Martín Karadagián (April 30, 1922 — August 27, 1991) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

and actor.

Biography

Karadagián was born in the

San Telmo San Telmo ("Saint Pedro González Telmo") is the oldest ''Barrios of Buenos Aires, barrio'' (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A well-preserved area of the Argentine metropolis, it hosts some of its oldest buildings. One of the birthplace ...

ward of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

to a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

mother and

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

father. He learned

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

when he was a child,Quinta Dimensión: Biography
/ref> and won his first national championship in 1947. Martin Karadagián wrestled in America from August to December 1949 wrestling in New York City and the surrounding east coast cities such as Asbury Park, New Jersey, Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and Passaic, New Jersey. He wrestled under the name "The Mighty Karadagián (often misspelled Karadijian)." He also held the nickname "the wild man of South America." He was undefeated during this time defeating men like Marvin Mercer, Mike Clancy, Steve Karras, The Golden Superman, and Sam Berg. He began his career as an actor in the 1957 drama ''Reencuentro con la gloria'' (''Reencounter with Glory''), in which he played a fighter who accidentally kills his opponent. He later appeared in

Alberto Olmedo Alberto Olmedo (24 August 1933 – 5 March 1988) was an Argentine comedian and actor, popularly regarded as one of the most important comedians in the history of his country, for his outstanding work in television, cinema and theater. Olmedo w ...

's 1963 comedy, '' Las Aventuras del Capitán Piluso en el castillo del terror'' (''The Adventures of Captain Piluso at the Castle of Terror''). Karadagián became well known for his recurring role in the wrestling

television show A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

'' Titanes en el ring'' (''Titans in the ring''), which aired intermittently from 1962 to 1983. The series became popular elsewhere in Latin America, and during a 1974 episode filmed in

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, Karadagián reportedly entered into a bout with presidential candidate Gerardo Wenceslao Villalobos (who won). Karadagián made his last film appearance, with the Titans of the Ring, in 1984. He appeared in a number of

yogurt Yogurt (; , from , ; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to ...

advertisements in his later years, but had developed

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, and ultimately had a leg amputated. He died in Buenos Aires in 1991, and was buried at

La Recoleta Cemetery La Recoleta Cemetery () is a cemetery located in the Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Recoleta Barrios and Communes of Buenos Aires, neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, President of Ar ...

.Microsemanario 30 (August 26 — September 1, 1991)
/ref> A bust of likeness was later unveiled at his Pacheco de Melo Street gym.

Championships and accomplishments

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 Wee ...

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Mel ...

( Class of 2008)

Filmography

*''Reencuentro con la gloria'' (1957) *''Las Aventuras del Capitán Piluso en el castillo del terror'' (1963) *'' El hombre invisible ataca'' (''The Invisible Man Attacks'') (1967) *''Titanes en el ring'' (1973) *''Los superagentes y la gran aventura de oro'' (''The Superagents and the Great Gold Adventure'') (1980) *''Titanes en el ring contraataca'' (1984)

References

External links

* * 1922 births 1991 deaths Argentine sportspeople of Armenian descent Entertainers from Buenos Aires Argentine male film actors Argentine male stage actors Argentine male television actors Argentine male professional wrestlers Armenian professional wrestlers Deaths from diabetes in Argentina Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery 20th-century Argentine male actors Ethnic Armenian sportspeople Argentine expatriates in the United States {{Prowrestling-bio-stub