| Buck Kartalian | |
| Birth Name: | Vahe Kartalian |
| Birth Date: | 13 August 1922 |
| Birth Place: | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Mission Hills, California, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Actor, wrestler |
| Years Active: | 1953–2006 |
| Spouse: | Mary Evonne Bannister (1952; 1957) |
| Children: | 3 |
Vahe "Buck" Kartalian (August 13, 1922 – May 24, 2016) was an American professional wrestler and character actor.[1]
Vahe Kartalian was born on August 13, 1922, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Armenian immigrants. He had four sisters and one brother. When Kartalian was two, their family moved to New York City. His father, a baker,[2] died when he was 11. During World War II, Kartalian served in the United States Navy on a destroyer in the Pacific theatre. After returning home, he worked as a body builder and professional wrestler (called the "Hell's Kitchen Roughneck")[3] and competed in both regional and national competitions. Kartalian decided to become an actor after being noticed by Broadway producers.[4] He never took acting lessons.
Plays in which Kartalian appeared on Broadway included One More River (1960), Golden Fleecing (1959), and Romeo and Juliet (1951).[5] In Romeo and Juliet, he played Sampson alongside Olivia de Havilland as Juliet.
Kartalian appeared in more than 70 films and television shows between 1953 and his retirement in 2006. Kartalian is best known for his role in the film Planet of the Apes (1968) as Julius, the brutish gorilla who guarded the captive humans at the Research Complex. He later played the gorilla Frank in the third film of the series, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972). Kartalian is also known for his film roles as a sailor in Mister Roberts (1955), a prisoner in Cool Hand Luke (1967), a shopkeeper in The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), and a reverend in The Rock (1996).[6]
On television, Kartalian appeared on various shows, including Naked City, The Untouchables, Get Smart, The Munsters, Batman, Lou Grant, Cagney & Lacey, and Friends. Kartalian also had a regular role as Bruce W. Wolf in Monster Squad (1976).[7] "
He appeared at the 1971 Renaissance Pleasure Faire in a public portrayal of "Hercules Magnificus, The Strongest Man in the Known World".[8]
On January 9, 1952, Kartalian married Mary Evonne Bannister in the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. The ceremony took place on the set of the play Mr. Roberts, in which Kartalian was appearing.[9] They later divorced. Kartalian married Margaret Poloshjian in 1959. They had three children: Aram, Julie, and Jason. Jason Kartalian became a film producer and director.
Kartalian died on May 24, 2016, in a hospital in Mission Hills, California, at age 93.[10]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Cell 2455 Death Row | Monk | ||
| 1955 | Mister Roberts | Mason | ||
| 1961 | Sail a Crooked Ship | Finster | ||
| 1965 | Morituri | Merchant Marine | Uncredited | |
| 1967 | The Young Warriors | Soldier In Squad Attacking Tank | ||
| 1967 | Devil's Angels | Funky | ||
| 1967 | Cool Hand Luke | "Dynamite" | ||
| 1968 | Planet of the Apes | Julius | ||
| 1968 | The Acid Eaters | Artie / The Devil | ||
| 1968 | Stay Away, Joe | "Bull" Shortgun | ||
| 1969 | Mark of the Gun | Bert | ||
| 1969 | Women for All Reasons | Unknown | ||
| 1970 | Myra Breckinridge | Jeff | ||
| 1970 | Booby Trap | Scarpo | ||
| 1971 | Blood Legacy | Igor Garin | ||
| 1971 | Bunny O'Hare | Sensitivity Group | ||
| 1971 | Octaman | Raul | ||
| 1972 | Conquest of the Planet of the Apes | Frank, The Gorilla | ||
| 1973 | Please Don't Eat My Mother | Henry Fudd | ||
| 1975 | Sons of Sassoun | Unknown | ||
