This was about 14 years before I was born, and never or saw Blassie, so young, what a historic and neat promo Blassie, mentioning "My great friend President Kennedy."
Oh man! This brings back childhood memories of Dick Lane calling wrestling at the Olympic Auditorium. Incidentally, check out "The Killers" (1964) with Lee Marvin. There's a jalopy race called by Dick Lane and attended by (bad guy) Ronald Reagan.
My Dad used to take me to the Olympic for wrestling on Wed. nights. It's one of the few memories I have of him. He died when I was 7 years old so you can see how young I was when we would go. It was the late 50s. I have to tell you guys this, one time we left the auditorium and got in our car (a 53 ford) the thing wouldn't start. All of a sudden my Dad says, "Son of a bitch", get out of the car. It was the wrong car! We got into the same color, year, type, everything. Our car was parked about a half a block down. It's one of the funniest memories I have of my old man. Also we loved Dick Lane, Bo Bo Brazil, and Cowboy Bill.
Loved Dick Lane ...whether he was announcing Wrestling or Roller Derby he made you feel like an important part of the show. As far as the ending to that match....Blassie is correct....in a 2 out of 3 falls match you have to win two falls and BOTH by pins....a DQ will not do it and a one fall due to time limits is not in the rules either. That Pencil Necked Geek Rikidozan was given the Title!
@@lindameltzer7893 I believe the theme song for the wrestling matches on KTLA was a John Philip Sousa military march called "Semper Fidelis", which I think is the theme song of the U.S. Marines. Call it up on a You Tube search and see if it matches with your memory.
my friend Dave Hayes and worked at The Olympic we took turns on Wednesday to pull up and let down the Mike to Jimmy Lennon, the signal was simple he would raise his arm up and I would drop the Mike down! saw Pedro Morales, Blassie, Mr. Moto Blassies brother in law, Bobo, etc . It was fun great memories!!
Count Billy Varga passed away shortly before this video was posted. A great veteran from the old days who has been forgotten in the wave of interest regarding the more modern guys.
Anybody remember Dick Lane doing spots for Lou's Garage and Reliable Mortgage on Wednesday night wrestling? The wrestlers interviewed during the "Laments" segment would get sponsored gifts from Ship 'n Shore Blouses and other advertisers. It seemed really odd, but those were the times.
Dick Lane?!? Whoooooa Nellie!! I used to watch this stuff on TV from the Olympic Auditorium. Our elderly babysitter would watch professional wrestling every chance she got. Ahhh memories.
SnappyKat9 I do remember. I even went to Culver speedway and Ascot to see it live. After the race was over in Culver we used to go right up the street to the old MGM studios movie lot on Washington Blvd. and sneak in and goof around for a few hours on the outdoor movie sets. Also used to go to the old Lions Drag Strip. Those areas sure have changed a lot since I was a kid. We even used to go up occasionally to the old Hollywood sign and sit up there and drink beer and look at the view.
Stuart Swan Ah yes, Ascot Raceway, owned by J.G. Agajanian, where the San Diego and Harbor Freeways meet. I was by that area back in 1980. The exact area of the old raceway back then in 1980 was a Pepsi Bottling Company.
What do I remember about L.A. TV in 1962? - The Thunderbirds, Dick Lane, Wrestling, Engineer Bill..Well, I guess Engineer Bill gave my young age away (63). But my memory is very good, as my parents set me up in front of our 12" Motorola TV in 1950, and I never looked away from a t.v. since...I loved KTLA (5), KTTV (11), KHJ (9) and even KCOP (13) once in a while, though I don't remember what was on channel 13!
How about Sheriff John’s Lunch Brigade, cartoons QT Hush ,Cluch Cargo, Colonel Bleep, Tom Hatten Popeye show, I could go on and on if I could only remember
Dick Lane innovated some of the wrestling terminology. He could call every hold as it was happening, turning the phrases into conjunctions: "...inside-step-over-toehold..."
