Mike Lane
Michael V. Lane (January 6, 1933 – June 1, 2015) was an American actor and professional wrestler.[1]
| Mike Lane | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Lane in The Harder They Fall (1956) | |
| Birth name | Michael V. Lane |
| Born | January 6, 1933 Washington D.C., U.S. |
| Died | June 1, 2015 (aged 82) Palmdale, California, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Tarzan Mike |
| Billed height | 6 ft 8 in (203 cm) |
| Billed weight | 275 lb (125 kg) |
| Debut | 1952 |
| Retired | 1959 |
Biography
Lane's size (height 6'8" or 2.03 m, weight 275 lbs or 125 kg) led him to work in the King Bros. Circus boxing tent and wrestling tent. He also wrestled professionally under the name "Tarzan Mike" in 1952–1959.[2] While filming The Harder They Fall,[3] Lane was given dramatic and boxing lessons to appear as the giant Toro Moreno, an outclassed boxer based on Primo Carnera.[4]
Lane made numerous television appearances including a role as a country bumpkin who gets talked into boxing by Bret Maverick (James Garner) and Dandy Jim Buckley (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) in an epic 1957 episode of Maverick entitled "Stampede." Lane also had a regular role as Frank N. Stein in Monster Squad (1976). On November 25, 1958, in the episode "The Hunted" of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series Sugarfoot, starring Will Hutchins in the title role, Lane plays a former soldier, John Allman, who has become mentally unbalanced as a result of the terror of an Apache attack on his United States Army unit. Despite the efforts of a sympathetic Sugarfoot, Allman engages in bank robbery and murder and is tracked down by an impatient posse led by Clay Calhoun (R.G. Armstrong). Francis De Sales appears as Major Sterling in the episode, which is based on a story in True West Magazine.[5]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | The Harder They Fall | Toro Moreno | |
| 1957 | Hell Canyon Outlaws | Henchman Nels | |
| 1958 | Frankenstein 1970 | Hans Himmler / The Monster | |
| 1960 | Who Was That Lady? | Glinka | |
| 1961 | Valley of the Dragons | Anoka | |
| 1962 | Ulysses Against the Son of Hercules | Hercules | |
| 1967 | The Way West | Sioux Chief | |
| 1968 | Stay Away, Joe | Frank Hawk | |
| 1972 | The New Centurions | Lumberjack | |
| 1973 | The No Mercy Man | Big Jack | |
| 1973 | A Name for Evil | Fats | |
| 1975 | Gone with the West | Shark | |
| 1975 | The Master Gunfighter | Frewen | |
| 1976 | Zebra Force | Carmine Longo | |
| 1983 | Stryker | Kardis | |
| 1987 | Code Name: Zebra | Carmine Longo | |
| 1988 | Grotesque | Frank N. Stien | Also producer |
| 1991 | Curse of the Crystal Eye | Hashim | |
| 1994 | Demon Keeper | Asmodeus (The Demon) |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers | Episode: "Test of a Titan" | |
| 1957 | Cheyenne | Chuck Welch | Episode: "Decision at Gunsight" |
| 1957–1958 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Patient | 2 episodes |
| 1957–1959 | Maverick | Horace Cusack / Noah Perkins | 2 episodes |
| 1958 | Death Valley Days | Big Bat Pourier | Episode: "The Greatest Scout of All" |
| 1958 | The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok | Chief Red Cloud | Episode: "The Daughter of Casey O'Grady" |
| 1958 | Decision | Episode: "Night of the Stranger" | |
| 1958 | Sugarfoot | John Allman | Episode: "The Hunted" |
| 1959 | Steve Canyon | Bartender | Episode: "The Sergeant" |
| 1959 | The Rough Riders | Carl | Episode: "The Last Rebel" |
| 1959 | Man Without a Gun | Episode: "The Giant" | |
| 1959 | Have Gun – Will Travel | Waller | Episode: "The Black Handkerchief" |
| 1960 | The Untouchables | James Stenbeck | Episode: "Syndicate Sanctuary" |
| 1960 | Hotel de Paree | Jackson | Episode: "Sundance and the Bare-Knuckled Fighters" |
| 1960 | The Man from Blackhawk | Lembrick | Episode: "The Hundred Thousand Dollar Policy" |
| 1960 | Bourbon Street Beat | Monito | Episode: "Green Hell" |
| 1961 | The Tab Hunter Show | Carlos | Episode: "Personal Appearance" |
| 1964 | The Outer Limits | The Megasoid | Episode: "The Duplicate Man" |
| 1965 | Branded | Trask | Episode: "Mightier Than the Sword" |
| 1966–1969 | Daniel Boone | Bear Barnett / Ike | 2 episodes |
| 1967 | Batman | Daddy Longlegs | 2 episodes |
| 1967 | Hondo | Moon Dog | Episode: "Hondo and the Superstition Massacre" |
| 1968 | The Monkees | Frankenstein | Episode: "Monstrous Monkee Mash" |
| 1969 | Love, American Style | Roger | Segment: "Love and the Positive Man" |
| 1970 | Get Smart | Centurion | Episode: "Smartacus" |
| 1971 | Mission: Impossible | Lew Bates | Episode: "The Connection" |
| 1972 | Adam-12 | Art Moss | Episode: "Citizens All" |
| 1972 | Gunsmoke | Digby | Episode: "Sarah" |
| 1972 | Ironside | Nick Marcatti | Episode: "Buddy, Can You Spare a Life?" |
| 1972 | The Sixth Sense | Sam Fenwick | Episode: "If I Should Die Before I Wake" |
| 1973 | Emergency! | Tall Biker | Episode: "Frequency" |
| 1976 | Gemini Man | Guard | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1976 | Monster Squad | Frank N. Stein | 13 episodes |
| 1976–1977 | The Rockford Files | Tony / Fred | 2 episodes |
| 1977 | Kojak | Curly | Episode: "The Queen of Hearts Is Wild" |
| 1977 | Quincy, M.E. | Rossi | Episode: "A Question of Time" |
| 1977 | Starsky & Hutch | Eddie Mayer | Episode: "The Crying Child" |
| 1982 | Matt Houston | Reject | Episode: "X-22" |
| 1982 | Knight Rider | Jerry | Episode: "Forget Me Not" |
| 1983 | Simon & Simon | Bodyguard #1 | Episode: "Bail Out" |
| 1986 | Cold War Killers | Foreman | Television film |
References
- Lowrie, Katharine. "MICHAEL V. LANE". theprecis.com. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- Mike Lane. wrestlingdata.com
- "'Harder They Fall' Opens; Prizefight Film Stars Bogart and Steiger Schulberg Novel Made Into Stinging Movie". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
- LIFE. Time Inc. April 16, 1956. pp. 103–. ISSN 0024-3019.
- ""The Hunted", Sugarfoot, November 25, 1958". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
