Jack Stang born John A. Stang (October 29, 1923-January 7, 1996) was a former U.S. Marine who served in the pacific theater-Samoa, Guadacanal and Bougainville campaign (1943–45) during World War Two, wounded in action, one of four men in his platoon to make it out and was later a Newburgh, New York policeman. In 1946, Mickey Spillane

Mickey Spillane

Frank Morrison Spillane , better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American author of crime novels, many featuring his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. More than 225 million copies of his books have sold internationally...

, then residing at Orange Lake in suburban Newburgh, admitted Stang was the inspiration for his character Mike Hammer

Mike Hammer

Michael "Mike" Hammer is a fictional detective created by the American author Mickey Spillane in the 1947 book I, the Jury .-Description:...

.

Biography

After leaving the Newburgh Police, Stang operated a popular riverfront bar and grill at 4th and Front Street in Newburgh. After it was devastated by a fire, it reopened as a children's clothing store run by Fran Stang, Jack's mother. The old Newburgh riverfront neighborhood, 4 blocks wide and about a mile long, was demolished in the late 1960s as part of an 'Urban Renewal

Urban renewal

Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...

' program, and the bar property exists as of 2008 as part of a grassy slope and parking lot complex.

External links

• Jack Stang screen test as Mike Hammer