Jack O'Halloran
Encyclopedia
Jack O'Halloran is an American
ex-boxer
and actor
.
, Pennsylvania
. Fighting as "Irish" Jack O'Halloran out of Boston, Massachusetts, he was a heavyweight
boxing contender active from 1966 to 1974. The 6-foot, 6-inch O'Halloran was undefeated throughout his first 16 professional fights.
During his career, O'Halloran defeated former title contenders Cleveland Williams
and Manuel Ramos
. He also defeated Danny McAlinden
who won the bronze medal for boxing at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
in Kingston, Jamaica
and later became the British and Commonwealth Heavyweight champion. O'Halloran's losses included defeats at the hands of future heavyweight champions George Foreman
and Ken Norton
.
In 1973, O'Halloran was close to attaining a match against Muhammad Ali
when he was knocked out by Jimmy Summerville. This ended his chances to fight Ali. Although O'Halloran went on to defeat Summerville by K.O. in a rematch, with only three more wins and five losses he was never again a serious heavyweight contender.
The California Boxing Hall of Fame has listed O'Halloran as one of its inductees of the 2009 HOF class.
featuring Robert Mitchum
as private eye Philip Marlowe
.
supervillains banished to the Phantom Zone
by Jor-El
(Marlon Brando
) in Superman (1978
) and inadvertently released, by the Man of Steel
himself (Christopher Reeve
), in Superman II
(1980
).
O'Halloran once stated in an interview that it was his idea to make Non a child-like character, having difficulty adjusting to his newfound powers and making sounds in the absence of voice. O'Halloran criticized Alexander
and Ilya Salkind
, the producers of the Superman films, for their mishandling of the franchise, believing that their firing of director Donner was a huge blow to the series and the cause of its downturn in quality, a sentiment that was shared by Gene Hackman
, who refused to reprise his Lex Luthor
role in the third film
, and Margot Kidder
, who played Lois Lane
.
In an interview with Starlog Magazine in October 2006, O'Halloran stated that he and Christopher Reeve did not get along during the making of Superman II. One incident in particular nearly led to a fight between the two actors, in which O'Halloran choked Reeve, only to be stopped by Donner. Despite the clash between them, O'Halloran stated that his heart went out to Reeve after his 1995 accident, and commended him for helping others with spinal cord injuries.
According to O'Halloran, the reaction he gets most often from fans is "My God, he can talk!". He is also an active participant on his own messageboard on the Internet Movie Database
.
(1976
) and Dragnet
(1987
), as well as The Baltimore Bullet
(1980), Hero and the Terror
(1988) and Mob Boss (1990).
to create Long Beach Studios
, a chain of film studio facilities throughout the United States.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ex-boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Boxing
O'Halloran was born in PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Fighting as "Irish" Jack O'Halloran out of Boston, Massachusetts, he was a heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
boxing contender active from 1966 to 1974. The 6-foot, 6-inch O'Halloran was undefeated throughout his first 16 professional fights.
During his career, O'Halloran defeated former title contenders Cleveland Williams
Cleveland Williams
Cleveland "Big Cat" Williams was an American heavyweight boxer who fought in the 1950s through the 1970s. A Ring Magazine poll once rated him as one of the finest boxers who never won a title...
and Manuel Ramos
Manuel Ramos
Manuel Ramos, an attorney who also has taught Chicano literature courses at Metropolitan State College of Denver, is the author of several crime fiction novels...
. He also defeated Danny McAlinden
Danny McAlinden
Danny McAlinden is a retired heavyweight boxer who was British and Commonwealth champion in 1971 when he defeated Jack Bodell in two rounds at the Aston Villa football ground....
who won the bronze medal for boxing at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica from 4 August to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions....
in Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
and later became the British and Commonwealth Heavyweight champion. O'Halloran's losses included defeats at the hands of future heavyweight champions George Foreman
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
and Ken Norton
Ken Norton
Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. is a former heavyweight boxer. He is best known for his 12-round victory over a peak Muhammad Ali where he famously broke Ali's jaw, on March 31, 1973, becoming only the second man to defeat Ali as a professional .He and Ali...
.
In 1973, O'Halloran was close to attaining a match against Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
when he was knocked out by Jimmy Summerville. This ended his chances to fight Ali. Although O'Halloran went on to defeat Summerville by K.O. in a rematch, with only three more wins and five losses he was never again a serious heavyweight contender.
The California Boxing Hall of Fame has listed O'Halloran as one of its inductees of the 2009 HOF class.
Acting career
Retiring from boxing in 1974 with a record of 34-21-2 (17 knockout victories) O'Halloran turned to a career as an actor. He first won the role of ex-convict Moose Malloy in the 1975 film Farewell, My LovelyFarewell, My Lovely
Farewell, My Lovely is a 1940 novel by Raymond Chandler, the second novel he wrote featuring Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe. It was adapted for the screen three times.-Plot summary:...
featuring Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
as private eye Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler in a series of novels including The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. Marlowe first appeared under that name in The Big Sleep published in 1939...
