Born in Budapest, Hungary on January 6, 1926 to parents who were in show business in Europe, Miklos "Mickey" Hargitay was an acrobat in his youth, as was his father and his
three brothers. For a time, he was also a speed skater at which he excelled. Hargitay moved to the US in 1947 to escape the oppressive political atmosphere
in his home country and settled in Cleveland, where he met his first wife, Mary, who was also an acrobat. Interestingly, the athletic Hargitay had never lifted weights
before arriving in the U.S. but quickly became an accomplished bodybuilder. He entered the Mr. America and Mr. World competitions in the early 1950s and won the NABBA Mr.
Universe in 1955, five years after Steve Reeves won the title.
  
Physique photos, taken around the time Hargitay won the 1955 Mr. Universe title
    
LEFT: Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield in Europe in the late 1950s. CENTER A: Hargitay with Jayne Mansfield and her daughter, Jayne Marie, in 1958. CENTER B: Photo from their late 1950s nightclub act. RIGHT: Around the time of their 1958 marriage
Early 1960s photo of Nick Adams, Hargitay, and Joe Louis
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Born in Budapest, Hungary on January 6, 1926 to parents who were in show business in Europe, Miklos "Mickey" Hargitay was an acrobat in his youth, as was his father and his
three brothers. For a time, he was also a speed skater at which he excelled. Hargitay moved to the US in 1947 to escape the oppressive political atmosphere
in his home country and settled in Cleveland, where he met his first wife, Mary, who was also an acrobat. Interestingly, the athletic Hargitay had never lifted weights
before arriving in the U.S. but quickly became an accomplished bodybuilder. He entered the Mr. America and Mr. World competitions in the early 1950s and won the NABBA Mr.
Universe in 1955, five years after Steve Reeves won the title.
