Bottom

Born 5 August 1920 New York, New York, USA
Died23 July 1985 Cape May Courthouse, New Jersey, USA. (lung cancer)

Mickey Shaughnessy appeared with Elvis in Jailhouse Rock as cell mate Hunk Houghton who convinces the young Vince Everett (Elvis) to pursue a singing career on release from Jail.

One of the few non-Jewish performers to cut his teeth on the tourist resort circuit, Mickey Shaughnessy went on to appear in a WWII army revue, then spent the postwar years performing a nightclub comedy act. His secondary role in 1952's The Marrying Kind led to a long screen career, wherein the burly Shaughnessy was frequently cast as big, dumb lugs with golden hearts. While contracted with MGM, Shaughnessy appeared in Don't Go Near the Water (1955) as a potty-mouthed sailor (whose cuss words were amusingly bleeped out on the soundtrack), in Designing Women (1957) as a punch-drunk boxer, and in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1960) as the Duke; he also essayed a rare unsympathetic role in 1958's The Sheepman. As Jerry Lewis' Navy buddy-turned-wrestler in Don't Give up the Ship (1959), Shaughnessy effortlessly stole the film from Lewis, which may explain why the two were never reteamed. After closing out his film career in the early '60s, Mickey Shaughnessy revived his nightclub act, priding himself on always working "clean" even into the 1980s.

Filmography

• Primal Scream (1987) .... Charlie Waxman ... aka Hellfire (1987) (UK: video title)
• "Chicago Teddy Bears, The" (1971) TV Series .... Lefty
• Boatniks, The (1970) .... Charlie
• Vernon's Volunteers (1969) (TV)
• My Dog, the Thief (1969) (TV) .... Foley
• Never a Dull Moment (1968) .... Francis
• Boy Called Nuthin', A (1967) (TV) .... Sheriff Hoop
• House Is Not a Home, A (1964) .... Police Sergeant Riordan
• Global Affair, A (1964) .... Police Officer Dugan
• How the West Was Won (1962) .... Deputy Stover
• Pocketful of Miracles (1961) .... Junior
• King of the Roaring 20's - The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961) .... Jim Kelly ... aka Big Bankroll, The (1961) (UK)
• Dondi (1961) .... Sergeant
• North to Alaska (1960) .... Peter Boggs
• Sex Kittens Go to College (1960) .... Boomie ... aka Beauty and the Robot, The (1960) ... aka Teacher Versus Sexpot (1960)
• College Confidential (1960) .... Sam Grover
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The (1960) .... The Duke ... aka Mark Twain's 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' (1960) (USA: complete title)
• Edge of Eternity (1959) .... Scotty O'Brien
• Don't Give Up the Ship (1959) .... Stan Wychinski
• Ask Any Girl (1959) (uncredited) .... Man Smoking Cigarette
• Hangman, The (1959) .... Al Cruse
• Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed, A (1958) .... Harold 'Rocky' Baker ... aka How to Rob a Bank (1958)
• Gunman's Walk (1958) .... Deputy Sheriff Will Motely
• Sheepman, The (1958) .... Jumbo McCall ... aka Stranger with a Gun (1958)
• Don't Go Near the Water (1957) .... Farragut Jones
• Jailhouse Rock (1957) .... Hunk Houghton
• Until They Sail (1957) .... US Marine, Store Customer
• Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (1957) .... Solly Pitts
• Burglar, The (1957) .... Dohmer
• Designing Woman (1957) .... Maxie Stultz
• Conquest of Space (1955) .... Sgt. Mahoney
... aka Mars Project (1955) • From Here to Eternity (1953) .... Supply Sgt. Leva
• Last of the Comanches (1953) .... Rusty Potter
... aka Sabre and the Arrow, The (1953) (UK)
• Marrying Kind, The (1952) .... Pat Bundy

Top