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Fred Blassie was all these things and more. A wrestling pioneer, he remained relevant and active until just weeks before his death on June 2, 2003. He was 85.
Blassie fell in love with wrestling at an early age. By the time he was a teenager, he had informed his mother he was going to be a big-time wrestler. He started on the carnival circuit, where he coined his classic insult “pencil-necked geek.” Blassie later explained the term originally was used to describe a freak show attraction, a man “with a stack of dimes for a neck” who bit the heads off live chickens.
Blassie moved on from the carnival circuit and began wrestling for the NWA, competing primarily in the Southeast. In 1954, he won the NWA Southern title, a championship he would go on to win 14 times between 1954 and 1960. He tore into fan favorites, leaving a trail of bloody and bruised bodies in his wake. Fans across the United States learned about “The Vampire” from the lurid photos of him, his wild eyes glaring out from the scarlet gore of torn flesh, that appeared on the covers of wrestling magazines.
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Fred Blassie vs. John Tolos was the blood feud to end all blood feuds in California in 1970. You see why he was known as “The Vampire.”
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When opponents claimed that Blassie’s teeth were dangerous weapons, he agreed to wrestle with a muzzle just so the match could be made. He took pride in the fact that he received death threats from irate fans and had even been attacked by furious fans on more than one occasion. That meant he was doing his job well.
Even though he was a hated wrestler for the majority of his career, Blassie’s star power was undeniable. He made a cameo appearance on The Dick Van Dyke Show in 1962 and was often seen in the company of Hollywood-types.
Blassie entered the Los Angeles-based WWA in 1960 and went about securing his legacy in that area through that decade and into the 1970s. He won the WWA title four times, defeating Rikidozan, The Destroyer, and Edouard Carpentier. Blassie reigned as Americas champion three times during a period when the Southern California wrestling scene was as hot as any in the country.
Blassie wrestled for the World Wide Wrestling Federation title during Bruno Sammartino’s first reign—and later against WWWF champion Pedro Morales. Though chronic knee injuries forced him to retire, Blassie wasn’t content to move into the old wrestlers’ home. Instead, he became one of the top heel managers in the business, bringing in anti-American wrestlers such as Spiros Arion, Killer Khan, Mr. Saito, Victor Rivera, Peter Maivia, Mr. Fuji, Nikolai Volkoff, and The Iron Sheik. Blassie also managed Adrian Adonis, Stan Hansen, Jesse Ventura, George Steele, and Dick Murdoch, as well as a young stud named Hulk Hogan.
It was 1983 when he finally got his hands on the WWF World title, as he managed The Iron Sheik to an upset victory over Bob Backlund. Ironically, Sheik would drop the belt in short order to Hogan, his former protege.
Blassie gained a measure of pop culture fame when he appeared in Andy Kaufman’s film Breakfast With Blassie. In the movie, Blassie played himself—gruff, arrogant, comedic, and oddly endearing. In a word, he was an entertainer.
In 1994, Blassie was inducted into what is now the WWE Hall of Fame. He was given the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Editors’ Award six years later. In recent years, he appeared on WWE TV as an ambassador of the history of the promotion. He gave an emotional rallying speech to the WWF team as it rallied against the WCW/ECW invasion in 2001. Blassie appeared on Raw for the final time on May 12, 2003. Not long after, he was admitted to the hospital for heart and kidney difficulties. He is survived by his wife, Miyako, and three children.
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| Blassie (with Lou Thesz) and Dan Severn was honored for all his achievements in wrestling by the Cauliflower Alley Club in 1998. |
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