FEBRUARY 2014 Issue
2014 CAC HONOREE “FREEBIRD” MICHAEL HAYES WILL BE AT OUR LAS VEGAS REUNION IN JUNE!
Also in this issue…
MORE HONOREES for the reunion banquet are announced
PAT LAPRADE says goodbye to the legendary MAURICE “MAD DOG” VACHON
A list by RON HUTCHISON
Not many folks can say they’ve wrestled at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, but the CAC’s DENISE NELSON has done it
Gold Coast Hotel / Las Vegas, Nevada
Baloney Blowout: June 3, 2014 Banquet: June 4, 2014
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As the man himself liked to say, “The P.S. stands for “Purely Sexy.”
Michael “P.S.” Hayes will be honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club with the Men’s (Retired) Wrestling Award at the annual reunion banquet this coming June in Las Vegas. The club is delighted to recognize such a great star for the major contributions he’s made to our industry.
Hayes spent nearly two decades as one of the biggest superstars in all of professional wrestling. His name will forever be synonymous with the Fabulous Freebirds, probably the all-time greatest three-man unit in the history of the business. The trio, made up of Hayes, Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy and 2003 CAC award honoree Buddy Roberts, enjoyed major success everywhere they went, with Hayes serving as the mouthpiece and leader of the group. In that role, Hayes established himself as one of the finest promo guys of his or any era, spouting out great interviews with ease.
The Freebirds engaged in one classic rivalry after another, starting in 1979 when they “blinded” the Junkyard Dog while working for Bill Watts in the old Mid-South territory. The angle, culminating with JYD wrestling Hayes “while blind” at the New Orleans Superdome, put both JYD and the ‘Birds onto the national map. Hayes and his cohorts then conquered national TV, reigning for two years as the top stars on WTBS out of Atlanta while
Michael Hayes in his prime as a top heel working the Georgia territory, where they feuded with the likes of “Plowboy” Stan Frazier, Ron Fuller and 2010 Iron Mike Award winner Ted DiBiase. Perhaps the Freebirds’ greatest moment—and without a doubt one of the top rivalries in the history of the business—was their feud with the Von Erich family in the World Class promotion in Texas during the early 80’s. But Hayes wasn’t done just yet, as he led the rapid mid-80’s expansion of Watts’ promotion—by then dubbed the UWF—acting as the anchor of the heel side of the roster along with Gordy and Roberts. As the 1990’s dawned, Hayes formed a new version of the Freebirds teaming with Jimmy Garvin. The pair captured the WCW World tag team championship on two occasions, adding yet another honor to an already overflowing list of accolades that Hayes has enjoyed throughout his professional life.
Since retiring from the ring, Hayes arguably has made an even bigger contribution to wrestling than he did as an active performer. He has spent a good chunk of the past two decades as a TV producer and booker for WWE. In that role, he has had a hand in conceiving and guiding some of the biggest pro wrestling storylines of the past 20 years as the head writer for WWE’s “Smackdown” show. During a brief stint as an announcer using the name “Dok Hendrix,” he held the microphone the night Steve Austin birthed the catch phrase “Austin 3:16,” kicking off one of the great babyface runs ever seen. Hayes even worked as a manager for a time for the Hardy Boys and then briefly for latter day WWE star Tyson Kidd. All the while, he has maintained a side career as a rock ‘n’ roll singer, a persona he has used in his wrestling career at times, especially during his days with the World Class promotion. He has released two records on which he performs lead vocals.
Hayes has had a Hall of Fame caliber career by any measure, and he continues to be regarded as a major star by fans even today. Everyone is already looking forward to what could be among the most colorful acceptance speeches ever at a CAC banquet, as Hayes sports one of the biggest larger-than-life personalities in a business filled with them.
Congratulations to 2014 CAC Award nominee Michael Hayes!
Aside from Michael Hayes, other awards honorees have been announced for the 2014 Cauliflower Alley Club banquet and reunion in Las Vegas, which will run from June 2nd to June 4th. You can order tickets to the Tuesday Baloney Blowout and the Wednesday Banquet by using the form on the inside cover of this issue of The Ear. Other details on attending the reunion can be found later in this issue.
In the next issue, we’ll present bios of the remainder of our 2014 CAC award honorees!
The CAC will present this year’s Iron Mike Award to Buddha Khan.
Buddha Khan is a guy who’s worn so many hats during his life, it’s difficult to keep track of them all. He was a headliner in California during the 1980’s working for, among others, CAC Executive VP Karl Lauer. He appeared for WWE as the storyline “father” of D-Von Dudley. He has worked as a skater and manager in roller derby for the famed New York Bombers. He’s been a professional singer since his teens, having performed and recorded with numerous classic vocal groups like The Coasters, The Medallions and the Shan-Tones. He’s been an actor in the Richard Pryor comedy “Stir Crazy,” “A Soldier’s Story” with Denzel Washington and “Body Slam” with a slew of Hollywood stars (Dirk Benedict, Charles Nelson Riley, Billy Barty) and wrestlers (Roddy Piper, Lou Albano, the Samoans). He’s accepted the Congressional Buddha Khan, the 2014 Iron Mike recipient Medal of Honor at the White House from President Bill (photo courtesy of Buddha Khan) Clinton on behalf of his father, a World War II battle hero. In addition to all that, he’s been a CAC memb er for nearly 20 years and once served on the CAC Board of Directors. Today, he hosts a radio show out of California. There aren’t very many folks who can boast a résumé like that!
Please see the fascinating interview with Buddha Khan later in this issue to read more about his amazing life and career.
The CAC is happy to honor Buddha Khan, the recipient of the 2014 Iron Mike Award.
The CAC will present this year’s Lou Thesz Award to Ron Hutchison.
