Jack Stang born John A. Stang (October 29, 1923 – January 7, 1996) was

Mickey Spillane Frank Morrison Spillane (; March 9, 1918July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American crime novelist, whose stories often feature his signature detective character, Mike Hammer (character), Mike Hammer. More than 225 million c ...

's inspiration for the private eye character

Mike Hammer Michael Hammer or Mike Hammer may refer to: *Michael Armand Hammer (1955–2022), American philanthropist and businessman *Michael Martin Hammer (1948–2008), engineer and author *Mike Hammer (character), a fictional hard boiled detective ** ''Mick ...

in his novels.

World War II

During World War II Stang was a

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

who served in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

on Samoa, Guadalcanal and Bougainville. He was wounded in action, and was one of four men in his platoon to survive.

Newburgh Police

Following the war, Stang was a

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, a ...

policeman A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

where Spillane, then residing at Orange Lake in suburban Newburgh, met him in 1946.

Bar and grill

After leaving the Newburgh Police, Stang operated ''Stang's'', a popular riverfront bar and grill at 4th and Front Street in Newburgh. After it was devastated by a fire, it reopened as a children's clothing store run by Fran Stang, Jack's mother. The old Newburgh riverfront neighborhood, four blocks wide and about a mile long, was demolished in the late 1960s as part of an '

Urban Renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

' program, and the bar property exists as of 2008 as part of a grassy slope and parking lot complex.

Actor

"I had the right guy, Jack Stang, a real cop, only he couldn’t act...(Who would’ve been the best guy to play Mike Hammer?) Jack Stang, if he could act. He was a tough Marine. He went into one Japanese island in the Pacific, with 240 men, he was one of four came out." (We look at pictures of Stang’s screen test, which
Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael (given name), Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men ...
wrote) "That’s
Jonathan Winters Jonathan Harshman Winters III (November 11, 1925 – April 11, 2013) was an American comedian, actor, author, television host, and artist. Beginning in 1960, Winters recorded many classic comedy albums for the Verve Records label. He also h ...
, the comedian, playing the corpse. And that’s me…jeez, did I ever look like that!" — Mickey Spillane, 2002

Stang appeared with Spillane in the 1954 film '' Ring of Fear'' and had an unbilled appearance in ''

I, the Jury ''I, the Jury'' is the 1947 debut novel of American crime fiction writer Mickey Spillane, the first work to feature private investigator Mike Hammer. Plot summary The novel opens as private detective Mike Hammer is called to the apartment of i ...

''. Spillane wrote, directed, and filmed a 1955 Mike Hammer screen test with Stang to enable Stang to play Hammer in ''

Kiss Me Deadly ''Kiss Me Deadly'' is a 1955 American film noir produced and directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez, and Wesley Addy. It also features Maxine Cooper and Cloris Leachman appearing in the ...

''. Stang was never able to play Mike Hammer, even though every time Spillane was asked who would be the right person to play Hammer, the answer was always the same: Jack Stang. Hollywood studios at that time would use only known actors so that they could receive financing.

Biff Elliot Biff Elliot (born Leon Shalek; July 26, 1923 – August 15, 2012) was an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as popular detective Mike Hammer in the 1953 version of ''I, the Jury'' and for his guest appearance as Schmitter in ...

was cast as Hammer in ''I, the Jury'', and

Ralph Meeker Ralph Meeker (born Ralph Rathgeber; November 21, 1920 August 5, 1988) was an American film, stage, and television actor. He first rose to prominence for his roles in the Broadway productions of '' Mister Roberts'' (1948–1951) and ''Picnic'' ...

in ''Kiss Me Deadly'', the second Hammer film. Jack Stang was signed to Wayne-Fellows Productions at Warner Bros. He also acted in a ''

Highway Patrol A highway patrol, or state patrol is either a police unit created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways, or a detail within an existing local or regional police agency that is prima ...

'' episode and

Broderick Crawford William Broderick Crawford (December 9, 1911 – April 26, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning portrayal of Willie Stark in ''All t ...

wanted him to be a regular in the series. He was offered a role by

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

to be in ''

The Man with the Golden Arm ''The Man with the Golden Arm'' is a 1955 American drama film with elements of film noir directed by Otto Preminger, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren. Starring Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold Stang and Darre ...

'' starring

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

. Just as Stang's star was about to shine, he left the fast-paced Hollywood lifestyle behind to be with his family.

In popular culture

"Jack Stang" is also the name of the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of ''Dead Street'', the first book published with Spillane's byline after his death (it was "prepared for publication" by

Max Allan Collins Max Allan Collins (born March 3, 1948) is an American mystery writer, noted for his graphic novels. His work has been published in several formats and his ''Road to Perdition'' series was the basis for a film of the same name. He wrote the '' Di ...

). The book features a neighborhood being torn down, as was Stang's section of Newburgh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stang, Jack 1923 births 1996 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II American municipal police officers Characters in pulp fiction Series of books United States Marines