Yep. It was on KCOP in the early 70's on Saturday nights. Done from a very cramped studio on La Brea. Cal Worthington did live commercials right near the ring with "Spot". My mom often sneaked my brother,me,and our friends in,even though kids weren't allowed...she always "knew someone". Saw some great matches.
He did. Roddy Piper got his first big exposure there too...we used to boo him all the time. Jimmy Lennon Sr. was the ring announcer,Jimmy Jr. would be there in the audience sometimes,he was probably a teenager then. Once,"Spot" got loose during one of Cal's live commercials and nearly attacked the wrestlers. At some point after that,they started taping the shows on Thursday nights instead of doing it live on Saturdays. That studio was where they did Romper Room and Dialing for Dollars-you could see the props pretty easily when you came in. Years later,they taped the Jokers Wild and Tic Tac Dough there.
Maybe Classie Freddie Blassie should have appealed to President Kennedy. Since he would lost his appeal with the White House, had JFK lived, Blassie might have run against him in '64!
@@roybaker6902 It took me a while to learn that actor Richard Lane was the wrestling & roller derby announcer Dick Lane for KTLA-Channel 5. He acted in more than 150 movies from 1937 to 1951. I remember him best in a recurring role as Inspector Faraday in the 1940s "Boston Blackie" movie series that starred Chester Morris.
Well, for the years neither the wrestling or boxing fans were able to keep the Olympic going as a viable entertainment venue so the building was sold to a group that could make use of it. Better than the building sitting empty I guess. It is what it is.
I love how Blassie was going to take up the fact that he was robbed with President Kennedy. As if he didn’t have his hands full with the Russians already. Now that would have been a great tag team match: Freddie Blassie & JFK vs. Nikita Kruschev and Nikita Kolov. Kennedy would have knocked Kruschev silly with his PT-109 coconut, only to be disqualified, which would have set up a rematch in The Cuban Missile Crisis.
This was about 14 years before I was born, and never or saw Blassie, so young, what a historic and neat promo Blassie, mentioning "My great friend President Kennedy."
Oh man! This brings back childhood memories of Dick Lane calling wrestling at the Olympic Auditorium.
Incidentally, check out "The Killers" (1964) with Lee Marvin. There's a jalopy race called by Dick Lane and attended by (bad guy) Ronald Reagan.
Blassie KNEW what he was doing way back then! Respect!!
Rest In Peace wrestling brothers! 🙏
Whoa freakin' Nellie, if you grew up in L.A. in the 60s this was the wrestling you knew from the world famous Olympic Auditorium on KTLA channel 5.
This is before my time but I really enjoyed it.
Fred Blassie along with Mr Moto & Jules Strongbow were in charge of seeing who got booked to perform at the Olympic...
'Whoa Nellie!' it's Dick Lane! My Dad and us kids watched this every week on KTLA.
Thx for posting! :D
A young Mario Milano, 5 years before he moved to Australia & became a wrestling legend.
I thought Count Billy Varga's partner was Mario Milano looked a lot like him, but i wasn't completely sure, thanks for the info, Cheers.
My Dad used to take me to the Olympic for wrestling on Wed. nights. It's one of the few memories I have of him. He died when I was 7 years old so you can see how young I was when we would go. It was the late 50s. I have to tell you guys this, one time we left the auditorium and got in our car (a 53 ford) the thing wouldn't start. All of a sudden my Dad says, "Son of a bitch", get out of the car. It was the wrong car! We got into the same color, year, type, everything. Our car was parked about a half a block down. It's one of the funniest memories I have of my old man. Also we loved Dick Lane, Bo Bo Brazil, and Cowboy Bill.
People didn't lock their car doors back then (hardly).
This is the best....
Someone PLEASE find the videos from the the 70s channel 5 wrestling program hosted by Dick Lane. They MUST exist somewhere.
Loved Dick Lane ...whether he was announcing Wrestling or Roller Derby he made you feel like an important part of the show. As far as the ending to that match....Blassie is correct....in a 2 out of 3 falls match you have to win two falls and BOTH by pins....a DQ will not do it and a one fall due to time limits is not in the rules either. That Pencil Necked Geek Rikidozan was given the Title!
