Mark Lewin (born March 16, 1937) is an American retired
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 ...
.
Early life
Lewin was born 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 South ...
. He had two elder brothers,
Donn
In Irish mythology, Donn ("the dark one", from cel-x-proto, Dhuosnos) is an ancestor of the Gaels and is believed to have been a god of the dead. Donn is said to dwell in Tech Duinn (the "house of Donn" or "house of the dark one"), where the s ...
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 ...
, both of whom also became professional wrestlers. He attended
Lafayette High School.
Professional wrestling career
Lewin was trained to wrestle by his brother-in-law,
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 ...
. He debuted in 1953 at the age of 16.
Lewin had great early success in a matinee-idol babyface tag team with
Don Curtis
Donald B. Curtis (born Donald Beitelman) (May 22, 1927 – March 6, 2008) was an American professional wrestler, best known for being a member of a tag team with Mark Lewin in the 1950s and 1960s. During his partnership with Lewin, they won the N ...
, headlining in major territories like New York and Chicago. The team's brief heel turn was a shock to its many fans. The team split up in the early '60s and Mark embarked on a singles career.
In 1963, Mark first tried out the "Maniac"/"Mad" Mark Lewin persona, which he would alternate consistently with his 'normal' babyface persona for the rest of his career. He wrestled in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
in the 1960s and 1970s with great success, especially in New Zealand where he drew huge crowds during the tours. He frequently formed a tag team in Australia and New Zealand with
King Curtis Iaukea
Curtis Piehau Iaukea III (September 15, 1937 – December 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler better known as King Curtis Iaukea. Iaukea won championships in several of the major regional U.S. promotions, both as a single and in vario ...
. He also spent time in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
working against
The Sheik and fellow wildman,
Terry Funk
Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – a ...
. Lewin also wrestled in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
with
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 ...
, where he feuded with the likes of
Gene Kiniski
Eugene Nicholas Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and then became a three-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion. "Canada's Greatest Athlete", as he b ...
and "Bulldog" Bob Brown and twice won the Pacific Coast Heavyweight title.
He found a lot of success in
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed ...
in the late 1970s and early 1980s before going to
Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...
, where he joined
Kevin Sullivan's "cult" as The Purple Haze, another variation of the 'Maniac' gimmick. Lewin competed at wrestling's first Pay-Per-View event
Starrcade 1983; he and Kevin Sullivan won their match.
Lewin worked as a
booker for
Jim Barnett in Australia.
He was one of
Sabu's frequent opponents in the 1980s.
Lewin retired in 1988, but came back mid 2003 to work for Eddie Jr. and Thomas Farhat to start up All World Wrestling League/Big Time Wrestling.
Championships and accomplishments
*
All-Star Pro Wrestling
**
NWA Australasian Tag Team Championship
The New Zealand version of the NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship defended in the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated All Star Pro Wrestling from 1981 to 1984. The titles were awarded to S ...
(3 times) - with
Steve Rickard
Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt (3 September 1929 – 5 April 2015), best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, was a New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. As a wrestler, he traveled throughout the world during the 1960s and 1970s, ...
(1),
Al Perez
Al Perez (born July 23, 1960) is a retired American professional wrestler. He held 16 titles during a 20-year career, including the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Professional wrestling career
Early career
Perez began wrestling as an amat ...
(1), and
Spiros Arion
Spiros Arion ( el, Σπύρος Αρίων) born Spyridon Manousakis ( el, Σπυρίδων Μανουσάκης) (born September 1940) is an Egyptian-born Greek former professional wrestler who had an extensive and successful career, mainly in ...
(1)
*
Big Time Wrestling
**
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Detroit version) (
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 ...
)
*
Capitol Wrestling Corporation
Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing p ...
**
NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Northeast version) (
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 ...
) - with
Don Curtis
Donald B. Curtis (born Donald Beitelman) (May 22, 1927 – March 6, 2008) was an American professional wrestler, best known for being a member of a tag team with Mark Lewin in the 1950s and 1960s. During his partnership with Lewin, they won the N ...
*
Championship Wrestling from Florida
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...
**
NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' (
1 time)
*
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
Donn Lewin
Donn Lewin (April 1, 1926 – December 18, 2010) was an American professional wrestler, marine and tropical fish breeder.
Early life
Lewin was born on April 1, 1926, and grew up in Buffalo, New York, where he attended Lafayette High School.
M ...
*
Maple Leaf Wrestling
Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name in the 1970s and 1980s of the professional wrestling promotion run by Frank Tunney in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
History
Queensbury Athletic Club
The promotion, initially known as the Queensbury Athle ...
**
NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Toronto version)'' (
1 time) - with
Whipper Billy Watson
William John Potts, (June 25, 1915 to February 4, 1990) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name "Whipper" Billy Watson. He was a two-time world champion, having held both the National Wrestling Association title and the ...
*
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 Steven Little Bear
**
NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship ''(Vancouver version)'' (
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 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 ...
