Emile Duprée (born Emile Goguen; October 20, 1936 – September 17, 2023) was a Canadian professional wrestler and promoter. He was also the father of former WWE wrestler René Duprée, and lived in

Pointe-du-Chêne, New Brunswick Pointe-du-Chêne is a community and former local service district in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. Located on Shediac Bay, an inlet of the Northumberland Strait, Pointe-du-Chêne, also called La Pointe, is the home of Parlee Beach Provin ...

Early life

Goguen was born on October 20, 1936, in Shediac, New Brunswick, as the son of Edmond Goguen and Rosanna Goguen (née Cormier). He grew up with one brother and three sisters. He was introduced to Vic Butler and Reggie Richard who trained him to become a professional wrestler.

Professional wrestling career

Duprée began training in 1955 with Maritime professional wrestling legends Vic Butler and Reggie Richard. He had always been into weightlifting, but professional wrestling was something Duprée had never gotten into until Butler and Richard told Emile that they saw potential in Emile for a professional wrestling career. Duprée started in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, and began to travel all over the continent and even went on tours to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. He also wrestled for the legendary Canadian wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. Throughout his career he wrestled many wrestling legends including

Killer Kowalski Wladek Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008) was a Canadian professional wrestler, known by his ring name Killer Kowalski. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, including the ...

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance ...

, and Maritime legend the Cuban Assassin. Duprée's last name was also spelled "Dupré". His son René wrestles as "Duprée".

Grand Prix Wrestling

In 1977, Duprée began his own small wrestling promotion. This promotion was run all across the Maritimes and as years went on and the promotion grew, he would take the tour to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and other places around the Maritimes. At one time, Grand Prix Wrestling was televised and had major success until World Wrestling Entertainment bought it from Emile. Notable wrestlers who wrestled there include Edge,

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, Killer Kowalski, André the Giant,

Randy Savage Randy Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler and professional baseball player, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation ( ...

, Lanny Poffo, Harley Race, and

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

. During the summer of 2008, Emile ran Grand Prix Wrestling. Emile claimed that the promotion ended due to heavy travelling costs. The promotion was partnered up with the WWE to bring Maritime wrestling talent into the WWE spotlight. As of May 2013, Emile and his son René decided to bring Grand Prix Wrestling back to life. Their most recent show was in April 2017.

Death

Duprée died on September 17, 2023, at the age of 86.

Championships and accomplishments

* Canadian Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2023

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dupree, Emile 1936 births 2023 deaths Canadian male professional wrestlers People from Shediac Professional wrestlers from New Brunswick Canadian people of Acadian descent Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century Canadian professional wrestlers 20th-century Canadian sportsmen