Henry portrayed a corrupt prison guard in The Longest Yard (1974). Henry is probably best known to movie audiences for playing Jackie Gleason's character's dim-witted son 'Junior' in the highly popular Smokey and the Bandit comedies, starring Burt Reynolds and Sally Field. Henry turned down the lead of the subsequent Tarzan television series, which then went to Ron Ely.

At the time, critics said the dark-haired, square-jawed, muscular Henry resembled classic illustrations of the apeman more than any other actor who had taken on the role. Henry's most prominent role was as Tarzan in three 1960s movies Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966), Tarzan and the Great River (1967), and Tarzan and the Jungle Boy (1968) that were all filmed back-to-back in 1965.

He attended USC and was co-captain of the 1957 USC Trojans football team. Henry attended Bell High School in Los Angeles, where his play caught the attention of USC Trojans alum John Ferraro, who arranged for him to get a tryout at USC.

He was best known for his role as Tarzan in the 1960s trilogy and as Junior in the Smokey and the Bandit film series. Michael Dennis Henry (Aug– January 8, 2021) was an American football linebacker and actor.

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