In 1960, he became a regular with World Wrestling Associates (WWA) in Los Angeles, a move that would cement his legacy in pro wrestling, long before he became a manager. Im not implying that Bruno would ever have any dealings with the mafia on his own. Among the men he managed were Nikolai Volkoff,[2] The Iron Sheik,[2] Blackjack Mulligan,[2] High Chief Peter Maivia,[2] "The Crippler" Ray Stevens,[2] Adrian Adonis,[2] Jesse Ventura,[2] Dick Murdoch,[2] Swede Hanson,[2] Killer Khan,[2] George 'The Animal' Steele,[2] Professor Tanaka,[2] Mr. Fuji,[2] Ivan Koloff,[2] Tor Kamata,[2] Masa Saito,[2] Lou Albano,[2] Victor Rivera,[2] Kamala,[2] Hercules Hernandez,[2] and Hulk Hogan. [6] He performed for that promotion until his full retirement from professional wrestling in 1986. He also starred in a 1983 movie called My Breakfast With Blassie, where he sat down for a meal with Andy Kaufman as a parody of the 1981 critically acclaimed film My Dinner With Andre. For Freddie Blassie, there was no question why he took on a villian's persona - he loved it. After being pounded by a longer-limbed opponent, he His father was an abusive alcoholic, prompting Frederick to stay with his grandparents whenever Jacob beat Anna. Freddie Blassie Also known as Fred Blassie, Fred McDaniel Overview Career Career highlights Titles Matches Match Statistics Matchguide Feuds Promos Tournaments Tag Teams & Stables Entourage Awards Books Wrestling Games Movies Commentary Career Ratings Comments Matches Displaying items 1 to 100 of total 1631 items that match the search parameters. Miyako Blassie, 68, says in court papers that she was shopping for groceries. During this time, he went to New York City to work for promoter Jess McMahon. In March of 1962, Blassie lost the WWA World title to Rikidozan, and for the next four months, Blassie competed in Japan, determined to regain his title from the Japanese wrestling innovator. Fred Blassie was born and raised in the St. Louis, Missouri, area. Keith Elliot Greenberg has been doing his part to preserve professional wrestling history for the past few decades. Many of the viewers were horrified by Blassie's treatment of their hero. And more wrestling fans definite need to know about the. The Rock for the WWF Title)", "TJR Retro: WWE Royal Rumble 2000 Review (The Rock wins Rumble, Triple H vs. Cactus Jack)", "Freddie Blassie - Dick Van Dyke Show - 1962", "My Breakfast with Blassie: An appreciation", NWA North American Heavyweight Title (Hawaii version) history, NWA Southern Heavyweight Title (Florida) history, NWA World Tag Team Title (Florida) history, NWA International Tag Team Title (Georgia) history, NWA Southern Heavyweight Title (Georgia) history, NWA World Tag Team Title (Georgia) history, "NWA Hall of Fame Class for 2011 announced", WWA International Television Tag Team Title history, NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title history, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Inductees, 1853 Shepherd Circle SW, Blassie's Atlanta home (1960), 1950 Campbellton Road SW, Blassies Atlanta home (1966), WWE Hall of Fame Profile of Freddie Blassie, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Freddie_Blassie&oldid=1142698000, NWA World Tag Team Champions (Florida version), Professional wrestling managers and valets, United States Navy personnel of World War II, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using infobox military person with embed, Articles with disputed statements from February 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The Mysterious Medics (Mysterious Medic #1 and Mysterious Medic #2), This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 22:16. Despite being a 7-year pro before his duty in World War II, Blassie was still a journeyman. Most recently, he co-authored the 2016 edition of the WWE Encyclopedia of Sports Entertainment. In the segment he is interviewed by "Mean" Gene Okerlund when the two are interrupted by a little old lady in a housekeeper outfit that Blassie claims to be his own mother. Anyone can read what you share. Lanny approached Blassie, who always had three girls with him, saying he "needed some relief. ", Bruno kayfabed him. )[8] The movies title and premise are parodies of the 1981 art-house classic My Dinner with Andre.[23]. [8] Blassie also appeared in a segment at the Vengeance pay-per-view event in December 2001, where an "undisputed" champion would be crowned. Many people close to him actually had no idea that he had children in the first place. [21] The segment featured Blassie, his wife, and Raw co-General Manager Eric Bischoff, who was about to allow 3 Minute Warning to attack him, until Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Dudley Boyz stepped in. Linda Lautrec and Andy Kaufman loosely scripted the film over several months late at night on the telephone. Lanny was only 12 or 13-years-old at the time. KyleEnjoysWrestling wrote on 30.07.2019: [ 9.0] "People mostly know Blassie for his manager roles, but he was also a pro in the ring. When the wife of WWEs Chairman and CEOhad heard about this, she accosted Blassie saying, "I didnt even realize you had any kids!". 