Maxie Rosenbloom

Maxie Rosenbloom

1907-11-01 – 1976-03-06 (age 68) Leonard's Bridge, Connecticut, USA
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Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Max Everitt Rosenbloom (November 1, 1907 – March 6, 1976) was an American boxer, actor, and television personality. Born in Leonard Bridge, Connecticut, Rosenbloom was nicknamed "Slapsie Maxie" by a journalist due to his open-gloved style of boxing. In 1930, he won the New York light heavyweight title. In 1932, he won the World Light Heavyweight Championship. He held and defended the title until November 1934, when he lost it to Bob Olin. As a professional boxer, Rosenbloom relied on hitting and moving to score points. He was very difficult to hit cleanly with a power punch and his fights often went the full number of required rounds. In his boxing career, he received thousands of punches to the head, which eventually led to the deterioration of his motor functions.

In 1937, he accepted a role in a Hollywood film. He became a character actor, portraying comical "big guys" in movies that included Each Dawn I Die, and Maxie retired from boxing permanently in 1939. Slapsy Maxie's, the first comedy club, opened in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He continued acting on radio, television, and in a number of films, usually playing comedy roles as a big, clumsy, punch-drunk—but lovable—character. He appeared in a number of episodes (playing himself) of The Fred Allen Show—including a skit with Marlene Dietrich. Rosenbloom played an important part in television's first 90-minute drama, Requiem for a Heavyweight, written by Rod Serling, and starring Jack Palance as a boxer at the end of his career. Rosenbloom played an ex-boxer, whose life revolved around retelling old boxing stories night after night to other ex-boxers in a down-and-out bar. It is the fate that looms for Mountain McClintock, Palance's character, if he cannot adjust to a new life outside the ring.

Slapsy Maxie's, his nightclub, is prominently featured in a 2013 crime film, Gangster Squad, which is set in 1949. The club, which actually operated in 1939 at 7165 Beverly Blvd and from 1943 to 1947, was located at 5665 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles.

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Known For

Swing Fever
Swing Fever

1943

as 'Rags'

Ringside Maisie
Ringside Maisie

1941

as Chotsie

Mister Universe
Mister Universe

1951

as Big Ears

Trouble Chasers
Trouble Chasers

1945

as Maxie

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse
Eloise
Eloise

1956

as Himself

Nothing Sacred
Nothing Sacred

1937

as Max Levinsky

The Bellboy
The Bellboy

1960

as Maxie

Mr. Moto's Gamble
Mr. Moto's Gamble

1938

as Horace 'Knock-Out' Wellington

To the Shores of Tripoli
To the Shores of Tripoli

1942

as Okay Jones

Hollywood or Bust
Hollywood or Bust

1956

as Bookie Benny

The Spy in the Green Hat
The Spy in the Green Hat

1967

as 'Crunch' Battaglia

The Perils of Pauline
The Perils of Pauline

1947

as Maxie (uncredited)

Men in Her Diary
Men in Her Diary

1945

as Moxie Kildorff

Irish Eyes Are Smiling
Irish Eyes Are Smiling

1944

as Stanley Ketchel

Submarine Patrol
Submarine Patrol

1938

as Marine Sentry Sgt. Joe Duffy

Naughty but Nice
Naughty but Nice

1939

as Killer

My Son, The Hero
My Son, The Hero

1943

as Kid Slug Rosenthal

Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase

1941

as The Shadow aka Wilson

I Married a Monster from Outer Space
I Married a Monster from Outer Space

1958

as Max Grady - Bartender