The Grand Wizard
Ernie Roth | |
---|---|
Ernie “The Grand Wizard” Roth holding money
|
|
Birth name | Irwin Roth |
Born | August 30, 1926[1][2] Canton, Ohio, U.S. |
Died | October 12, 1983 (aged 57) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
Cause of death | Heart Attack |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | The Grand Wizard of Wrestling The Grand Wizard J. Wellington Radcliffe Mr. Clean Abdullah Farouk Armstrong K. |
Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)[3] |
Billed weight | 130 lb (59 kg)[1] |
Billed from | Fort Lauderdale, Florida[3] |
Debut | 1960s |
Irwin “Ernie” Roth (August 30, 1926 – October 12, 1983), known by the ring names The Grand Wizard of Wrestling and Abdullah Farouk, was an American professional wrestling manager. Not a wrestler himself due to his small stature, he was noted for his flamboyant outfit of sequined jackets, wraparound sunglasses, and a brightly colored turban decorated with jewels and feathers.[3] He was inducted into the WWE‘s Hall of Fame class of 1995.
Contents
Professional wrestling career
Abdullah Farouk
Ernie Roth got his start in the entertainment business as a disc jockey.[3] He was discovered by Jim Barnett who helped Roth get into the wrestling industry.[4] He became involved in professional wrestling as a manager in the 1960s in Detroit-based territories.[3] Roth first worked under the names “Mr. Clean” and “J. Wellington Radcliffe.”[5] He also portrayed “Abdullah Farouk”, the heel (villainous) manager of The Sheik.[3] He frequently appeared on the Toronto wrestling circuit, where local announcer Lord Athol Layton would usually refer to him as “The weasel, Abdullah Farouk”.
Sporting a turban, Farouk took great pains in trying to control his madman protégé.[1] But he also carved a niche for himself as a deceitful, underhanded character who insulted US fans whenever he had a chance.[1] Farouk was a pioneer of “manager interference”, as he physically would attempt to alter a match’s outcome in the Sheik’s favor.[3] This sort of interference was rare at the time.[2]
The Grand Wizard
Roth began a stint with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in the 1970s, where he became known as The Grand Wizard.[3][6] Roth, who was Jewish,[2] reportedly took the name “The Grand Wizard” as a snub to the white supremacy organization the Ku Klux Klan, whose leaders were called Grand Wizard.[7]
Almost immediately after arrival in 1971, the Wizard managed Black Jack Mulligan and “Beautiful Bobby” Harmon. He later led Mr. Fuji and Prof. Toru Tanaka to two reigns with the WWWF World Tag Team Championship.[2] A year later, the Wizard led Stan Stasiak to victory over Pedro Morales for the WWF Championship in Philadelphia on December 1, 1973.[3][1] The Wizard guided a second protégé, Superstar Billy Graham, to the very same championship on April 30, 1977, when Graham overcame Bruno Sammartino in Baltimore.[3][1] On February 20, 1978, Bob Backlund dethroned Graham at Madison Square Garden. The Wizard made it his duty to gain revenge on Backlund, sending charges such as Don Muraco, Ken Patera and Greg Valentine after him.
The Wizard managed the first Intercontinental Champion Pat Patterson, and later Patera (who defeated Patterson for the title in April 1980 after the Wizard and Patterson parted ways) and Muraco to the same championship.[3] Other protégés of the Wizard included “Beautiful Bobby” Harmon,[8] Killer Kowalski,[9] “Crazy Luke” Graham, Sgt. Slaughter,[10] “Big Cat” Ernie Ladd,[11] Ox Baker, “Cowboy” Bob Orton[3] and The Masked Superstar.[12]
Other media
Roth on many occasions (when out of character and greasepaint mustache) co-hosted the syndicated Big Time Wrestling show with fellow announcer Bob Finnegan until 1969 when the hosting duties went to Lord Athol Layton.
