Mickey Hargitay, the Hungarian-born bodybuilder who parlayed his 1955 Mr. Universe title into a career as a movie actor and had a high-profile marriage to Hollywood sex symbol Jayne Mansfield, died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 80.

Hargitay, who began bodybuilding after moving to the United States from Hungary in the late 1940s, was relatively unknown internationally when he won the Mr. Universe title in 1955.

“Walter Winchell once said that what (President) Eisenhower did for golf Mickey Hargitay did for bodybuilding, because he brought it to the forefront,”Gene Mozee, a bodybuilding historian and writer for Iron Man magazine, said.

“Back in those days, bodybuilding was thought of as a freakish, unusual activity that wasn’t popular with the general public,” Mozee said. “At that time, athletic coaches discouraged lifting weights, thinking you’d become muscle-bound. And along came Mickey Hargitay, a great all-around athlete.”

For a young Arnold Schwarzenegger, the fact that Hargitay had won the Mr. Universe contest was an “inspirational force.”

Gov. Schwarzenegger, who played Hargitay opposite Loni Anderson’s Mansfield in the 1980 TV movie “The Jayne Mansfield Story,” said Hargitay’s marriage to Mansfield and his life amid the glamour of Hollywood only added to his stature as a successful role model in the bodybuilding world.

Hargitay’s segue from body building to show business came after he was discovered by aging Hollywood sex symbol Mae West on the cover of Strength and Health Magazine.

He was part of the cast of musclemen in West’s nightclub act, the Mae West Revue, when he caught the eye of Mansfield on stage in New York in 1956.

When Mansfield was asked what she’d like that evening, she is said to have responded, “I’ll have a steak and the man on the left!”

They were married in 1958 and had three children, including the Emmy Award-winning actress Mariska Hargitay, star of “Law & Order: SVU.”

Mickey Hargitay, whose film credits include “Bloody Pit of Horror,” appeared with Mansfield in “The Loves of Hercules,” “Promises! Promises!” and “Primitive Love.” They also appeared together in a nightclub act. They were divorced in 1964; she died in a car crash in 1967.

Hargitay became a successful contractor and real estate investor.

Hargitay was born on Jan. 6, 1926 in Budapest, Hungary. Hargitay’s father, Mozee said, was athletic and brought up his sons as athletes.They had an acrobatic act which they performed in the largest opera house in Budapest and throughout Hungary. He became a champion speek skater.

After arriving in the United States in 1947, Hargitay moved to Indianapolis, where he began bodybuilding.

Hargitay started competing about five years later, winning local events such as Mr. Indianapolis and Mr. Eastern America. During his early years in Indianapolis, Hargitay did an acrobatic act with his first wife, Mary. Their marriage ended in divorce.

For two years, beginning in 1959, Hargitay hosted a television exercise show. In May, he received the Muscle Beach Hall of Fame Award from the Muscle Beach Historical Committee.