# Mike Greenstein > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mike_Greenstein > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mike_Greenstein.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Greenstein > Source revision: 1356026921 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American strength athlete}} {{Infobox person | name = Mike Greenstein | birth_name = Morris Greenstein | birth_date = {{birth date|1920|12|6}} | birth_place = [Wichita Falls, Texas](/source/Wichita_Falls%2C_Texas), U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2016|02|16|1920|12|6}} | death_place = [Miami Beach, Florida](/source/Miami_Beach%2C_Florida), U.S. | known_for = [Strength](/source/Physical_strength) athlete | occupation = Former [flight](/source/flight) instructor, mechanic, businessman | relatives = [Joe Greenstein](/source/Joe_Greenstein) (father) }} '''Morris''' "'''Mike'''" '''Greenstein''', also known as '''The Mighty Atom Jr.''', (December 6, 1920 – February 16, 2016) was an American strength athlete. ==Early life== Greenstein was born in [Wichita Falls, Texas](/source/Wichita_Falls%2C_Texas), on December 6, 1920{{Cite web|url=http://www.nyharbor.va.gov/features/TheEntertainer.asp|title=The Entertainer - VA NY Harbor Healthcare System|last=System|first=VA NY Harbor Healthcare|website=www.nyharbor.va.gov|access-date=2016-06-05}} at a time when his father, legendary strongman [Joe Greenstein](/source/Joe_Greenstein) ("The Mighty Atom"), was working in the oil fields in Texas. The family later moved to [Brownsville, Brooklyn](/source/Brownsville%2C_Brooklyn) where the senior Greenstein began his shows as a miniature Samson in vaudeville and Yiddish theaters. The senior Greenstein soon earned the nickname The Mighty Atom. Around that time, the junior began training with his father and his three brothers at a young age. During [World War II](/source/World_War_II), he joined the [United States Army Air Forces](/source/United_States_Army_Air_Forces) and was assigned a mechanic [MOS](/source/United_States_military_occupation_code). During that time, his father was touring the country entertaining troops and did shows to raise money for war bonds. Inspired by his father, the younger Greenstein decided to start an act of his own to entertain the troops at the various bases he was stationed in by bending bars, breaking chains, and pulling passenger-filled cars with his hair or his teeth. He also performed shows at theaters in the towns near the bases he was stationed during his off duty liberty. He later attended aviation school in Manhattan, and subsequently worked at [Trans World Airlines](/source/Trans_World_Airlines) for 19 years. He also worked at local Waldbaum’s and photographed weddings.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/nyregion/for-mike-greenstein-91-a-truck-is-no-match-for-his-teeth.html|title=For Mike Greenstein, 91, a Truck Is No Match for His Teeth|last=Kilgannon|first=Corey|date=2012-06-29|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-06-05}} ==Career== Living his later years in [Rockaway](/source/Rockaway%2C_Queens), [Queens, New York](/source/Queens%2C_New_York), Greenstein was a strength athlete by profession, known as the Mighty Atom Jr. He was capable of pulling a car with his bare teeth, nearly to his dying day. Greenstein was an active advocate of cancer prevention; his father had died of cancer, and his wife and daughter both predeceased him due to [breast cancer](/source/breast_cancer). He was a contestant on [season 9](/source/America's_Got_Talent_(season_9)) of ''[America's Got Talent](/source/America's_Got_Talent)'' at 93 years old and passed through the auditions round, but he was eliminated in the Judgement Round.{{cite episode |title=America's Got Talent: Season 9|series=America's Got Talent|network=[NBC](/source/NBC)}} Greenstein died on February 16, 2016, while visiting family in Florida.{{Cite web|url=http://www.rockawave.com/news/2016-02-18/Community/Farewell_Mighty_Mike.html|title=Farewell Mighty Mike {{!}} February 19, 2016 {{!}} rockawave.com {{!}} Wave of Long Island|website=www.rockawave.com|access-date=2016-06-05|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302161945/http://www.rockawave.com/news/2016-02-18/Community/Farewell_Mighty_Mike.html|archive-date=March 2, 2016}} ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenstein, Mike}} Category:American strength athletes Category:United States Army Air Forces soldiers Category:America's Got Talent contestants Category:1920 births Category:2016 deaths Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Category:Jewish American sportspeople Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent Category:21st-century American Jews --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mike Greenstein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Greenstein) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Greenstein?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.