Steve Sipek

{{Short description|Croatian-born American actor and animal sanctuary owner (1942–2019)}} '''Stjepan Šipek''' (Sisak 1942 – June 23, 2019), also known by his screen name '''Steve Hawkes''', was a Croatian-born American actor and animal sanctuary owner.<ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.thewildeye.co.uk/blog/?p=37 Steve Sipek aka Steven Hawkes | The Wild Eye]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20190624/obituary-former-tarzan-actor-whose-600-pound-tiger-escaped|website=Palm Beach Post|title=Obituary: Former Tarzan Actor Whose 600 Pound Tiger Escaped|accessdate=June 26, 2019}}</ref>

==Life== Sipek was born in Yugoslavia, what is now Croatia, relocated to Canada in 1959, and subsequently acted in B-movies as Steve Hawkes. He played Tarzan in the 1969 Spanish-made film ''Tarzán en la gruta del oro'' / ''King of the Jungle'' / ''Tarzan in the Golden Grotto'' alongside Kitty Swan, filmed in Suriname, Florida, Africa, Spain and Italy where the producers ran out of money and had to begin filming again. Sipek, working under the name Steve Hawkes, claimed that the film company could not pay the huge licensing fees from Edgar Rice Burroughs' estate and settled for the name "Zan" for the character.<ref>[http://www.tarzanmovieguide.com/hawkes.htm BUNKUM - Interview with Steve Hawkes]</ref>

A 1972 sequel, ''Tarzan and the Brown Prince'', followed with sequences filmed in Rainbow Springs, Florida,<ref>p.85 Hollis, Tim ''Glass Bottom Boats & Mermaid Tails: Florida's Tourist Springs'' Stackpole Books</ref> where both Sipek and Swan were burned in a fire that got out of control. When the two actors were tied down in a scene, some spilled fuel began a blaze that panicked the film crew. The lion in the film who had been trained to remove Hawkes' bonds freed him,<ref name=autogenerated1 /> though he suffered 90% burns to his body.<ref>[https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/09/06/kings-of-steve-hawkes-jungle/ Kings Of Steve Hawkes' Jungle - tribunedigital-chicagotribune]</ref> Sipek vowed he would pay the lion back by looking after big cats.<ref>[http://www.erbzine.com/mag27/2772.html ERBzine 2772: Tarzan and the Brown Prince film with Steve Hawkes]</ref>

Sipek also wrote, directed and starred in other films such as ''Blood Freak'' and ''Stevie, Samson and Delilah''. The second film was based around his love of his immediate family and how they integrated with his beloved pets.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

An animal lover, Sipek later relocated to Loxahatchee, Florida where he started an animal sanctuary<ref>[https://abcnews.go.com/2020/tarzan-tigers-steve-sipek/story?id=10179162 Tarzan Tigers Steve Sipek - ABC News]</ref> that attracted attention when a Bengal tiger escaped and was killed.<ref>[https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/07/13/police-search-for-tarzan-actors-tiger/ Police search for Tarzan actor's tiger - tribunedigital-chicagotribune]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040716013002/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0714_040714_tarzantiger.html Tarzan's Escaped Tiger Killed]</ref><ref>[http://www.wpbf.com/news/south-florida/palm-beach-county-news/tarzan-actor-steve-sipek-gets-court-victory-still-cant-take-animals-home/20512788#!bPFvXV 'Tarzan' actor gets court victory, still can't take animals home]</ref>

He died on June 23, 2019, at the age of 77.

==Notes== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=0370047}} *Steve Hawkes at ERB http://www.erbzine.com/mag27/2772.html *Jungleworld website http://www.jungleworld.org/

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sipek, Steve}} Category:2019 deaths Category:1942 births Category:Canadian male film actors Category:Date of birth missing Category:Place of birth missing Category:People from Loxahatchee, Florida Category:Croatian emigrants to Canada Category:Croatian emigrants to the United States Category:Yugoslav emigrants to Canada Category:Yugoslav emigrants to the United States

Steve Sipek

Connections

Linked from

Links to