bio/). He came to the United States as a boy, and his family settled in Cohoes, New York[3](https://slamwrestling.net/legend/mike-mazurki/). He attended LaSalle Institute in Troy before entering Manhattan College, from which he graduated with a [Bachelor of Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/bachelor-of-arts) in 1930[4](https://ukrainiansportsmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2018-BOOK-IN-WORD.pdf). The contrast with his screen image was a recurring theme of his career: typecast as lowbrow muscle, he was in private life well read, multilingual, and a witty conversationalist[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/).
## Wrestling career
A talented football player at college and semi-pro level in New Jersey, Mazurki turned to professional wrestling in the early 1930s, when wrestling was still considered sport rather than staged drama[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-11-mn-6354-story.html). He explained the economics plainly: "That was during the Depression and I could make 10 times a lawyer's salary wrestling," adding that he did "the hard stuff" and spent "a couple of months a year in hospitals"[3](https://slamwrestling.net/legend/mike-mazurki/). He claimed to have broken nearly every bone in his body, and his mashed face and cauliflower ears became part of his later screen value[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-11-mn-6354-story.html).
As a wrestler, the 6-foot-5 Mazurki was a solid mid-carder who worked with leading names of the era including Strangler Lewis, Lou Thesz, Jim Londos, and Man Mountain Dean[3](https://slamwrestling.net/legend/mike-mazurki/). From the 1950s he pursued a second career refereeing championship wrestling matches in the United States, Europe, and the [Far East](https://www.edgepedia.org/far-east)[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mike-mazurki/), and he served as wrestling technical adviser on the British noir *[Night and the City](https://www.edgepedia.org/night-and-the-city)* (1950), in which he also acted[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/).
## Film career
Mazurki's entry into films came through two routes his obituary records as alternative versions: [Mae West](https://www.edgepedia.org/mae-west), whose father was a fighter, acted as his benefactor and found studio jobs for wrestlers in pre-war Los Angeles, while another account has him discovered during a match at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles when a director thought "Iron Mike" would be a perfect Mongol type[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-11-mn-6354-story.html). He appeared in *Black Fury* (1935), but the film he credited with starting his acting career was [Josef von Sternberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/josef-von-sternberg)'s *The Shanghai Gesture* (1941), in which he was cast as The Coolie after the studio decided he resembled [Victor Mature](https://www.edgepedia.org/victor-mature) and had his head shaved[3](https://slamwrestling.net/legend/mike-mazurki/) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/list/ls024207384/). After uncredited roles in films such as *Gentleman Jim* (1942) and *About Face* (1942), he became busy in the 1940s, appearing in nearly 50 movies during the decade[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/).
**Moose Malloy.** His defining role came in *Murder, My Sweet* (1944), Edward Dmytryk's adaptation of [Raymond Chandler](https://www.edgepedia.org/raymond-chandler)'s novel *Farewell, My Lovely*, in which he played Moose Malloy, an ex-convict who hires detective [Philip Marlowe](https://www.edgepedia.org/philip-marlowe) ([Dick Powell](https://www.edgepedia.org/dick-powell)) to find his old girlfriend Velma[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-11-mn-6354-story.html). The Los Angeles Times called it the performance for which he would probably be longest remembered[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-11-mn-6354-story.html). Further noir roles followed, including the gruesome "Splitface" in *Dick Tracy* (1945), Bruno in *Nightmare Alley* (1947), and parts in *I Walk Alone* (1948), *Rope of Sand* (1949), *Dark City* (1950), and *Night and the City* (1950)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/list/ls024207384/).
**Comedy and later work.** Mazurki also showed a capacity for deadpan comedy in films including *Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood* (1945), *It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World* (1963), *Donovan's Reef* (1963), and *The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin* (1967)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/). Other notable credits include *Some Like It Hot* (1959), as one of Spats' henchmen, and *Cheyenne Autumn* (1964)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/). On television he guested widely, with roles in series such as *Gunsmoke*, *Perry Mason*, *The Untouchables*, *Batman*, *F Troop*, *I Dream of Jeannie*, *Kung Fu*, and *Fantasy Island*[8](https://www.metacritic.com/person/mike-mazurki/). Although he was almost always a supporting player, he took one lead role late in his career, as Trapper in the children-oriented nature adventure *Challenge to Be Free* (1976)[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-11-mn-6354-story.html) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/bio/).
Demand for his kind of heavy slowed in the late 1970s and most of the 1980s as younger villains came to the fore, but he kept working in support roles[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/). In 1984, [Rod Stewart](https://www.edgepedia.org/rod-stewart)'s music video "Infatuation" cast him as the man who throws a punch at Stewart, and in a later television interview he remarked that the video brought him more recognition than any film or TV part he had performed in[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/). His final credits included *Amazon Women on the Moon* (1987) and *Dick Tracy* (1990), in which he played the old man at the hotel[9](https://d23.com/a-to-z/mazurki-mike/).
## Cauliflower Alley Club
Mazurki's contribution to wrestling extended beyond performing. In 1965 he co-founded the Cauliflower Alley Club, a non-profit fraternal organization of ex-wrestlers, actors, boxers, and others, and served as its first president; the organization awards scholarships and financial assistance to retired or injured wrestlers and their families[4](https://ukrainiansportsmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2018-BOOK-IN-WORD.pdf) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/bio/). A photograph of his cauliflower ear forms the club's logo, and its top honor, the Iron Mike Mazurki Award, is handed out each year at the CAC banquet[3](https://slamwrestling.net/legend/mike-mazurki/). The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum honored him after his death with its NY State Award in 2005, recognizing his role in establishing the club.[4](https://ukrainiansportsmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2018-BOOK-IN-WORD.pdf)
## Death
Mazurki died on December 9, 1990, at Glendale Adventist Medical Center in [Glendale, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/glendale-california), of heart failure after several ailments[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-11-mn-6354-story.html). His age was listed variously as 80 or 82[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-11-mn-6354-story.html). He was survived by his wife, Sylvia, whom he had married in 1968, and two daughters from a previous marriage[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-11-mn-6354-story.html).
## References
1. [Mike Mazurki – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/bio/)
2. [Mike Mazurki, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563417/)
3. [Mike Mazurki, Slam Wrestling (Greg Oliver, 2006)](https://slamwrestling.net/legend/mike-mazurki/)
4. [Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame program (2018)](https://ukrainiansportsmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2018-BOOK-IN-WORD.pdf)
5. [Mike Mazurki Dies; Acted as the Heavy in Films, Los Angeles Times, December 11, 1990](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-11-mn-6354-story.html)
6. [Mike Mazurki, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mike-mazurki/)
7. [The Films of Mike Mazurki, IMDb list by Robert Stom](https://www.imdb.com/list/ls024207384/)
8. [Mike Mazurki, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/mike-mazurki/)
9. [Mazurki, Mike, D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/mazurki-mike/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Character actors, B-movie and genre-circuit performers › American performers, early era*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license