Sunday, March 27, 2011

Lord James "Tally Ho" Blears and "Handsome" Johnny Barend

Hawaii's 50th State Big Time Wrestling! Every week! Twice a week! At the Civic Auditorium, and at the KGMB television studios! Those were the days! It was when wrestling was fun.

Now after saying that, I have to admit that I have a hard time understanding Professional Wrestling these days.  For me, it was never even close to vulgar and over the top as it is these days. It was tough hard hitting wrestling.  It had wrestling and judo moves. It had brawlers and some pretty rough characters.  They went 3 rounds instead of just one, there wasn't a lot of talking your opponent into submission. 

There were a lot of torturous moves like the Figure Four Leg Lock, the Boston Crab, the Abdominal Stretch, the Japanese Arm Bar, the Wrist Lock, the Spinning Toe Hold, Chin locks, Sleeper Hold, and of course the Claw. 

What it didn't have was today's silly acrobatics and elbow smashes from guys so full of tattoos that they look like they just got out of a prison somewhere near you.  In the old days wrestlers knew how to wrestle - and brawl if it came down to it.  They were tough and ready to beef!

Well lately after a trip down memory lane, I decided to Google a couple of my boyhood Heroes. One was "Handsome" Johnny Barend, another was definitely Lord James "Tally Ho" Blears, and the last was a great wrestler by the name of "Gentleman" Jim Hady.


"Gentleman" Jim Hady

"Gentleman" Jim Hady and Ed Francis




"Gentleman" Jim Hady and Curtis "Da Bull" Iaukea




"Gentleman" Jim Hady and Pepper Gomez

"Gentleman" Jim Hady was a wrestler's wrestler. He knew moves and holds. But at the same time, he was a scrapper and could take it to fist city if his opponent wanted to take it there. He was tough, and yes he was loved in Hawaii.

On January 13, 1969, Jim Hady died in Hawaii of a heart attack at the age of 38.

The story of his passing, the way I remember it, was that he went home after a match and said he wasn't feeling well. He and his wife drove to a local hospital, and there died of a heart attack.

He was only in his late 30s, he was married, and he passed away two days after my 13th birthday. It broke my heart.

Right after he passed away, there was a memorial for "Gentleman" Jim Hady that I can still see clearly til today.

The house lights at the Civic Auditorium were turned off and only the ring lights were on. Then all of the wrestlers, good and bad, all filed out and lined the ring facing the center of the ring. Then the time keeper rang the ring bell slowly for a ten count. 

There was no other sound in the entire place other than the sound of that ring bell as it toll.

There was no shuffling of chairs or talking or anything. After the last bell, the wrestlers turned toward the locker rooms and silently filed away from the ring. They left without fanfare or event. The house lights came back on and into the ring climbed an announcer and quietly watched as the last wrestler walked off.

Once the last wrestler was gone, the announcer called for the mic to be lowered and he started announcing the first match.

It was the finest memorial that I have ever witnessed.
One of his last matches was against Gene Kiniski for the NWA World Title. I saw that match. And yes, Jim Hady was a "Good Guy." He was always a "Good Guy." I guess thinking about it right now, it must be quite a testament to him that someone still remembers him after more than 40 years.

And yes, I remember him fondly.

I remember his signing autographs before his matches. I remember on Saturdays at the KGMB Television Studios how he'd come out to talk to us in the audience before the matches started to demonstrate different holds. He'd show us how they worked and their effects. It was great stuff!

A few months ago I searched both the Cauliflower Alley Club (CAC) and the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) websites to check their lists of inductees to see if any of the great Wrestlers from Hawaii had made their rooster.

Because "Gentleman" Jim Hady passed away so young, I didn't think I'd find him listed. But honestly, I really couldn't believe that both organizations failed to remember two wrestlers who left their marks on the "Sport of Wrestling" like no other two back in the golden era of wrestling of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.

One is Lord James "Tally-Ho" Blears and the other is "Handsome" Johnny Barend.