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Three injured in shooting outside Bronx funeral home, Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, US home prices just did something they haven't done since 2012, How a retired detective snared his seventh 'Torso Killer' confession, It's insane that NYers can use but not buy pepper spray for self-defense: Change this now, Celeb-loved jewelry brand Dorsey drops dazzling new styles, White Lotus actor jokes about being hit on following shows success, Is this the couple behind the Worst Art Job Listing Ever?, Undertaker transforms coffin into barbecue grill, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce. In reality, Blassie was a major on-screen figure in wrestling, both in competitive and managerial roles, and had a status in overall pop culture. [20] Images from his WrestleMania XV promo were also included in the opening of the 2001 Survivor Series. Sportswriter Jim Murray called him the worst villain since Hitler in a 1961 column in The Times. Still a motormouth, he gave interviews in which he bragged about himself and his protgs and denounced anybody he didn't like as a "pencil necked geek". Blassie, whose late hubby [inset] was known for his gravel-voiced put-down pencil-neck geek, claims to have suffered excruciating pain in the January 2011 tumble, which broke her right wrist, and permanent scarring from a cut eyebrow. When meeting someone, he would ask where they were from, and no matter their response, he would reply with, "Oh, that's God's country!". He also bleached his hair at this time, as many of the other stars of the era did, such as Gorgeous George, Johnny Valentine, and "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. "Classy" Freddie Blassie appeared in a live-action segment of the cartoon "Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling." [3][8][9], In 1960, Blassie returned to Strongbow's promotion in Los Angeles, where he was a big star for Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA) of southern California, drawing many fans to the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. "I want you to get four Orange Juliuses for me, the girls, and you.". [2] He sporadically returned to make brief appearances following his retirement in 1986, mostly in produced video packages hyping the "new generation" of wrestling. He would become a frequent foe of Morales throughout the rest of his in-ring career in WWWF. Still claiming to be the West Coast Champion, entered into a feud with Bruno Sammartino to unify the titles. In January 1962, Blassie and Mr. Moto defeated Hans Hermann and Jesus Ortega for the California version of the WWA International TV Tag Team title. He was 85. Renowned as "The Hollywood Fashion Plate",[3] he was a one-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, and was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1994. He was 85. Lanny stated that though Freddie Blassie never knew how to save his money well, he always had enough since he was never a drinker and saved a lot of money in that regard. [8], Blassie appeared in an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show that featured a new dance craze called The Twizzle. Freddie never held a true world title but he was still one of the greatest of the 50s through the 60s". Blassie [9], In 1968, Blassie returned to Japan and was reunited with Miyako. One poll ranked him as the most hated wrestler in the United States. Accounts about his early athletic career do not quite agree, but he first tried to make his mark as a boxer, despite warnings that his arms were too short. Born in 1918 to German parents who escaped World War I, Blassie took up boxing as a teenager, but found a growing interest in wrestling and actually snuck into matches, eventually befriending catch wrestlers and learning holds from them. Blassie originally wrestled [6] Blassie described this performer as "having a neck like a stack of dimes and a real pencil-neck geek". Blassie got involved when he threw his cane into the ring, with Sheik and Volkoff using it to their advantage to gain the victory. [11], On June 12, 1961, Blassie defeated the "Flying Frenchman" douard Carpentier in a best-of-three-falls match for his first WWA World Heavyweight Championship. However, Blassie wanted nothing to do with him because he too had a massive drinking problem and felt that it would "hit too close to home." Fred Blassie was born and raised in the St. Louis, Missouri, area. (1965 - 