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.
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0474628
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3132886
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Filmography (Movies)
A Global Affair
Character:Charlie - Newsstand Proprietor (uncredited)
Release Date:30/01/1964
Guns of the Timberland
Character:Logger
Release Date:01/02/1960
Up Periscope
Character:Chief Petty Officer York
Release Date:04/03/1959
Bombers B-52
Character:Calvin (uncredited)
Release Date:22/11/1957
Sierra Stranger
Character:Bartender Matt
Release Date:01/05/1957
Army Daze
Character:Sergeant Bonebreaker
Release Date:22/03/1956
I'll Cry Tomorrow
Character:Man in Bar (uncredited)
Release Date:25/12/1955
Illegal
Character:Taylor
Release Date:09/10/1955
The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing
Character:Prisoner (uncredited)
Release Date:01/10/1955
It's Always Fair Weather
Character:Drunk in Bar (uncredited)
Release Date:30/08/1955
Love Me or Leave Me
Character:Bouncer
Release Date:26/05/1955
New York Confidential
Character:Gino
Release Date:15/02/1955
Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops
Character:Brakeman (uncredited)
Release Date:02/02/1955
The Human Jungle
Character:Matty
Release Date:03/10/1954
A Star Is Born
Character:Cuddles (uncredited)
Release Date:01/10/1954
Tobor the Great
Character:Paul (Spy Henchman)
Release Date:01/09/1954
Fireman Save My Child
Character:Harry
Release Date:02/05/1954
Phantom of the Rue Morgue
Character:Maurice
Release Date:27/03/1954
New Faces
Character:Mr. Dee (uncredited)
Release Date:19/02/1954
Hell and High Water
Character:McCrossin (uncredited)
Release Date:01/02/1954
Yukon Vengeance
Character:Schmidt
Release Date:17/01/1954
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.
Character:Stroogo (uncredited)
Release Date:19/06/1953
The Glory Brigade
Character:Sgt. 'Smitty' Smitkowsky
Release Date:20/05/1953
Down Among the Sheltering Palms
Character:First Sergeant Jones
Release Date:01/03/1953
Target Hong Kong
Character:Dutch Pfeifer
Release Date:06/02/1953
No Holds Barred
Character:Mike the Mauler
Release Date:23/11/1952
The World in His Arms
Character:Peter, Russian Servant
Release Date:09/10/1952
Aim, Fire, Scoot
Character:Sgt. Bonebreaker
Release Date:13/03/1952
Red Skies of Montana
Character:Dawson (uncredited)
Release Date:23/01/1952
Fixed Bayonets!
Character:Vogl (uncredited)
Release Date:21/11/1951
Love Nest
Character:George Thompson
Release Date:10/10/1951
You Never Can Tell
Character:Gorilla / Prisoner (uncredited)
Release Date:23/09/1951
The Guy Who Came Back
Character:Wizard, Wrestler
Release Date:16/08/1951
A Snitch in Time
Character:Steve (uncredited)
Release Date:07/12/1950
South Sea Sinner
Character:Bartender
Release Date:30/08/1950
Jiggs and Maggie Out West
Character:'Bomber' Kulkowich (as Henry Kulkowich)
Release Date:23/04/1950
Alias the Champ
Character:Bomber Kulkovich - Wrestler
Release Date:15/10/1949
The Red Danube
Character:Russian Officer at Camp 12 Deportation
Release Date:14/10/1949
Mighty Joe Young
Character:Strong Man (uncredited)
Release Date:13/07/1949
Tarzan's Magic Fountain
Character:Vredak
Release Date:05/02/1949
A Foreign Affair
Character:Russian Sergeant (uncredited)
Release Date:20/08/1948
Call Northside 777
Character:First Bartender (uncredited)
Release Date:13/02/1948
To the Ends of the Earth
Character:Giant Chinese Man (uncredited)
Release Date:07/02/1948
A Likely Story
Character:Tremendo
Release Date:18/04/1947
Television Appearances
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Character:Curley Jones
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Character:Chief Curley Jones
Grindl
Character:
Going My Way
Character:
Pete and Gladys
Character:
Hennesey
Character:Chief Max Bronsky
Bonanza
Character:Bearcat Sampson
The Texan
Character:Joe
Maverick
Character:Bartender (uncredited)
The Thin Man
Character:Tom Culdane
The Thin Man
Character:Sandy - Henchman
The Thin Man
Character:
U.S. Marshall
Character:Pinto
Hey, Jeannie!
Character:Guy
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
Character:
Navy Log
Character:
The Wonderful World of Disney
Character:Father with Nine Kids (uncredited)
Public Defender
Character:Murphy
The Life Of Riley
Character:Feeney's Big Goon (uncredited)
The Life Of Riley
Character:Otto Schmidlap
The Life Of Riley
Character:Otto Schmidlapp
The Life Of Riley
Character:Otto
The Life Of Riley
Character:
The Abbott and Costello Show
Character:Mulligan
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
Character:Fish Truck Driver
Cavalcade of America
Character:Ernie
Adventures of Superman
Character:Crusher (uncredited)
I Love Lucy
Character:Trainer (uncredited)
The Red Skelton Show
Character:Self/Sgt. Flannagan
The Red Skelton Show
Character:Jerry
Racket Squad
Character:
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
Character:
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
Character:Referee (uncredited)