The Stuport Lane also did the Roller Derby.
there was a show theme song they used to open with and play before commercials. do you remember what it was?
... And then he takes off with it and goes to Japan! ** Pencil Necked Geek for sure.
@@lindameltzer7893 I believe the theme song for the wrestling matches on KTLA was a John Philip Sousa military march called "Semper Fidelis", which I think is the theme song of the U.S. Marines. Call it up on a You Tube search and see if it matches with your memory.
my friend Dave Hayes and worked at The Olympic we took turns on Wednesday to pull up and let down the Mike to Jimmy Lennon, the signal was simple he would raise his arm up and I would drop the Mike down! saw Pedro Morales, Blassie, Mr. Moto Blassies brother in law, Bobo, etc . It was fun great memories!!
Thanks for sharing that David. What years would those have been?
Count Billy Varga passed away shortly before this video was posted. A great veteran from the old days who has been forgotten in the wave of interest regarding the more modern guys.
Anybody remember Dick Lane doing spots for Lou's Garage and Reliable Mortgage on Wednesday night wrestling? The wrestlers interviewed during the "Laments" segment would get sponsored gifts from Ship 'n Shore Blouses and other advertisers. It seemed really odd, but those were the times.
Say “ habla espanol” at Lou’s Garage
Reliable Mortgage of Course every Wed night . My best memory was sittting ringside Olympic for Blassie bite v Bite great Goliath
You're welcome. Glad it helped you relive some great memories! :D
Dick Lane?!? Whoooooa Nellie!! I used to watch this stuff on TV from the Olympic Auditorium. Our elderly babysitter would watch professional wrestling every chance she got. Ahhh memories.
SnappyKat9 I do remember. I even went to Culver speedway and Ascot to see it live. After the race was over in Culver we used to go right up the street to the old MGM studios movie lot on Washington Blvd. and sneak in and goof around for a few hours on the outdoor movie sets. Also used to go to the old Lions Drag Strip. Those areas sure have changed a lot since I was a kid. We even used to go up occasionally to the old Hollywood sign and sit up there and drink beer and look at the view.
Stuart Swan Ah yes, Ascot Raceway, owned by J.G. Agajanian, where the San Diego and Harbor Freeways meet. I was by that area back in 1980. The exact area of the old raceway back then in 1980 was a Pepsi Bottling Company.
same here! had an elderly babysitter that would go nuts on a Friday night when wrestling and roller derby were on, lol.
Dick lane, also did stock car and figure 8 ,announced at the ascot park in Gardena, California way before it was A.J.Agojenions pardon the spelling
i love blassie!
Dick Lane was great!
WHOOOOOOOOOA NELLIE ! Before there was WWF there was Friday Night Wrestling at the Olympic and Mister "Whoooa Nellie" Dick Lane!
And far better.
Apparently, KTLA's Wrestling show still has the highest rating EVER in LA TV history.
T-birds roller derby might have given wrestling a run for its money in LA.
@@chuckcookus Especially when the San Francisco Bay Bombers came to LA.
Fred Blassie was 43 or 44 years old back then but he looks 53 or 54
great classic old school clip...
Dick lane was the best
Breakfast with Blassie and Andy Kaufman.
What do I remember about L.A. TV in 1962? - The Thunderbirds, Dick Lane, Wrestling, Engineer Bill..Well, I guess Engineer Bill gave my young age away (63). But my memory is very good, as my parents set me up in front of our 12" Motorola TV in 1950, and I never looked away from a t.v. since...I loved KTLA (5), KTTV (11), KHJ (9) and even KCOP (13) once in a while, though I don't remember what was on channel 13!
Channel 13 had Lloyd Thaxton, who hosted a teen dance show in the 1960s. Great times!
