Donn Lewin (April 1, 1926 – December 18, 2010) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

, marine and tropical fish breeder.

Early life

Lewin was born on April 1, 1926, and grew up in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, where he attended Lafayette High School.

Military career

Lewin left school at age 15 to join the Marines and serve in World War II. He fought at Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, and

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, and left the Marines after attaining the rank of Admiral's orderly. During his time in the service, he earned three

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

s for wounds suffered in battle. After leaving the Marines, Lewin became interested in

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

, and he placed second in a Mr. Niagara Frontier Contest.

Professional wrestling career

His placement in the bodybuilding contest brought him to the attention of

Ed Don George Edward Nye "Ed Don" George Jr. (June 3, 1905 – September 18, 1985) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, and wrestling promoter. A former Olympic freestyle wrestler, George competed in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and turned pro ...

, a promoter. George introduced him to Jim Henry, who trained Lewin. At the beginning of his wrestling career, Lewin competed in

and across the border in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, as well as Capitol Wrestling. While competing for Capitol Wrestling in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, he teamed with his real-life brother

Mark Lewin Mark Lewin (born March 16, 1937) is an American retired professional wrestler. Early life Lewin was born in Buffalo, New York. He had two elder brothers, Donn and Ted, both of whom also became professional wrestlers. He attended Lafayette Hi ...

to win the American Tag Team Championship. Lewin also competed in California, Ohio, and Georgia. In Georgia, he teamed with his brother Mark again to win the Georgia version of the

NWA International Tag Team Championship ''This was a regional NWA championship based in Japan. For the version of this title that was promoted in NWA All Star Wrestling in Canada, see NWA International Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version).'' The NWA International Tag Team Champio ...

. In 1969, a promoter asked Lewin to begin wearing a mask and competing as The Executioner. He used the identity while competing in several promotions. During that time period, Lewin also helped train

Greg Valentine Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine. Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championship ...

as a professional wrestler. In addition to wrestling, Lewin also worked as a fish breeder for several years. Eventually, he decided to retire from wrestling and focus on his second career, which had grown to include not only pet fish, but also

piranha A piranha or piraña (, , or ; or , ) is one of a number of freshwater fish in the family Serrasalmidae, or the subfamily Serrasalminae within the tetra family, Characidae in order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, fl ...

s and

alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

Personal life

Lewin's brothers

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

and

Ted TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

also became professional wrestlers. He also has a sister named Sallee. Sallee began dating professional wrestler

Danny McShain Danny McShain (October 30, 1912 – July 14, 1992) was an American professional wrestler. He competed in the southern United States from the 1930s to the 1960s. Early life McShain was born on October 30, 1912, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He made hi ...

shortly after McShain broke Lewin's nose; the couple was later married and were together until McShain's death in 1992. Due to wrestling, he required more than 30 operations throughout his life, including several

hip replacement Hip replacement is a surgical procedure in which the hip joint is replaced by a prosthetic implant, that is, a hip prosthesis. Hip replacement surgery can be performed as a total replacement or a hemi (half) replacement. Such joint replacement o ...

Death

Lewin died on December 18, 2010, at the age of 84 in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

Championships and accomplishments

* Capitol Wrestling **American Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National W ...

** NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Georgia version)'' (1 time) - with Mark Lewin

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewin, Donn 1926 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century American Jews American male professional wrestlers United States Marines Sportspeople from Buffalo, New York Professional wrestlers from New York (state) Jewish American sportspeople Jewish professional wrestlers Lafayette High School (Buffalo, New York) alumni United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II