Jack Pye, also known as Dirty Jack Pye, Filthy Jack Pye and The Doncaster Panther, (July 9, 1903-December 8, 1985) was an English

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 ...

and

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 ...

from

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

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 ...

. He was born John Pye on 9 July 1903 in Hindley near Wigan.

Family

John Pye is a descendant of the powerful Pye Family. John married his wife Lillian Wright and they had 2 sons, * Dominic, was killed in a shotgun accident in February 1979 while shooting on his land in Mains Lane,

Singleton Singleton may refer to: Sciences, technology Mathematics * Singleton (mathematics), a set with exactly one element * Singleton field, used in conformal field theory Computing * Singleton pattern, a design pattern that allows only one instance ...

near Blackpool. * Jackey, died at the age of 12 in an accidental drowning. He also had an illegitimate son with Edith Tomlinson * John Paul b. 1966, in Blackpool, who now lives in Thailand working as a civil engineer. John Paul has two daughters, Emma Praew Tomlinson (born 4 June 1999) and Jenny Ploy Tomlinson (born 16 July 2001). .

Death

John Pye was the eldest of 11 children, and he died in Blackpool Victoria hospital on 8 December 1985. His youngest sibling, Ellen (Nellie) died in 2006 in Bishop Auckland.

Bronze Bust

A bronze bust of Jack Pye which used to have a prominent place in the Castle Casino in Blackpool, is currently on display at Blackpool's Stanley Park Sports Centre. The bronze bust was donated to the Blackpool County Council due to its striking resemblance to Jack, which caused considerable discomfort to his surviving family.

Wrestling career

In 1933, Pye came close to beating

Atholl Oakeley Sir Edward Atholl Oakeley, 7th Baronet of Shrewsbury (31 May 1900 – January 1987), known under the ring name Atholl Oakeley, was a British professional wrestler and wrestling promoter who was one of the pioneers of professional wrestling i ...

for the British Heavyweight Championship. Other members of the Pye family who became wrestlers include brothers Harry Pye (who became a middle weight boxer), Tommy Pye (who became the light-heavy-weight wrestling champion of Great Britain), and Frank "Bully Pye" (the lightweight champion of Great Britain). Jack Pye's son, Dominic Pye was another family member to take up wrestling. Dominic had a tag partner called Casey Pye whose real name was Harry Bennett. They both appeared in the 1967 film 'Cuckoo Patrol' starring

Freddie and the Dreamers Freddie and the Dreamers were an English beat band that had a number of hit records between 1963 and 1965. The band's stage act was enlivened by the comic antics of Freddie Garrity, who would bounce around the stage with arms and legs flying. ...

. Dominic Pye went on to train several professional wrestlers, such as "Mad" Jock Cameron, who became well known on the British circuit in the 1960s. Jack Pye was presented with a Gold Jaeger-LeCoultre wrist watch as a retirement present in January 1964, the watch was presented by the Blackpool Tower Company Limited and Bill Best.CANOE – SLAM! Sports – Wrestling – A pull-around with Mad Jock Cameron
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Film career

Pye also appeared in several films: *''Wives Never Know'' 1936. Starring:

Charlie Ruggles Charles Sherman Ruggles (February 8, 1886 – December 23, 1970) was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the e ...

and

Mary Boland Mary Boland (born Marie Anne Boland; January 28, 1882 – June 23, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Boland was the daughter of repertory actor William Augustus Boland, and his wife M ...

*''Leave It to Me'' (1937). Starring: Sandy Powell. *'' It's a Grand Life'' in 1953 (as a wrestler). Starring:

Frank Randle Frank Randle (born Arthur Hughes, also known as Arthur McEvoy or Arthur Twist; 30 January 1901 – 7 July 1957) was an English comedian. A contemporary of fellow Lancastrians George Formby and Gracie Fields, he was regarded as more subv ...

and

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was p ...

Notes

References

*The Times, Saturday, 28 January 1933; pg. 4; Issue 46354

External links

(Dirty?) Jack Pye. Biography, including film of him fighting at Burnden Park in 1947Jack Pye's bout with Douglas Clark (timesandstar.co.uk)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pye, Jack 1903 births 1985 deaths English male professional wrestlers