Mike Henry (American football)

Michael Dennis Henry (born August 15, 1936) is an American retired actor and former NFL football linebacker. He is most well known for his role as Tarzan in the 1960s trilogy.

Football career

Michael Henry's football career as a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1958–1961) and the Los Angeles Rams (1962–1964) led him to be noticed by Warner Bros.

Acting career
Henry's most prominent role was as Tarzan in three 1960s movies Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966), Tarzan and the Great River (1967), and Tarzan and the Jungle Boy (1968) that were all filmed back-to-back in 1965. At the time, critics said the dark-haired, square-jawed, muscular Henry resembled classic illustrations of the apeman more than any other actor who had taken on the role. Henry turned down the lead of the subsequent Tarzan television series, which then went to Ron Ely. 

Henry is probably best known to movie audiences for playing Jackie Gleason's character's dim-witted son "Junior" in the highly popular Smokey and the Bandit comedies, starring Burt Reynolds and Sally Field.

Henry portrayed a corrupt prison guard in The Longest Yard (1974). Henry played Sergeant Kowalski in The Green Berets (1968), Luke Santee in More Dead Than Alive (1968), and corrupt Sheriff "Blue Tom" Hendricks in Rio Lobo (1970). He also acted with Charlton Heston in three films: the football movie Number One (1969), Skyjacked (1972), and Soylent Green (1973). 

Henry played Lt. Col. Donald Penobscot in an episode of the television series M*A*S*H. In another football-oriented role, he portrayed Tatashore, one of the members of the gang who kidnap Larry Bronco (Larry Csonka) in the "One of Our Running Backs Is Missing" episode of The Six Million Dollar Man.

Later life
Mike Henry married Cheryl Sweeney on November 17, 1984.
After being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he retired from acting in 1988.  Mike is also suffering from CTE due to concussions he received in his football career

Filmography
Curfew Breakers (1957) – Reagan
General Hospital (1963, TV Series) – Rudolpho (1988)
Spencer's Mountain (1963) – Spencer Brother (uncredited)
Palm Springs Weekend (1963) – Doorman (uncredited)
Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966) – Tarzan
Tarzan and the Great River (1967) – Tarzan
Tarzan and the Jungle Boy (1968) – Tarzan
The Green Berets (1968) – Sgt. Kowalski
More Dead Than Alive (1968) – Luke Santee
Number One (1969) – Walt Chaffee
Rio Lobo (1970) – Sheriff Tom Hendricks
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1972) – Fargo
Skyjacked (1972) – Sam Allen
Soylent Green (1973) – Kulozik
The Longest Yard (1974) – Rassmeusen
Mean Johnny Barrows (1976) – Carlo Da Vince
Adiós Amigo (1976) – Mary's Husband
No Way Back (1976)
Smokey and the Bandit (1977) – Junior
M*A*S*H (1977, TV Series) – Donald Penobscot
Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) – Junior
Fantasy Island (1981, TV Series) – Mike
Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983) – Junior Justice 
Outrageous Fortune (1987) – Russian #1 (final film role)

External links 

 Mike Henry at Brian's Drive-In Theater

Category:1936 births
Category:Living people
Category:Sportspeople from Los Angeles
Category:Players of American football from California
Category:American football linebackers
Category:USC Trojans football players
Category:Pittsburgh Steelers players
Category:Los Angeles Rams players
Category:American male television actors
Category:American male film actors
Category:american actor-athletes