Henry Kulky

Born: 1911-08-11

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.


Placeholder

A Foreign Affair

as Russian Sergeant (uncredited)
Released: 1948-08-20

In occupied Berlin, a US Army Captain is torn between an ex-Nazi cafe singer and the US...

Movie page

Call Northside 777

as First Bartender (uncredited)
Released: 1948-02-13

In 1932, a cop is killed and Frank Wiecek sentenced to life. Eleven years later, a newspaper ad...

Movie page

A Star Is Born

as Cuddles (uncredited)
Released: 1954-10-01

A movie star helps a young singer-actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own...

Movie page

Mighty Joe Young

as Strong Man (uncredited)
Released: 1949-07-27

A young woman, Jill Young, grew up on her father's ranch in Africa, raising a large gorilla...

Movie page

Hell and High Water

as McCrossin (uncredited)
Released: 1954-02-06

A privately-financed scientist and his colleagues hire an ex-Navy officer to conduct an Alaskan...

Movie page

It's Always Fair Weather

as Drunk in Bar (uncredited)
Released: 1955-08-30

Three World War II buddies promise to meet at a specified place and time 10 years after the war....

Movie page

Bombers B-52

as Calvin (uncredited)
Released: 1957-11-22

Sgt. Chuch Brennan always disliked playboy and hotshot, Col. Jim Herlihy. Now Chuck has even...

Movie page

Love Me or Leave Me

as Bouncer
Released: 1955-05-26

A fictionalized account of the career of jazz singer Ruth Etting and her tempestuous marriage to...

Movie page

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.

as Stroogo (uncredited)
Released: 1953-06-19

Young Bart Collins lives with his widowed mother Heloise. The major blight on Bart's existence...

Movie page

Illegal

as Taylor
Released: 1955-10-09

A hugely successful DA goes into private practice after sending a man to the chair -- only to...

Movie page

The Red Danube

as Russian Officer at Camp 12 Deportation
Released: 1949-10-14

A Russian ballerina in Vienna tries to flee KGB agents and defect.

Movie page

Tarzan's Magic Fountain

as Vredak
Released: 1949-02-05

An expedition tries to enlist Tarzan's help in finding the secret Blue Valley, which legend says...

Movie page

Guns of the Timberland

as Logger
Released: 1960-02-01

Logger Jim Hadley and his lumberjack crew are looking for new forest to cut. They locate a prime...

Movie page

Up Periscope

as Chief Petty Officer York
Released: 1959-03-04

Lieutenant Braden discovers that Sally, the woman he's been falling in love with, has actually...

Movie page

I'll Cry Tomorrow

as Man in Bar (uncredited)
Released: 1955-12-25

Deprived of a normal childhood by her ambitious mother, Lillian Roth becomes a star of Broadway...

Movie page

Phantom of the Rue Morgue

as Maurice
Released: 1954-03-27

When several women are found mutilated and murdered, the Paris police are baffled as to who the...

Movie page

Love Nest

as George Thompson
Released: 1951-10-10

Jim and Connie's postwar New York building troubles keep Jim from working on his novel. Ex-WAC...

Movie page

The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing

as Prisoner (uncredited)
Released: 1955-10-01

Broadway showgirl Evelyn Nesbit (Joan Collins) is the object of affection of two men: playboy...

Movie page

Tobor the Great

as Paul (Spy Henchman)
Released: 1954-09-01

To avoid the life-threatening dangers of manned space exploration, Professor Nordstrom creates...

Movie page

Fixed Bayonets!

as Vogl (uncredited)
Released: 1951-11-21

The story of a platoon during the Korean War. One by one, Corporal Denno's superiors are killed...

Movie page

New York Confidential

as Gino
Released: 1955-02-15

Story follows the rise and subsequent fall of the notorious head of a New York crime family, who...

Movie page

A Likely Story

as Tremendo
Released: 1947-04-18

A shell-shocked young GI mistakenly believes he is dying, and a young artist takes it upon...

