- Born
- Died
- Birth nameSteve Sipek
- Born in Eastern Europe, Steve Hawkes (aka Hucks) emigrated to America as a teenager to pursue an acting career, citing Johnny Weissmuller as a childhood influence. He played a Tarzan-type character in a series of Spanish-language movies. In Spain his character was referred to as "Tarzan", but when they were released in English-language territories they directly avoided mentioning the Tarzan name, instead referring to Hawkes' character as "Zan" (as in Tarzan in the Golden Grotto (1969). In 1972 he played the lead in the much-loved exploitation movie Blood Freak (1972),in which he turns into a monster turkey.
In the early '70s he was badly burned in an on-set accident, putting an end to his acting career. Now completely retired, he runs an animal sanctuary out of Florida.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Antony Butcher (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)
- SpousesFrances Grutta(1971 - 1983) (divorced)Dianne Marilyn Rowe(1968 - 1970) (divorced)
- On July 13, 2004, his pet tiger Bobo escaped from his compound in Loxahatchee, Florida and was shot and killed the next day by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission Officer, bringing national media attention to the incident. Hawkes believes the officer "murdered" Bobo needlessly.
- Badly burned on the set of Tarzan at the Rainbow (later titled Tarzan and the Brown Prince) in Florida 31 Oct 1970.
- On July 19, 2004, 6 days after his pet tiger Bobo escaped from his compound in Loxahatchee, Florida and was shot and killed, his house caught on fire. He recently had a new air conditioner installed, and it apparently malfunctioned and sparked the blaze. Crews had a hard time getting to the fire because Sipek has electrical fencing to keep his other exotic animals caged in. But the fire was eventually extinguished, and all animals on the property were reported in good condition.
- Resides in Loxahatchee, Florida
- 27 February 2012, he had 2 tigers and a leopard removed from his property due to a lack of a federal permit to have such animals at his Loxahatchee, Florida, USA home.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content