Thanks for putting this up, Jack..I'll watch this one for sure, as I watched Fritz in the 60's...Didn't follow his boys as much, but enough to see their stories play out over the years..Certainly had many tragic moments...It will be interesting to see how the producers manage to get Jeremy Allen White ( "Lip" Gallagher on "Shameless") to resemble Kerry....I remember Kerry as a mountain of a man..

This was the monumental wrestling event of my childhood

Never gets old! That was fun!! Thanks!

... and making a cameo - Dan Cook.

- KKM

{ sipping coffee }

Jack Bauer said:

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This was the monumental wrestling event of my childhood

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Marc Lowrance (MC) was a long term substitute at my middle school for a couple of years. A couple of girls started some rumors on him that I am pretty sure was just middle school girls being what they are. He ended up being a minister, if I remember right.

Side note, my wife and I stayed at a bed and breakfast in Jefferson, TX once that was supposedly owned by the Von Erich family before the lady who owned it bought it from them. She had tons of memorabilia everywhere and claimed that she'd been the manager for Lulu from Hee-Haw. Some things you just can't make up! LOL

Truly a tragic, but fascinating story, and I can't wait to see it. But I hope the movie explores the truth and doesn't kayfabe everything. It's well known that David died of a drug overdose and not an intestinal infection as the family always claimed. Even Bruiser Brody admitted to flushing David's drugs down the toilet when he found him dead. Fritz forced Mike back into the ring even though he was mentally impaired from the effects of toxic shock that nearly killed him. That mental state undoubtedly contributed to his suicide. I wonder if they'll even touch on Chris' suicide? He came along well after their popularity passed and he should have never been in the ring due to his tiny stature and poor health. It was embarrassing and sad to see him try to copy his brothers.

My now ex-wife and I were dating and met her parents at a restaurant off Walnut Hill early one evening, with the plan being for me to ask her dad for permission to marry his daughter. Would've been about this date in 1991. My soon-to-be wife and her mom excused themselves from the table so that I could ask her dad. Almost as they got up, Kerry von Erich and three others came in, with Kerry absolutely stumbling drunk. Loud. Obnoxious as hell. The entire restaurant was on edge. But I asked. My about to be f-i-l said the family would be honored to have me, what a nice gesture to even ask him, and then, quite loudly:

"Treat her better than that a**hole wrestler is treating his lady."

Kerry was far too drunk to have noticed. In two years, he was dead.

I always liked Kevin better anyways. Barefoot rasslin' was cool.

fubar said:

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My now ex-wife and I were dating and met her parents at a restaurant off Walnut Hill early one evening, with the plan being for me to ask her dad for permission to marry his daughter. Would've been about this date in 1991. My soon-to-be wife and her mom excused themselves from the table so that I could ask her dad. Almost as they got up, Kerry von Erich and three others came in, with Kerry absolutely stumbling drunk. Loud. Obnoxious as hell. The entire restaurant was on edge. But I asked. My about to be f-i-l said the family would be honored to have me, what a nice gesture to even ask him, and then, quite loudly:

"Treat her better than that a**hole wrestler is treating his lady."

Kerry was far too drunk to have noticed. In two years, he was dead.

I always liked Kevin better anyways. Barefoot rasslin' was cool.

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Kerry was always a mess. He had the good looks which made him the most popular Von Erich, but David was a superior wrestler, and Kevin had the common sense and business savvy of the family. Kerry's move to the WWF after WCCW folded could have been his ticket to worldwide superstardom, but he was relegated to second tier status because of drug abuse and his behavior, which would have been around the time you stated. Of course, it didn't help that he had a prosthetic foot that slowed him down from his younger years.

Jack Black would also make a good Bronko Lubich methinks.

Word is finally out on the movie about me.

Watched the boys wrestle live way back in high school. A friend recalls seeing Kerry so stoned at a cock fight in a barn in Davila, TX, he couldn't walk. Just sat on the floor in a corner zoned out. They were fun to watch. Mayborn Civic Center in Temple hosted some mighty fine cards as a teenager.