Lord James "Tally Ho" Blears
and Gene Kiniski
I saw that Gene Kiniski is an inductee in both CAC and the PWHF.

Kiniski was one half of a Champion Tag Team back in the 1950s that kept the title for years. The other half of that Tag Team was his partner Lord James "Tally Ho" Blears.

Prior to coming to Hawaii, yes Lord James Blears held the World Tag Team Championship Title with Gene Kiniski.

Lord Blears was one of the great British Wrestlers who entertained thousands after serving in World War II.
He stayed with 50th State Wrestling from the start in 1961 through the end in 1979.

Wrestled full time from 1961 till late 1965, then went in semi-retirement to focus on TV, announcing wrestling matches on TV and doing locker room interviews.

And yes, besides being a World War II Hero and wrestler, while still wrestling, Lord Blears became the "creator" of the "Wrestler Interview" used in Hawaii's 50th State Big Time Wrestling.


Lord James "Tally Ho" Blears
 That format became the prototype for Wrestler Interviews industry wide. It was copied throughout the mainland U.S. and is still used today.

Lord Blears was the man behind the success of Hawaii's 50th State Big Time Wrestling. Now retired, to my knowledge Lord James Blears still lives in Hawaii.

Lord Blears was the voice of 50th State Wrestling as well as Ed Francis who was the promoter.

As a wrestler won the Hawaiian Tag Team Championships with Neff Maiava in 1961 and they held the title for over a year before losing their titles to Curtis Iaukea and Tosh Togo (of 007 fame) in September of  1962.

Lord James "Tally Ho" Blears should be recognized in the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) for his more than 40 plus years in Wrestling.

Lord James "Tally Ho" Blears in 1949


 
Ripper Collins, "Handsome" Johnny Barend, Lord James Blears, and Pedro Morales

Lord James Blears was born in 1924, so he'd be 86 or 87.  He should be recognized while he's still here to appreciate the honor.

The other wrestler is "Handsome" Johnny Barend. He was one of the All-Time Greatest Tag Team wrestlers who won Championship Titles with 9 different partners. That, my friends, is a record that no one else has ever matched or beaten.

He was tougher than tough. His was feared and respected. He was a "good guy," a "bad guy," and a "good /bad guy." He was always loved in Hawaii. Still is today.

We called him "Handsome Johnny" and "Prince Pupule!" Hawaiian for Prince Crazy, because he came off as if he were insane. And most everyone those days, well we absolutely loved him

"Handsome" Johnny Barend first appeared in Hawaii in September of 1955. But it wasn't until September of 1964 that "Handsome" Johnny returns to Hawaii and wrestles under new promoter Ed Francis.

On October 6, 1964, "Handsome" Johnny won the Hawaiian Heavyweight Championship title over Neff Maiava in an elimination match. The Hawaiian title was vacated when then champion Gene Kiniski left Hawaii and did not return for a few years.

"Handsome" Johnny remained in Hawaii until December 1964. During that time, he had memorable battles with Nick Bockwinkel, Curtis Iaukea, Ripper Collins, and many others.

After going through a match that ended in "no contest" with Curtis "Da Bull" Iaukea on December 4, 1964, "Handsome" Johnny left Hawaii again.

As a result, "Handsome" Johnny is stripped of his Hawaiian Championship belt by promoter Ed Francis.

He returns to Hawaii in January of 1966 and continued wrestling until December 1968. During that time, "Handsome" Johnny became a crowd favorite.

On January 19, 1966, "Handsome" Johnny captured the United States Heavyweight title from Nick Kozak.

Then during the following year, he also defended the United States Championship until March 1, 1967 when he lost the title to Curtis "Da Bull" Iaukea. It wasn't until December 25, 1967, that "Handsome" Johnny defeated Curtis "Da Bull" Iaukea for the United States title in a rematch.

He would subsequently lose the title again, but this time to "Gentlemen" Jim Hady on April 24, 1968.

From 1966 until December 1968, "Handsome" Johnny held the Hawaiian Tag Team title with several partners.  He held it with Ripper Collins (1966), Hans Mortier (1967), Jim Hady (1967), and The Magnificent Maurice (1968).

