Henry Kulky

Birthday: 1911-08-11
Deathday: 1965-02-12
Birthplace: Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, USa
Gender: Male
Owned By: Unowned

Henry Kulky (born Henry Kulakowich; August 11, 1911 – February 12, 1965) was an American actor and professional wrestler from Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, probably best remembered as Chief Petty Officer Curly Jones from season 1 of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

Kulky began boxing in his teenage years. After six bouts, he stopped boxing when he was offered a position training wrestlers at St. Matthew's Lyceum in his native Hastings-on-Hudson.

Stanislaus Zbyszko convinced Kulky to compete professionally in 1939. Moving to Argentina, Kulky competed throughout South America under the ring name Bomber Kulkavich. The number of matches in which he competed is uncertain; one claim states that he won 172 of 175 matches. Kulky, however, claims that he won nearly all of 7,000 matches. While in South America, he is also said to have won the continent's judo crown.

Like most wrestlers who turned to acting in the 1950s he owed his big break to Mike Mazurki. The two appeared in several parts in the 1940s and 1950s, with Mazurki's agent getting him a part in Call Northside 777.

Because of his rather tough guy image, Kulky became typecast as military men, thugs, gangsters, bartenders, wrestlers and other "strong guys" who were at times quite friendly and lovable characters contrasting strongly with the tough guy image. From 1953 to 1958, he played Otto Schmidlap in the television series The Life of Riley. In the series, Kulky portrayed a co-worker of series character Chester Riley, a wing riveter at an aircraft plant. In 1952 he appeared in an episode (#11) of Adventures of Superman, as a wrestler working for a crooked promoter. In 1954 he appeared in an episode (#141) of The Lone Ranger. From 1959 to 1962, Kulky was cast in the recurring role as Chief Max Bronsky in forty-six episodes of Jackie Cooper's CBS military sitcom-drama television series Hennesey. The role was close to Kulky's heart because during World War II, he was a boatswain's mate in the United States Navy.

Kulky's last role was as Chief Curley Jones in the television series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. He died on February 12, 1965, in Oceanside, California, of a heart attack suffered while he was studying a script.

Credits

Year Title Character
1960-02-01 Guns of the Timberland Logger
1959-03-04 Up Periscope Chief Petty Officer York
1957-11-22 Bombers B-52 Calvin (uncredited)
1957-05-01 Sierra Stranger Bartender Matt
1956-03-22 Army Daze Sergeant Bonebreaker
1955-12-25 I'll Cry Tomorrow Man in Bar (uncredited)
1955-10-09 Illegal Taylor
1955-10-01 The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing Prisoner (uncredited)
1955-08-30 It's Always Fair Weather Drunk in Bar (uncredited)
1955-05-26 Love Me or Leave Me Bouncer
1955-02-15 New York Confidential Gino
1955-02-02 Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops Brakeman (uncredited)
1954-10-03 The Human Jungle Matty
1954-10-01 A Star Is Born Cuddles (uncredited)
1954-09-01 Tobor the Great Paul (Spy Henchman)
1954-05-02 Fireman Save My Child Harry
1954-03-27 Phantom of the Rue Morgue Maurice
1954-02-19 New Faces Mr. Dee (uncredited)
1954-02-06 Hell and High Water McCrossin (uncredited)
1954-01-17 Yukon Vengeance Schmidt
1953-06-19 The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. Stroogo (uncredited)
1953-05-20 The Glory Brigade Sgt. 'Smitty' Smitkowsky
1953-03-01 Down Among the Sheltering Palms First Sergeant Jones
1953-02-06 Target Hong Kong Dutch Pfeifer
1952-11-23 No Holds Barred Mike the Mauler
1952-03-13 Aim, Fire, Scoot Sgt. Bonebreaker
1952-01-23 Red Skies of Montana Dawson (uncredited)
1951-11-21 Fixed Bayonets! Vogl (uncredited)
1951-10-10 Love Nest George Thompson
1951-09-23 You Never Can Tell Gorilla / Prisoner (uncredited)
1951-08-16 The Guy Who Came Back Wizard, Wrestler
1950-12-07 A Snitch in Time Steve (uncredited)
1950-08-30 South Sea Sinner Bartender
1950-04-23 Jiggs and Maggie Out West 'Bomber' Kulkowich (as Henry Kulkowich)
1949-10-15 Alias the Champ Bomber Kulkovich - Wrestler
1949-07-27 Mighty Joe Young Strong Man (uncredited)
1949-02-05 Tarzan's Magic Fountain Vredak
1948-08-20 A Foreign Affair Russian Sergeant (uncredited)
1948-02-13 Call Northside 777 First Bartender (uncredited)
1948-02-07 To the Ends of the Earth Giant Chinese Man (uncredited)
1947-04-18 A Likely Story Tremendo