| 1976 | The Outlaw Josey Wales | The Shopkeeper | ||
| 1980 | The Man with Bogart's Face | Nicky | ||
| 1982 | Forty Days of Musa Dagh | Village Spokesman | ||
| 1985 | Gymkata | The Kahn | ||
| 1987 | Checkpoint | Bus Driver | ||
| 1987 | Real Men | Produce Hawker | ||
| 1992 | Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even | Dog Owner | ||
| 1995 | Josh Kirby... Time Warrior: Chapter 3, Trapped on Toyworld | Gepetto | Direct-to-video | |
| 1996 | The Rock | Reverend | ||
| 1997 | Eight Days a Week | Nonno, Marge's Dad | ||
| 1999 | My Favorite Martian | Muscle Man | ||
| 1999 | The Art of a Bullet | Henry | ||
| 2000 | The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas | Old Man At Bronto King | ||
| 2000 | Pedestrian | Unknown | ||
| 2000 | Dave's Blind Date | Gene | Short | |
| 2000 | Magicians | The Bagel Shop Clerk | ||
| 2001 | Tomcats | Grandfather MacDonald | ||
| 2002 | The Third Wheel | Old Man | ||
| 2005 | Standing Still | Older Man | ||
| 2005 | Extreme Dating | Earl | ||
| 2006 | Cattle Call | The Janitor | (final film role) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Robert Montgomery Presents | Unknown | Episode: "No Picnic at Mt. Kenya" | |
| 1959 | Naked City | Sanitation Department Foreman / Sanitation Worker | 2 episodes | |
| 1962 | Don't Call Me Charlie! | M.P. | Episode: "A Friend in Need" | |
| 1962 | The Gallant Men | Joey Lopuschok | Episode: "And the End of Evil Things" | |
| 1962–1963 | The Untouchables | Al Gross / Nate Stryker | 2 episodes | |
| 1963 | Arrest and Trial | Eddie, The Paramedic | Episode: "Inquest Into a Bleeding Heart" | |
| 1964 | Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea | Crew Member | Episode: "Eleven Days to Zero" | |
| 1964 | No Time for Sergeants | The Foreman | Episode: "Do Me a Favor and Don't Do Me Any" | |
| 1965 | Get Smart | Leopold | Episode: "Our Man in Toyland" | |
| 1965 | The Munsters | The 2nd Workman | Episode: "Underground Munster" | |
| 1966 | McHale's Navy | The Waiter | Episode: "McHale's Country Club Caper" | |
| 1966 | Batman | John | Episode: "Hot Off the Griddle" | |
| 1968 | The Wild Wild West | Lieutenant Bengston | Episode: "The Night of the Pelican" | |
| 1968–1969 | Here Come the Brides | Sam / Jason's Man | 6 episodes | |
| 1970 | Breakout | Hogan | Television film | |
| 1971 | Goodbye, Raggedy Ann | Tony | Television film | |
| 1971–1972 | Nichols | Samuel | 3 episodes | |
| 1973 | The New Perry Mason | Prison Snitch | Episode: "The Case of the Perilous Pen" | |
| 1974 | Run, Joe, Run | Horn | Episode: "Yardbirds" | |
| 1976 | Monster Squad | Bruce W. Wolf | 13 episodes | |
| 1977 | The Red Hand Gang | Kidnapper | 4 episodes | |
| 1980–1981 | Lou Grant | "Red" Borotra / Leon Hartounian | 2 episodes | |
| 1983 | Cagney & Lacey | Rocky Menukian | Episode: "Open and Shut Case" | |
| 1995 | Friends | Frankie | Episode: "The One with Ross's New Girlfriend" | |
| 1995 | Guideposts Junction | Grandfather | Episode: "Angels, Angels" | |
| 1996 | The Jamie Foxx Show | Rutherford B. White | Episode: "And Bubba Makes Three" | |
| 1996 | Life with Roger | Dave | Episode: "Love Thy Neighbor" | |
| 1996 | ER | Lloyd Frick | Episode: "Union Station" | |
| 2000 | Felicity | Guard | Episode: "Docuventary II" | |
| 2000 | Son of the Beach | Papa Gigio | Episode: "Mario Putzo's 'The Last Dong'" | |
| 2000 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Shoe Repair Guy | Episode: "Ted and Mary" | |
| 2002 | Even Stevens | Old Guy #2 | Episode: "Boy on a Rock" | |
| 2002 | Just Shoot Me! | The Clerk | Episode: "Guess Who's Coming to Blush" | |
| 2003 | Recipe for Disaster | Luigi | Television film | |
| 2004 | Rodney | Elderly Man | Episode: "It's Up, It's Good" | |
| 2005 | How I Met Your Mother | Henry | Episode: "Return of the Shirt" |