Mark Lewin

Mark Lewin
Birth name Mark Lewin[1]
Born (1937-03-16) March 16, 1937[1]
Buffalo, New York, United States[1]
Family Donn Lewin (brother)[1]
Danny McShain (brother-in-law)[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Mark Lewin[1]
The Purple Haze[1]
Skippy Jackson
Billed height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Billed weight 220 lb (100 kg)-275 lb (125 kg)
Trained by John Horton
Danny McShain[1]
Debut 1953[1]
Retired 1998

Mark Lewin (born March 16, 1937) is an American retired professional wrestler.[1]

Early life

Lewin was born in Buffalo, New York. He had two elder brothers, Donn and Ted, both of whom also became professional wrestlers. He attended Lafayette High School.[1]

Professional wrestling career

Lewin was trained to wrestle by his brother-in-law, Danny McShain. He debuted in 1953 at the age of 16.[1]

Lewin had great early success in a matinee-idol babyface tag team with Don Curtis, 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 and New Zealand 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. He also spent time in Detroit working against The Sheik and fellow wildman, Terry Funk. Lewin also wrestled in Vancouver with NWA All Star Wrestling, where he feuded with the likes of Gene Kiniski and "Bulldog" Bob Brown and twice won the Pacific Coast Heavyweight title.

He found a lot of success in World Class Championship Wrestling in the late 1970s and early 1980s before going to Florida Championship Wrestling, where he joined Kevin Sullivan's "cult" as The Purple Haze, another variation of the 'Maniac' gimmick.

Lewin worked as a booker for Jim Barnett in Australia.[2]

He was one of Sabu's frequent opponents in the 1980s.

Lewin retired in 1998, but came back mid 2003 to work for Eddie Jr. and Thomas Farhat to start up All World Wrestling League/Big Time Wrestling.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

  • PWI ranked him # 265 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.

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 that was once owned by Ted Turner and sold to World Wrestling Entertainment in 2001.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Johnson, Steven; et al. (1 October 2012). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes and Icons. ECW Press. p. 365. ISBN 978-1-77090-269-5.
  2. ↑ Jim Wilson; Jim Wilson & Weldon T. Johnson (2 September 2003). Chokehold: Pro Wrestling's Real Mayhem Outside the Ring. Xlibris Corporation. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-4628-1172-4.
  3. ↑ "Gary Hart profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  4. ↑ Gerald W. Morton; George M. O'Brien (1985). Wrestling to Rasslin: Ancient Sport to American Spectacle. Popular Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-87972-324-8.
  5. ↑ Bill Gutman (1986). Strange and Amazing Wrestling Stories. Pocket Books. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-671-61134-7.
  6. ↑ "International Tag Team Title (Georgia)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
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