Ron Hutchison is probably the premier independent wrestling trainer in North America, having pumped out a long list of impressive trainees from his Canada-based training center in Toronto. He has been responsible for starting off the careers of such luminaries as former WWE ladies champion Trish Stratus, 2013 CAC honoree and former WWE champion Edge, former TNA and WWE ladies champion Gail Kim, former NWA World champion Christian, former WWE ladies champion Beth Phoenix, longtime TNA standout Traci Brooks, and other famed grapplers like Joe E. Legend, CAC stalwart Sinn Bodhi and Mad Dog Rex. His trainees have won a combined 30 World titles in TNA and WWE! It’s doubtful that any Ron with WWE Divas Trish Stratus, Beth Phoenix other wrestling trainer has ever seen his charges capture and Nattie Niedhart (photo by Ron Hutchison)
so many World championships in the two biggest companies on earth. And that’s not even counting World tag team titles, or World championships recognized internationally (Joe E. Legend, for example, has won several World titles as recognized in Russia). Hutchison also was a standout worker in the ring, having grappled against several former CAC honorees such as 2013 award recipient Jake “The Snake” Roberts, 1998 award recipient Dory Funk Jr. and former WWE World champion The Iron Sheik.
Please see the outstanding list authored by Ron Hutchison himself later in this issue to learn more about Ron’s career and the famous gym where he once trained some of the greats of the business.
The CAC congratulates Ron Hutchison, the recipient of the 2014 Lou Thesz Award.
The 2014 Red Bastien Friendship Award, named for the beloved former CAC President, goes to John Arthur Lowe.
This award is intended for someone who regularly attends CAC reunions and has demonstrated by deed and word over time a lasting commitment to the people and welfare of the industry. That, in a nutshell, is John Arthur Lowe. He has been a major fan of current CAC President Nick Bockwinkel since he was in his teens growing up in Indiana. He worked behind the scenes on the Southern California indie circuit, and was a fill-in referee and ring crew member for promoter Alex Knight. He has worked as an actor in such films as “Ready To Rumble” and “Georgia Rule” and TV shows including “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice.” The writer of some thirty full-length plays, Lowe has been diagnosed with Hepatitis C and has worked tirelessly to spread the word throughout the wrestling community about the dangers of this dreaded disease, and about how those in the business are particularly at risk to it. He has been active in trying to ensure that as many wrestlers and referees as possible know CPR and First Aid, John Arthur Lowe (photo courtesy as many independent promoters do not have the funds to bring in of John Arthur Lowe) trained EMTs for their shows.
The CAC recognizes one of the most selfless members of our club, the outstanding John Arthur Lowe.
The CAC will present this year’s Men’s (Active) Wrestling Award to Adam Pearce.
“Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce has been one of the most outstanding independent wrestlers of his generation. His ring work is state-ofthe-art, and he’s been universally praised for his skill in the squared circle. He starred for years in the Ring of Honor promotion and is a five-time NWA World Heavyweight champion, having done more than any other man to restore that title to a place of esteem in the industry. He’s been involved intimately with TV production as he has directed operations for the “Ring of Honor” TV show. In addition, he’s an accomplished filmmaker. He produced a documentary called “Seven Levels of Hate,” telling the story of his rivalry with fellow independent standout Colt Cabana, with whom he traded the NWA belt. In the video game world, he has worked as a motion capture specialist for THQ, 2K Sports and World Wrestling Entertainment in the creation of a highly successful series of WWE video games. In 2013, he made his debut for TNA and also worked as a trainer and coach for WWE’s up-and-coming talent at their Developmental 5-Time NWA
Performance Center.
Congratulations goes out to Adam Pearce, the recipient of the 2014 Men’s (Active) Wrestling Award.
By Ron Hutchison
Our business is changing rapidly. The in-ring product of today is light years away from the in-ring product of yesterday. Times change. I don't judge. After all, who am I to argue with global success?
Regardless, I want to take you back to a simpler time. Strike that, I would like to take you back to what I perceive as a "simpler time"; the time of my youth. Of course, many would say that as the years progress, the simpler times become more and more complicated. What one generation had perceived as a "simpler time" seems to always be perceived by the generation before it as a "complicated" time. It may be a never ending argument. This is my story however, and for our purposes, dear reader, the simpler time in question will be the years 1981 to, oh, about 2001; arguably, the best years of my life. My Sully's Gym years!
The Toronto Youth and Athletic Club, commonly revered as Sully's Gym, a Toronto boxing and pro wrestling institution, was established in 1943, making it Toronto's oldest athletic club. In this day and age of modern "fitness clubs" with juice bars, tanning beds, towel service and spin classes, in order to fully appreciate Sully's and its memories, it’s important to paint a picture of what it was.
Sully’s was run by the loud-suited, flat-nosed, bespectacled Earl "Sully" Sullivan. Through the years, he’d operated out of several locations. I started my journey and association with Sully in what I believe to be its second location, located above an auto body shop near the “loony bin” on Toronto's west side. Sorry for the politically incorrect terminology, but it does help to paint the proper picture. At this location, both
An old photograph of Ron Hutchison with my training and instructing career began, just up the street “Sully” Sullivan (photo by Ron Hutchison) from the transients, hookers and outpatients of the mental hospital who would stick close to the institution during th e day and beg for money and/or offer services until they were allowed to go back into the hospital at night. In addition to these characters were the characters that were trained at Sully's before me; characters like fellow CAC member and my lifelong wrestling buddy "No Class" Bobby Bass, midget star Farmer Brooks and the late, great Goldie Rogers. Do you see why it becomes more and more important for me to mention the 'insane asylum' at the top of the street?
From its second location at 109 Ossington Avenue in Toronto (where I commenced my training in 1981 and began training others in 1983), the gym, in 1987, moved to Fraser Avenue, a bit further west to the site that many of today’s Canadian pro wrestling stars got their starts. Names like Edge, Christian, Trish Stratus, Tracy Brooks, Tiger Ali Singh, Johnny Swinger (who’s actually an American) and international star Joe E. Legend would start their own journeys into the world of professional wrestling here. This location was only a stone's throw away from Canada's biggest and oldest fair, the Canadian National Exhibition or, as it is translated for U.S. consumption, the Canadian National Exposition. Sully's, and more specifically the wrestling training component at Sully's, lasted in this location until about the turn of the century, when a corporate entity bought the whole building, evicted all of its tenants and Sully's was forced to move again. This would effectively bring the curtain down on wrestling training at this Canadian institution, and I would have to soldier on by opening my own gyms.
There were several traits common to all three locations mentioned above. All were located on the second level of a building. Two of the moves put us over an auto body repair shop. And, all could be described as the type of place where you felt dirtier getting out of the shower then when you went in.
