The Last of the Von Erichs

There's probably no other family in the world of professional wrestling that has endured more pain and sorrow than the Von Erichs of Texas. You might actually extend that dubious distinction to just about any family anywhere. Patriarch Fritz Von Erich (real name John 'Jack' Adkisson) was a big name star during the Fifties and Sixties, feared for his famous signature finishing move, 'The Iron Claw'. Five of his sons followed his footsteps into a wrestling career with varying degrees of success, or lack thereof. The only one left alive is Kevin, who at a young age, was never explained the death of his six year old brother Jackie, the first of the Von Erich children to die an unnatural death by electrocution shock and drowning.

This episode of 'Dark Side of the Ring' utilizes Kevin Von Erich as it's principal on screen chronicler of the tragedies that beset the Von Erich family. Other familiar faces for wrestling fans that appear are former referee and booker David Manning, former promoter and manager Jim Cornette, and pro wrestling writer and scholar Dave Meltzer. Kevin takes the viewer through the circumstances surrounding the death of each of his brothers, and it's a grim picture. One needs to have been a follower of the sport back in the Eighties and Nineties to really understand the devastating impact the deaths of each of the Von Erichs had on the wrestling community. For example, David Von Erich, who died in Japan from a bout of severe gastroenteritis, had a funeral that drew nearly five thousand mourners to his Texas hometown. If one concedes that his passing was due to natural causes, then his was the only one compared to the suicide deaths of his three siblings, Mike, Chris and Kerry. Kerry was probably the biggest wrestling star in the family, having captured a version of the world championship in 1983 from Ric Flair, shortly after David's death. Rather than engage in the individual tragedies of each of the Von Erich brothers, I'll leave it up to the interested viewer to watch the episode. Father Fritz Von Erich died in 1997 of brain and lung cancer.

Seeing Kevin Von Erich today is somewhat shocking for anyone who was a fan back in the day to witness his terrific physique and natural athletic ability. He's a gaunt and almost frail looking individual with a subdued and composed manner when speaking about his father and brothers. Part of that is almost certainly attributable to the use of steroids that many of the top stars used to maintain their bulk. He currently resides in Hawaii with his wife and grown sons who may have a pro wrestling career in their future, though for Kevin's sake, one would hope they exercise extreme caution and good judgment if they take up a life in the ring.