1968)( divorced), Nettie Needles (September 1942 - 1964)( divorced)( 3 children). [9] However, they eventually consented and Miyako returned with Blassie to the United States; they were married on September 30, 1968. The two of them had a great relationship off-camera, but because kayfabe was well and truly protected during this time in the business unless you were on the inside, you never were to know that a heel and face got along in real life. "When hed go to a town, the most powerful Italians would latch themselves onto him and decided they were his protectors, whether Bruno liked it or not. Head on over to theLWOS Boardsto engage in conversation with fellow fans! He retired from competition in the late 1970's to manage a new generation of wrestlers, including Hulk Hogan and Jesse Ventura, the future governor of Minnesota. Recommended:The Time WWE Hall of Famer DR. JERRY GRAHAM Kidnapped His Mothers Dead Body. RELATED: 10 Performers Who Were Great As Both A Wrestler & Manager. After four decades, trainer Ed Moger gets his first Triple Crown starter, An exclusive look at details of Chip Kellys two-year contract extension from UCLA, His shoe game is pretty tight. Why Dodgers hope Miguel Rojas play matches his swag, Rats in the laundry? [6] In later years, Blassie also appeared on The Mike Douglas Show when Philbin was a guest host. ", In this particular story, Blassie won a match by count-out in Roosevelt Stadium when he kicked Sammartino in the breadbasket while the referee was distracted. The series began at Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964, with Blassie winning on a technicality, but not a pin. He won the World Wrestling Association world heavyweight championship from the Frenchman douard Carpentier at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in 1961. His matches with Freddie Blassie were legendary. In 1973, knee problems largely forced Blassie to stop wrestling personally, though he occasionally donned the tights to tag-team with one of his heels, as he did in Madison Square Garden in June 1974, teaming with the hulking Nikolai Volkoff to face then-champ Bruno Sammartino and Chief Jay Strongbow in a tag team match (Blassie was forced to submit for the final fall by a Bruno bearhug, and the fans almost tore the Garden's roof off). He finally defeated Rikidozan and won back his title at a WWA event in Los Angeles but it had served his purpose. 304K views 6 years ago The Dudley Boyz put Rico through a table after getting the call from WWE Hall of Famer "Classy" Freddie Blassie at ringside. Some of the guys were businessmen, some were political types, and some others Im sure were mobsters. Around 1980, he adopted a new moniker: "Ayatollah Blassie." Hogan would return in late 1983, turning face almost immediately after and thus separating from Freddie Blassie. Blassie retired from wrestling in 1986, turning over his stable of heels to another manager called Slick. In addition to his pro wrestling notoriety, Classy Freddie Blassie also has some amusing notability in wider pop culture. [2] In 1963, Bearcat Wright defeated him to become champion, and it was quite a statement during the fight for civil rights that an African-American had won such a title. [8] The fans consistently booed him because he was considered a "Yankee". his service in the United States Navy during World War II. He graduated from McKinley High School and began work at a meatpacking plant. Freddie Blassies income source is mostly from being a successful Actor. Blassie also mastered the television interview, boasting his superiority over other wrestlers he liked to call ''pencil-neck geeks.'' [3][8] In 1983, Rhino Records released a 14-track album by Blassie, titled I Bite the Songs. Frederick Kenneth Blassman [2] (February 8, 1918 - June 2, 2003) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name " Classy " Freddie Blassie. Blassie wrestled as a dark-haired good guy until he found out that the "heels" (bad guys) got better pay. Blassie was a regular on the WWWF's "All-Star Wrestling" and "Championship Wrestling" weekly TV shows that were videotaped at small arenas in Pennsylvania and aired throughout the Northeast. RELATED: 10 Managers With The Best Claim To Be On A Wrestling Mount Rushmore. For a brief period of time after World War Two, he was billed as "Sailor" Freddie Blassie in matches, a gimmick that did not prove successful. September 30, 1968 - June 2, 2003 (his death), Wrestling's Living Legend Bruno Sammartino. Freddie Blassie, the silver-maned wrestler with a voice from the depths of the earth who made himself a hero to mat fans in the 1950s and 60s by playing the villain, has died. Funeral services will be held at noon Friday at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale, N.Y. Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.