No matter the location, Sully's always looked like a gym right out of the Rocky movies. Its walls were plastered with nostalgic boxing and wrestling photos, many of them of warriors who had trained at Sully's themselves. There were images of boxing greats like Muhammad Ali, George Chuvalo and Clyde Grey, and wrestling greats like “Whipper” Billy Watson, Pat Flannagan, Lord Athol Layton, Bulldog Brower and Johnny Powers. It was an inner-city sweatshop where blood was spilled, bones were broken and dreams were fulfilled. I’m proud to have been associated with it for over half my life. It’s a
place where I spent countless hours, and it was responsible for me never really having a relaxing weekend in just about 30 years.
Sully’s became an integral part of my world and played a major role in the lives of so many of our Canadian boxing and wrestling brethren. It's a magical place where all of its trainers, be they on the boxing side or the wrestling side, tried to live up to Sully's motto that, "It's better to build boys than mend men." In no particular order, I’d like to share my favorite memories of Sully’s.
1) The Sleeping Mystery Man My first awe-inspiring memory took place at the location near the fair, on Fraser Avenue. It wasn’t uncommon for me to open the gym an hour or even two hours before anybody else got there. One Saturday, I climbed the creaky old wooden steps to the second floor and unlocked the three looks on the door: one on the door knob, one dead bolt in the door itself and one padlock for good measure. I turned the lights on, went into the office to check the answering machine and then ventured out into the workout area to
The Sully’s slogan, on a tattered sign stuck on make sure everything was in order, as it always was. On on the gym wall (photo by Ron Hutchison) this particular day however, something was amiss. I looked beside the worn and blood-stained ring. There, sleeping on the floor on a blue mat we used as part of my infamous “Pain, Torture and Agony (PTA)” workout drill, was a man. Was he homeless? A transient? How the hell did he even get in? I’d just unlocked the gym myself. Perplexed, and not believing my eyes, I let the guy sleep and went back to the office, in the hopes that the intruder would be gone when I looked again. But sure enough, my eyes weren't deceiving me. He was there, still sleeping with no idea that he wasn't alone. I let him lie.
When my co-trainer Reginald "Sweet Daddy" Siki arrived awhile later, I went out into the corridor to greet him and tell him about the mystery man. Siki went to the blue mat and shook the guy awake. When he came to his senses, we saw it was one of Sully's young up and coming fighters. The evening before, he’d had a rough night and couldn't go home to his parents or girlfriend, so he ended up bunking at Sully's. It turns out, he didn't enter through the front door. He had scaled the fire escape, skirted along the edge of the second floor, jimmied the window open and settled in for a nap! He was deeply apologetic and, out of embarrassment, he quickly scurried away while pleading to us, "Please, don't tell Sully!" Some time later, we found a discarded Playboy magazine and a half-finished bottle of booze under the ring which appeared to be the property of the sleeping boxer. To the best of my knowledge, Sully was never told, and I'm not sure whatever became of the young prospect.
2) The Hot Blonde Chick Keeping things a secret wasn't always easy at Sully's. Case in point was a swarming of the gym in 2000 by a group of my former students, all of whom I actually was thrilled to have visit me. The training sessions were in full mode. The smell of sweat, the loud thud of bodies hitting a rock solid mat and the blood curdling screams, grunts and groans signified to the neighbors that, indeed, “church” was in session on a bright Sunday morning. My students that particular year included current CAC member Sinn Bodhi (who went on to become Kizarny in WWE) and master impressionist Jason Sensation, who went on to work as “Flesh Gordon,” among a bevy of other names. As was more often than not the case, class was in session at the crack of dawn. As training commenced, we had some unexpected visitors show up. Adam The man himself: Ron Hutchison Copeland (by that time known as Edge in WWE), Jay Reso’s (already (photo courtesy of Ron Hutchison) working as WWE's Christian), Joe Hitchen (who had worked as “Just Joe” in WWE) and a few other alumni made their way back to the gym after a lengthy hiatus. This old fox has been around the block a time or two, and I knew that seeing me wasn't really on the top of their list of priorities. Don't get me wrong. I’m sure they wanted to visit me. But I don't believe that dropping by to say hello was first and foremost on their minds. These young, hormone-fueled stallions had heard rumors of a "hot blonde chick" being put through her paces at the gym, and there’s no doubt that’s what led to this homecoming visit. These gentlemen came to see, and bathe in the beauty of, the lovely Trish Stratus. I was thrilled to see them in any case. Thank you Trish!
In The Next issue: The final three items on Ron Hutchison’s list of Sully’s memories.
by Eric Chmiel
You can tell just from reading the highlights in the short bio of Buddha Khan earlier in this issue that he is definitely a man of many talents. And that’s pu tting it mildly! It would be hard to think of another man in the Cauliflower Alley Club—or most anywhere else, for that matter—who has done so many different things, achieved success in all of them, and is still going stronger than ever even as you’re reading this.
It gives the CAC great pleasure to name Buddha Khan the 2014 recipient of the Iron Mike Award. The award’s bylaws require that the honoree must have achieved success in wrestling plus another avenue in life. By those standards, Khan probably qualifies for three Iron Mike Awards!
Despite his very busy schedule, Khan graciously agreed to take a moment to be the subject of an extended interview with Ear editor Eric Chmiel in which he discussed not only the numerous paths he’s traveled in life, but the how and why of it all. This wide ranging discussion is a great read thanks to the many engaging stories Khan tells, and the great experiences he’s had over the years.
A thank you goes out to Buddha Khan from The Ear for being such an awesome interviewee and being so cooperative in setting up our talk, the transcript of Buddha Khan, 2014 Iron Mike award winner which appears below. So sit back and get acquainted (photo courtesy of Buddha Khan) with one of the most diversely talented folks in the CAC!
The Ear: There’s so much stuff that you’ve done that people probably don’t even realize. We could start with your wrestling career, but I know even before that, you were a singer.
Buddha Khan: I wrestled, but leading up to that I was doing music, singing in oldie-but-goodie groups all over the West Coast. I sang with just about everybody. I’ve been with the Medallions. I just went into the Hall of Fame out here (in Cerritos, California-editor) a couple years ago with two different groups, The Jacks and The Cadets, for two songs. One was “Stranded in the Jungle” and the other was a song called “Why Don’t You Write Me?” I sang with the Olympics, we sang “Hully Gully.” You ever heard of that?
