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Professor Tanaka

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This article is about the American professional wrestler. For the Japanese wrestler, seeMinoru Tanaka (wrestler).

Professor Tanaka
Tanaka,c. 1973
Birth nameCharles J. Kalani Jr.
Born(1930-01-06)January 6, 1930
Honolulu, Hawaii,U.S.
DiedAugust 22, 2000(2000-08-22)(aged 70)[1]
Lake Forest, California,U.S.
Alma materWeber State University
University of Utah
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Professor Tanaka
Professor Toru Tanaka
Billed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Billed weight280 lb (130 kg)[2]
Billed fromHiroshima,Japan[2]
Debut1958
Retired1986
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1955-1966
RankSergeant

Charles J. Kalani Jr.(January 6, 1930 – August 22, 2000) was an Americanprofessional wrestler,professional boxer,[3]martial artistand actor. He was known by the ring namesProfessor Toru Tanaka,or simplyProfessor Tanaka.He was best known for his work with theWorld Wide Wrestling Federationfrom 1967 to 1978, and was a 3-timeTag Team Championship(with partnerMr. Fuji) and one-timeInternational Tag Team Champion(withMitsu Arakawa). In2019,he was posthumously inducted into theWWE Hall of Fameas a Legacy Member.[4]

Early life

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Kalani was born inHonolulu, Hawaii,the son of Charles J. Kalani and Christina Leong Kalani. His father wasNative Hawaiian,and his mother was ofChinesedescent. Kalani began studyingjudoin 1939, and earned ablack beltinDanzan-ryuJujitsufromSeishiro Okazaki.

Kalani graduated fromIolani Schoolin 1949.[5]His wife, Doris Kalani, later credited Kalani's time on thefootballteam andKenneth A. Bray'sinfluence with keeping him away from trouble.[6]After graduating from high school, Kalani attended Weber Junior College (nowWeber State University), where he met his wife in 1952.[6]He also played college football at theUniversity of Utah,as aguard.[7]

In 1955, Kalani was drafted into theU.S. Army,where he rose to the rank ofsergeant.[8]Kalani left the military in 1966 and moved toMonterey, California.He ran aJudoand Danzan-ryu academy with John Chow-Hoon.

Kalani was also aheavyweight boxer.He advanced to the finals of the 1950NCAA Junior College Boxing Championships,but was defeated by Ed Sanders. He fought professionally from March 1953 to February 1954, retiring with a record of 3-2-0, with one win by knockout.[9]

Professional wrestling career

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Professor Tanaka in 1972

Kalani got into professional wrestling in 1958, making his debut in his home state of Hawaii during his service with the military. In 1966 after retiring from the military, Kalani began wrestling full time.San FranciscopromoterRoy Shireapproached Kalani in 1967, launching his career in earnest.[10]He also worked forWorld Championship Wrestlingin Australia.

Kalani adopted theheelgimmickofProfessor Toru Tanaka(or simplyProfessor Tanaka), a Japanese villain fromHiroshima(though Kalani was actually ofHawaiianandChineseorigin). One of the characteristics of his gimmick was that he threw ceremonial salt in his opponents' eyes after "blessing" each corner of the ring, a tactic that is most commonly associated with Japanese villain wrestlers.[11]Tanaka did play the stereotypical Japanese villain with the requisite knowledge of martial arts. He employed a combination of power skills, martial arts, and his feared Japanese sleeper submission hold. Tanaka's most famous tag team partner wasHarry Fujiwara(better known as Mr. Fuji), whom he knew from high school in Hawaii. In his book,Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks,Freddie Blassieexplored the relationship between the two "Japanese" heels.

From Tanaka's point of view, he was passing time with Fuji because it made sense to team up with another Japanese villain. The two certainly had no great admiration for one another. Tanaka was a by-the-book guy, who looked at wrestling as a means to make a living. He wanted to work his match, shake hands with everyone afterwards, and save some money. He was a professional.

If you wanted to talk about an angle beforehand, you always went to Tanaka. He was the ring general, who'd lead everyone else in the match. Fuji was certainly a good performer, but you couldn't control him. So, in addition to worrying about their opponents, Tanaka had the responsibility of making sure that Fuji didn't get out of hand. I guess he did a pretty good job because, years later, when Tanaka was relegated to working these tiny independent shows to earn a few extra bucks, Fuji himself had become a manager.

— Freddie Blassie,Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks

Tanaka had a long successful run with theWWFin 1967, including being #1 contender to championBruno Sammartino.Sammartino was the one who requested Tanaka (who was working in Australia) to the WWF's owner at the time, Vince McMahon Sr. In their first Madison Square Garden meeting, Tanaka was disqualified for throwing salt. He was pinned by Sammartino in a rematch six months later, and Tanaka occasionally teamed withGorilla Monsoon.Tanaka also main evented the Garden in tag matches, twice withGorilla Monsoonvs. Sammartino and Spyros Arion (Tanaka and his partner winning the first via disqualification; losing the second in a Texas Death Match); a year later with Monsoon against Sammartino and Victor Rivera. Monsoon & Tanaka had other Garden matches, including victories overAl Costello& Dr.Bill Miller;andBobo BrazilandEarl Maynard.