.
Superman film series
This led to other tough "henchmen" style roles which culminated in the role he is best known for: Non, the menacing-but-mute member of the trio of KryptonianKrypton (comics)
Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details of...
supervillains banished to the Phantom Zone
Phantom Zone
The Phantom Zone is a fictional prison dimension featured in the Superman comic books and related media published by DC Comics. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...
by Jor-El
Jor-El
Jor-El is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial in the . He was created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, and he first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 as Superman's biological father....
(Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
) in Superman (1978
1978 in film
The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California....
) and inadvertently released, by the Man of Steel
Man of Steel
Man of Steel may refer to:* Superman, the comic book superhero, whom the nickname "The Man of Steel" commonly refers to** The Man of Steel , a six-issue comic book limited series about Superman released in 1986 by DC Comics...
himself (Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
), in Superman II
Superman II
Superman II is the 1980 sequel to the 1978 superhero film Superman and stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, and Jack O'Halloran. It was the only Superman film to be filmed by two directors...
(1980
1980 in film
- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
).
O'Halloran once stated in an interview that it was his idea to make Non a child-like character, having difficulty adjusting to his newfound powers and making sounds in the absence of voice. O'Halloran criticized Alexander
Alexander Salkind
Alexander Salkind was the second of three generations of successful international film producers.-Life and career:...
and Ilya Salkind
Ilya Salkind
Ilya Juan Salkind Dominguez , usually known as Ilya Salkind, is a film and television producer, well known for his contributions to the live-action Superman films of the 1970s and '80s alongside his father, Alexander Salkind....
, the producers of the Superman films, for their mishandling of the franchise, believing that their firing of director Donner was a huge blow to the series and the cause of its downturn in quality, a sentiment that was shared by Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
, who refused to reprise his Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
role in the third film
Superman III
Superman III is a 1983 superhero film and the third film in the Superman film series based upon the long-running DC Comics superhero. Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure and Margot Kidder are joined by new cast members Annette O'Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn and...
, and Margot Kidder
Margot Kidder
Margaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....
, who played Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
.
In an interview with Starlog Magazine in October 2006, O'Halloran stated that he and Christopher Reeve did not get along during the making of Superman II. One incident in particular nearly led to a fight between the two actors, in which O'Halloran choked Reeve, only to be stopped by Donner. Despite the clash between them, O'Halloran stated that his heart went out to Reeve after his 1995 accident, and commended him for helping others with spinal cord injuries.
According to O'Halloran, the reaction he gets most often from fans is "My God, he can talk!". He is also an active participant on his own messageboard on the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
.
Other acting roles
O'Halloran has also played supporting roles in King KongKing Kong (1976 film)
King Kong is a 1976 American monster movie produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Guillermin. It is a remake of the 1933 classic film of the same name, about a giant ape that is captured and imported to New York City for exhibition....
(1976
1976 in film
The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
) and Dragnet
Dragnet (1987 film)
Dragnet is a 1987 film comedy starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks, directed by Tom Mankiewicz, based on the television crime drama of the same name starring Jack Webb. The screenplay is written by Aykroyd, Alan Zweibel and Mankiewicz. The original music score is by Ira Newborn...
(1987
1987 in film
-Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records....
), as well as The Baltimore Bullet
The Baltimore Bullet
The Baltimore Bullet is a 1980 film based on the adventures of two pool hustlers in the United States.It was directed by Robert Ellis Miller and starred James Coburn, Bruce Boxleitner and Omar Sharif. The Baltimore Bullet screenplay was written by legendary film and stage dancer John Brascia, from...
(1980), Hero and the Terror
Hero and the Terror
Hero and the Terror was a 1988 action film starring martial arts star Chuck Norris, directed by William Tannen. Produced by Menahem Golan, written by Michael Blodgett, and was distributed by Cannon Films. The film stars Norris as Danny O'Brien as a cop trying to stop a serial killer, Simon Moon...
(1988) and Mob Boss (1990).
Business
In 2008, O'Halloran announced plans to partner with veteran Hollywood executive Jay SamitJay Samit
Jay Samit is a digital media innovator who has pioneered advancements in music and video distribution, social media, and ecommerce. He is currently the CEO of SocialVibe.- Jasmine Multimedia Publishing :...
to create Long Beach Studios
Long Beach Studios
Long Beach Studios is an American film studio under development at the former Boeing factory in Long Beach, California-History:The facility is a factory originally completed in 1941 by Douglas Aircraft Company to build airplanes for the American war effort in World War II. The factory built...
, a chain of film studio facilities throughout the United States.