Samson Burke (born Samuel Burke; 8 April 1929) is a Canadian bodybuilder, swimmer, wrestler and actor.

Biography

Born Samuel Burke in Montreal Canada, Burke earned a college degree in physical education.www.hollywoodteenmovies.com
/ref> In the 1950s, Burke wrestled for nine years under the names "Sammy Berg" and "Mr Canada", and sparred with athletes including Primo Carnera,

Antonino Rocca Antonino Rocca (born Antonino Biasetton; 13 April 1921 – 15 March 1977) was an Italian Argentine professional wrestler. He tag teamed with partner Miguel Pérez. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the class ...

, Lou Thesz and Joe Lewis. His friend Gordon Mitchell recommended Burke for the lead role of Ursus in the 1961 film '' The Revenge of Ursus''. Burke next appeared opposite Italian comedian Totò in the 1962 comedy ''

Toto vs. Maciste ''Toto vs. Maciste'' ( it, Totò contro Maciste) is a 1962 Italian adventure-comedy film directed by Fernando Cerchio. It is a parody of the Sword and Sandal cinema, which was highly successful at the time in Italy. Plot Totokamen is an entert ...

''. Norman Maurer then hired him to portray the mythical Greek hero Hercules in '' The Three Stooges Meet Hercules'' (1962). As the sword and sandal craze faded, Burke played Little John in an Italian film called ''The Triumph of Robin Hood'', Polyphemus in a 1968 Italian miniseries of '' The Odyssey'', a villain in a Kommissar X film ' (''Death Trip''), Harald Reinl's '' Nibelungenlied'' films, and appeared alongside Gianni Garko and

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...

in both a

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

, '' Sartana the Gravedigger'', and an Italian war film, '' Five for Hell'' (similar in theme to '' The Dirty Dozen''). In the 1980s, Burke relocated to Hawaii and worked on the show '' Magnum, P.I.'' until it ceased production in 1988.

Championships and accomplishments

* Worldwide Wrestling Associates / NWA Hollywood Wrestling :* NWA International Television Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Seymour Koenig * Stampede Wrestling :* NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Calgary version) ( 1 time)

Notes

External links

*http://www.samsonburke.com/ * 1929 births 20th-century professional wrestlers Living people Canadian bodybuilders Canadian male film actors Canadian male professional wrestlers Male actors from Montreal Male Spaghetti Western actors McGill University Faculty of Education alumni People associated with physical culture Stampede Wrestling alumni Professional wrestlers from Montreal NWA Canadian Heavyweight Champions (Calgary version) {{Canada-martialart-bio-stub