18 Facts About Gene Mako

Constantine "Gene" Mako was an American tennis player and art gallery owner.

Gene Mako won four Grand Slam doubles titles in the 1930s.

Gene Mako started to work as a draftsman for his mentor Viktor Madarasz.

Gene Mako fought in World War I After the war, he left Hungary with his wife, Georgina Elizabeth Farkas Mako and only son, traveling first to Italy, then stopping for three years in Buenos Aires, Argentina, then settled in Los Angeles, California.

Gene Mako attended Glendale High School and the University of Southern California, and he was offered a Hungarian University Scholarship in the meantime.

Gene Mako won the boys' singles event at the US National Championships in 1932 and 1934 and the boys' doubles in 1932,1933 and 1934.

Gene Mako was especially successful as a doubles player with his partner and friend Don Budge.

Gene Mako was a member of the United States Davis Cup team and played in eight ties.

Gene Mako played professional basketball while stationed in Norfolk, Virginia.

In 1973 Gene Mako was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Gene Mako possessed strong serve and powerful smashes but due to several injuries in his career, he had to give up his power game.

Gene Mako preferred a volleying style, which he perfected with quickness, good angle selection and pacing paired with strategy.

Apart from being a sportsman, Gene Mako composed music in his early 20s.

Gene Mako starred in the 1938 musical Happy Landing and the 1941 war comedy Caught in the Draft, although he remained uncredited in both movies.

Gene Mako married actress Laura Mae Church in Manhattan in 1941.

Gene Mako was involved in wrestling and was hired as a coach at the California Institute of Technology while coaching the basketball team.

Gene Mako owned Gene Mako Galleries in Los Angeles, California.

Gene Mako died in 2013 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, aged 97, of pneumonia.