Oh Mickey, You’re So Dead

Mickey Hargitay, former Mr. Universe and, thankfully, deliverer of driving lessons for daughter Mariska, has died at the age of 80. A former member of the WWII underground, the Hungarian strongman won the Mr. Universe title in 1955, earning him a gig in Mae West’s nightclub act. There, beefcake met cheesecake in the form of bouncy Jayne Mansfield, and the two wed in 1958, appearing together in such Oscar-ignored films as The Loves of Hercules. Hargitay’s range is better shown in Slaughter on Tenth Avenue and the finest dubbed Italian cinema. The marriage ended in divorce, but produced a daughter, Mariska, who overcame her familial shortcomings to earn an Emmy as Det. Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and, to the best of my knowledge, drive a car without decapitating anyone. Mariska dragged the old man out of a three-decade retirement to appear on L&O:SVU 3 years ago. Hargitay was a role model for another Eastern European bodybuilder-actor-ladies man: Arnold Schwarzeneggar, who played Hargitay in the 1980 TV movie: The Jayne Mansfield Story.