Earl Maynard (born November 28, 1935) is a

bodybuilder 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 o ...

and

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 or ...

as well as a film

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, producer and director from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

Career

Bodybuilding

Maynard won the 1964 Universe - Pro - NABBA bodybuilding competition - part of the

Universe Championships The Universe Championships are annual worldwide bodybuilding events organised by the National Amateur Body-Builders' Association (NABBA). Originally promoted as the contest, the event was expanded to include women's classes in 1968. Notable previ ...

, the 1965 Universe - IFBB - now the World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships and the 1978 Masters Mr. America - AAU contest. He was also the winner of

Mr. Europe ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...

1959 and Mr. England 1960 early in his career.

Professional wrestling

Maynard started wrestling while he was in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

stationed on

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. The sports facilities were very limited, so the implements for his

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

and conditioning had to be improvised with what materials he could find. While He was on Cyprus, a British wrestling promoter, who was there on vacation, spotted him and liked what he saw. Maynard became a professional wrestler in 1960. It was wrestling promoter

Gus Karras Gus is a masculine name, often a diminutive for Angus, August, Augustine, or Augustus, and other names (e.g. Aengus, Argus, Fergus, Ghassan, Gustav, Gustave, Gustafson, Gustavo, Gussie). It can also be used as the adaptation into English of ...

who eventually brought Earl to the United States to continue his wrestling career there. By the late, 1960s, he was working in

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. T ...

, New York's WWWF and Canada's

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

. He was

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

(NWA)'s America's Tag Team Champion twice (with

Rocky Johnson Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Televisio ...

in 1970 as well as with his longtime partner

Dory Dixon Dorrel "Dory" Dixon (born February 1, 1935) is a Jamaican retired professional wrestler who worked for the majority of his career in Mexico, where he eventually became a Mexican citizen. He is currently a pastor for the Seventh-day Adventist Churc ...

in 1972). He went to wrestle in Mexico for EMLL

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

in 1971, Japan for

International Wrestling Association of Japan The International Wrestling Association of Japan, more commonly known as IWA Japan, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion operating from 1994 to 2004 and again from 2010 to 2014. It was formed by Víctor Quiñones as a successor to the W ...

from 1971 to 1972 and

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

in 1973. He would finished his career in San Francisco until he retired in 1978. All of his bodybuilding achievements were accomplished while he continued to wrestle professionally. He eventually became known in the wrestling circles as " Mr. Universe" because of being a two-time winner of that most prestigious of bodybuilding titles.

Acting

He made over 20 appearances as an actor in films. These include such films as ''

Melinda Melinda is a feminine given name. Etymology The modern name ''Melinda'' is a combination of "Mel" with the suffix "-inda". "Mel" can be derived from names such as Melanie meaning "dark, black" in Greek, or from Melissa (μέλισσα) meaning ...

'' (1972), ''

Black Belt Jones ''Black Belt Jones'' is a 1974 American blaxploitation martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and starring Jim Kelly and Gloria Hendry. The film is a spiritual successor to Clouse's prior film ''Enter the Dragon'', in which Kelly had a supp ...

'' (1974), ''

Truck Turner ''Truck Turner'', also known as ''Black Bullet'', is a 1974 blaxploitation film, starring Isaac Hayes and Yaphet Kotto, and directed by Jonathan Kaplan. The screenplay was written by Michael Allin, Leigh Chapman (under a pseudonym, Jerry Wilke ...

'' (1974), '' Mandingo'' (1975), ''

Swashbuckler A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, daring, ...

'' (1976), '' The Deep'' (1977), ''

Circle of Iron ''Circle of Iron'' is a 1978 martial arts fantasy film directed by Richard Moore and co-written by Bruce Lee, who intended to star in the film himself, but died before production. The film is also known as ''The Silent Flute'', which was the or ...

'' (1978), ''

The Nude Bomb ''The Nude Bomb'' (also known as ''The Return of Maxwell Smart'') is a 1980 American spy comedy film based on the 1965-70 television series ''Get Smart''. It stars Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, and was directed by Clive Donner. It was r ...

'' (1980), ''

The Big Brawl ''The Big Brawl'', () also known as ''Battle Creek Brawl'', is a 1980 martial arts action comedy film, which marked Jackie Chan's first attempt to break into the American movie Hollywood market. A joint American and Hong Kong action film producti ...

'' (1980) and ''

The Sword and the Sorcerer ''The Sword and the Sorcerer'' is a 1982 American sword and sorcery fantasy film co-written and directed by Albert Pyun, and starring Lee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, George Maharis, Richard Lynch, and Richard Moll. The plot ...

'' (1982).

Personal life

At the age of 17, Earl was 5’ 10” tall and weighed only 130 pounds. Maynard left the island when he was 18 and moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

where he completed his education. He earned a degree of M.S.F. in

Physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. After retiring, Maynard returned to Barbados. He began to direct his own films and work in real estate.

Partial filmography

*''

'' (1972) - Karate Group *''

'' (1974) - Junebug *''

'' (1974) - Panama *''

Uptown Saturday Night Uptown may refer to: Neighborhoods or regions in several cities United States * Uptown, entertainment district east of Downtown and Midtown Albuquerque, New Mexico * Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina * Uptown, area surrounding the University of Ci ...

'' (1974) - Waldorf bartender (uncredited) *'' Mandingo'' (1975) - Babouin *''

'' (1976) - Bath Attendant *'' The Deep'' (1977) - Ronald *''

'' (1978) - Black Giant *''

'' (1980) - Jamaican Delegate *''

'' (1980) - Buster Mountie *''

'' (1982) - Morgan (final film role)

Championships and accomplishments

NWA All-Star Wrestling NWA All Star Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Vancouver) is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. All-Star Wrestling folded in 1989 but returned in 2007 no longer affiliated with the National Wr ...

** NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship ''(Vancouver version)'' ( 1 time) - with

Dean Higuchi Dean Kiyoshi Higuchi (July 18, 1940 – February 20, 2021) was an American bodybuilder and professional wrestler, known by his ring name, Dean Ho. He competed in North American promotions including Pacific Northwest Wrestling, the World Wide Wr ...

NWA Hollywood Wrestling NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship The NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship was a secondary professional wrestling singles title defended in Johnny Doyle's NWA Los Angeles from 1951 to 1959. The title was defended in the same area during the 1960s under promoters Gene and Mi ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) **

NWA Americas Tag Team Championship The NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California. The championship began as the WWA World Tag Team Championship f ...

( 3 times) – with

(1),

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American Singing, singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to hi ...

(1) and

(1)

Bodybuilding contest history

* 1958 ** Mr. Universe - NABBA, Tall, 1st * 1959 **Universe - IFBB, Most Muscular, 1st **Mr Universe - NABBA, Tall, 1st * 1961 **Universe - Pro - NABBA, Tall, 2nd * 1963 **Universe - Pro - NABBA, Tall, 3rd * 1964 **Universe - Pro - NABBA, Tall, 1st **Universe - Pro - NABBA, Overall Winner * 1965 **

Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation ...

- IFBB, 3rd **Universe - IFBB, Tall, 1st **Universe - IFBB, Overall Winner * 1977 **Masters Mr America - AAU, Tall, 1st **World Cup Pro Universe - PBBA, Masters, 3rd * 1978 **Masters Mr America - AAU, Tall, 1st **Masters Mr America - AAU, Overall Winner

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maynard, Earl 1935 births Barbadian professional wrestlers Male bodybuilders Living people Barbadian male film actors 20th-century male actors People associated with physical culture Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Champions NWA Americas Tag Team Champions