Adrian Adonis

Adrian Adonis
Franke as "Adorable" Adrian Adonis in the 1980s.
Born	(1954-09-15)September 15, 1954 Buffalo, New York, United States
Died	July 4, 1988(1988-07-04) (aged 33) Lewisporte, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Cause of death	Traffic collision
Spouse(s)	Bea Franke
Children	2
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Adrian Adonis Keith Franke Keith Franks
Billed height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Billed weight	298 lb (135 kg)
Billed from	New York City
Trained by	Fred Atkins
Debut	1974

Keith A. Franke, Jr. (September 15, 1954 – July 4, 1988) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Adrian Adonis. He was best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association and World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1980s. Keith A. Franke, Jr. was the second son of wrestling manager, Keith A. Franke, Sr. (1920–1998) and Dolores Elizabeth Franke (1923–2000).

Franke trained under Fred Atkins and debuted in 1974, wrestling under his real name. In the late 1970s, he adopted the ring name Adrian Adonis and the character of a brawling, leather jacket-clad biker.

In the late 1970s, Adonis joined the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association. In 1979, he formed a tag team with Jesse Ventura. The team was called The East-West Connection because Adonis was from New York (in the East), while Ventura was from California (in the West). The East-West Connection was awarded the AWA World Tag Team Championship on July 20, 1980, when Verne Gagne (one half of the tag champions with Mad Dog Vachon) was unable to defend it because he was vacationing in Europe. They held the belts until June 14, 1981, when they were defeated by Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell.

Adonis and Ventura debuted in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1980, working both as a team and in singles matches. Adonis was a frequent challenger of WWF Champion Bob Backlund and Intercontinental Champion Pedro Morales throughout the first half of 1982.