Born in East Boston, Johnny Indrisano was from a poverty stricken family. As a youth he vowed to "have money" some day. He boxed 155 amateur fights. He turned professional and went on to fight 83 main events in which he won 80. He defeated 5 world champions. His career lasted from 1924 to 1934. He defeated among others, Joe Dundee, Nick Testo, Johnny Freeman, Sig Keppen, and Sammy Baker. From 1934 to 1949 he worked as a boxing referee. He began as a boxing coach for movie stars and from there became a full-time boxing adviser on films. He also worked as a character actor. Among the stars he trained were John Garfield, Spencer Tracy, Carey Grant, Mickey Rooney, Robert Ryan, Robert Taylor, Jimmy Durante, Fred MacMurray, Ricardo Montalban, and William Lundigan. He died under mysterious conditions - possibly a suicide.
Defeated future actor Canada Lee on August 14, 1931 in 10 rounds.
Won 24 of his last 25 boxing matches.
Defeated World Middleweight Champion Vince Dundee.
Defeated World Middleweight Champion Lou Brouillard in 1932.
Defeated World Welterweight Champion Tommy Freeman in 1927.
Was a friend of Frank Sinatra and appeared in 5 of his movies.
Had a professional boxing record of 64-9-4 with 13 knockout victories.
Lost his first pro boxing matches, but ended his career winning 24 of his last 25 fights.
Boxed professionally from 1923-1934.
Defeated Vearl Whitehead at Legion Stadium in Hollywood, California in 10 rounds on 16 March 1934, and retired.
He was married to Mary Dorothea Vardaro in the 1930s. He left Mary and their only child, Kathleen, living in the East Boston house of his mother (Maria Barrasso, the widow of Pietro Indrisano). John pursued a career in the film industry at this time and had a long-standing relationship with Mae West. He did not ask Mary for a divorce until late in the 1930s. One of Johns grandchildren, Joan Vardaro McMillan, is a creative nonfiction writer, working on a memoir which includes her grandfather.
Began his professional boxing career as Johnny Andrews and was undefeated in 27 fights.
In 1922 won the New England Amateur Boxing Championship in the 115-125lbs. Division.
On November 14, 1927 he was knocked out in one round by Cyde Hull and suffered a broken jaw.
Scored knockouts over such fighters as Walter Riley, Tommy Flanagan, Arthur Goslin, and Steve Gotch.
He was the stunt coordinator for The Great John L. and later was featured in a 1953 episode of "You Asked for It" in which he portrayed the champion boxer John L. Sullivan in a recreation of the Sullivan/La Savant fight in Paris.
Worked as a driver and bodyguard for Mae West.
The Ring Boxing Magazine called Indrisano the "uncrowned world champion".
His only child, Kathleen Joan Indrisano (married name: Kathleen McMillan), died on December 23rd, 2007, of renal failure. Kathleen was 75 years old. She had lived the final years of her life in the Indrisano family home in East Boston and was laid to rest in Holy Cross Cemetery, Malden, Massachusetts, with her paternal grandparents.
According to Indrisanos granddaughter, her mother Kathleen endured both her fathers suicide and very soon after, the lingering fatal illness of her mother. She became very depressed and an alcoholic, rejecting attempts at help by friends and family. Later in life she had a destructive 20-year relationship with an abusive and controlling boyfriend who enabled her alcoholism and helped keep her alcohol-related illness unknown by her family until it was too late.