How about Sheriff John’s Lunch Brigade, cartoons QT Hush ,Cluch Cargo, Colonel Bleep, Tom Hatten Popeye show, I could go on and on if I could only remember
Seymour?
@@rodneyramjet8470
Didn't Hobo Kelly end up on channel 13?
@@scrunchymacscruff1244
Seymour was on KHJ channel 9.
Freddie Blassie seemed very upset.
Wrestling really hasn't changed in 70 years, except Vince McMahon is enamored with buff men.
Show us some Freddie Blassie matches with John Tolos. Those were hilarious! Lol
Dick Lane innovated some of the wrestling terminology. He could call every hold as it was happening, turning the phrases into conjunctions: "...inside-step-over-toehold..."
"Whoa Nellie! he got him in a Roman knuckle-lock!!"
@@scrunchymacscruff1244 "Monkey flip!"
Roman knuckle-lock!!
Does anybody know if Dick Lane and Judo Gene Lebell hosted a local L.A. wrestling show? I seem to remember this
Yep. It was on KCOP in the early 70's on Saturday nights. Done from a very cramped studio on La Brea. Cal Worthington did live commercials right near the ring with "Spot". My mom often sneaked my brother,me,and our friends in,even though kids weren't allowed...she always "knew someone". Saw some great matches.
Hey Thanks Janette! I remember now Lucky Channel 13!. I even think Andre the Giant made an early pre WWF appearance on the show!
He did. Roddy Piper got his first big exposure there too...we used to boo him all the time. Jimmy Lennon Sr. was the ring announcer,Jimmy Jr. would be there in the audience sometimes,he was probably a teenager then. Once,"Spot" got loose during one of Cal's live commercials and nearly attacked the wrestlers. At some point after that,they started taping the shows on Thursday nights instead of doing it live on Saturdays. That studio was where they did Romper Room and Dialing for Dollars-you could see the props pretty easily when you came in. Years later,they taped the Jokers Wild and Tic Tac Dough there.
we worked there between 1965-66 Dave was there till1968 I believe.
Is that a young Mario Milano with the Count?!?!
Yes it is.
I shuttered when Freddie Blassie commented he would take this matter up with his good friend President Kennedy. For sentimental reasons of course...
Maybe Classie Freddie Blassie should have appealed to President Kennedy.
Since he would lost his appeal with the White House, had JFK lived, Blassie might have run against him in '64!
Count Billy Varga was the plant from the crowd on the Munsters
I remember Dick Lane slapping the hood on a Chevrolet on the Spade Cooley show from the Santa Monica Pier.
Followed by "Yes folks it's a HONEY"
Known as Richard Lane when he acted in many B-movies in the 30's and 40's.
@@roybaker6902 It took me a while to learn that actor Richard Lane was the wrestling & roller derby announcer Dick Lane for KTLA-Channel 5. He acted in more than 150 movies from 1937 to 1951. I remember him best in a recurring role as Inspector Faraday in the 1940s "Boston Blackie" movie series that starred Chester Morris.
This is when they started to do television promos in the early stages of wrestling.
StellarBlue1:
Not to mention the network stations!
Nick Bockwinkel based his act on Varga.
Well, for the years neither the wrestling or boxing fans were able to keep the Olympic going as a viable entertainment venue so the building was sold to a group that could make use of it. Better than the building sitting empty I guess. It is what it is.
I love how Blassie was going to take up the fact that he was robbed with President Kennedy. As if he didn’t have his hands full with the Russians already.
Now that would have been a great tag team match: Freddie Blassie & JFK vs. Nikita Kruschev and Nikita Kolov.
Kennedy would have knocked Kruschev silly with his PT-109 coconut, only to be disqualified, which would have set up a rematch in The Cuban Missile Crisis.
Thats a young Mario Milano pretending to be a latin wrestler.
Pretty good Spanish for an Aussie.
Richmond 9. 5171
Get out the bastard-file, Freddie..let the tooth-sharpening begin! "THIS IS FOR BOBO..WHEN I GET YOU IN THAT RING FRIDAY NIGHT.."