Peter Thornley....the man behind Kendo Nagasaki

What's Hot
I didn't expect him to be so engaging and humorous. Seeing unmasked Kendo has taken some of the mystique away for me though.


0reaction image LOL 1reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom

Comments

  • KittyfriskKittyfrisk Frets: 18376
    Now there's a name from the past.
    Saturday afternoon TV wrestling used to be such fun. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • KebabkidKebabkid Frets: 3301
    Didn't he have a tattoo on the top of his head  (we saw it when he was unmasked and wasn't it a pentangle or similar)?

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 2reaction image Wisdom
  • ShrewsShrews Frets: 2958
    Unmasked by Big Daddy but also did a public demasking 'live' on World of Sport. My old man loved World of Sport, this was like a major event for him!

    Simple times, great nostalgia

    They did a close up of his eyes once behind the mask and they were bright red. Obviously contacts or too much whisky, but at the time contacts were largely unheard of so it all seemed supernatural.

    Well, to an 8 year old that is! And my dad. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • KebabkidKebabkid Frets: 3301
    edited March 2021
    I've mentioned it before on here but my uncle used to have a Greek restaurant in Balham and was friends with the wrestling promoter, Kent Walton and the family were all big wrestling fans. As such, wrestlers (and coppers) would knock on the window when they finished up for the night hoping to get a meal, usually sitting with the staff, after having had a match and quite a few of the new wrestlers from up north would often lodge in the rooms upstairs.

    Being about 7 at the time (in the early 70s), I'd often fall asleep on the sofas while my parents assisted the family business on the busy weekends and one evening, I awoke to find Giant Haystacks, Catweazle and Ivan Penzikoff sitting opposite me. In my sleepy state, I kept rubbing my eyes in disbelief as I knew who they were but was also aware of the Catweazle TV series at the time.They laughed and Giant Haystacks was such a quiet, polite and softly spoken guy but he was absolutely huge
    (6ft 11 and 31 stone). Due to his size and weight, the plastic wall sofa he sat on didn't stand a chance and never recovered its shape again.
    0reaction image LOL 5reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Kebabkid said:
    I've mentioned it before on here but my uncle used to have a Greek restaurant in Balham and was friends with the wrestling promoter, Kent Walton and we were all big wrestling fans. As such, wrestlers (and coppers) would knock on the window when they finished up for the night hoping to get a meal, usually sitting with the staff, after having had a match and quite a few of the new wrestlers from up north would often lodge in the rooms upstairs.

    Being about 7 at the time (in the early 70s), I'd often fall asleep on the sofas while my parents assisted the family at weekends and one evening, I awoke to find Giant Haystacks, Catweazle and Ivan Penzikoff sitting opposite me. In my sleepy state, I kept rubbing my eyes in disbelief as I knew who they were but was also aware of the Catweazle TV series.
    They laughed and Giant Haystacks was such a quiet, polite and softly spoken guy but he was absolutely huge (6ft 11 and 31 stone). Due to his size and weight, the plastic wall sofa he sat on didn't stand a chance and never recovered its shape again.
    Mick McManus alludes to Giant Haystacks being a quiet feller in this video.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • prowlaprowla Frets: 4896
    Hi there grapple fans...

    A one-ah teee-ah three-ah!

    Don't bring me boys!
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • KebabkidKebabkid Frets: 3301
    Kebabkid said:
    I've mentioned it before on here but my uncle used to have a Greek restaurant in Balham and was friends with the wrestling promoter, Kent Walton and we were all big wrestling fans. As such, wrestlers (and coppers) would knock on the window when they finished up for the night hoping to get a meal, usually sitting with the staff, after having had a match and quite a few of the new wrestlers from up north would often lodge in the rooms upstairs.

    Being about 7 at the time (in the early 70s), I'd often fall asleep on the sofas while my parents assisted the family at weekends and one evening, I awoke to find Giant Haystacks, Catweazle and Ivan Penzikoff sitting opposite me. In my sleepy state, I kept rubbing my eyes in disbelief as I knew who they were but was also aware of the Catweazle TV series.
    They laughed and Giant Haystacks was such a quiet, polite and softly spoken guy but he was absolutely huge (6ft 11 and 31 stone). Due to his size and weight, the plastic wall sofa he sat on didn't stand a chance and never recovered its shape again.
    Mick McManus alludes to Giant Haystacks being a quiet feller in this video.


