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Mike Henry

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He gave life to Tarzan in the 60s, and stood out in “Río Lobo”. Actor Mike Henry passed away on January 8, 2021, at the age of 84, at St. Joseph Hospital in Burbank, California, after many years suffering from Parkinson’s.

Born on August 15, 1936, in Los Angeles, Michael Dennis Henry –his full name– succeeded as a football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Rams in the late 1950s and early 1960s. When he decided to change the sport for acting, Warner offered him a contract.

The company made him Tarzan in three titles, Tarzan 66 , Tarzan in the Amazon , and Tarzan and the Jungle Boy . Critics at the time claimed that the  muscular, dark-haired, square-jawed Mike Henry looked more like the classic ape-man illustrations than any other actor who had taken on the role.

He then played a sergeant in John Wayne ‘s Vietnam War film Green Berets . He also appeared with him in the legendary western Río Lobo , where he played an evil sheriff. Mike Henry also stood out as a regular supporting role in films starring Burt Reynolds , whom he wrapped in El rompehuesos , as a corrupt prison guard, and as a mentally handicapped character in The Cheeks , and its two sequels, The Cheeks Are Back and The Cheeks 3 .

In 1984, Mike Henry  married Cheryl Ivy Sweeney, a stuntman, who stayed with him until his death.

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