Personal life and death
Roth was revealed to be homosexual after his death, although some claim they were aware of his sexual orientation during his lifetime.[13][14] He was the godfather of protégé Don Muraco‘s daughter. His parents were Evrum (Edward) Roth and Rizel (Rose) Stern.[15] According to the autobiography of former WWE referee and wrestler Dangerous Danny Davis, Roth was also in charge of helping get the ring to all shows. The position was eventually taken over by Davis himself after Roth’s death.
On October 12, 1983, Roth died of a heart attack at his Fort Lauderdale, Florida home at the age of 57, and was cremated.[3][1] Later WWF manager The Wizard claimed to be in communion with Roth’s spirit. In 1995, Roth was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 1995 by his friend and protégé Sgt. Slaughter.[3]
Wrestlers managed
-
- Tiger Jeet Singh
- The Sheik
- The Iron Sheik
- Abdullah the Butcher
- Magnificent Maurice
- Johnny Barend
- Killer Kowalski
- Crazy Luke Graham
- Sgt. Slaughter
- Kamala
- Ernie Ladd
- Ox Baker
- Cowboy Bob Orton
- Don Muraco
- Ken Patera
- Greg Valentine
- Pat Patterson
- Stan Stasiak
- Superstar Billy Graham
- Ivan Koloff
- The Masked Superstar
- Prof. Toru Tanaka
- Mr. Fuji
- Blackjack Mulligan
- Pampero Firpo
- Handsome Jimmy Valiant
- ‘Cowboy’ Bobby Duncum Sr.
- Buddy Rose
- “Beautiful” Bobby Harmon
- George Steele
- Jack “the Shirtless One” McCullough
- Bugsy McGraw
- Bruiser Brody
Awards and accomplishments
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Inductee[1]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Editors’ Award (1983)[16]
- Manager of the Year (1973, 1977)
- World Wrestling Federation
See also
References
- Slagle, Steve. “The Grand Wizard”. Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- Solomon, Brian (June 15, 2010). WWE Legends. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781451604504 – via Google Books.
- “The Grand Wizard bio”. WWE. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
- Horton, Aaron D. (March 2, 2018). Identity in Professional Wrestling: Essays on Nationality, Race and Gender. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-6728-7.
- “WrestlingClassics.com Message Board: Ernie Roth”. wrestlingclassics.com. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- Blassie, Fred; Greenberg, Keith Elliot (2003). “Classy” Freddie Blassie: Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7434-6316-4.
- Famous People Who Dropped Dead. Dorrance Publishing. ISBN 9781434942623 – via Google Books.
- “Beautiful Bobby Harmon”. Obsessed with Wrestling.com. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
- DK (September 29, 2020). WWE Encyclopedia of Sports Entertainment New Edition. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-7440-3510-0.
- Backlund, Bob; Miller, Robert H. (September 15, 2015). Backlund: From All-American Boy to Professional Wrestling’s World Champion. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-61321-696-5.
- “Ernie Ladd”. WWE. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- Edison, Mike (May 12, 2009). I Have Fun Everywhere I Go: Savage Tales of Pot, Porn, Punk Rock, Pro Wrestling, Talking Apes, Evil Bosses, Dirty Blues, American Heroes, and the Most Notorious Magazines in the World. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-86547-903-6.
- McCoy, Heath (December 14, 2010). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling, Revised Edition. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55490-299-6.
- Oliver, Greg (June 19, 2006). “Managers DVD frustrating but entertaining”. Canoe.ca. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
- “Jon-Roth – User Trees – Genealogy.com”. familytreemaker.genealogy.com.
- “PWI Awards”. Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Kappa Publishing Group. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
External links
- Ernie Roth at Find a Grave
- The Grand Wizard on WWE.com
- 1926 births
- 1983 deaths
- 20th-century American Jews
- 20th-century LGBT people
- American people of German descent
- American people of Jewish descent
- Gay sportsmen
- Jewish American sportspeople
- Jewish professional wrestlers
- LGBT people from Florida
- LGBT professional wrestlers
- LGBT sportspeople from the United States
- People from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Professional wrestling managers and valets
- WWE Hall of Fame inductees