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Ernie Roth
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| Ernie Roth | |
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| Ring name(s) | The Grand Wizard of Wrestling The Grand Wizard J. Wellington Radcliffe Mr. Clean Abdullah Farouk Armstrong K |
| Born | June 7, 1929 Canton, Ohio |
| Died | October 12, 1983 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida |
Ernie Roth (born June 7, 1929 in Canton, Ohio- October 12, 1983), best known as The Grand Wizard of Wrestling, also well known as Abdullah Farouk, was a professional wrestling manager of many infamous heels. Not a wrestler himself due to his small stature, he was noted for his flamboyant outfit of sequined jackets, wraparound sunglasses, and a brightly-colored turban decorated with jewels and feathers.
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Ernie Roth got his start in the entertainment business as a disc jockey, and became involved in professional wrestling as a manager in the 1960s in Detroit-based territories. Roth first worked under the names "Mr. Clean" and "J. Wellington Radcliffe", but more famously, he also portrayed "Abdullah Farouk", a man from the Middle East who was sent by The Sheik's wealthy "family" to handle their son's affairs in the US.
Sporting a turban, Farouk took great pains in trying to control his madman protege. But he also carved a niche for himself as a deceitful, underhanded character who insulted US fans whenever he had a chance, laying a template for heels for years to come. Farouk was a pioneer of "manager interference", as he physically would attempt to alter a match's outcome in the Sheik's favor whenever he could (inciting a full-scale riot on one occasion). By the early 1970s, after establishing himself as one of the most hated managers in the wrestling business, Ernie Roth parted with the "Abdullah Farouk" character and began a stint with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) (now known today as World Wrestling Entertainment), where he became The Grand Wizard of Wrestling.
The Grand Wizard of Wrestling, playing the "heel manager" role to the absolute hilt, had an instant impact in the WWWF. Almost immediately after arrival, the Wizard managed Stan Stasiak to defeat Pedro Morales for the WWWF Championship in Philadelphia on December 1, 1973. Stasiak lost the title just nine days later to the "Living Legend" Bruno Sammartino, but the Wizard's reputation was still pristine. In fact, the Wizard guided a second protege, the flamboyant and chiseled Superstar Billy Graham, to the very same Championship on April 30, 1977, when Graham overcame Sammartino in Baltimore. Graham is now seen as the virtual prototype for later Superstars like Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura and Scott Steiner, and with the Wizard as his manager was seemingly unstoppable. Graham and the Wizard were arguably the first performers to be cheered without requiring a "push" as a babyface, once again laying a template for superstars to come.
On February 20, 1978, former amateur wrestling standout Bob Backlund took on Superstar Billy Graham for the WWWF Championship at Madison Square Garden, and managed to dethrone the champion. The Wizard made it his duty to gain revenge on Backlund, sending charges such as Don Muraco, Ken Patera and Greg Valentine after the champion. The Wizard never managed a world champion again, however he did manage the very first Intercontinental Champion Pat Patterson, and later Patera (who defeated Patterson for the title in April 1980 after the Wizard and Patterson parted ways) and Muraco to the same championship.
Other proteges of the Wizard included Beautiful Bobby, the first gay WWF character, Killer Kowalski, "Crazy" Luke Graham, Sgt. Slaughter, "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd, Ox Baker, and Cowboy Bob Orton. In the 1970s the Wizard was known as one of the WWF's infamous Three Wise Men of the East, the other two being Captain Lou Albano and "Classy" Freddie Blassie. They were a loose conglomerate of heel managers that conspired to make life difficult for babyfaces.
A Boston radio program, The Sports Huddle, would feature in-character interviews with Roth portraying him as a hero. The program's hosts once called the White House on the air to ask if The Grand Wizard (referred to as TGW on the program because "only those closest to the Grand Wizard are allowed to call him TGW") was finished with his consultation with President Nixon. When the White House operator said she was not sure, the program hosts said "we have an important message for him," and after being connected with a series of administration functionaries, succeeded in getting one to agree to take a message to the Oval Office. The host dictated the message: "Tell him to bring home a loaf of bread and a quart of milk."
On October 12, 1983, Roth died of a heart attack. In tribute to the Grand Wizard, Sgt. Slaughter came out during a match, just after his death, and saluted the empty ring corner. In 1995, the WWF inducted Roth into their Hall of Fame.
- Member of WWE Hall of Fame (inducted in 1995) posthumously
- Roth won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Manager of the Year Award in 1973 & 1977. He also was awarded the 1983 PWI Editor's Award after his death.
He was the godfather of protege Don Muraco's daughter. His parents were Evrum Roth and Rizel Stern.[1]