 Hank Garrett is an actor and producer, known for Death Wish (1974), The Amityville Horror (1979) and Three Days of the Condor (1975). He has been married to Deanna Marie Smith since July 23, 2017.
Hank was born in Harlem, New York City, to Sam and Ida Greenberg, both Jewish Russian immigrants. He began powerlifting, bodybuilding, and karate at the age of 13 as a means of self-protection in a rough neighborhood. He was the 1958 winner of the Junior Olympic Powerlifting competition.
This led to an extended stint (1957-1966) in professional wrestling under the name of The Minnesota Farm Boy. In  one of his last matches, he fought a young Jimmy Snuka; he mentioned this during his hall of fame speech with Jimmy Snuka in attendance. In June 2009, he was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.
After several years in pro wrestling, Hank turned to comedy and performed a regular routine in the Borscht Belt, using anecdotes from his childhood years in Harlem.
As well as his regular role on Car 54, Where are You (as Office Ed Nicholson), Hank has acted in a number of television productions including episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard, Knots Landing, Max Headroom, Santa Barbara, Three's Company, Airwolf, Knight Rider, Columbo, Dragnet, Kojak, and Alien Nation. He is also known for his voiceover work on Garfield and GI Joe.
Among his film credits, are notable roles in Serpico (As Muscles Malone), Death Wish (As Andrew McCabe), and Lovely Way to Die (as a Mobster). Hank tends to be cast as the "heavy" in many roles.
In Three Days of the Condor, he played a hitman dressed as a postman who tries to kill Robert Redford's character. During the filming of the fight scene, he broke Robert Redford's nose. Hank won the New York Film Critics’ Award for that role.
Hank has co-starred with television and film notables including Peter Falk, Patrick Stewart, Kathleen Turner, Christopher Lloyd, Al Pacino, Sophia Loren, James Coburn, Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, James Earl Jones, and many others.
Hank Garrett is active in philanthropic causes, and is on the Screen Actors Guild board. He lives in the San Fernando valley and is working on production of a one-man show. |