Late 60s and early 70s. I'd come home from an inevitable Baylor loss, is turn off the lights and watch them in black-and-white. As a kid I remember getting so wound up by it I could barely sleep the rest of the night. Back then we all still thought it was real, or at least I did.

Bexar Pitts said:

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I watched Fritz in the 60's...Didn't follow his boys as much, but enough to see their stories play out over the years.

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I, too, watched Fritz in the 60's, and made a few trips to the Sportatorium in Dallas and the Northside (now Cowtown) Coliseum in Ft. Worth to see him ply his trade. I was just a kid, but I enjoyed it immensely.

When I did tune in during the 80's to watch his boys, I was really tuning in to see the real star of the North Texas promotion from the mid-60's to the mid-80's, 'manager' Gary Hart.

In restaurant parlance, Gary worked both front of house (evil bad guy manager) and back of house (booker) and conceived most of the angles and pairings of wrestlers while working for Fritz.

Years later he stated that he had two objectives concerning the business: (i) build the dragons that the good guys would eventually slay; and, (ii) keep the promoter's building filled with fans.

He particularly shined in his time doing TV interviews, and was able to gin up heat and excitement among the fans. He was the guy fans loved to hate.

Even though it's been over 50 years since I heard this line, I'll never forget it. Hart's shtick was that he was a wealthy playboy from Chicago, and that Fritz Von Erich was a neanderthal bumpkin. As Hart was doing his TV interview in a tailored business suit, he stated: "Fritz Von Erich is a classless individual. His idea of a big Saturday night out is a six-pack of cheap beer and a comic book."

Ah, yes. I miss that stuff. I'm afraid I lost virtually all interest in pro wrestling once Vince McMahon and his group came out publicly and stated that everything was just a scripted presentation.

In the old days, we might have suspected this, but it's much easier to suspend disbelief when the characters themselves play it straight and don't come out of character to tell you that it's just a big act.

As for the movie, I didn't see any mention of a 'Gary Hart' character, but who knows at this point. It's an interesting fact that all the Von Erich boys called him 'Uncle Gary', and valued his counsel.

First look at ‘THE IRON CLAW’, starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson as the Von Erichs.

In theaters on December 22. pic.twitter.com/ZoVRFnHnGZ

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 27, 2023

Watching that fake wrestling makes me ill.

Sons. Brothers. Champions. THE IRON CLAW trailer drops Wednesday pic.twitter.com/90GZ5WuLtM

— A24 (@A24) October 6, 2023

I saw this movie tonight and here are my thoughts

-if you have any memories or nostalgia for the Von Erichs then you must see this movie
- a good mix of wrestling action and family story
-felt like this could have been a 10 part documentary instead of a movie. There was a lot to cover
-Zac Efron did a good job portraying the pain of Kevin Von Erich losing his brothers while trying to raise his family
-the Ric Flair character was terrible. Not the centerpoint of the movie but could have been better

Overall just tragedy upon tragedy resembling a Greek play. You would not belive this was real if you hadn't witnessed it.

I give it a B+ and worth your money.

They should have had Ric Flair portray Ric Flair.

Iron Claw RIC FLAIR SCENE #wrestling #ironclaw #ricflair pic.twitter.com/qJNVjdeJtI

— Bicks Flicks (@bicksflix) December 22, 2023

Also saw it on Xmas day afternoon. Just overall such a tragedy and sadness. A great film imo.

Saw it Christmas night.

Thought it was really good. They were such a local / Texas phenomenon. Can't believe three committed suicide (movie deleted Chris).

Efron looked more like Kerry - dude was jacked.

Somewhere recently I saw a current documentary of Kevin. He lives on land in Maui (maybe Kauai) with his sons and animals. Still looks physically imposing to say the least, but the fatigue and sadness in his eyes was striking.

Here you can see Chris Von erich as a little kid.

He was not in the movie but he took his life in 1991 due to injuries, not being as successful as his brothers, and the depression of losing his brothers. He also suffered from brittle bone disease.


1984 - David dies in Japan of intestinal rupture (unofficially drug overdose suspected)
1987- Mike take his own life at Lake Lewsville o/d on pain pills
1991 - Chris takes his own life at family farm by gun shot to head
1993 - Kerry takes his own life at family farm by gun shot to chest