Wikipedia

King Curtis Iaukea

This article is about American professional wrestler and later manager under the name The Wizard. For the Hawaiian diplomat, seeCurtis P. Iaukea.For the American musician, seeKing Curtis.For the earlier WWF manager, similarly named The Grand Wizard, seeErnie Roth.

Curtis Piehau Iaukea III(September 15, 1937 – December 4, 2010) was an Americanprofessional wrestlerbetter known asKing Curtis Iaukea.Iaukea won championships in several of the major regional U.S. promotions, both as a single and in various tag team combinations, during the 1960s. He then competed in theWorld Wrestling Federation(WWF) where he won theWWF Tag Team Championshipwith Baron Scicluna. He was also laterThe Masterof theDungeon of DoominWorld Championship Wrestling(WCW). Under the name "Iau Kea" he appeared in the filmThe Three Stooges Go Around the World in a DazewithMoe Howarddeclaring "That's not a man! That's a committee!".[2]

King Curtis Iaukea
Birth nameCurtis Piehau Iaukea III
Born(1937-09-15)September 15, 1937
Honolulu, Hawaii,U.S.
DiedDecember 4, 2010(2010-12-04)(aged 73)
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)King Curtis Iaukea
Prince Kuhio
The Wizard
Prince Curtis Iaukea
The Master
Billed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1]
Billed weight290 lb (130 kg)[1]
Debut1955
Retired1980

Early life

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He was the great grandson of ColonelCurtis P. Iaukea,a royal chamberlain and diplomat to the court of KingKalākauaand QueenLiliuokalani[3]and son ofHonolulu Police DepartmentInspector Curtis Iaukea II. He attendedPunahou Schooland theUniversity of California Berkeleyas an economics major where he lettered as alinemanuntil he dropped out. He played as atacklefor theBC Lionsfrom 1958-1959 and theMontreal Alouettesin 1959.[4]He was also in camp with theOakland Raidersin 1960 before being cut.

Professional wrestling career

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Wrestling

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Iaukea came to Don Owen's Pacific Northwest territory, commonly known as Portland Wrestling in 1961, wrestling under the moniker Prince Kuhio.[5]Teaming with Haru Sasaki, the two would capture the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Titles on January 19, 1962, holding them for two months. A year later, while traveling betweenOregonand the Hawaiian Islands, King Curtis would capture the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title on September 5, 1963,[6] InAustralia,King Curtis was a part of thefacetag teamknown as the People's Army withMark LewinandSpiros Arion.[7]

His first sojourns to Australia were in the 1964–1965 season, where he was aHeel.He was teamed withSkull Murphy.King Curtis initially wrestled as Curtis Iaukea in his first run in Australia. The King Curtis tag was the one that stuck as he feuded against Mark Lewin. After becoming a fan favorite in the seventies, King Curtis feuded againstTiger Jeet SinghandThe Tojo Brothers(Hiro 'The Great' TojoandHito Tojo) from Japan. King Curtis was also a member of an alliance known as "The People's Army."

Management

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After retiring in 1980, he turned tomanaging.In ICW, known as King Curtis, he managedKevin Sullivanand Mark Lewin, taking on thegimmickof a crazed cult leader. His faction feuded withJoe SavoldiandAustin Idol.In the 80's, he also appeared with Sullivan in Championship Wrestling from Florida as "The Chairman of the Board".

Curtis Iaukea re-appeared briefly in the WWF promotion in 1986 as The Wizard, a manager and mouthpiece forKamala.The Wizard claimed to be in communion with the spirit of the late originalGrand Wizard.He later teamed Kamala withSikabefore selling the pair toMr Fuji.Then, Iaukea left the WWF in 1987.

He also appeared briefly inWCWas 'The Master' of the Dungeon of Doom stable in 1995, reuniting with both Kamala and Sullivan (who, as Dungeon leader, would address Iaukea as "my father", and he would address Sullivan as "my son" ) His role in the Dungeon was to conjure up new Dungeon members for Sullivan's war withHulk Hogan.He would leave WCW by the end of 1995.[8]

Personal life and death

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Iaukea had a son namedRocky Iaukea.[9]

Iaukea also had a daughter, Sydney Lehua Iaukea, a 'Native Hawaiian educator'. Iaukea focuses on Hawaiian politics, and has particularly studied her relation to her great-great-grandfather,Curtis P. Iaukea.In an article published in theHawaiian Journal of Law and Politicsin 2021, Iaukea discusses her father, stating that 'many still remember his wrestling matches, and the showmanship and wrestling character he embodied'. Yet, he left his family without financial or familial support, but she was 'left speechless because of the larger-than-life image my father so masterfully displayed'.[10]

On December 4, 2010, Iaukea died at his home in Papakolea.[9]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^abShields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009).WWE Encyclopedia.Dorling Kindersley.p.173.ISBN978-0-7566-4190-0.
  2. ^Solomon, Jon (2002).The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion.Comedy III Productions, Inc. pp. 538–541.ISBN0-9711868-0-4.
  3. ^p.176 Oliver, Greg & Johnson, StevenThe Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The HeelsECW Press, 2007
  4. ^Ackles, Bob & Mulgrew, IanThe Water Boy: From the Sidelines to the Owner's Box: Inside the CFL, the XFL, and the NFL2009 John Wiley and Sons
  5. ^"Iaukea Reminisces About 50th-State Wrestling".
  6. ^url=http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=1302&page=11
  7. ^"Giant who conquered Aussie hearts".The Sydney Morning Herald.
  8. ^"Prince Curtis Iaukea".Wrestling Heritage. April 21, 2021.RetrievedAugust 9,2024.
  9. ^ab"Curtis 'Da Bull' Iaukea dies".Honolulu Star-Advertiser. December 4, 2010.RetrievedAugust 9,2024.
  10. ^Iaukea, Sydney Lehua (2011)."The Queen and I: A Story of Dispossessions and Reconnections in Hawai'i".Hawaiian Journal of Law and Politics.3(1): 221–257.
  11. ^Hoops, Brian (January 19, 2019)."Pro wrestling history (01/19): Ric Flair wins WWF title in 1992 Royal Rumble".Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online.RetrievedJanuary 18,2019.
  12. ^"World Brass Knuckles Title (Australia)".
  13. ^Meltzer, Dave(October 20, 2011)."Thurs. update: Brisco, GSP updates, Hall feature, WWE drops announcer, TV show looks to be canceled".Wrestling Observer Newsletter.RetrievedOctober 21,2011.
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