Ear: Yes, that was a big hit.
Khan: I sang with Charles Wright, he had a record called “Express Yourself.”
Ear: That was really a big hit. The hip hop groups still sample that record all the time.
Khan: I sang with Richard Berry. He was the guy who had the original version of “Louie Louie.”
Ear: Yes, that song is legendary.
Khan: Yeah, I got out of high school in 1959. I
was doing what you’d now call oldie-but-goodie singing then. I went on the road with a guy named Art Laboe (Laboe is generally credited with coining the term “oldie-but-goodie” and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame-editor). We used to travel all over the place. I made my first record around maybe 1953.
Ear: 1953? I think you must have been about 10 years old! You don’t look like you’d be old enough to have started that long ago.
Khan: Everyone tells me that. I’m 72. I started singing professionally when I was barely in my teens. But for my age, I don’t feel too bad. I don’t hurt. I’ve had four torn rotator cuffs, that’s really the main thing that got messed up on me. At the time, the operations hurt, but it doesn’t hurt now, except when it gets cool out, I can feel the top of my shoulder. When I worked for Verne Gagne, Sgt. Slaughter used to talk to me all the time about the aches the pains.
Ear: You’re still singing professionally, correct?
Khan: Yeah. All these years later, I still perform. I do shows out at the Casino here. I do a thing with Bowser.
Ear: John Bowman, the guy from Sha-Na-Na?
Khan: Yeah, that’s him. When you called me, I
was just coming from a recording session. I was recording with Tony Allen. He had a hit record, an oldie called “White Owl.” I still do the tours. I’m going back to England in a few months. I don’t like sitting still.
Khan (holding guitar on left) with The Medallions, one of his many singing groups (photo by Buddha Khan)
Ear: How did you get into wrestling? You must have been singing for a lot of years before you started as a wrestler.
Khan: That’s true. I was in sports all the time in high school. I ran track. I ran against this guy, he ended up playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Willie Davis. I ran against him, and I took second. He told me, “You’re pretty good. You really need to work out seriously.” I was always doing athletics. There was an old jail, and after the jail closed up, they made it into a gym. There was a wrestling class in there with a guy called Billy Rogers (Billy Rogers was better known as Billy Darnell—editor). He was the one that taught me to wrestle. What I really went there for was to be stretched, you know. But it got so that I liked it. Billy said, “Hey, you can make some money at this. You’ve got the mouth, and you’ve definitely got the look.”
Ear: Did you ever work for the LeBells?
Khan: Yes. I worked with Bob Backlund when he came out to L.A. He was the WWF champion then, but it actually was the NWA that was in L.A.
Ear: You worked in quite a few other places as well, I believe.
Khan: Yes. After L.A., I worked for Peter Maivia out in the Hawaiian Islands.
Ear: They always say that Peter Maivia was pretty tough even though he was a little guy.
Khan: Well, he wasn’t that little! But he was strong as an ox. Rocky Johnson was there at the time. Not Rock Jr., but Rock Sr. There were all kinds of guys coming through. Jerry Lawler would come out to work with us, and Jimmy Snuka. This was about 1985, 1986. I worked for Verne Gagne after that, in the AWA. I worked with Slaughter, and also the young kid that became a big star. Well, he’s old now. He was a real big star in the WWF for a long time. He went
into the Hall of Fame and all that kind of stuff.
Ear: Shawn Michaels?
Khan: Yes! Shawn Michaels. I’m bad with names. The whole time I was wrestling, I was still singing in bands, splitting my time. I’d go and sing in England and Mexico, and then come back home and take matches wherever I could fit it in.
Ear: For a fan of the territory days like me, it would be pretty cool hearing about you working in L.A. back when the LeBells ran it.
Khan: Well, I was working for Jules Strongbow, but also Antone Leone. Leone liked me, he was a guy who really pushed me. Him and Gene LeBell liked me. I worked with a lot of guys while I was in L.A., like Victor Rivera. My first match was with Victor. He kicked my butt! He was a big prankster. John Tolos was my tag team partner for a time. I worked with the Guerreros, you know, Chavo and his brothers. There was another set of brothers, the Graham Brothers. I worked with them. I had a match with Andre the Giant. You can’t imagine what it was like to get stepped on by Andre the Giant. Back then, he was still in real good shape. Mr. Moto used to work in the office. I used to wrestle Professor Tanaka, Ron Starr. Tanaka was a character. Great guy. I never worked with Blassie, but I wrestled on shows he was on. I did some acting stuff with Fred.
Ear: Now, this is another thing you’ve done in life—acting—that people probably don’t know. You did movies but also commercials and TV. With your look, I can imagine you got a lot of commercial work.
Khan: I did commercials for everything from furniture places to mattresses. I played with
Richard Pryor in “Stir Crazy,” which also had Gene Wilder. Then I did the “Stir Crazy” TV series too. I acted with the guy from the L.A. Raiders in the NFL. Big guy, what was his name? (pause) Oh, it was Lyle Alzado. I was in that movie with Raquel Welch, where she did roller derby (“Kansas City Bomber” was the movie—editor). I did skating scenes with her. Me and John Tolos worked in a few commercials together.
Ear: Speaking of roller derby…..
Khan: I did that too, for quite a few years. I was the manager for the New York Bombers, and I also skated. I was wrestling at the same time, but I’d only been in the business about a year or two. I ran into the owner. He saw me wrestling and told me, “Hey, you’d be great for roller derby, because nobody likes you, and everybody wants to get a piece of you.” (laughs) He wanted to know if I’d be interested in coming down and trying it out. I said “Yeah!” He showed me all the tricks and what not. At that time in wrestling, I was just known as “Buddha.” But with the roller derby, he said, “Well, we’ll call you Buddha Khan.” And I stuck with the name. It was good for my wrestling career, because I skated at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, and there, I met a whole lot of different wrestlers. The LeBells were running the Olympic then.
