Johnny Indrisano (November 1, 1905 — July 6, 1968) was an American

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

boxer whose career spanned the period from 1923 to 1934. He later became a film

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

and a film and TV actor.

Career

Indrisano was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He defeated two world welterweight champions; Lou Brouillard (in two out of three bouts) and Jackie Fields. However, Indrisano never received a match for the world welterweight title. Indrisano retired with a record of thirty seven wins (two wins by knockout) and nine defeats. After his retirement from boxing, Indrisano had a career as a

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

stunt man A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

, and actor in films such as ''

Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien (actor), Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee an ...

'' and ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...

''. He appeared in

The Bowery Boys The Bowery Boys are fictional New York City characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, who were the subject of 48 feature films released by Monogram Pictures and its successor Allied Artists Pictures Corporation from 1946 through 1 ...

films ('' Live Wires'', '' Mr. Hex'', and '' Trouble Makers''), a number of

Joe Palooka ''Joe Palooka'' is an American comic strip about a heavyweight boxing champion, created by cartoonist Ham Fisher. The strip debuted on April 19, 1930 and was carried at its peak by 900 newspapers. It was cancelled in 1984. The strip was adapt ...

movies, and three

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

films ('' Jailhouse Rock'', ''

King Creole ''King Creole'' is a 1958 American Musical film, musical drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the 1952 novel ''A Stone for Danny Fisher'' by Harold Robbins. Produced by Hal B. Wallis, the film stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, W ...

'', and ''

It Happened at the World's Fair ''It Happened at the World's Fair'' is a 1963 American musical film, musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley as a Aerial application, crop-dusting pilot. It was filmed in Seattle, Washington, site of the Century 21 Exposition. The governor of ...

''). He also worked from as early as 1937 through 1942 as a bodyguard for Mae West. On television, he appeared in a 1964 episode of the

situation comedy A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

The New Phil Silvers Show ''The New Phil Silvers Show'' is an American sitcom television series starring Phil Silvers which centers around a factory foreman who is always involved in get-rich-quick schemes. Original episodes aired from September 28, 1963, until April 25, 1 ...

''. He died in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, aged 62.

Personal life

Indirisano married Mary Vardaro in the early 1930s, with whom he had a daughter, Kathleen. They were divorced in the 1940s. He committed suicide by hanging in his home in the

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (, , ) is an extensive massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, between the regional units of Larissa (regional unit), Larissa and Pieria (regional ...

section of

on July 6, 1968, his daughter's birthday, after a long bout of depression.

Partial filmography

*''

Go West, Young Man "Go West, young man" is a phrase, the origin of which is often credited to the American author and newspaper editor Horace Greeley, concerning America's expansion westward as related to the concept of Manifest destiny. No one has yet proven who ...

'' (1936) as Chauffeur *'' What a Woman!'' (1943) as Gymnast (uncredited) *'' Live Wires'' (1946) as Second Bouncer *'' Mr. Hex'' (1946) as Referee Joe McGowan *'' It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946) - Man in Fantasy (uncredited) *'' Trouble Makers'' (1948) as Lefty *'' The Lady Gambles'' (1949) as Bert *'' The Set-Up'' (1949) as Corner Man (uncredited) (fight sequence choreography) *''

The Yellow Cab Man ''The Yellow Cab Man'' is a 1950 American comedy film directed by Jack Donohue and starring Red Skelton, Gloria DeHaven and Edward Arnold. A brief sequence of distorted visual effects in the film is the work of the photographer Weegee, who a ...

'' (1950) as Danny *''

Callaway Went Thataway ''Callaway Went Thataway'' is a 1951 American comedy western film starring Fred MacMurray, Dorothy McGuire, and Howard Keel. It was written, directed, and produced by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama. Also known as ''The Star Said No'', it is ...

'' (1951) as Johnny Terrento *''

'' (1955) as Liverlips Louie (uncredited) *'' Jailhouse Rock'' (1957) as Convict (uncredited) *''

'' (1958) as Collector (uncredited) *''

'' (1959) as Waiter (uncredited) *''

Pillow Talk ''Pillow Talk'' is a 1959 American romantic comedy film in CinemaScope directed by Michael Gordon and starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. The supporting cast features Tony Randall, Thelma Ritter, Nick Adams, Allen Jenkins, Marcel Dalio and ...

'' (1959) as Truck Driver *''

Ocean's Eleven ''Ocean's Eleven'' is a 2001 heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Ted Griffin. A remake of the 1960 film of the same name, it serves as the first installment in the ''Ocean's'' franchise. The film features an ense ...

'' (1960) as Texan (uncredited) *''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'' (1961) (Season 6 Episode 20: "The Throwback") as Joseph the Manservant *'' Birdman of Alcatraz'' (1962) as Inmate (uncredited) *'' The Manchurian Candidate'' (1962) as Reporter (uncredited) *'' Who's Got the Action?'' (1962) as Hood *''

'' (1963) as Poker Player (uncredited) *'' Hud'' (1963) as Waiter (uncredited) *''

'' (1964) (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 14: "Stop the Factory, I Wanna Get Off") as Ralph *''

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 a ...

'' (1965) (Season 3 Episode 19: "Wally the Beard") as Bartender

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Indrisano, Johnny Welterweight boxers 1906 births 1968 suicides Boxers from Boston American male film actors Male actors from Boston Suicides by hanging in California 20th-century American male actors American male boxers 1968 deaths