    I have 2 Mick McManus stories. The first is my uncle who owned the restaurant once punched MM in the face after a proper ringside brawl and very dirty match.

    The second, a good friend of mine lived above MM near Herne Hill/Dulwich in a nice private block of flats and MM was always complaining about this and that and wasn't well liked there. In particular, he complained a lot about my friend playing music and his guitar but never did it to his face, but to his elderly parents, and one day my friend caught him doing this, confronted him and had to be pulled off of him.
    0reaction image LOL 1reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • kinkin Frets: 1015
    Cry Baby Jim Breaks , the rest were good but he made me laugh like fuck as a kid
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • NeillNeill Frets: 941
    Great memories, I used to watch the wrestling on Saturday afternoons with my grandma who was a huge fan.  I noticed in that World of Sport clip Les Kellett's opponent was Brian Glover aka Leon Arras "The Man from Paris".  Brian Glover's wrestling exploits are not that well known because for some reason he avoided TV appearances, but he carried on wrestling right through his acting and writing career. 


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • horsehorse Frets: 1562
    edited March 2021
    Well that video debunks the childhood belief we had that the big bloke who lived round the block was secretly kendo Nagasaki
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    Utterly fascinating! I was a big fan of the wrestling as a kid and Kendo was far and away my favourite. He was so badass and shrouded in mystery and just looked plain nasty with his mask on. I remember being transfixed when he did his 'unmasking', and it could have been disappointing but actually he looked amazing and cool.

    Never in a million years did I think he was like he is in the video, yakking and having a laugh! He put on a great persona back in the day.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • phil_bphil_b Frets: 2010
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Think I saw Pat Roach for a few seconds in the vid. Liked him as a wrestler and later as Bomber in Auf Wiedersehn Pet. Always felt that the rest of the lads would be OK if a fight broke out having Bomber there.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • NeillNeill Frets: 941
    Think I saw Pat Roach for a few seconds in the vid. Liked him as a wrestler and later as Bomber in Auf Wiedersehn Pet. Always felt that the rest of the lads would be OK if a fight broke out having Bomber there.
    Yes that was "Big Pat" Roach and I'm pretty certain it was Rex Strong laying into him.  Rex Strong was usually billed as the Blackpool lifeguard but though he had been a lifeguard he was a successful hotel owner at the time.  Of course "Rex Strong" was not his real name, I think it was Barry something but let's be honest, no-one's going to be scared of fighting a guy called Barry...  He actually partnered Kendo Nagasaki in a tag team, I believe.

    What fascinates me about almost all these guys is how different they were in "real life".  I've mentioned Brian Glover who was a teacher before he became an actor and writer, far removed from his ring persona.  Les Kellett was at heart a farmer, Mick McManus was an expert on antique pottery...  

    Talking of McManus, the weirdest urban myth I've ever heard - like the one about "Blockbusters" host Bob Holness playing the sax on "Baker Street" - is that Mick McManus wrote the Hawkwind hit "Silver Machine".   The name MacManus does appear on the composers credit but I think it was Dave Brock's wife's maiden name.   The song is of course about a bicycle, so if it had been written by a wrestler it would have been Count Bartelli who, being a keen cyclist myself, I happen to know was first and foremost a bike rider and member of Crewe Wheelers.


    I'm ashamed I know all this stuff...


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • I think that first vid I posted was from around 2-3 years ago. Think it was a fans Q&A/book signing session. He would be around 76 years of age. I hope I'm in that good nick if/when I'm 76.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 2reaction image Wisdom
  • Fill yer boots lads n lasses. 40 mins of nostalgia. Enjoy.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • rogdrogd Frets: 1509
    I think that first vid I posted was from around 2-3 years ago. Think it was a fans Q&A/book signing session. He would be around 76 years of age. I hope I'm in that good nick if/when I'm 76.
    A fascinating bloke who believed in the persona he had created. 

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • rogdrogd Frets: 1509
    And one hell of a raconteur as well.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • mbembe Frets: 1840
    Billy Two Rivers was awesome. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • NeillNeill Frets: 941
    mbe said:
    Billy Two Rivers was awesome. 
    Billy Two Rivers was one of the few "authentic" wrestlers, ie not a made up persona, he really was a Mohawk chief.   

    I don't know if it is widely known but the famous designer Wayne Hemingway is Billy's son.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.