“Batman,” the TV show, and I saw Gene was on there. A lot of people in the Cauliflower Alley Club, they got me parts. The guy that used to play Wild Bill Hickok, he helped me. Man, I can’t remember his name now. Like I said, I’m hell on names. I did a lot of acting in Mexico, because I’d go down there to wrestle. I would play the bad guy a lot. I was a regular in a Mexican TV series for awhile, with Pistol Pete, who was my tag team partner when I wrestled in California. He did some acting with me in Mexico as well. He helped me out a lot with my Spanish.
accepting the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Bill Clinton
Ear: Going back to your wrestling career for a moment, there was the time, as late as the 2000’s, when you went on Raw for WWE and worked as D-Von Dudley’s father.
Khan: You know, I barely remember what it was. It was a one-shot. But you’re right, it had something to do with the Dudley Boys. That was basically to make them look good, not to make me look good. That really was the last thing I did in wrestling.
Ear: Can you tell the story of how you came to accept the Congressional Medal of Honor at the White House for your father?
Ear: How’d you get into acting?
Khan: Gene LeBell was the one who got me going in the movies. He did a lot of acting himself. You know, the other day I was watching an old
Khan: Bill Clinton gave me the medal in person. What happened was, in World War II, they separated all the blacks and whites. The blacks would work at hospitals and fix trucks and stuff. Now, when George Patton was over there in Germany, fighting the Nazis, he was in trouble and needed some help. So they had all the black
soldiers sent over to Patton. My old man was a Master Sergeant at the time. A lot of people don’t know this, even black people, but they took the black soldiers’ stripes away from them, so they couldn’t give the white soldiers orders. He went over there under Patton, and was riding on a tank when the Germans attacked. My father got off the tank with eight other guys and ran across a field to try to beat back the Germans. Well, the other eight guys got shot and my father was the only one left. He laid in the field pretending like he’d been shot, to fool the Germans. He laid there all day until it was night. Then he went and attacked the Germans by himself. He killed a bunch of them and captured one. And this is the reason he got the Medal of Honor, which I accepted in his name at the White House, because my father is no longer alive.
Ear: Wow, that is a really an incredible story. That could be an issue of The Ear all to itself! Your dad wasn’t recognized for this while he was alive, correct?
Khan: Well, I knew about it, but it wasn’t recognized publicly for a long time. My father is on a new set of stamps they have coming out at the Post Office, for guys who have won the Medal of Honor. He also has a ship named after him, a supply ship that carries ammunition. Whenever there’s something going on in the world, that ship goes to take supplies. The government sends us a notice every month telling us where the ship has been.
A collage of Buddha Khan during his L.A.
days (photo courtesy of Buddha Khan)
Ear: I understand you’ve got a radio show that you’re doing weekly now.
Khan: Yeah, it’s an internet radio show, so it goes all over the world, to whoever wants to hear it. We get listeners from everywhere. The
show is based out of WPMD radio here in Cerritos. I’m not far from the ghost town out here. I do the show every Saturday in the evening from 5 to 7. I play a lot of oldies, but I’ll play anything. I have a “White Boy Hour” where I’ll play hits from white groups from the oldies era. It’s basically two hours of music you would’ve heard on the radio back then.
Ear: Is there anything else we haven’t talked about? You’ve had a hand in just about everything you can think of.
Khan: Well, you know, I’ve been fortunate in life to have done so much. We haven’t talked about my bodyguard job. I worked as a bodyguard for Lionel Richie. This was when he was really big. I still work for him when he comes to town. You remember that record Michael Jackson did, “We Are The World?”
Ear: Absolutely.
Khan: My name is on that record. If you open it up and read the credits, I’m in there. Because Lionel Richie wrote that song with Michael Jackson, and he sang on that song, and that was when I was his bodyguard. I’m listed as a bodyguard. They have me under my real name, Eddie Carter.
Khan having a word with “The Greatest”, Muhammad Ali (photo courtesy of Buddha Khan)
Ear: While we’re on the subject, were you a bodyguard for Muhammad Ali? I have seen pictures of you with Ali.
Khan: Yeah, I worked for him. At that time, Muhammad was selling a line of clothing. They hired me as a bodyguard. But being around him, see, he liked my mouth. I was like him, I could talk. So he had me wear my wrestling outfit, and when they would do events showing off the clothing line, he would have me come out carrying two girls on my shoulders, walking among the people. I would have my belt on, because I had a belt then too.
Khan and the late Lou Thesz honoring Tiger Conway Jr. (photo courtesy of Buddha Khan)
Ear: You were the California Heavyweight champion. I think this was after LeBell was out of business. I see YouTube clips of you and Pistol Pete during that era.
Khan: That was during the 80’s.
Ear: You must have had a lot of run-ins with fans, since you were a heel for so much of your wrestling career.
Khan: I’ve been stabbed and shot. I wrestled a lot in Mexico. One time in Tijuana, quite a few years back, maybe 1987, I was in the main event. I drove my car down there. I was going to my car outside the arena, and this one guy, he was drunk, really loaded. He came to me and stuck a gun into my stomach. I knocked his hand away, but he caught me in the side. I’ve got the hole to show you. I took him out, which was easy because he was so drunk. The cops came, and you know what? They took me to jail! I said, “But he was the one who shot me!” They said, “Yeah, but you excited him.” You know what it was? The cops were looking for money. The promoter, I can’t remember who it was, he came and bailed me out for $500. I was in jail, and the wound was still bleeding. Really, it was fat that got hit. The wound was not deep, because he didn’t hit me straight on. When I got in my car after I got out, I drove about 100 miles into L.A., to a hospital. I told them what happened, but not one cop showed up to check it out. You’d figure someone gets shot, they’d want to look into it, you know? But they didn’t. In the hospital, my blood had congealed and it looked like raw liver falling out of me.
Ear: I’ve heard of guys getting shot at, but very few that actually got hit. The cops apparently didn’t have much sympathy for you.
Khan: There was another time. I was working for Karl (Lauer—editor). It was someplace in Santa Barbara, someplace up north. We wrestled out on a baseball diamond. We had a battle royal at the end, and I was fighting outside the ring. Well, the crowd jumped in. I was swinging, I was fighting for my life. Somebody came and grabbed me, and I turned and hit him. It was a cop. So off to jail I went again. One time in Arkansas, I was working a match and the entire arena, the whole place, they were chanting, “Ni—er, Ni—er.” The whole place! But you know what? When I went back to the dressing room, I got paid. As long as I’m getting paid, it didn’t bother me when the fans would call me names. I’m laughing inside.
