Samson Burke


Samson Burke is a Canadian bodybuilder, swimmer, wrestler and actor.

Biography

Burke earned a college degree in physical education. In the 1950s, Burke wrestled for nine years under the names "Sammy Berg" and "Mr Canada", and sparred with such luminaries as Primo Carnera, Antonino Rocca, Lou Thesz and Joe Lewis. His friend Gordon Mitchell recommended Burke for the lead role of Ursus in the 1961 film The Revenge of Ursus. Burke next appeared opposite Italian comedian Totò in the 1962 comedy Toto vs. Maciste. Norman Maurer then hired him to portray the mythical Greek hero Hercules in The Three Stooges Meet Hercules. He wrestled as Sammy Berg.
As the sword and sandal craze faded, Burke played Little John in an Italian film called The Triumph of Robin Hood, Polyphemus in a 1968 Italian miniseries of The Odyssey, a villain in a Kommissar X film , Harald Reinl's Nibelungenlied films, and appeared alongside Gianni Garko and Klaus Kinski in both a spaghetti western, Sartana the Gravedigger, and an Italian war film, Five for Hell. In the 1980s, Burke relocated to Hawaii and worked on the show Magnum, P.I. until it ceased production in 1988.

Championships and accomplishments