**
WWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (
1 time)
**
WWA World Heavyweight Championship
The World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling All-Stars. It was the primary championship in the WWA. The title was sanctioned by WWA as their world ...
(
1 time)
*
NWA Big Time Wrestling / World Class Championship Wrestling
**
NWA American Tag Team Championship
The WCWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The cham ...
(
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 ...
) - with
The Spoiler
**
NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Texas version)'' (
8 times)
**
NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today. The title has us ...
(
3 times)
[*]
**
NWA Texas Tag Team Championship
The WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area-basedWorld Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally known as the NWA ...
(
1 time) - with Dick Steinborn
**
NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship ''(Texas version)'' (
1 time) - with
Killer Tim Brooks
Timothy Paul Brooks (December 4, 1947 – June 30, 2020), better known by his ring name Killer Tim Brooks, was an American professional wrestler. He competed in North American regional promotions, including the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), ...
&
One Man Gang
George Gray (born February 12, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, (The) One Man Gang. For two years in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he was Akeem "The African Dream". Prior to this, he was ...
*''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
''
**PWI ranked him # 265 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
*
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...
**(
Class of 2009) - with Don Curtis
*
World Championship Wrestling (Australia)
World Championship Wrestling was an Australian professional wrestling promotion that ran from 1964 until 1978.
History
The promotion gained publicity through television programs on the Nine Network, which were presented at noon on Saturdays and ...
**
IWA World Heavyweight Championship (
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 ...
)
**
IWA World Tag Team Championship
IWA World Tag Team Championship is a Tag Team Championship defended in Puerto Rico.The titles were first introduced in the first incarnation of the International Wrestling Association, where they are defended. They also made a brief appearance i ...
(
8 times) - with
King Curtis Iaukea
Curtis Piehau Iaukea III (September 15, 1937 – December 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler better known as King Curtis Iaukea. Iaukea won championships in several of the major regional U.S. promotions, both as a single and in vario ...
(2),
Bearcat Wright
Edward M. Wright (January 13, 1932 – August 28, 1982) was an American professional wrestler who became popular in the late 1950s and 1960s. Despite racial tension in the United States, he became wildly popular as a babyface. Wrestling in either ...
(1),
Dominic DeNucci
Domenico A. Nucciarone (January 23, 1932 – August 12, 2021) was an Italian-American professional wrestler and trainer better known under his ring name of Dominic DeNucci. He held over a dozen championships around the world in the 1960s and 197 ...
(1),
Spiros Arion
Spiros Arion ( el, Σπύρος Αρίων) born Spyridon Manousakis ( el, Σπυρίδων Μανουσάκης) (born September 1940) is an Egyptian-born Greek former professional wrestler who had an extensive and successful career, mainly in ...
(1),
Mario Milano
Mario Bulfone (15 May 1935 – 9 December 2016), better known by his ring name Mario Milano, was a professional wrestler. Milano got his start in wrestling in Venezuela and later competed in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Africa, Mex ...
, (1),
Killer Kowalski
Walter Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008), known professionally as Killer Kowalski, was a Polish-Canadian professional wrestler.
Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, includin ...
(1) and
Antonio Pugliese
Antonio Pugliese (January 22, 1941 – August 19, 2000), better known by his ring name, Tony Parisi, was a Canadian professional wrestler. He won tag team championships in several promotions, including the World Wide Wrestling Federation (W ...
(1)
**
NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship
The NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling title in the Australian World Championship Wrestling promotion from 1972 through the promotion's 1978 closure.
WCW joined the National Wrestling Alliance in A ...
(
1 time) - with
Spiros Arion
Spiros Arion ( el, Σπύρος Αρίων) born Spyridon Manousakis ( el, Σπυρίδων Μανουσάκης) (born September 1940) is an Egyptian-born Greek former professional wrestler who had an extensive and successful career, mainly in ...
*''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...
''
**
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of t ...
(Class of 2017)
1This World Championship Wrestling was an NWA affiliated promotion based in Australia that operated from the mid-1960s to the early-1990s. It is not the same promotion as the World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...
that was once owned by Ted Turner and sold to World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
in 2001.
See also
*
List of Jewish professional wrestlers
This list of Jewish athletes in sports contains athletes who are Jewish and have attained outstanding achievements in sports. The topic of Jewish participation in sports is discussed extensively in academic and popular literature (See also: Lis ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewin, Mark
1937 births
American male professional wrestlers
Jewish American sportspeople
Jewish professional wrestlers
Living people
Sportspeople from Buffalo, New York
Professional wrestlers from New York (state)
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
Professional wrestling promoters
Stampede Wrestling alumni
21st-century American Jews
20th-century professional wrestlers
NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version)
NWA World Tag Team Champions (Florida version)
NWA International Tag Team Champions (Toronto version)
NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Champions
IWA World Heavyweight Champions (Australia)
IWA World Tag Team Champions (Australia)