Ear: You’re laughing inside, but when you’re getting a chant like that, you have to be careful when you leave that arena. You don’t know what people are gonna pull on you.
Khan: That’s true. When I did roller derby, sometimes I’d bring Pistol Pete to the arena with me. He wasn’t involved in the skating, but he’d scout out the parking lot for me afterward, to make sure no one was waiting for me after the game at my car or something.
Ear: How long have you been involved with the CAC?
Khan: Man, I think longer than Karl! Since the Sportsman’s Lodge days when they had the reunions in L.A., before they moved to Vegas. I was on the Board of Directors for awhile. I’ve been with Cauliflower Alley since the early days. That’s why it’s so nice to be recognized by the club at this point. It means a lot. I’ve got a lot of history in Cauliflower Alley and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone this year.
The 2014 Cauliflower Alley Club banquet and reunion is set for June 2nd to June 4th in Las Vegas at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino. Please see below for information on how to attend, and how to get the best deal on everything associated with the reunion.
*HOTEL ROOM: The Gold Coast has guaranteed the CAC an even better rate than last year on a premium room, and the same great rate as 2013 on a standard room. Rooms are available for just $36 (standard) or just $42 (premium) per night. Book by calling Gold Coast’s Central Reservations line at 1-888-402-6278 (toll-free) to reserve your room. To receive your special discounted rate, you should ask for Group Reservation ID (or Group Code) ACAC49A. You may also make a reservation online at http://www.goldcoastcasino.com/groups by using the code above. These rates are good from the day before the reunion begins (Sunday, June 1st) to the day after it ends (Thursday, June 5th). These rates now include in-room WIFI internet service! Cut-off date for discounted reservations at the above rate is April 29, 2014, but we’re limited to a certain number of rooms under the special rate, so don’t wait to book! If you have a Players Club card or are eligible for discounts by any other means, please advise when you book your room that you are with the Cauliflower Alley Club so that you will be placed on a master list of CAC members, which will help out the club immensely.
*BALONEY BLOWOUT and BANQUET: For tickets to Tuesday’s Baloney Blowout and Wednesday’s Banquet, please cut or photocopy the order form found on the inside cover of this issue and mail or fax it to the CAC (see form for details). You can also pay for your Blowout and Banquet tickets through Paypal. See our website at www.caulifloweralleyclub.org for details on using Paypal to buy your tickets.
*MERCHANDISE TABLES: If you’re interested in renting a table to sell merchandise in the nostalgia room, please contact Scott Hosey at shosey@powerplaysportscards.com.
*RENTAL CARS: Budget Rental of Vegas has provided a great deal on car rentals for CAC members the week of the reunion. For rates, or to make a reservation, call the Budget hotline at 1-800-922-2899, or call Budget’s Vegas Office at 1-702-730-0156. Or, book online through www.budgetvegas.com. When making reservations, you MUST use promotion code R318400 in order to guarantee the low CAC rates.
Just look at this scowling face!
You’d think that any face this twisted and mean must belong to a psychopath; a man with no conscience bent on the destruction of all that is good and pure in the world.
But you’d be wrong.
Michelle Starr is not only one of the greatest independent wrestlers to come out of the West Coast scene in about the past two-and-a-half decades, but he’s also a pretty nice guy to boot. You may not know it from watching him work, though. Despite having had much success in wrestling with a gimmick where he acts effeminate and “soft”, this guy— his friends call him “Mark”—is all business between the ropes, and his work stands as a “how-to” guide for up and coming workers. He’s won numerous championships in Western Canada and the United States, and starred in promotions as far-flung as Mexico and the UK. He’s still going strong today as a wrestler, promoter and trainer.
Michelle Starr has been a fixture at Cauliflower Alley Club events in Las Vegas in recent years, and he was deservedly honored by the club in 2012. Hats off to Michelle Starr, A scowling
scowling face and all!
by Eric Chmiel
In a club like the CAC, where there are literally hundreds of workers with amazing stories to tell, Denise Nelson has a story that nobody else does: she is probably the only person in the CAC who can say she’s wrestled at the American military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which currently houses some of the most notorious foreign terrorists in the world.
Nelson was trained for the ring in Colorado by Tom Shade, who also trained 2 Cold Scorpio. Shade, who doubled as a promoter, had a contract with the military to promote shows for American service men and women at U.S. bases around North America. In the summer of 2001, Nelson was placed on Shade’s short list of wrestlers who were booked to go to Guantanamo Bay in Denise Nelson, veteran of pro wrestling at Guantanamo Bay November of that year to entertain the (photo courtesy of Denise Nelson) troops with a live wrestling show. However, in the inte rim, the September 11 terrorist attacks took place, creating an entirely different outlook for Nelson, Shade and their cohorts as they prepared to travel to Cuba for the event. But deep down, she never had any doubt that the show would go on as planned.
“I knew we were going to go anyway, even despite the attacks,” says Nelson, who now resides in Iowa City, Iowa. “People always ask me if I was afraid to fly at that time, with the hijackings having just taken place, and whether I was worried about going into a foreign country like Cuba. But my thinking was, that was actually the safest time to fly, with security being so high. We were never worried about security at all. We were right in the middle of an American military base, so there wasn’t much chance anything was going to happen to us.”
As it turned out, the show was a big success, and contrary to conventional wisdom, the timing couldn’t have been better.
“When we went, Guantanamo didn’t have any terrorists being held there. The military hadn’t begun transferring prisoners to the base, but while we were there, they were getting the cells ready. Right before we came, morale there was low because one of the soldiers at the base had accidentally drowned. It was a morale booster for us to come in and perform for the service people, as well as their families. The General in charge of the base was very grateful. It was a great experience.”
