Charles Kalani, Jr.
| Professor Tanaka | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
January 6, 1930 Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Died | August 22, 2000 (aged 70) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Professor Tanaka Professor Toru Tanaka |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Billed weight | 280 lb (130 kg) |
| Billed from | Hiroshima, Japan |
| Debut | 1967 |
| Retired | Early 1980s |
Charles "Charlie" J. Kalani Jr. (January 6, 1930 – August 22, 2000) was an American professional wrestler, professional boxer,college football player, soldier, actor, and martial artist who, in fighting rings, was also known as Professor Toru Tanaka, or simply Professor Tanaka.
He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of Charles J. Kalani and Christina Leong Kalani (who was part Chinese). Charlie began studying judo at age nine. At Iolani School (class of 1949), he was a natural at many sports, and Doris Kalani credited his time on the football team with keeping him away from trouble. "He was a street kid getting into trouble and would have ended up in reform school if Father Kenneth A. Bray hadn't helped him out by bringing him to Iolani. He felt Iolani saved him," she told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
He left Hawaii for Utah's Weber Junior College (now Weber State University). On December 6, 1951, the Associated Press reported he received honorable mention for playing football at the University of Utah. It was at the University of Utah that he also met his wife Doris in 1952. On December 3, 1952 the Associated Press reported Kalani would become a professional boxer. Drafted into the U.S. Army in 1955, Kalani rose to the rank of sergeant and excelled on the pistol team. For four years, the couple were stationed at a base in Nuremberg, Germany.
After Kalani's discharge from the service in 1966, the couple moved to Monterey, California, where he ran a Judo and Danzan-ryu Jujitsu academy with Professor John Chow-Hoon. San Francisco promoter Roy Shire asked him to wrestle in 1967, but Shire felt that Kalani had to get "meaner". "Charlie was almost full-blooded Hawaiian," said Doris. "In wrestling, Hawaii seemed not as exciting as Japan." He has four children - one who followed in his footsteps. Francis Maikai also known as Professor Toru Tanaka Jr. (seen in the movies Austin Powers Goldmember, Pearl Harbor, Pirates of the Caribbean and more), Cheryle Kalani, Carl Kalani and Karen Kalani Beck.
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