Author: Dr. Mike Lano

On August 27th, 2010, we lost Angelle “Luna” Vachon. So young at only 48. Her given name was Gertrude. But she was too lovely a person to be saddled with it. So I never called her that when she was driving some of us to shows on the road trips, or just hanging out. I remember the always smiling “Angel” backstage at Joel Goodhart’s TWA shows in Philadelphia and WWF asking me to show her my 70’s shots of her beautiful aunt Vivian Vachon, wrestling all over the territories as the anti-Moolah of sorts. As Luna wasn’t part of “Moo…

Turner Classic Movie (TCM) cable channel ran, with opening and closing narrative, the classic Let the Good Times Roll music documentary on rock’s architects like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, and more. During the 1959 #1 hit song “Charlie Brown” as sung by The Coasters, used lot of Gorgeous George match footage. It included; pre-bout shenanigans with his male valet and him in a women’s hair salon for those famous publicity photos. There was also newsreel footage images of him having his hair professionally curled coifed. If you know the lyrics to the song, “Charlie Brown…he’s a clown…I smell heat…

2020 remains a devastating year, losing so many wrestling brothers and sisters. We lost Ric Drasin on Sunday, August 30th (far too young like Bob Armstrong), who was still a feisty 76. Like Chadwick Boseman, none of us had any idea he was ill. For weeks, he quietly but valiantly fought kidney failure in a Southern California hospital(his kids by his side), which eventually took him. Richard Alan Drasin was a bodybuilder, weightlifter, stuntman/actor, wrestling school instructor/AWF show promoter, and had a wresting gear line to rival those of Adrian Street’s and Bill Ash. His first film role was in “Ben”…

One of wrestling’s most believable in-ring athletes and best promo stars for many decades, Bullet Bob Armstrong passed away yesterday far too young at only 80. Bob had fought prostate, rib, and shoulder cancer for some time and had chosen to stop receiving treatment. He began his in-ring career in 1960, wrestling mainly near the Southeast NWA territories that he loved. Bob received some of his greatest fame and praise for his years of work in Georgia and much later inspiring everyone in Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain Wrestling 1990’s promotion. And he attended our 1995 CAClub ancillary Tampa reunion along…

RAW “Underground” isn’t that different from IMPACT’s WrestleHouse in that it’s first space (or time) filler. At least it’s short timewise in comparison, although it can drag on two, maybe three tv segments depending on the show. On the 8/24 RAW, “Underground” felt least like any worked MMA type “competition” and just “more of the same.” Count me in amongst the many, already bored with the always sweaty for no reason Shane. Last Monday’s redeeming point was at least reminding viewers not heading for the bathroom or popcorn that “Dolph Zigler” had amateur cred in facing another amateur great in…

This week after his valiant heath and financial issues battle, the wrestling world lost ‘Kamala’ James Harris. Cauliflower Alley Club and, more recently, the kind people at GoFundMe type accounts set up for his family, who donated badly-needed financial aid, including fellow wrestlers, promoters, fans, and more who loved the “Ugandan Head Hunter.” Today I am missing my friend, James ‘Kamala’ Harris. In reality, the real James truly loved his primary role as a long-time farmer and head of his family. He was regarded as one of the nicest, sweetest people in the biz, cracking up others in the dressing room.…

Wrestling’s recent loss of comic, tv host & co-host, game show host and actor, Regis “Mr. TV” Philbin still lingers more than anyone. He is credited as having logged in the most television hours than anyone on the planet by Guinness Book of World Records. Regis Philbin claimed to others he briefly did some mid-1950’s wrestling tv announcing, like his game show host idol Dennis James. Regis did, indeed, have a long relationship with the wrestling industry. One that he utilized in the 1960s while co-hosting the Joey Bishop show. Regis also did some guesting on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show.…

The late/great comic genius/actor/director Carl Reiner was an admitted pro-wrestling fan “since the fifties. I loved Gorgeous George but also guys like Buddy Rogers, Argentina Rocca, Sammartino, Argentina Apollo, the Kangaroos. Carl Reiner became a star on tv’s earliest hit show in America, called Your Show Of Shows. It launched the career as entertainment gods Carl, his best friend Mel Brooks, star Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Neil Simon, Nanette Fabray, and tons of others in 1950, narrowly beating nationally syndicated tv wrestling each week. A decade later, Carl had his friend Fred Blassie on the show Carl created(after his own…

People from all over the globe still miss his famous ATB House of Chinese Food and Ribs restaurant in the Atlanta area, not far from his long time home. Born Larry Shreve in Ontario, he transformed and crafted his wrestling character into a sort of a barbaric Frankenstein monster come to life. The magazine company I’ve written and short for decades(still publishing their lone title, Pro Wrestling Illustrated out of their East Coast office) helped make Abby famous in the late ’60s and early ’70s with a series of photos published on the covers and in the eir then lead…

I was totally floored today, as many were just learning today about Valerie Boesch’s death. She passed away on March 23rd, 2020. None of us knew until now, which is heartbreaking. I would’ve Zoomed to Texas to pay love and respect forward for this Great Wrestling Lady. Many others, upon hearing the sad news, soon began grieving her passing online. As we’re celebrating wrestling’s longtime heart, Valerie Boesch. Since her husband Paul’s death in 1989 at their adopted longtime home of Sugar Land, Texas, she had devoted her life to taking care of their son Joey. Val and Paul were…