Jack O'Halloran (born April 8, 1943) is an American actor and former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. As a

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

, he fought in 57 professional boxing matches (including fights with future heavyweight champions

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (January 10, 1949 – March 21, 2025) was an American professional boxer, businessman, minister, and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997, and was nicknamed "Big George". He was a two-time world heavyweig ...

and

Ken Norton Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. (August 9, 1943 – September 18, 2013) was an American actor and professional boxer who competed from 1967 to 1981. He was awarded the World Boxing Council, WBC world heavyweight championship in 1978, after winning a ...

) between 1966 and 1974. He then made his film acting debut in '' Farewell, My Lovely'' (1975), going on to play notable roles in ''

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

'' (1976), as

Non Non, non or NON can refer to: * ''Non'', a negatory word in French, Italian and Latin People *Non (given name) *Non Boonjumnong (born 1982), Thai amateur boxer * Rena Nōnen (born 1993), Japanese actress who uses the stage name "Non" since July ...

in ''

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

'' (1978) and its sequel ''

Superman II ''Superman II'' is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David Newman (screenwriter), David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment i ...

'' (1980), the comedy '' Dragnet'' (1987), the

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. Born in Oklahoma, Norris first gained fame when he won the amateur Middleweight Karate champion title in 1968, which he held for six consecutive years. H ...

vehicle ''

Hero and the Terror ''Hero and the Terror'' is a 1988 American action film starring martial arts star Chuck Norris, directed by William Tannen. Produced by Menahem Golan, written by Michael Blodgett, and was distributed by Cannon Films. The film stars Norris as Dann ...

'' (1988), and the 1994 live-action film version of ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...

''.

Early life

O'Halloran was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and was raised by his mother, Mary, and stepfather, Peter Paul Patrick O'Halloran; in his book ''Family Legacy'', he claimed to be the illegitimate son of mafia

hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

and

crime boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...

Albert Anastasia. He lived in Runnemede, New Jersey where he attended

Triton Regional High School (New Jersey) Triton Regional High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Bellmawr, Gloucester Township and Runnemede, three communities in Camden County, in the U.S. state ...

Boxing career

Fighting as "Irish" Jack O'Halloran from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, he was a

boxing contender active from 1966 to 1974. The 6'6" O'Halloran was undefeated in his first 16 professional fights, with a career record of 34 wins, 21 losses and 2 draws. During his boxing career, O'Halloran defeated former title contenders Cleveland Williams and Manuel Ramos. He also defeated

Danny McAlinden Daniel McAlinden (1 June 1947 – 8 March 2021) was a boxer from Northern Ireland. He won the British and Commonwealth heavyweight championship in 1972 when he defeated Jack Bodell in two rounds at Aston Villa football ground. Nicknamed "Danger ...

, who won a bronze medal in boxing at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

and later became the British and Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion. O'Halloran's losses included defeats to

Joe Roman Joe Roman is a conservation biologist, marine ecologist, and author of the books ''Whale'', '' Listed: Dispatches from America's Endangered Species Act'', and ''Eat, Poop, Die: How Animals Make Our World''. His conservation research includ ...

(twice),

Joe Bugner József Kreul Bugner (born 13 March 1950) is a Hungarian born British– Australian former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division and actor. He holds triple nationality, originally being a citizen of Hungary and a nat ...

, Ron Lyle, and future heavyweight champions

and

. In 1973, O'Halloran was close to attaining a match against

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

when he was knocked out by Jimmy Summerville. This ended his chances to fight Ali. Although O'Halloran went on to defeat Summerville by K.O. in a rematch, with only three more wins and five losses he was never again a serious heavyweight contender. The California Boxing Hall of Fame has listed O'Halloran as one of its inductees of the 2009 HOF class.

Acting career

Retiring from boxing in 1974 with a record of 34-21-2 (17 knockout victories), O'Halloran turned to a career as an actor. He first won the role of ex-convict Moose Malloy in the 1975 film '' Farewell, My Lovely'', featuring

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Holl ...

as private eye

Philip Marlowe Philip Marlowe ( ) is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The genre originated in the 1920s, notably in '' Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashiell Hammett's The Cont ...

. After ''Farewell, My Lovely'' O'Halloran was offered other roles, some of which he turned down, including the role of Jaws in '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' which went to Richard Kiel.

''Superman'' film series

He acquired other roles as tough henchmen which culminated in the role he is best known for,

, the menacing but mute member of the trio of

Kryptonian Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to ref ...

supervillains banished to the

Phantom Zone The Phantom Zone is a prison-like parallel dimension appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is mainly associated with stories featuring Superman. It first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), and was created b ...

Jor-El Jor-El is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Jor-El first appeared in the Superman (comic strip), ''Superman'' newspaper comic strip in 1939. Jor-El is Supe ...

(

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

) in ''

'' (1978) and inadvertently released by Superman in ''

'' (1980). O'Halloran once stated in an interview that it was his idea to make Non a childlike character, having difficulty adjusting to his newfound powers and making sounds in the absence of voice. O'Halloran criticized

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

and Ilya Salkind, the producers of the ''Superman'' films, for their mishandling of the franchise, believing that their firing of director

Richard Donner Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American film director, producer and actor. Described as "one of Hollywood's most reliable makers of action blockbusters", Donner directed some of the mo ...

was a huge blow to the series and the cause of its downturn in quality, a sentiment that was shared by

Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (January 30, 1930 – ) was an American actor. Hackman made his credited film debut in the drama ''Lilith (film), Lilith'' (1964). He later won two Academy Awards, his first for Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actor for ...

, who refused to reprise his

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

role in the third film, and by

Margot Kidder Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018) was a Canadian and American actress and activist. She amassed List of Margot Kidder performances, several film and television credits in her career spanning five decades, including her bes ...

who played

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning ...

. In an interview with '' Starlog Magazine'' in 2006, O'Halloran stated that he and

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, activist, director, and author. He amassed Christopher Reeve on stage and screen, several stage and screen credits in his 34-year career, including playin ...

did not get along during the making of ''Superman II''. On one occasion, he had Reeve against a wall, but Richard Donner intervened and dissuaded him from hitting Reeve. He later discussed this incident on the '' How Did This Get Made?'' podcast's Episode 24.1. Despite the clash between them, O'Halloran stated that his heart went out to Reeve after his 1995 accident, and commended him for helping others with spinal cord injuries.

Other acting roles

O'Halloran has also played supporting roles in ''

'' (1976), ''March or Die'' (1977), '' The Baltimore Bullet'' (1980), '' Dragnet'' (1987), ''

'' (1988), '' Mob Boss'' (1990), ''

'' (1994) and ''Dagon Troll World Chronicles'' (2019).

Other ventures

In 2008, O'Halloran announced plans to enter into a partnership with veteran Hollywood executive Jay Samit to create Long Beach Studios, a chain of

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company that makes films. Today, studios are mostly financing and distribution entities. In addition, they may have their own studio facility or facilities; how ...

facilities throughout the United States. In 2010, O'Halloran released ''Family Legacy''. The book also outlines O'Halloran's relationship with his alleged father, a former boss of the

Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. ...

, Albert Anastasia.

Filmography

Professional boxing record

References

External links

BoxRec.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:OHalloran, Jack 1943 births Living people American male boxers American male film actors American male television actors American people of Italian descent Boxers from Philadelphia Heavyweight boxers People from Runnemede, New Jersey Triton Regional High School (New Jersey) alumni 20th-century American sportsmen Actors from Camden County, New Jersey Male actors from New Jersey