In fact, says Nelson, the scariest thing about the trip to Guantanamo was hoping there was Nelson (far left) at a 2012 CAC reunion, with (l to r) Sabrina no wind when flying to the base. Ruggiero, Al Burke and Nick Danger (photo by Denise Nelson) “We flew out of Puerto Rico to get to Cuba,” she remembers. ”We were waiting to get on the plane, and this guy who had just gotten off told us, ‘You better hope there isn’t a strong wind going into Cuba, because if you go out of American airspace into Cuban airspace, Castro’s troops will try to shoot you down.’ I’ve actually never been so terrified for a plane to not run into a strong wind as I was when we were heading into Cuba. Thankfully, we landed just fine.”
Nelson has had quite a history in pro wrestling. A fan of the business growing up in Oklahoma, she was weaned on Bill Watts’ Mid-South Wrestling and the Von Erich family’s World Class promotion. Later, when she chose wrestling as a career, she trained with Shade for about six months before having her first pro match against fellow indie worker Stray Cat. Nelson wound up going on to have a career that spanned nearly two decades before she retired from the ring in 2007. During that time, she sometimes worked with her own trainee, fellow CAC member Sabrina Ruggiero. Along the way, Nelson worked not only in Cuba but also in Honduras, Puerto Rico and Canada as well as throughout many parts of the U.S.
More recently, she’s become a CAC member and has attended the last few reunions at the Gold Coast. “My good friend Al Burke, who I’ve known for over 20 years, had the Alaska Wrestling Association, and I worked some shows for him. Al started telling me about the CAC. He said, ‘You gotta come. It’s great.’ When the CAC gave him an award a couple years back, I said, ‘I have to go.’ I did, and I fell in love with it. I’ll be there this year, too.”
By Mike Lano
We lost some dear friends recently, and I want to say a few words about some of them:
---The original fireball-throwing Sheik's wife, valet and Detroit office booking/territory partner Joyce Farhat passed away, I’ve been told by Sabu (Terry Brunch). Joyce was an amazing woman in the male-dominated world of pro wrestling and a trailblazing pioneer on so many levels. She was perhaps the first female booker in the history of the biz, coming well before Ray Gunkel's widow Annie began promoting in Atlanta in 1973 while fighting off the NWA Georgia and Florida offices. Joyce Farhat was the aunt/mother who helped raise Sabu, who Sheik trained for the biz at the same time he was training Sabu's friend Rob Van Dam in the late 80's. RVD attended his very first CAC last April.
---Scott Epstein passed away in a horrible car accident in December. He was still so young with so much left in him to accomplish. I fir st met Scott around 1977 when he was editor of the Lurie Body Building/Fitness and pro wrestling magazines. Scott was the literal definition of the Yiddish word "mensch," meaning “great guy.” He stood out because he was thoughtful and caring of others. I’ve stayed in touch with him and had spoken with him just two weeks before he passed. There was no more honest person in wrestling. This is just awful for Superstar Billy Graham, who Scott has represented for many years, and for anyone who had the great fortune of meeting or really knowing Scott. One just had to marvel at him and his work ethic. There was only one Scotty Epstein and sadly, we won't see his likes again. Scott, God love ya', brother. You were the best.
---We also recently lost Roland Alexander, the promoter and trainer who had a big part in the 1999 Barry Blaustein movie “Beyond The Mat.” He had a very big heart, was really sharp on the biz and was a wonderful person. He'd been a fan attending Roy Shire’s Cow Palace cards dating back to about 1969 or 1970. As a promoter, he had his first house show in Modesto, CA with Mike Modest, Donovan Morgan, Frank Murdoch, Big Mike Diamond, Matt Hyson (Spike Dudley), Erin O'Grady aka Mike Lockwood (Crash Holly) and Joe "Pogo" Applebaumer. He helped break in our own Cheerleader Melissa Anderson, Sara Del Ray and Dalip Singh (Great Khali). Roland was active with Cauliflower Alley, attending into the 2000's. The first few CAC wrestling shows were run by his APW group. His death is a tremendous loss.
This issue’s photo from a past CAC reunion comes to us, as usual, from the deep archives of Mike Lano. We see Bobby “The Brain” Heenan having a word with Bill Watts as Heenan’s wife Cindy looks on. Best guess is, this was taken in 2001 when Watts was honored by the club. WCW, where Heenan had been working as an announcer, had just been bought out and absorbed by Vince McMahon’s then-World Wrestling Federation. Heenan and Watts had worked together in WCW years earlier, when Watts briefly took over the reins of that company before the Eric Bischoff era began. For a time, Heenan emceed the CAC banquet night at the reunions, a job now held by the very capable J.J. Dillon, who himself has done a tremendous job in that role.
by Pat Laprade
After longtime CAC member Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon passed away on November 21st, I immediately contacted his wife Kathie, both to offer her my sympathies and also to know if she was planning on doing anything in Montreal to celebrate the life of her late husband. Unfortunately for Maurice’s fans in Quebec, she was not planning anything there. The funeral was to be held in Iowa the following Monday, which was understandable because it was just easier for her to make arrangements in her home state, where she had lived with Maurice for the past 25 years.
Maurice’s death was covered in the province of Quebec like very few pro wrestlers in its history. Every major media outlet, whether it was radio, television or newspapers, covered his passing and yours truly had a very busy day talking to them about Maurice’s life and career. Along with my colleague Bertrand Hébert, former wrestlers Gino Brito, Paul Leduc and Jacques Rougeau Jr., we were inundated by phone calls for interviews and memories on the Mad Dog. Even the Mayor of Montreal and the Prime Minister of Canada tweeted about Maurice’s death.
So having that in mind, I discussed it with At the tribute to Maurice Vachon, Maurice’s son Mike stands Yves Thériault, who was the director of a with Butcher Paul Vachon and event co-organizer Pat Laprade French-language documentary on Maurice in in front of a large plaque for Maurice (photo by Yves Leroux) 2009 and the man behind Maurice’s induction into the Quebec Spor ts Hall of Fame that same year. We thought it was important to pay tribute to Maurice in his original hometown, along with his family, friends and of course his fans. Together, we decided to organize the whole thing.
We set the date for December 11th, which didn’t give us a lot of time to plan the event. It was important to act fast, with Christmas on its way and January being too late. Yves took care of inviting the family members, since he already knew them, and I took care of inviting Maurice’s wrestling family. When all was said and done, we had over 200 people on hand to pay tribute to Mad Dog, not only from wrestling but from pop culture in the province of Quebec. People around the world may not know this, but after Maurice retired in 1986 and before he had his accident a year later, he did many talk-show appearances, had his own kids TV show called “The Adventures of Mad Dog the Pirate,” opened a restaurant called “Mad Dog Burgers,” did TV ads, radio appearances and, simply said, he was everywhere. He even once performed a rap song! He was a true superstar personality in Quebec, in every sense.