Tanaka subsequently teamed withMitsu Arakawain the WWF in 1969, acquiring the International Tag Team Championship; losing it at Madison Square Garden to Tony Marino and Victor Rivera. He left the WWWF in 1970 and worked in Texas. In 1971, he retutrned to the WWWF. The team of Tanaka and Mr. Fuji won threeWWF World Tag Team Championships,with Blassie as manager for the third reign andThe Grand Wizardas manager for the first two. They first won the belts fromSonny KingandChief Jay Strongbowon June 27, 1972, inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania,at aHouse show.They lost the belts toHaystacks CalhounandTony Gareaon May 30, 1973, again at a Hamburg house show, but regained them on September 11, 1973, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before losing them again toTony GareaandDean Hoon November 14, 1973, again in Hamburg. Their third win came on September 27, 1977, at a Philadelphia house show when they defeatedTony GareaandLarry Zbyszkoin a tournament final for the vacant belts, holding them until March 14, 1978, when they lost the titles toDino BravoandDominic DeNucciin Philadelphia. This third reign set a record for number of championship reigns which would be equalized byThe Wild Samoansin 1983,Demolitionin 1990,Money Inc.in 1993,The Quebecersin 1994 andThe Smoking Gunnsin 1996, but not bettered untilThe New Age Outlawswon a fourth reign in 1999.

After WWWF, Tanaka returned to Japan, Hawaii and other territories until retiring in 1986.

Other media

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Professor Tanaka was also featured in a television commercial for a brand ofriceinPuerto Rico.His other appearance in a commercial was forColgatetoothpaste withPat Morita.Tanaka was seen as an extra in a few ofDavid Lee Roth's music videos in the mid-1980s. By the early 1980s, Kalani's body could not handle the beatings in the ring any longer, and he moved into the film world on a more permanent basis. His first film was the 1981Chuck NorrisvehicleAn Eye for an Eyeand his last film was 1995'sHard Justice(starringDavid BradleyandCharles Napier). He appeared oppositeArnold SchwarzeneggerinThe Running Manas "Sub-Zero", the red-armor clad "stalker" who is a sadistic hockey-samurai with a scythe that "slices his enemies limb from limb into quivering, bloody sushi".

Other notable roles includeThe Perfect Weapon,3 Ninjas,Black Rain,Darkman,Pee-wee's Big Adventure,andLast Action Hero.

Tanaka was one of three semi-retired professional wrestlers to compete in atug-of-warmatch with two other wrestlers teamed up against a large group of children on theNickelodeonseriesWild and Crazy Kidsin the early 1990s.

Death

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Kalani died of heart failure on August 22, 2000. His ashes were spread in the ocean nearHaleʻiwa, Hawaii.He is survived by his wife Doris Kalani and his three children: Cheryle Kalani, Carl Kalani and Karen Kalani Beck.

Filmography

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Wrestling championships and accomplishments

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1Records do not show which NWA affiliate Tanaka worked for when his two reigns with the title began. While usually defended inSoutheastern Championship Wrestling,it was occasionally used in other promotions.

References

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  1. ^"Charlie Kalani, 70, Remembered As Versatile Actor".Classic Wrestling Articles.December 26, 2012.
  2. ^abcdefShields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009).WWE Encyclopedia.Dorling Kindersley.p.238.ISBN978-0-7566-4190-0.
  3. ^"Charley Kalani".Boxrec Boxing Encyclopedia.RetrievedOctober 7,2015.
  4. ^ab"TEN NEW WWE HALL OF FAME LEGACY INDUCTEES - PWInsider.com".www.pwinsider.com.
  5. ^Alumni Making Headlines (April 2006)."The Professor Toru Tanaka (Charles Kalani '49) Remembered".Iolani School website.Archived fromthe originalon January 13, 2013.
  6. ^abOhira, Rod (September 15, 2000)."Charlie Kalani, 70, remembered as versatile actor".archives.starbulletin.com.RetrievedJanuary 24,2019.
  7. ^"Charlie Kalani".cougarstats.com.RetrievedApril 14,2024.
  8. ^"Professor Tanaka Death".Wrestler Deaths.December 31, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 24,2019.
  9. ^"Charley Kalani".Boxrec.
  10. ^Greg., Oliver (2007).The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: the heels.Johnson, Steven, 1957-. Toronto: ECW Press.ISBN9781554907595.OCLC301504187.
  11. ^abEllison, Lillian (2003).The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle.ReaganBooks. p. 145.ISBN978-0-06-001258-8.
  12. ^abcdRoyal Duncan & Gary Will (2000).Wrestling Title Histories(4th ed.). Archeus Communications.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  13. ^Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Texas: NWA / World Class American Heavyweight Title [Von Eric]".Wrestling Title Histories.Archeus Communications. pp. 265–266.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  14. ^"NWA United States Heavyweight Title (1967-1968/05) - American Heavyweight Title (1968/05-1986/02)".Wrestling-Titles.RetrievedDecember 26,2019.
  15. ^Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "(Dallas) Texas: NWA American Tag Team Title [Fritz Von Erich]".Wrestling Title Histories.Archeus Communications.ISBN978-0-9698161-5-7.
  16. ^"N.W.A. American Tag Team Title".Wrestling-Titles.com.RetrievedJanuary 19,2020.
  17. ^Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "(Texas) Dallas: NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Title".Wrestling Title Histories(4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 271.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  18. ^"Texas Brass Knucks Title [East Texas]".Wrestling-Titles.RetrievedDecember 22,2019.
  19. ^WWWF/WWF International Tag Team Title History
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