Rockaway strongman Mike “Mighty Atom Jr.” Greenstein pulled off enough yeses from the “America’s Got Talent” judges to earn another appearance on the reality competition show.
The 93-year-old was featured in the NBC program’s season nine premiere Tuesday night, where he pulled a Plymouth station wagon with his teeth.
He impressed judges Heidi Klum, Mel B and Howie Mandel with his strength, but judge Howard Stern said no.
But three out of four was all Greenstein needed to go to Judgment Week, where he will audition again, and the judges will determine which 48 acts will compete in the live shows for America’s vote. Judgment Week will air in July.
Greenstein, wearing a “Mighty Atom & Sons 1940” t-shirt, in honor of his father, the first “Mighty Atom,” who became renowned for his strongman act, both shocked and amazed the audience when he revealed his talent.
“You might say I have been carrying on his legacy,” Greenstein said during an interview for the show.
Though he never made a career out of his strongman act like his father, Greenstein performed as a hobby, after doing shows during WWII all over the country.
“My dad would be very proud to see me doing things like this,” Greenstein said. “I hope the judges think of me as something extraordinary, especially at my age.”
In his younger days, he would bend iron bars, break chains and pull vehicles with his hair and teeth.
“The hair is no more, so I am still pulling with my teeth,” he said.
Greenstein said, even at 93, his teeth are all his own.
He used those choppers to pull the 3,500-pound station wagon, with his 84-year-old brother, his brother’s wife and his “lady friend,” inside of it.
With cheers of encouragement from the New York City audience, he towed the car a full-vehicle length and impressed the judges.
“That’s amazing at any age,” Mandel said.
But Stern turned him down because he felt Greenstein “needed more showmanship.”
The comment elicited boos from the audience and even host Nick Cannon.
Greenstein said in his next appearance he wants an open-back truck with about 20 to 30 people in the back of it.
If he goes further in the competition, the strongman told The Courier he would like to bend iron bars across the bridge of his nose, something he hasn’t done in almost 40 years.
“I feel with my mental capacity I can do it.”
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