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Samson Burke was born in 1929 to Jack and Mina Burke, who lived and worked in the Jewish immigrant neighbourhood near the garment factories of Saint Lawrence Boulevard. As a young adult in the 1940s, Burke worked as a cutter in Montreal’s booming shmata industry. He attended Baron Byng High School and McGill University, where he earned a degree in physical education.
He was a competitive swimmer from a young age, winning several titles at the provincial and national level for individual swimming as well as for water polo. As an undergraduate, he was named “Canada’s Greatest All-Around Collegiate Athlete.” Burke went on to compete in bodybuilding, winning the titles of “Mr. Montreal,” “Mr. Muscle Beach” and “Mr. Canada.” He put both of these skills to use in the 1948 Summer Olympics, when wrestled and swam for Canada.
During the 1950s, he made his mark in wrestling, using the names « Sammy Berg » and « Mr. Canada, » and sparred with the major names of his era. In the late 1950s, he won the “World Heavyweight Wrestling” title, and the International Federation of Bodybuilders named him the “Top Amateur Athlete in the World” at the World Bodybuilding Championships.
When Burke landed the lead role of Ursus in the 1961 film The Revenge of Ursus, his career took a turn from sports into acting, where his physique led him to many roles as the archetypal “strong man.” His breakout film Toto vs Maciste, in which he appeared opposite Italian comedian Totò, was filmed the following year. Norman Maurer then chose him to portray the mythical Greek hero Hercules in The Three Stooges Meet Hercules, a role which brought him significant fame throughout North America. Burke also played Little John in an Italian version of The Triumph of Robin Hood, Polyphemus in a 1968 Italian miniseries of The Odyssey, and appeared alongside actor Klaus Kinski in the Western Sartana the Gravedigger.
In the 1980s, Burke relocated to Hawaii, where he worked on the television show Magnum, P.I. until it ended in 1988. Burke later moved to California and worked as a personal trainer until his retirement in the early 1990s.
Compiled by Federation CJA and Joshua Fichman-Goldberg.
Sources
"Samson Burke". Juifs d'ici, Federation CJA. 2017.
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