Stjepan Šipek (
Sisak 1942 – June 23, 2019), also known by his screen name Steve Hawkes, was a
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
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, map_caption =
, capit ...
n-born American actor and animal sanctuary owner.
[Steve Sipek aka Steven Hawkes , The Wild Eye]
/ref>
Life
Sipek was born in Yugoslavia, what is now Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, relocated to Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in 1959, and subsequently acted in B-movies
A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...
as Steve Hawkes. He played Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
in the 1969 Spanish-made film ''Tarzán en la gruta del oro'' / ''King of the Jungle'' / ''Tarzan in the Golden Grotto'' alongside Kitty Swan, filmed in Suriname, Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
where the producers ran out of money and had to begin filming again. Sipek, working under the name Steve Hawkes, claimed that the film company could not pay the huge licensing fees from Edgar Rice Burroughs' estate and settled for the name "Zan" for the character.
A 1972 sequel, ''Tarzan and the Brown Prince
''Tarzan and the Brown Prince'' is a 1972 Spanish/Italian co-production Tarzan film with Steve Sipek and Kitty Swan repeating their roles from 1968's ''King of the Jungle''. The film became a serialised Filipino graphic novel written in Tagalog ...
'', followed with sequences filmed in Rainbow Springs
Rainbow Springs, formerly known as Blue Spring, is a first-magnitude artesian spring formation in Marion County, Florida, United States, several miles north of the city of Dunnellon. Rainbow Springs is the focal point of Rainbow Springs Sta ...
, Florida, where both Sipek and Swan were burned in a fire that got out of control. When the two actors were tied down in a scene, some spilled fuel began a blaze that panicked the film crew. The lion in the film who had been trained to remove Hawkes' bonds freed him.Blood Freak
''Blood Freak'' (also known as ''Blood Freaks'') is a 1972 American horror film directed by Brad F. Grinter and starring Steve Hawkes, Dana Cullivan, Heather Hughes, and Bob Currier.
Plot
While riding down the Florida highway on his motorbike, ...
'' and ''Stevie, Samson and Delilah''. The second film was based around his love of his immediate family and how they integrated with his beloved pets.
An animal lover, Sipek later relocated to Loxahatchee, Florida
Loxahatchee is an unincorporated community in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, located north of Wellington, and west and northwest of Royal Palm Beach, approximately west of West Palm Beach. Loxahatchee is also the name of the Post Off ...
where he started an animal sanctuary
An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. Pattrice Jones, co-founder of VINE Sanctuary defines an animal sanctuary as "a safe-enough place or relationship within the cont ...
that attracted attention when a Bengal tiger
The Bengal tiger is a population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna.
The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...
escaped and was killed. 'Tarzan' actor gets court victory, still can't take animals home
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He died on June 23, 2019, at the age of 77.
Notes
External links
*
*Steve Hawkes at ERB http://www.erbzine.com/mag27/2772.html
*Jungleworld website http://www.jungleworld.org/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sipek, Steve
2019 deaths
1942 births
Canadian male film actors
Date of birth missing
Place of birth missing
People from Loxahatchee, Florida
Croatian emigrants to Canada
Croatian emigrants to the United States
Yugoslav emigrants to Canada
Yugoslav emigrants to the United States