"Handsome" Johnny was married in the ring in September of 1967 at the Honolulu International Center, the HIC Arena. In the ring with him was his Best Man, none other than "Gentleman" Jim Hady.

Yes, besides being the 2 time NWA North American (Hawaii) Champion, and 2 time NWA United States Heavyweight (Hawaii) Champion, that fact is that Johnny Barend was actually married at the HIC Arena in the ring in 1969 before the start of that night's events.


After the wedding "Handsome" Johnny and "Gentlemen" Jim Hady defended their Hawaiian tag titles and lost to Curtis "Da Bull" Iaukea and Dutch Schultz.

In September of 1968, "Handsome" Johnny Barend defeated Klondike Bill to win the Hawaiian Heavyweight Championship.

But then on December 25, 1968, he failed to appear to defend his title against Nick Bockwinkel and was forced to give up the title to Bockwinkel.

"Handsome" Johnny returned to Hawaii in December 1969 and defeated Pedro Morales for the North American title on December 25, 1969. Morales wins it back on August 5, 1970.

He also held the Hawaiian Tag Team title with Ripper Collins (1969-1970) and Billy Robinson (1970).

On December 8, 1970, he defeated Ripper Collins for the Hawaiian title in a steel cage match. After the match, he was attacked by Collins and Curtis Iaukea. Subsequently, Barend again left Hawaii and Promoter Ed Francis returned the Hawaiian title to Collins.

In December of 1971, "Handsome" Johnny returned to Hawaii and captured the North American title from Sweet Daddy Siki on March 22, 1972.

"Handsome" Johnny Barend
In 1972, my Dad was out of work and left to go to the Mainland (California) to find work. My Mom, along with two of my brothers and my two sisters left for California in June.

I left for California in August. Not long after that, I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.

I remember the day I got the call from my Grand-Father that there was going to be a Main Event for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship between "Handsome" Johnny Barend and Dory Funk Jr. who held the title.

Later I found out that each wrestler gained a fall, but neither wrestler could win the third and deciding fall and the time ran out. Yes, in those days it was two out of three falls to win a match.

Because time ran out, the match was declared a draw. Because it was a draw, Dory Funk Jr. retained the NWA title.

It was "Handsome" Johnny Barend's last match in Hawaii. When I found that out, I couldn't believe it. One of my heroes was gone.

Then later, I heard that "Handsome" Johnny Barend suffered a chest injury and that that was what ended his career in Professional Wrestling.

"Handsome" Johnny, our "Prince Pupule," the man who told us fairy tales about those "yellow rats" like Ripper Collins, the Sheik, Maddog Mayne, and others, never wrestled in Hawaii again.

Though he remained the North American Champion until October 1972, after that injury, he retired from wrestling.

It is interesting to note for anyone from Hawaii that "Handsome" Johnny appeared on the last Wrestling Card at the old Civic Auditorium in March 1972. He teamed up with Sam Steamboat and defeated Maddog Maine and Sweet Daddy Siki to capture the Hawaiian Tag Team title.

A short time later, a vacant Civic Auditorium which had been a landmark on Oahu for more years than most can remember was demolished.

"Handsome" Johnny Barend was outrageous, and his interviews with his trademark "Mister Francis" growl are legendary. Sure he had charisma, but he also came off as if he were a bit nuts. In Hawaii, he was a huge Celebrity. He was as big as singer Don Ho and actor Jack Lord of Hawaii 5-0 fame.

He embraced Hawaii as his home, and the people in Hawaii embraced him as our own. Yes, we loved him.

"Handsome" Johnny Barend created a character that was cemented in the memories of anyone who followed wrestling in Hawaii back in those days. 


"Handsome" Johnny Barend
A sports writer talking about Johnny Barend wrote:

"Barend's shtick could only work with a good straight man. That was the role for Ed Francis, who was the host of the 50th State Wrestling program in the 1960s and early '70s, as well as the owner/promoter, or occasionally, Lord James Blears."

