Walter Cartier (March 29, 1922 – August 17, 1995) was an American professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

and

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, born and raised in the

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New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was of Irish ancestry, and his grandfather had changed the family surname from McCarthy. Cartier became a professional boxer after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and fought against four world champions, among other top fighters. In early 1949, he was featured in the first of a photo essay about prizefighters for '' Look'' magazine by Stanley Kubrick, then on staff. Two years later, Kubrick used Cartier and his twin brother Vincent in his debut film as a director, the 16-minute '' Day of the Fight'' (1951). This was a catalyst for Cartier's entry into acting in films and television. He is best known today for his role in the long-running United States

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

The Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast – all half-a ...

'', appearing as Private Claude Dillingham.

Professional boxing career

As a professional middleweight boxer, Cartier fought some of the best fighters of his era, including Gene Hairston, Billy Kilgore, Garth Panther, Randy Sandy, Bobby Dykes, Gene Boland, and Billy Kilroy (all of whom he beat), as well as Pierre Langlois (a ten-round draw),

Rocky Castellani Attilio N. "Rocky" Castellani (May 26, 1926 – August 31, 2008) was an American middleweight boxer. He was the top rated contender for the world middleweight crown in 1954 when he fought Bobo Olson and in July 1955 when he lost to Sugar Ray ...

, and world champions

Kid Gavilán Gerardo González (January 6, 1926 – February 13, 2003), better known in the boxing world as Kid Gavilan, was a Cuban boxer. Gavilán was the former undisputed welterweight champion from 1951 to 1954 having simultaneously held the NYSAC, WB ...

Joey Giardello Carmine Orlando Tilelli (July 16, 1930 – September 4, 2008) was an American boxer who was the world middleweight champion from 1963 to 1965,. He adopted the name Joey Giardello (the name of a cousin's friend) in order to join the U.S. Army whi ...

, Carl Olson, and Randy Turpin. The fight with Turpin was controversial. Fought on March 17, 1953 at Kensington's Earl's Court Express in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, it ended with Cartier being disqualified for holding in round two. With the bout over, Cartier went after Turpin and his twin brother Vincent attacked the fight's referee. As a result, Cartier was fined 1,000

British pound Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, an ...

s. Cartier never fought for a world title despite having faced these four former world champions. He finished his professional boxing career with a record of 46 wins, 13 losses, and 2 draws (ties); 24 wins and 9 losses were by knockout.

Acting career

In January 1949, Stanley Kubrick, then working as a staff photographer for '' Look'' magazine, featured Cartier in an eight-page photo essay about boxing, called "Prizefighter". Kubrick was a boxing enthusiast and two years later, he made his debut 16-minute film, '' Day of the Fight'' (1951), featuring Cartier and his twin brother Vincent. After this, Walter Cartier pursued acting in films and television. He was in '' Somebody Up There Likes Me'' (1956). Today, he is best known for his role in the classic United States

'', appearing as the mild-mannered Private Claude Dillingham. A first-season episode, "The Boxer," introduced Cartier and his boxing skills.

Ancestry

Cartier's ancestry was Irish. To evade discrimination, his paternal grandfather had changed the family name from McCarthy, first to Carter, and later to Cartier.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cartier, Walter 1922 births 1995 deaths American male film actors American male television actors Sportspeople from the Bronx American male boxers Male actors from New York City 20th-century American male actors American people of Irish descent Boxers from New York City