I'm sitting here at my laptop hoping there will soon be a rainless period so that I can open the floating bookshop. The first thing I noticed when I logged onto my igoogle home page was the sad news of the death of former wrestling superstar Randy Macho Man Savage, who perished when he had a heart attack at the wheel of his car. He was only 58. Fortunately, his wife of one year survived with relatively minor injuries. His first wife, Miss Elizabeth, accompanied his entry into what was then the WWF, now WWE. She was a great beauty and played the role of his manager. They eventually divorced. She died at 42 of a drug overdose in the home of NWA star Lex Luger. Pro Wrestling was a guilty pleasure of mine for about a decade beginning in 1983, chiefly because of the antics of two former wrestlers who had become managers, Classie Freddie Blassie and Captain Lou Albano. They made me laugh. I have three homemade videotapes of wrestling highlights from that era and pop them into the VCR now and then when I need a good laugh. Savage, real name Poffo, is omni-present, as is Hulk Hogan. It was a fun time. Comedy is almost entirely absent from today's pro wrestling. It is more demanding physically than ever. It is not an easy occupation, even though the outcomes are predetermined. I paid homage to the so-called Sport of Kings in a short story, Defining Moment, that appears A Hitch in Twilight. Unfortunately, the demands of the business lead many to the use of steroids, which not only add muscle mass but aid in the healing of injuries. They also weaken the heart. Here is a list of pro wrestlers who have died before the age 65, and too many who left us much earlier than that. Not all were the victim of steroid abuse. It is from About.com.
Art Barr - 28
Gino Hernandez - 29
Lance Cade - 29
Jay Youngblood - 30
Rick McGraw - 30
Joey Marella - 30
Ed Gatner - 31
Buzz Sawyer - 32
Crash Holly - 32
Kerry Von Erich - 33
D.J. Peterson - 33
Eddie Gilbert - 33
The Renegade - 33
Chris Candido - 33
Test - 33
Adrian Adonis - 34
Gary Albright - 34
Bobby Duncum Jr. - 34
Owen Hart - 34
Yokozuna - 34
Big Dick Dudley - 34
Brian Pillman - 35
Marianna Komlos - 35
Umaga - 36
Pitbull #2 - 36
The Wall/Malice - 36
Emory Hale - 36
Leroy Brown - 38
Mark Curtis - 38
Eddie Guerrero - 38
John Kronus - 38
Davey Boy Smith - 39
Johnny Grunge - 39
Chris Kanyon - 40
Vivian Vachon - 40
Jeep Swenson - 40
Brady Boone - 40
Terry Gordy - 40
Bertha Faye - 40
Billy Joe Travis - 40
Chris Benoit - 40
Larry Cameron - 41
Rick Rude - 41
Randy Anderson - 41
Bruiser Brody - 42
Miss Elizabeth - 42
Big Boss Man - 42
Earthquake - 42
Mike Awesome - 42
Biff Wellington - 42
Brian Adams (Crush) - 43
Ray Candy - 43
Nancy Benoit (Woman) - 43
Dino Bravo - 44
Curt Hennig - 44
El Gigante/Giant Gonzalez - 44
Bam Bam Bigelow - 45
Jerry Blackwell - 45
Junkyard Dog - 45
Hercules - 45
Toni Adams - 45
Andre the Giant - 46
Big John Studd - 46
Chris Adams - 46
Mike Davis - 46
Hawk - 46
Mitsuharu Misawa - 46
Ludvig Borga - 47
Luna Vachon - 48
Steve Dunn - 48
Cousin Junior - 48
Dick Murdoch - 49
Jumbo Tsuruta - 49
Rocco Rock - 49
Sherri Martel - 49
Steve Williams - 49
Moondog Spot - 51
Bastion Booger/Norman the Lunatic - 53
Ken Timbs - 53
Uncle Elmer - 54
Pez Whatley - 54
The Angel of Death - 54
Eddie Graham - 55
Tarzan Tyler - 55
Haystacks Calhoun- 55
Giant Haystacks - 55
Buddy Rose - 56
Kurt Von Hess - 56
Moondog King - 56
Gene Anderson - 58
Dr. Jerry Graham - 58
Bulldog Brown - 58
Tony Parisi - 58
Rufus R. Jones - 60
Ray Stevens - 60
Stan Stasiak - 60
Terry Garvin - 60
Boris Malenko - 61
Little Beaver - 61
Sapphire - 61
Shohei Baba - 61
Sir Oliver Humperdink - 62
Dick the Bruiser - 62
Wilbur Snyder - 62
George Cannon - 62
Karl Krupp - 62
Dale Lewis - 62
Gorilla Monsoon - 62
Hiro Matsuda - 62
Bad News Brown - 63
Bulldog Brower - 63
SD Jones - 63
Wahoo McDaniel - 63
RIP Macho Man - "Oh yeah!"
Read Vic's stories, free: http://vicfortezza.homestead.com/
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