Movie page

You Never Can Tell

as Gorilla / Prisoner (uncredited)
Released: 1951-09-23

Ex-police/army dog King inherits a fortune from an eccentric millionaire. But someone poisons...

Movie page

South Sea Sinner

as Bartender
Released: 1950-08-30

A tramp steamer lands sick crewman Jake Davis on rubber-growing island Oraka, from which...

Movie page

New Faces

as Mr. Dee (uncredited)
Released: 1954-02-19

New Faces was a musical revue with songs and comedy skits tied together by a quirky plot. It ran...

Movie page

Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops

as Brakeman (uncredited)
Released: 1955-02-02

Harry and Willie are scammed into buying the Thomas Edison studio lot by a man named Gorman....

Movie page

To the Ends of the Earth

as Giant Chinese Man (uncredited)
Released: 1948-02-07

A treasury agent becomes obsessed with exposing an international drug ring.

Movie page

Alias the Champ

as Bomber Kulkovich - Wrestler
Released: 1949-10-15

Slammin’ Sammy Menacker is killed in the ring, and Gorgeous George (in his only film appearance)...

Movie page

Red Skies of Montana

as Dawson (uncredited)
Released: 1952-01-23

When a large forest fire breaks out in the mountains of Montana, a squad of 'Smoke Jumpers', the...

Movie page

The Human Jungle

as Matty
Released: 1954-10-03

Danforth is assigned to take over the police department in a section of a large city saddled...

Movie page

The Glory Brigade

as Sgt. 'Smitty' Smitkowsky
Released: 1953-05-20

During the Korean War Lt. Sam Pryor volunteers his platoon to escort Greek troops to perform a...

Movie page

The Guy Who Came Back

as Wizard, Wrestler
Released: 1951-08-16

Former football star Harry Joplin is down on his luck, both in his career and in his married...

Movie page

No Holds Barred

as Mike the Mauler
Released: 1952-11-23

One of the Bowery Boys gains superhuman strength, and he cashes in by becoming a pro wrestler.

Movie page

A Snitch in Time

as Steve (uncredited)
Released: 1950-12-07

The Stooges are painters who are re-staining some furniture at a boarding house, unaware that a...

Movie page

Sierra Stranger

as Bartender Matt
Released: 1957-05-01

A prospector becomes a small town outcast after he rescues a man about to be lynched.

Movie page

Down Among the Sheltering Palms

as First Sergeant Jones
Released: 1953-03-01

War-weary Captain Willoby and his men are the occupation force on an island of lovely...

Movie page

Fireman Save My Child

as Harry
Released: 1954-05-02

Comedy about the members of an early 1900s fire company.

Movie page

Aim, Fire, Scoot

as Sgt. Bonebreaker
Released: 1952-03-13

Joe and his sergeant fall for the same girl.

Movie page

Target Hong Kong

as Dutch Pfeifer
Released: 1953-02-06

Yankee soldiers-of-fortune smash a spy plot aimed at seizing Hong Kong.

Movie page

Yukon Vengeance

as Schmidt
Released: 1954-01-17

In this north-western set in the Yukon, a Mountie must investigate the violent deaths of three...

Movie page

Jiggs and Maggie Out West

as 'Bomber' Kulkowich (as Henry Kulkowich)
Released: 1950-04-23

Monogram's Bringing Up Father series, based on the popular comic strip by George McManus, hit a...

Movie page

Army Daze

as Sergeant Bonebreaker
Released: 1956-03-22

Joe is drafted into the army of Starvania, and falls in love with Olga, a beautiful Starvanian...

Movie page

Bonanza

as Bearcat Sampson
First aired: 1959-09-12

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch...

TV Show page

I Love Lucy

as Trainer (uncredited)
First aired: 1951-10-15

Cuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife....

TV Show page

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

as uncredited
First aired: 1964-09-14

Join the crew of the Seaview aboard their super high-tech submarine, where no mission is too...

