Maxie Rosenbloom
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Maxie Rosenbloom, born September 6, 1903 in Harlem, New York City, United States – died March 6, 1976 in South Pasadena, California, was a boxing champion and film actor.
Growing up in a tough neighborhood during an anti-Semitic era, Maxie Rosenbloom learned to defend himself. Not a heavy puncher, as a professional boxer he relied on hitting and moving to score points, his fights often going the full number of required rounds. Opinions about the nickname vary. He may have been Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom because at times he seemed to slap his opponent rather than punch, but he nevertheless won the Light Heavyweight Championship of the World in 1932. He held and defended the title until November of 1934 when he lost it to Bob Olin. "Slapsie" was a common term for punch-drunk, and Rosenbloom played that character with great popular success both in the ring and later, in films. It seems a more likely reason for the name.
In 1937, he accepted a role in a Hollywood film and after retiring from boxing in 1939 he operated nightclubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles while acting in a number of films, usually playing comedic roles as a big, clumsy, punch-drunk-- but lovable-- lout. His 300 boxing matches brought thousands of head punches that eventually led to the deterioration of his motor functions.
In 1972, Rosenbloom was inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993.
On his passing in 1976, Maxie Rosenbloom was interred in the Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, California.
