Farkas was born to parents of Hungarian extraction. The hulking mobster became associated with notorious Los Angeles mob boss Mickey Cohen during the 1940s and 50s. On December 27, 1952, Farkas, described by the Los Angeles Times as "Mickey Cohen's bodyguard," beat the rap on a robbery charge. During Cohen's most turbulent years feuding with the Los Angeles crime family, Farkas was his ever present bodyguard and friend and reportedly lived with Cohen and his wife Lavonne in their Brentwood home. Sam Farkas later married Mickey Cohen's ex-wife Lavonne with the permission of Mickey Cohen.