Ed Fury (6 June 1928 – 24 February 2023; age 94) was a former bodybuilder, model, and actor who played the Yang drummer in the Star Trek: The Original Series second season episode "The Omega Glory". As a background performer, he received no credit for his appearance.
Fury was born Rupert Edmund Holovchik in Los Angeles, and competed in numerous bodybuilding competitions, such as "Mr. Muscle Beach" in 1951 and 1953, earning third and second places respectively. He also worked as physique model for various photographers and "muscle magazines" and as a bit and background actor in Hollywood.
His film credits from this era include Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953, with Gregg Palmer), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953, with Julie Newmar, Al Cavens, Chuck Hicks, Monty O'Grady, and Arthur Tovey), Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954, with Jay Robinson, William Marshall, Roy Jenson, Julie Newmar, Gil Perkins, and Paul Stader), Bus Stop (1956), and South Pacific (1958, with Ray Walston, France Nuyen, Walt Davis, and Joseph Paz).
In 1960, Fury moved to Italy where he starred in six "sword-and-sandal" films playing mighty Roman-era heroes such as Ursus and Maciste, including Colossus and the Amazon Queen (1960), Ursus in the Valley of Lions (1961), and Maciste Against the Sheik (1962).
Returning to the United States in the mid-1960s, Fury couldn't find more fame as an actor and moved back to playing (often uncredited) bit and background roles, mostly on television. He later appeared in shows such as Gilligan's Island, Mission: Impossible (with Skip Homeier, Victor Tayback, and William Lucking), The Odd Couple, Barnaby Jones (starring Lee Meriwether, featuring Glenn Corbett, Liam Sullivan, Vince Howard, Ian Abercrombie, Morgan Farley, Dallas Mitchell, Bob Hoy, and Monty O'Grady, directed by Larry Dobkin), Columbo (with Robert Walker, Lou Wagner, and Arthur Batanides), and Fantasy Island (starring Ricardo Montalban). He also appeared as a contestant in the game show The Dating Game in 1965.
In 1996, he came out of retirement for a role in the exploitation sci-fi comedy Dinosaur Valley Girls (with Jeff Rector, William Marshall, and Bill Blair). His last on-screen appearance was in the game show All-New 3's a Crowd in 2000.
Fury passed away at the age of 94 on February 24, 2023 at his home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. [1]
External links[]
- Ed Fury at the Internet Movie Database
- Ed Fury at Wikipedia