Billy Varga obit

Count Billy Varga, Actor and Wrestler, Dies at 94

He was not on the list.

He appeared in such films as "Raging Bull" and "Oklahoma Crude" and grappled with Herman on TV's "The Munsters."

Count Billy Varga, who parlayed his many years as a professional wrestler into an acting career, died Jan. 11 in Burbank, one day after he turned 94, his family reported.

His father, Count Joseph Varga, was a Hungarian fighter who inspired his son to enter the ring. Both went by the denomination of count, bestowed upon them as members of Hungarian nobility.

Born in Cleveland, Varga wrestled in more than 500 matches from the 1930s to the '70s and was known for his speed inside the ropes. He went to Hollywood High School and lived in the Los Angeles area for more than 70 years.

Varga often played a wrestler, boxing announcer or referee onscreen, with roles in such films as Bodyhold (1949); Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) with Rita Hayworth; Abbott & Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955); Stanley Kramer's Oklahoma Crude (1973), starring George C. Scott and Faye Dunaway; and Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980).

Varga also appeared on such TV shows as The Jack Benny Program, Burke's Law, The Munsters (as Strangler Murphy, he memorably wrestled Fred Gwynne's Herman, who was out to make some extra money for son Eddie's education), Matlock and The Fall Guy. He and his late son, Billy Varga Jr., appeared in National Geographic's The Mohave Desert (1971).

Varga, who served in the Navy during World War II, stayed in touch with his fellow wrestlers as a member of the Cauliflower Alley Club.

Survivors include grandchildren Billy the III, Lisa, Eain, Tania and Joseph. A memorial service is set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.

 

Filmography

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1949      Alias the Champ                Wrestler              

1949      Bodyhold             Marvelous Milton           

1953      The Abbott and Costello Show    The Big Guy       

1953      Miss Sadie Thompson     Marine Uncredited

1955      Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops      Guy outside theater that throws Bud       Uncredited

1960      Shotgun Slade    Snag      Episode: "The Smell of Money"

1961      It Started in Tokyo           Mark     Uncredited

1962      Convicts 4            Guard #7             

1962      The Jack Benny Program               Himself                 Episode: "The Story of Jack Referees Wrestling Match"

1964      The Munsters    Strangler Murphy             Episode: "Herman the Great"

1965      Burke's Law        The Count           Uncredited, Episode: "Who Killed the Strangler?"

1973      Oklahoma Crude               Cook     

1976      Ellery Queen      Security Guard Episode: "The Adventure of the Tyrant of Tin Pan Alley"

1980      Raging Bull          Ring announcer - Third Robinson Fight   

1985      Grunt! The Wrestling Movie        Coach Rocko      

1986      Bad Guys             Referee               

1986      Stewardess School           Fight Manager  

1991      Alligator II: The Mutation              Announcer          (final film role)