"We're going to go talk to Handsome Johnny, and see what he has to say," Francis would say, and then it would start.

"Handsome" Johnny Barend would start laughing as if he were nuts, smoke his cigar would drift, then he'd growl "Mister Francis! Mister Frances!"

"Handsome" Johnny and Ed Frances
Then as if out of the blue, he'd go into some fairy tale about yellow rats. For me, heck I can still remember him opening up a supposedly Mother Goose book of fairy tales and start talking about those "Yellow rats, Mister Francis! Those yellow rats!"

It was always great entertainment even if it wasn't always about his upcoming bout. It may have just been about some of the people he was targeting as "bad guys."





Famed wrestler Nick Bockwinkel described "Handsome" Johnny Barend this way:

"He did a coo-coo bit. Promoter Ed Francis was always looking at the camera, kind of out of the corner of his eye as if to say 'hey are you getting this? This is as much to me as it is to you.' At that time, there were four channels in Honolulu, and 50% of the viewership was on this one channel (KGMB) at 4:30 in the afternoon until 6 p.m. It was just unreal, it was great, it was just too much."

Curtis "Da Bull" Iaukea
In a 2005 interview, Curtis "Da Bull" Iaukea said,

"With his knee-high wrestling boots, dark glasses, top hat and cigar, Barend adopted the TV 'Batman' theme and later the theme from Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (soundtrack)  to enhance his gimmick of a being a mysterious wacko telling fractured fairy tales about his opponents. I think Johnny's bubble shifted to one side somewhere along the way and never came back straight."

"Handsome" Johnny Barend is now around 80, and to my knowledge he's living in his native New York along with his wife Annie.

Yes, the small local girl who he married in the ring many years ago is still his bride.

Since the other morning when I found out that Curtis "Da Bull" Iaukea had passed away, I started thinking about growing up in Hawaii and going to the Civic and then later to the HIC Arena for wrestling with my Grandfather.

It was a great time. It was a time when I learned that good guys and bad guys were usually clearly defined. Yet, I also learned that good guys could turn bad and bad guys could find the light. It was a time when I saw how some men were very tactical while some were just crazier than most.

Like thousands of others, I loved "Gentlemen" Jim Hady and "Handsome" Johnny Barend when they were a tag team. They couldn't be beaten by anyone. 

"Handsome" Johnny Barend was my favorite. I saw "Handsome" Johnny wrestle many many times when I was a kid, and I remember him like it was yesterday.

He was tough. As tough as they come. He was insane and fun. And though I see both "Handsome" Johnny and Lord James "Tally Ho" Blears as immortals, I really wish that someone would look at the contributions of both.

And if so, please look at them before they are no longer with us.

My friends, thanks for the memories is so small a sentiment when I think back at how these men were my Heroes once upon a time. They both really need to be recognized.

One last note. During my years as a U.S. Marine, especially during the tough days, I would remember how "Handsome" Johnny would take a beating during a match but never give up. Sometimes he would win and other times he wouldn't - but more times than not he'd win because he'd always keep fighting. 

Years after he left wrestling, and I was a Marine Sergeant and an Instructor, he was still a great source of motivation for me. I'd remember how "Handsome" Johnny never quit!

So as "Handsome" Johnny would cheer at the end of his interviews, "Mabuhi!"

Long life, "Handsome" Johnny! And again, thanks!

"Handsome" Johnny and wife Annie in 2008




The immortal "Handsome" Johnny Barend

1 comment:

  1. Loved your story. I too remember those memorable days when wrestling was fun, entertaining, exciting,and Sunday afternoon matches on kgmb. Used to walk to the Civic Auditorium to watch wrestling and roller derby till I moved to Waimanalo and never went that often. Gentlemen Jim Hady, Missing Link, Neff, Chief Billy White Wolf's "Indian Death Lock",my favorite submission hold. Used to practice on my sister. Sorry Sis. Loved 50th State Wrestling and Wrestlers back in the Day.Mahalo for the Memories and sharing your story.

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