Ernie Roth
| Ernie Roth | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
August 30, 1926 Canton, Ohio |
| Died | October 12, 1983 (aged 57) Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Grand Wizard of Wrestling The Grand Wizard J. Wellington Radcliffe Mr. Clean Abdullah Farouk Armstrong K |
| Debut | 1960s |
Irwin J. "Ernie" Roth (August 30, 1926 – October 12, 1983), known by the ring names the Grand Wizard of Wrestling and 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. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995.
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.
Roth on many occasions (when out of character and greasepaint mustache) co-hosted the syndicated "Big Time Wrestling" show with fellow announcer Bob Finnegan until 1969 when the hosting duties went to Lord Athol Layton.
Sporting a turban, Farouk took great pains in trying to control his madman protégé. 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.
Roth, who was Jewish, reportedly took the name "The Grand Wizard" as a snub to the white supremacy organization the Ku Klux Klan, whose leaders were called Grand Wizard.
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Wikipedia