Screenshot from film Straziami, ma di baci saziami (1968).
Photo Credit : Cavarrone
Sam wrestled under the name "Sammy Berg" in the 1950's. At 6'6" tall and 275lbs, Sam was a force to be reckoned with.
Photo Credit : Samson Burke
Samson Burke in THE 3 STOOGES MEET HERCULES (1962).
Photo Credit : Peplum TV
Samson Burke in THE 3 STOOGES MEET HERCULES (1962).
Photo Credit : Peplum TV
Samson Burke in THE 3 STOOGES MEET HERCULES (1962).
Photo Credit : Peplum TV
Photograph of Samson Burke -1950s.
Photo Credit : Samson Burke
Photograph of Samson Burke -1950s.
Photo Credit : Samson Burke
1929 -
Samson Burke
Samson Burke is a multi-talented competitive Olympic-winning swimmer and wrestler, bodybuilder, and actor.
A Montreal native, Burke went to Baron Byng High School and McGill University, earning a college degree in physical education. He was a competitive swimmer from a young age, winning several titles at the provincial and national level, for individual swimming as well as for water polo. As an undergraduate, he was named “Canada’s Greatest All-Around Collegiate Athlete.”
Burke went on to compete in bodybuilding, winning the titles of “Mr. Montreal,” “Mr. Muscle Beach” and “Mr. Canada.” In the 1948 Summer Olympics, he wrestled and swam for Canada. During the 1950s, he made his mark in wrestling, using the names “Sammy Berg” and “Mr. Canada,” and sparring with the major names of his era. In the late 1950s, he won the “World Heavyweight Wrestling” title. The International Federation of Bodybuilders named him the “Top Amateur Athlete in the World” at the world bodybuilding championships.
During the 1960s, Burke’s career took a turn from sports into acting. He got the lead role of Ursus in the 1961 film The Revenge of Ursus, and appeared opposite Italian comedian Totò in Toto vs Maciste, which became his breakout film. Norman Maurer then chose him to portray the mythical Greek hero Hercules in The Three Stooges Meet Hercules. This role brought him significant fame throughout North America. Burke also played Little John in an Italian version of The Triumph of Robin Hood, Polyphemus in a 1968 Italian miniseries of The Odyssey, and appeared alongside actor Klaus Kinski in the Western, Sartana the Gravedigger. In the 1980s, Burke relocated to Hawaii, where he worked on Magnum, P.I. until the show ended in 1988.
Burke later moved to California and worked as a personal trainer until his retirement in the early 1990s.
