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Immigrant of the Day: Mickey Hargitay (Hungary)

By immigrationprof

Hargitay Miklós Hargitay, popularly known as Mickey Hargitay (1926–2006) was an actor and Mr. Universe 1955. Born in Budapest, Hungary, he was once married to movie star Jayne Mansfield and is the father of actress Mariska Hargitay (Law and Order SVU).

An underground fighter during World War II, Hargitay fled Hungary after the war and moved to the United States. He was inspired to begin bodybuilding after seeing a magazine cover of Steve Reeves, famed for playing Hercules. In 1955, Hargitay was named Mr. Universe. After winning Mr. Universe, he joined Mae West’s muscleman revue at New York’s The Latin Quarter, where he met Jayne Mansfield, his wife from 1958 to 1964.

Hargitay is the first recipient of the Joe Weider Lifetime Achievement Award. In May 2006, he received the Muscle Beach Hall of Fame Award.

Hargitay’s daughter, Mariska, won a Golden Globe (2005) and Emmy (2006) for her portrayal of Detective Olivia Benson on the television show Law and Order SVU.

Arnold Schwarzenegger , a previous Immigrant of the Day, cplayed the role of Mickey Hargitay in the 1982 television TV-movie The Jayne Mansfield Story.

KJ