Roy and HG Guestbook
Pic by Mat Purdy
Walter (Killer) Kowalski, one of professional wrestling's biggest stars and most hated villains when wrestlers offered a nightly menu of mayhem in the early years of television, died Saturday in Everett, Mass. He was 81.
Kowalski's death was announced by his wife, Theresa, who said he had been hospitalized since a heart attack in early August.
At 6 feet 7 inches and 275 pounds or so, Kowalski was a formidable figure who delighted in applying his claw hold, a thumb squeeze to an opponent's solar plexus, when he was not leaping from the top strand of the ropes and descending on his foe's chest.
Emerging as a featured performer in the early 1950s, he became a TV celebrity with wrestlers like Antonino Rocca, Lou Thesz, Gorgeous George, Haystacks Calhoun and Nature Boy Buddy Rogers.
Kowalski wrestled on the pro circuits for some 30 years and appeared in more than 6,000 matches, by his count. Early in his career, he called himself Tarzan Kowalski. But, as he often related it, one particular match, at Montreal in the early 1950s, literally made his name.
"I was leaping off the rope, and Yukon Eric, who had a cauliflower ear, moved at the last second," Kowalski told The Chicago Tribune in 1989. "I thought I missed, but all of a sudden, something went rolling across the ring. It was his ear."
Yukon Eric was taken to a hospital, and the promoter asked Kowalski to visit him and apologize for severing his ear. Reporters were listening to their chat from a corridor.
"There was this 6-foot-5, 280-pound guy, his head wrapped like a mummy, dwarfing his bed," Kowalski said. "I looked at him and grinned. He grinned back. I laughed, and he laughed back. Then I laughed harder and left.
"The next day the headlines read, 'Kowalski Visits Yukon in the Hospital and Laughs.' And when I climbed into the ring that night, the crowd called out, 'You animal, you killer.' And the name stuck."
Kowalski came to incur the wrath of the fans. As he told Esquire magazine in 2007: "Someone once threw a pig's ear at me. A woman once came up to me after a match and said, 'I'm glad you didn't get hurt.' Then she stabbed me in the back with a knife. After a while, I got police escorts to and from the ring."
Walter Kowalski, his legal name, was born in Windsor, Ontario. His parents, Anthony and Marie Spulnik, had emigrated from Poland. He hoped to become an electrical engineer, but while he was working out at a Y.M.C.A., someone who was evidently impressed by his physique suggested he become a wrestler. He made his pro debut in the late 1940s.
He eventually tussled with all the famous names of wrestling, and in his later years he teamed with Big John Studd as a tag team called the Executioners.
"He was a hell of an attraction," Thesz told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 1998. "He had a great body back then. He was not a sophisticated wrestler, but every promoter wanted him because he made a lot of money."
Kowalski retired in 1977 and founded Killer Kowalski's School of Professional Wrestling in Malden, Mass. His protégés included the wrestlers Triple H and Chyna. He sold the school in 2003, and it is now in North Andover, Mass.
Kowalski married in 2006, his first marriage. In addition to his wife, of Malden, he was survived by a brother, Stanley Spulnik.
Beyond the ring, Kowalski displayed a gentle and even aesthetic side. He became a vegetarian in the mid-1950s, pursued charitable work for children with special needs and delighted in photographing fellow wrestlers. His work was sometimes displayed at galleries.
"I wanted to take action pictures," he told The New York Times shortly after retiring. "But I went up to the ring, the fans screamed at me and threw garbage at me. It was detrimental to my health. So all I took were posed pictures. I sign my photographs Walter Kowalski. I used to be a villain, but now I'm a good guy. I kiss old women and pat babies. I've gone from Killer Kowalski to a pussycat."
Make sure you come here to London in 2012.
Yea it wasn't the same having them just on radio every arvo, cos they can't do commentary of the gymnastics, I'll never forget the 'crazy date' 'flat bag' 'hello boys' and of course everyones favourite the 'battered sav'.
@koneal
You are a complete moron...why are you on a roy and HG fan site!?
I just could not watch the Olympics...it was not right ...It was missing two vital components...Maybe a retrospective boys ?????
@koneal
You registered just to post that?
It's all tongue-in-cheek you arse clown!
You guys are bloody legends, channel 7 should hang it's head in shame for not having you guys running the broadcast. WTF is Andrew Daddo hosting a show called YUMCHA on the Olympics, you guys would have done a much better job and given it a more Australian tilt without having an Americanization of a shit show like Yumcha. Keep the dream alive.
Paul
I just watched your commentary of Eric the Eel at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and I have to say that I am utterly appalled and disgusted by your lack of tact and class. Your ridicule of a man who went out and accomplished something that many of us would be too embarrassed and vain to do is not only shocking but utterly attrocious. Instead, you should look upon and treat this man with the respect and admiration that he deserves. Your inhumanity and arrogant mockery is inexcusable and will unfortuately be the legacy that you leave behind like the sour aftertaste of spoiled milk.
Hey boys -
I'm in the US at the moment and watching the Olympics on NBC. I keep hearing how the games have been scheduled to fit in with US prime-time, but everything is on huge delay over here.
I've been following the Aussie tilt on the Sydney Morning Herald website first thing every morning and so far I've known the result of every major event at least 8 hours before its broadcast. I knew the result of every American and Aussie medal in the swimming at least 8 hrs before it was shown over here, Aussie silver in the womens hurdles, Usain Bolts world record, triathlon, basketball, even the opening ceremony was played on a 24 hour delay!
