Turning professional with no amateur background Jack “The Giant” O’Halloran at 6:06 turned professional at the Municipal Stadium in Reading, PA. Being born in Philadelphia O’Halloran stayed in the area for his first four fights. He lived in Runnemede, NJ.
In his pro debut he stopped debuting Joe Pinto in the first round in September of 1966. He was on the undercard of Philadelphia’s former WBA & WBC World Middleweight champion Joey Giardello, 97-24-8, who was winning his 97th fight in the main event. In the co-feature was Frank “Jersey Jolter” DePaula, 9-2-3, of Jersey City, NJ, who stopped Ray Chief” Staples, 12-7, of Philadelphia and Reading. In “Smokin” Joe Frazier’s seventh fight he stopped Staples who was 12-4 at the time.
In O’Halloran’s second fight a month later at the Philadelphia Arena he stopped 6:07 Bob Hazelton in the first round. Hazelton was born in Philadelphia but like O’Halloran would eventually end up on the west coast. O’Halloran’s next two fights were at the same venue in Philadelphia in back to back decision wins over Woody Goss, 5-3, the first a month after the Hazelton fight and four months later in March of 1966. Goss was Joe Frazier’s debut victim.
A month after the second Goss fight O’Halloran decided to move to New England to continue his boxing career. He would go 6-0-1, in Boston and NY, before returning to Philadelphia in August and October of 1967 winning both fights. This was followed a month later after the second fight with a knockout win in Scranton, PA.
O’Halloran would go 15-0-1, before losing for the first time to Charlie “Emperor” Harris, 3-3, in Scranton over 8 rounds in the main event. Harris in his previous fight stopped Jose Roman, 17-3-1. It would be six months before returning to the ring in San Juan, PR, losing to Roman over ten rounds. Just twelve days later he scored a knockout in Taunton, MASS.
Just nineteen days after this fight O’Halloran went to London, UK, losing to future world contender and title challenger Joe Bugner over 8 rounds in a very close fight. The following month he would lose to Tony Doyle, 24-5-1, by decision. Both Bugner and Doyle would be victims of Frazier. Two months later he would return to the UK defeating Carl Gizzi, 30-4, of Wales, over 10 rounds. He was then 17-4-1.
The following month O’Halloran’s next opponent was 6:05 southpaw Al “Goulds Terror” Jones, 27-1-1, being stopped for the first time in this one. Two months later he would travel to South Africa and draw with Jimmy Richards, 5-0-1. Just thirteen days later he would knockout Manuel “Pulgarito” Ramos, 22-8-2, in 7 rounds in his first bout in CA. Ramos had been in a NYSAC Championship fight with Frazier the previous year.
In 1970 O’Halloran was tossed in as an “opponent” being stopped by future world champion and former Olympic Gold Medalist “Big” George Foreman at MSG and then contender Mac Foster, 23-0, CA. The following month in a rematch with Roman he lost again by decision. Two months later going back to the UK for the third time he defeated Ireland’s “Dangerous” Danny McAlinden, 11-0.
In 1971 O’Halloran returned to the UK for the fourth and last time losing to former British champ Jack Bodell, 54-10. In back to back fight’s a month apart he would stop Terry “TX” Daniels, 26-3-1, and defeat by split decision world title contender Cleveland Williams, 77-11-1, both in Texas. Both were in world title fights with Frazier and Ali. Next he would be stopped by future title challenger Ron Lyle, 9-0.
Next up in a rematch he reversed his first loss defeating Charlie “The Emporer” Harris. A month later on “St. Patty’s Day” he would lose to future world champion Ken Norton, 24-1, by decision in San Diego. He would go onto win 8 of his next 9 fights reversing the loss to Henry Clark.
O’Halloran would fight 8 of his 9 fights in CA, starting with Norton. In September of 1972 he knocked out Rahman Ali, 14-2-1, the brother of Muhammad Ali in San Diego. In November that year he won the CA State title knocking out Robbie Harris, 5-8-1. In March of 1973 he would defeat Alvin “Blue” Lewis, 27-5. Nineteen days later with a win he would get a bout with Muhammad Ali but was stopped by Jimmy Summerville, 5-2-4. A month later he stopped Summerville but the Ali fight had already passed him by.
O’Halloran would go 3-5 after this win before ending his career with a 34-21-2, with 17 knockouts, in August of 1974 losing to Howard Smith, 10-1, at the age of 31. He was 9-4 in his bouts in CA. In looking over his career there were too many fights close together.
Liking CA, O’Halloran would enter the movie business a year after retiring from boxing in his first role the movie playing ex-convict Moose Malloy in “Farwell, My Lovely” starring Robert Mitchum as detective Philip Marlowe. This led to “henchmen” style roles which culminated in his best known role, Non, the menacing-but-mute member of the trio Kryptonian super villains banished to the Phantom Zone by Jor-El (played by Marlon Brando) in Superman in 1978.
Other roles O’Halloran would be in were Superman II, King Kong, Dragnet, March or Die, The Baltimore Bullet, Mob Boss, The Flintstones and Superman: Requiem (2011) – Shuttle Commander (voice). In 2016 he was in Enter the First and the Golden Fleece along with Abduct – Alistair. In all there were fourteen roles.
In 2008 O’Halloran announced plans to enter into a partnership with veteran Hollywood executive Jay Samit to create Long Beach Studios, a chain of studio facilities throughout the United States. In 2010 he released “The Family Legacy”. The book also outlines O’Halloran’s relationship with his claimed father, a former boss of the Gambino crime family, Albert Anastasia. He is now 75 years-old.
This was quite a career in boxing and acting by O’Halloran. He has been nominated and will be inducted in May into the PAB HOF for 2019 of which this writer is a member of that committee.