TV Show page

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

as Curley Jones
First aired: 1964-09-14

Join the crew of the Seaview aboard their super high-tech submarine, where no mission is too...

TV Show page

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

as Chief Curley Jones
First aired: 1964-09-14

Join the crew of the Seaview aboard their super high-tech submarine, where no mission is too...

TV Show page

The Red Skelton Show

as Self/Sgt. Flannagan
First aired: 1951-09-30

The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades,...

TV Show page

The Red Skelton Show

as Jerry
First aired: 1951-09-30

The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades,...

TV Show page

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

as Fish Truck Driver
First aired: 1952-10-03

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952...

TV Show page

The Adventures of Jim Bowie

as uncredited
First aired: 1956-09-07

The Adventures of Jim Bowie is an American Western television series that aired on ABC from 1956...

TV Show page

The Texan

as Joe
First aired: 1958-09-29

The Texan was a Western television series starring popular B movie actor Rory Calhoun, which...

TV Show page

Adventures of Superman

as Crusher (uncredited)
First aired: 1952-09-19

Announcer: "The Adventures of Superman. Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a...

TV Show page

Cavalcade of America

as Ernie
First aired: 1952-10-01

Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company,...

TV Show page

Public Defender

as Murphy
First aired: 1954-03-11

The Public Defender is a half-hour 69-episode television dramatic series starring Reed Hadley as...

TV Show page

The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

as uncredited
First aired: 1951-04-15

The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok is an American Western television series which ran for eight...

TV Show page

Pete and Gladys

as uncredited
First aired: 1960-09-19

Pete and Gladys is an American situation comedy television series starring Harry Morgan and Cara...

TV Show page

Going My Way

as uncredited
First aired: 1962-10-03

Going My Way is an American comedy-drama series

TV Show page

Racket Squad

as uncredited
First aired: 1951-06-07

Racket Squad is an American TV crime drama series starring Reed Hadley as Captain John Braddock,...

TV Show page

The Life Of Riley

as Feeney's Big Goon (uncredited)
First aired: 1953-01-02

Riley worked in an aircraft plant in California, but viewers usually saw him at home, cheerfully...

TV Show page

The Life Of Riley

as Otto Schmidlap
First aired: 1953-01-02

Riley worked in an aircraft plant in California, but viewers usually saw him at home, cheerfully...

TV Show page

The Life Of Riley

as Otto Schmidlapp
First aired: 1953-01-02

Riley worked in an aircraft plant in California, but viewers usually saw him at home, cheerfully...

TV Show page

The Life Of Riley

as Otto
First aired: 1953-01-02

Riley worked in an aircraft plant in California, but viewers usually saw him at home, cheerfully...

TV Show page

The Life Of Riley

as uncredited
First aired: 1953-01-02

Riley worked in an aircraft plant in California, but viewers usually saw him at home, cheerfully...

TV Show page

The Thin Man

as Tom Culdane
First aired: 1957-09-20

Nick Charles was a private detective who married the wealthy Nora and decided to settle down and...

TV Show page

The Thin Man

as Sandy - Henchman
First aired: 1957-09-20

Nick Charles was a private detective who married the wealthy Nora and decided to settle down and...

TV Show page

The Thin Man

as uncredited
First aired: 1957-09-20

Nick Charles was a private detective who married the wealthy Nora and decided to settle down and...

TV Show page

Hennesey

as uncredited
First aired: 1959-09-28

Hennesey is an American military sitcom/drama television series with Jackie Cooper in the title...

TV Show page

The Abbott and Costello Show

as Mulligan
First aired: 1952-12-05

Bud and Lou are unemployed actors living in Mr. Fields’ boarding house. Lou’s girlfriend Hillary...

TV Show page

The Wonderful World of Disney

as Father with Nine Kids (uncredited)
First aired: 1954-10-27

Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different...

TV Show page

U.S. Marshall

as Pinto
First aired: 1956-09-21

While this sounds like a western, THE SHERIFF OF COCHISE was a contemporary police drama set in...

TV Show page