The worst part is, all of this coverage is accompanied with a logo that says "Live" in the corner of the screen which is a downright lie! If the games are being scheduled to fit US programming the least they could do is actually play it live!
Maybe you could use your many contacts in the world of sport to get this fixed before its too late?!
Keep up the good work...
Dave from Sydney (now in San Diego)
hello gents love your work
you were discussing our greatest olympian and Roy settled upon herb elliot as our greatest.
can I throw in a name that may even pip HE in the greatness if not the recognition stakes... Michael Milton
I'm not sure how many other athletes have successful switched winter to summer games, have overcome to two cancers, hold a world record and have clean sweeped an entire discipline as MM did in 2006
unfortunately I'll be out of range this sunday but once again love your work
cheers
b
Hi Roy & HG
HG - are you doing any book signings for your latest work?
Hi Roy and HG.
What a disappointing blow to our Hockeyroo’s last night. They played extremely well but couldn’t seem to get over that line which they came so close. As I am not a regular Hockey enthusiast, I was surprised to see Alf from ‘Home and Away’ coaching on the sidelines, what a great Aussie ambassador!
I am also curious as to if you can shed some light on the Great Britain situation. After ‘Googling’ Great Britain, England and The United Kingdom, I was dumbfounded that Great Britain, who is compiled of England, Scotland and Wales, are all competing under the same banner! What a bunch of cheats! That’s 3 different countries! What the hell is going on? Maybe we should give the New Zealanders a better result every year by combining with them ourselves called ‘Greater Australia’ or something along those lines. Please let me know how they have been getting away with it for all these years.
Regards,
Dave Hall from Dampier
I have had word that Rooting King Adios and his esteemed rider have been given the call up for the jumping final? Will this swing the odds in Australia's favour........What a swansong it would be!!!!!!
hello Roy and HG fans and hopefully this might get your attention. Could have emailed Jules and um well I got a bad memory so this is the best I could find from the old google thingy. Great show I listen to it whilst milking the goats in the morning, which have Ozzy collers on, sorry they where a cheep deal at the 2 buck shop but anyway puts us in the spirit. Heard you mention Ringwould Cuckatoo the other day I am sorry we haven't got one by that name but we got a few others, the closest relative to Jaguar we got is his nephew. Unfortuanlely his sisters all clogged up inside. This is Ringwould Iam John the son of the owners and yes I wish to exploit this. Seriously we got some big plans here and if I could share them with the world on your show I'd be very happy. We only wish good our plans for world domination are iminate, we only wish good for you and all fare people. So If you want to know anything I am pretty sure I was the first to ever ride Ringwould Jaguar and I am having recolections of telling my folks that he is a good one. Anyway get in touch or if some one can direct me to a good way to get in touch It would be great Ringwould a place to grow in the 'Great Southern'
Hey guys, just wanted to bring to your attention, Natalie du Toit, swimming the 10km event at the olympics, and will become the first female amputee swimmer ever to qualify for the Olympics.
Just seems like the kind of underdog that Australians could really get behind, and I'd like to see some support for such a fantastic story.
please sign the petition to bring back Roy & HG to London 2012.
http://www.youchoose.net/campaign/bring_back_roy_and_h_g_for_london_2012
Join the group on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34194925519#/group.php?gid=3419492...
CONSPIRACY - MEN's Eights
Hi Roy & HG,
I'm writing to you from my current local in Ottawa, Canada. Home of hockey, hockey, hockey more hockey and beavers.
Like Americans, Canadians also like to cross their southern border to a third world economy for a holiday and some cheap shopping on the back of a weak currency, so off we went recently to Newport, Rhode Island, former home of the Olde Mug. While in Newport we had the opportunity to cruise one of the cappacino strips in Newport where I saw a troubling thing.
There were two blokdes at a table in a cafe, one really large bugger, and one really small bloke, a bunch of big securtiy guys surrounded the table. It took me a while to make out who it was, but if I'm not mistaken it was Dennis Conner who was sitting with a smaller bloke wearing a Chinese Rowing team shirt. Dennis appeared to be showing the Chinese bloke a brochure on scuba equipment, his hand gestures seem to indicate ways to get down underneath boats to take a look and perhaps cause some mischief.
I tried to get a closer look at what was going on but my cover was broken by my Men at Work tape I had blasting from my car stereo.
Unless I am mistaken, take a closer look at our boy's Eight before the start of their heat earlier this week, I think that you will see some bubbles coming from under the boat, right before the start, and right before the whole thing went pear shaped and buggered their heat - clearly someone was under our boat!
I think that this not only sends out a warning to the Aussies, but also our kiwi mates - should they get paired up against the French at any point they should watch out!
Yours in sports,
Martin from Freo
Ottawa
PS - Looking forward to Jan 09 when the Doctor will once again tell me it's time to hit the water for some wind action!
Gutted Gutted Gutted - no Flat Bags, Battered Savs n not one Hello Boys. Geez, what is going on? Love youse guys heaps. Channel 7 you suck big time...
Love and peace meatfreaks
I have forgotten all of the wrestling and gymnastic moves.
The commentators they have now are clearly dodgy, they haven't referenced the ancient greek plates once!