The tribute didn’t need to be complicated. We had a video recapping Maurice’s career, a reading of a letter Kathie asked us to share, the presentation of a memorial plaque, an open mic for those who wished to share something
At the Mad Dog Tribute: Mad Dog’s former manager about Maurice and finally, the showing of Yves’ Michael Longtin with longtime pro wrestlers Paul LeDuc documentary. Apart from the many fans and and Neil “Hangman” Guay (photo by Yves Leroux) some TV personalities in attendance, the wrestling business was well represented. Paul Leduc, “Hangman” Neil Guay, Gilles “The Fish” Poisson, Armand Rougeau, Sylvain Grenier, LuFisto and so many more wrestlers who knew Maurice or worked with him in Grand Prix Wrestling were there, as well as many wrestlers from the independent scene in Montreal. It goes to show how Maurice’s name penetrated many generations. Last but not least, his
brother and tag team partner Paul “The Butcher” Vachon was there, leading the pack for many of Maurice’s family members, including some of his brothers, sisters, sons, nephews and nieces. According to one of his sons, Mike, it was the biggest family reunion since 1977. Many media were also there to cover the event, as interviews were conducted live on the two biggest sports stations in Quebec. Maurice showed, maybe for the very last time, that he could still draw a crowd! All in all, it was a night to remember and everyone felt fortunate to be able to attend the ceremony.
Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon was a very generous person, so it’s only natural that all the love he gave throughout his life was returned to him on this night. Rest in peace Maurice, you’ll never be forgotten.
Pat Laprade created the first Quebec Wrestling Hall Of Fame. He contributes to SLAM! Wrestling as well as having a column on RDS.ca. In 2013, he published his first book, “Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs,” a complete history of the Montreal wrestling territory, with co-author Bertrand Hébert.
In this issue, sadly, we say goodbye to 12 of the boys and girls who traveled the roads with us and made their mark, however big or small, on the business. For more (including bios of all names who have passed from the wrestling fraternity going back to 2005), you can find detailed obituaries on the CAC website, www.caulifloweralleyclub.org, under 2013 Finishes (RIP) on the home page.
Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon
Age 84
Scott Epstein (promoter/publisher)
Payaso Coco Blanco
November 21, 2013 (Manuel Balderas Martinez)
December 18, 2013
Age 45
Shadox
December 27, 2013 (Dale Elliot Bolenbaugh)
Age 64
Porfirio Langoria
November 2, 2013
Age 44
Johnny Ringo
October 19, 2013 (Kenneth Clifton Johns)
Age 84
Canadian Giant
December 21, 2013
Age 57
Pedro “El Mago” Septien (Garry Robbins) (announcer)
December 11, 2013
Age 56
Vivian St. John
December 19, 2013
Age 97
Knobby McDonald (Suzanne Miller) (Norbert McDonald)
December 21, 2013
Princess Salima
December 9, 2013
Age 63 Age 86
Ari Romero (Joyce Jean Farhat) (Jose Luis Arias Romero) November 28, 2013
Age 83
December 29, 2013
Age 62
The Ear and the entire Cauliflower Alley Club wishes to extend our deepest sympathies to a longtime member of the CAC family, Bobby Simmons, who lost his wife Debi in December. We cannot tell you how sorry we were to hear of this tragedy, and our thoughts and prayers are with Bobby.
If you want to read a great article about the CAC’s current secretary and resident Archbishop, then go to the website nhmagazine.com and type “Jason Sanderson” into the search box. What you’ll find is a full bio piece from New Hampshire Magazine about Jason called, fittingly, “The Most Interesting Wolfman in New Hampshire.” Yes, we knew he was a gifted author who’s been receiving more and more acclaim for his current series of novels about a rock band working as U.S. spies in a world in which the Soviets won the Cold War (check out the first in the series, Dangerous Gambles, which is now also a graphic novel, and you’ll be hooked). But we didn’t realize he had created an actual real-life band called “The Roadhouse Sons” to promote his books! Nor were we
Jason Sanderson, in a shot from aware that an image from his wrestling days adorns the his article in New Hampshire Magazine label of a beer called “Curse of the Rye-Wolf,” produced by New Hampshire’s Prodigal Brewery. There are several other tidbits about Jason in the piece that may surprise you. For more on Jason’s budding career as a novelist, go to roadhousesons.com or check out the Facebook page “JH Sanderson.” Congratulations to Jason on the magazine article and for all his growing success as a writer!
Even more professional success has come to another Cauliflower Alley board member: Congratulations is in order to our own Morgan Dollar, the man who did such a terrific job organizing our annual Las Vegas reunion last year. Morgan’s day job is running a fine taxidermy company called “Rural Hall Taxidermy” in North Carolina (in fact, go like the “Rural Hall Taxidermy” page on Facebook). Morgan recently landed a huge client in Michael Waltrip Racing, which is going to be great for his business. Morgan deserves it, he is one of the most talented taxidermy artists around, good enough that he is now an instructor of taxidermy at Surrey Community College in Dobson, NC. Great to hear that things are going so well for the venerable Mr. Dollar!
J.J. Dillon sends us the pic to the right, showing him with his photo of CAC founder Iron Mike Mazurki. The photo was the subject of a fascinating article penned by J.J. himself in the last issue. The pic to the right was taken at an appearance J.J. did at Wrestling World in Allentown, PA, a fine store owned by Bud Carson, who does a tremendous job with the place. We still can’t get over the way a signed photo of Iron Mike found its way back to J.J. after so many years! Good to see J.J. has followed through on his promise to have the photo framed.
Due to a packed issue, there wasn’t room in the Passages column to elaborate on some of the distinguished names we’ve lost recently. But we wanted to mention that Mad Dog Vachon is a former Iron Mike Award winner, J.J.
having captured that prize in 2003. Also, Ari
Romero attended several CAC reunions, and was at one as recently as 2012. He will be missed.
of Friendship”
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