Pro Wrestler Freddie Blassie Dies at 85 (Associated Press, 6/5)
Professional wrestler Freddie Blassie, who became a cult figure to fans by
playing the villain inside the ring during the 1950s and 1960s, has died. He
was 85.
Blassie died of heart failure June 2 in Hartsdale, N.Y., former wrestling
publicist Jeff Walton told the Los Angeles Times.
Born Fred Blassman in St. Louis, Blassie played baseball and football in high
school. He joined the Navy at the start of World War II and started wrestling
initially under the name of Sailor Fred Blassie while stationed at Port
Hueneme in California.
Following the war, he continued to wrestle professionally in the Midwest. He
liked to use a variety of names but had trouble gaining the affection of fans
who gravitated toward the likes of Lou Thesz and Gorgeous George.
It wasn't until he moved to the West Coast that fans began supporting him.
Blassie began portraying himself as a villain - and it worked. The nastier he
was in the ring, the more popular he became to fans.
Blassie also mastered the television interview, boasting his superiority over
other wrestlers he liked to call "pencil-neck geeks." Those colorful
interviews helped make him a celebrity in the newly expanding medium of
television.
He won the WWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship from French star
Edouard Carpentier at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in 1961. Blassie also held
various regional titles, including the WWA World Title on five separate
occasions, the Americas' Heavyweight Title nine times and tag team belts with
various partners over the years.
Blassie also was seen with comedian Andy Kaufman in "My Breakfast With
Blassie," a 1983 spoof of "My Dinner With Andre."
He retired from competition in the late 1970s to manage a new generation of
wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan. He worked for the World Wrestling Federation,
now known as World Wrestling Entertainment. He did an advice segment on the
"Tuesday Night Titans" TV program, made personal appearances and did radio
interviews.
Blassie is survived by his wife, Miyako, and three children.
在1950至1960年代扮演壞角色，也是眾人所崇拜的前職業摔角手「貴族」福雷迪‧布拉希
（"Classy" Freddie Blassie），已離開人間，享壽85歲。
前摔角評論家傑夫‧渥頓（Jeff Walton）向洛杉磯時報表示，他是在六月二日（美國時
間）因心臟病發在紐約哈茨戴爾（Heartsdale, NY）過世。
在聖路易斯洲的福雷德‧布拉斯曼（Fred Blassman, St. Louis）出生的布拉希，在高中
時祺曾接觸棒球與美式足球。並在第二次世界大戰時期加入海軍，與此同時，也在加州修
內米港（Port Hueneme, CA）以「水手」福雷德布拉希之名開始他的摔角生涯。
二戰之後，他繼續在中西部發展他的職業摔角生涯他喜歡變化多端的名字，但卻未讓人們
吸引，如：路‧提斯（Lou Thesz）、華麗喬治（Gorgeous George）。
這種不受吸引的感覺，一直到他前進西岸之後才停止。布拉希就開始扮黑臉，這個就奏效
了。他越壞，就越能讓人吸引。
布拉希也曾主持過電視訪問的節目，他也自誇地表示他比其他摔角手來得好，還自稱是
「很屌的變態」，這些有色的面談使他在電視舞台的介質中成為名人。
1961年在洛杉磯體育場（Los Angeles Sports Arena），他從法國巨星愛杜華‧卡潘提爾
（Eduward Carpentier）手中贏得WWA世界重量級摔角冠軍，他也擁有過多項不同的摔角
冠軍頭銜，其中還在五次不同的場合中，贏得WWA世界冠軍腰帶，以及九度拿下美國重量
級冠軍腰帶，甚至和不同的搭檔拿過不少次雙打冠軍腰帶。
他也曾在喜劇作家安迪‧考夫曼（Andy Kaufman）的指導下，拍過「與布拉希的早餐」，
並在1983年拍過「與安得列的晚餐」等喜劇。
在1970年代晚期，他宣告退休，並培育出新生代摔角手，其中不乏霍克‧霍肯
（Hulk Hogan），之後也在WWF世界摔角聯盟（即現今的WWE世界摔角娛樂聯盟）工作。而
他也在「星期二的巨人」節目中做過一點片段式的勸告，並多次在電視節目中與電台訪談
等出現。
他在死前，尚有日本妻Miyako，並且有三個小孩（Ron & Gary & Cheryl）。
Video: A tribute to "Classy" Freddie Blassie
mms://wmsvod.wwe.com/smackdown/200306/05blassie300.wmv