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

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, born and raised in the

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. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

, 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 ''Day of the Fight'' is a 1951 American short-subject documentary film financed and directed by Stanley Kubrick, who based this black-and-white motion picture on a photo feature he shot two years earlier for '' Look'' magazine. Synopsis ''Day ...

'' (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 (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 Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on the CBS Television Network from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes wer ...

'', 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 boxer. He fought as a middleweight and was the top rated contender for the world middleweight crown in 1954 when he fought Bobo Olson, a year later Castellani ...

, 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 world welterweight champion from 1951 to 1954 having simultaneously held the NYS ...

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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, 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 (Currency symbol, symbol: Pound sign, £; ISO 4217, currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of account, unit of sterling, and the word ''Pound (cu ...

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,

, 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, ''

'' (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). He was a regular on ''

'', appearing as the mild-mannered Private Claude Dillingham. A first season episode, "The Boxer," introduced Cartier and his boxing skills. He was a regular member of the platoon for the first two seasons.

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 Boxers from the Bronx American male boxers Male actors from the Bronx 20th-century American male actors American people of Irish descent 20th-century American sportsmen