Ed Fury (born Rupert Edmund Holovchik; June 6, 1928) is an American bodybuilder, actor, and model. He is best known for starring in a number of "

sword-and-sandal Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum (pepla plural), is a subgenre of largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or Biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budget ...

" films in the 1950s and 1960s.

Biography

Born in

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18t ...

, Fury moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

in the late 1940s and competed in numerous bodybuilding competitions, such as "Mr. Muscle Beach" in 1951 and 1953, coming in third and second respectively. In addition, he worked as a physique model for photographers

Bob Mizer Robert Henry Mizer (March 27, 1922 – May 12, 1992) was an American photographer and filmmaker, known for pushing boundaries of depicting male homoerotic content with his work in the mid 20th century. Biography Bob Mizer's earliest photograph ...

and Bruce Bellas, and also made a couple of loops for Mizer's male erotica studio Athletic Model Guild (AMG). Fury began his acting career as a stage actor. After appearing in a handful of uncredited parts in films, he received his first bigger role in '' The Wild Women of Wongo'' (1958). In the 1960s, Fury travelled to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and took advantage of the popularity of "sword-and-sandal" films. Led by

Steve Reeves Stephen Lester "Steve" Reeves (January 21, 1926 – May 1, 2000) was an American professional bodybuilder, actor, and philanthropist. He was famous in the mid-1950s as a movie star in Italian-made sword-and-sandal films, playing the protagonis ...

, who starred in ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted th ...

'' (1958), the popularity of those films allowed Fury to star in films such as '' Colossus and the Amazon Queen'' (1960), '' The Seven Revenges'' (1961), and '' Maciste Against the Sheik'' (1962). He also starred as Ursus in the film trilogy '' Ursus'' (1961), ''

Ursus in the Valley of the Lions ''Ursus in the Valley of the Lions'' ( it, Ursus nella valle dei leoni, also known as '' Valley of the Lions'') is a 1962 Italian sword-and-sandal film directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia. Although it was the fourth film in the Italian "Ursus" ser ...

'' (1961), and '' Ursus in the Land of Fire'' (1963), before the popularity of "sword-and-sandal" films waned. Fury returned to acting in the early 1970s and appeared mostly in small parts in television series.

Selected filmography

* '' Raw Edge'' (1956) * '' The Wild Women of Wongo'' (1958) * '' Colossus and the Amazon Queen'' (1960) * '' Ursus'' (1961) * '' The Seven Revenges'' (1961) * ''

'' (1961) * '' Maciste against the Sheik'' (1962) * '' Ursus in the Land of Fire'' (1963)

References

Sources

External links

* Living people 1928 births 20th-century American male actors American bodybuilders American male adult models Male actors from California People associated with physical culture People from Long Island {{US-entertainer-stub