All written and/or video tributes to those who have passed on.
Heard the sad news that Adam West – the deep-voiced actor perhaps best known for his role as Batman in the 1960s television show of the same name – recently passed away of leukemia. Mr. West’s role as Batman is one that most people (myself included) associate him with and while that has been a source of a career stall for a period, his appearances in Family Guy has given audiences a newfound appreciation for the man.
My heartfelt wishes and condolences to the West family and friends.
Dennis Stamp passed away yesterday after a long battle with cancer.
A former professional wrestler during the 1970s and 1980s with over 2,000 matches in the AWA and various territories under his belt, journeyman Dennis Stamp would later gain cult fame as a result of a cameo appearance in the 1999 documentary Beyond The Mat, serving as the guest referee for a 1997 match between Bret Hart and Terry Funk in one of the latter’s many retirement matches.
RIP, Dennis Stamp. Your booking in the live event above awaits you.
Legendary wrestling manager and WWE Hall Of Famer Harry “Mr. Fuji” Fujiwara passed away this weekend at the age of 83. The exploits of Mr. Fuji as both a tag-team wrestler (five time tag champion in WWWF) as well as the manager of countless talents such as Demolition, Don Muraco, and Yokozuna were well outside of my exposure to the wrestling product, but even when I was oblivious to the product itself, he was always one of those names that would get brought up by other folks and one of those names that just stuck in my head even if I had no clue who he was. That doesn’t diminish his accomplishments and his legacy, nor does it taint my enjoyment of the various sketches he did with Muraco.
My prayers go out to his friends and loved ones.
Another one gone before his time… and so young too.
Knew little of him… but what little I saw of him was brilliance…
Could hardly find the words… so I’m not going to try…
Godspeed, Anton. You’ll be missed…
News broke recently that pro wrestling legend and latter-day podcaster Roddy Piper recently passed away. I’ve got nothing really. Not much I could say, except… Godspeed, Hot Rod.
Instead, here are six random yet somewhat inspiring and memorable Piper quotables. Originally had these as separate posts, but it made more sense to bundle these together.
Saddened to hear the passing of Dusty Rhodes. Legend, teacher, mentor, friend…Love you Dream #BookinAintEasyKid pic.twitter.com/ZxlGSgKB8J
— Triple H (@TripleH) June 11, 2015
Godspeed, Dream. And thanks for the memories.
Sad to hear about the loss of one of the true legendary film greats. Christopher Lee was a man of many faces and will be greatly missed.
Verne Gagne, famed promoter of the American Wrestling Association, passed away last night.
The storied career of Verne Gagne, both as a wrestler and a promoter of the AWA, was of an era before my time. My only exposure to the man and the promotion he ran continually for thirty years were through archival programming released years later; either through re-airing of old AWA episodes on ESPN Classics or through the WWE-produced DVD, The Spectacular Legacy Of The AWA.
I’m not entirely ignorant of the contributions of Mr. Gagne and know that he essentially launched the careers of many of professional wrestling’s greatest names through his rigorous training camps held at his farm in Chanhassen, Minnesota, and discovered some of the shining talents that would go on to join that list of big stars. And I would be remiss not to mention his accomplishments as both an amateur wrestler – laying claim to four Big Ten Wrestling Championships, two NCAA Wrestling Championships, the 1949 AAU Wrestling Championship and a slot on the 1948 United States Olympic team on his resume – and a professional wrestler, having been a ten-time AWA World Heavyweight Champion and the distinction of having the third longest single World Title reign for seven years and three months, from 1968 to 1975.
Mr. Gagne would later be inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall Of Fame in 2004, as well as the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2006 and the short-lived WCW Hall of Fame in 1993. His contributions to professional wrestling as a whole will long remembered.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends, and colleagues of Mr. Gagne.
The news of Leonard Nimoy’s passing is a shock. Best known for his role as Spock in the long-running Star Trek franchise, but Mr. Nimoy has been a director (including Star Trek III and IV, Three Men And A Baby) as well as having dabbled in some poetry and even music. But it was his passion as a photographer that identified with his latter years. Mr. Nimoy has left a profound impression on the world and his presence will be sorely missed.
LLAP, Mr. Nimoy.
