WHEN the patriarch of one of America’s greatest wrestling families died of cancer in 1997, only one of his six sons was still alive.
Kevin Von Erich, played by a Hollywood A-Lister in film The Iron Claw, is today the only surviving member of the Von Erich brothers.
WWEHigh-profile wrestlers and brothers Kevin, David, and Kerry Von Erich[/caption]
Who is Kevin Von Erich?
A member of world-famous professional wrestling Von Erich family, Kevin is a one-time WCWA World Heavyweight champion.
He and four of his brothers followed in his dad Fritz Von Erich’s footsteps to compete inside the squared circle.
The 66-year-old, born Kevin Ross Adkisson, retired in 1995 after an astonishing career which kicked off in 1976 when he started wrestling under his family’s ring name, Von Erich.
Kevin’s natural athletic ability and good looks – and tendency to wrestle barefoot – made him a recognisable face of the sport.
World Class announcers often referred to him as “The Barefoot Boy” on WCCW broadcasts.
Who were Kevin Von Erich’s brothers?
Of Fritz Von Erich’s six sons, only Kevin remains alive as of 2023.
Kevin’s oldest brother Jack Junior was electrocuted and drowned in a puddle when he was just six years old, and his brother David died in a Tokyo hotel from enteritis at the age of 25.
His other three brothers – Mike, Chris, and Kerry – all died by suicide.
Kevin’s first major success came in 1978 while wrestling as tag team with his younger brother David.
David and Kerry were and are still to this day Kevin’s most high-profile wrestling partners.
What happened to Kevin Von Erich?
Kevin married his wife Pam in 1980 and formally retired from the sport which had been his life by the end of 1995.
He made a brief comeback in 2017, aged 60, and teamed up with his sons Ross and Marshall to defeat a trio of wrestlers in Tel Aviv, Israel.
The sports icon now lives in Hawaii where he runs a family investment business with his wife, dabbles in commercial real estate, and owns the rights to K.R. Adkisson Enterprises, formerly Southwest Sports.
Kevin and Pam have four children and eleven grandchildren together.
Who plays Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw?
It was Kevin’s dad Fritz who popularised the Von Erich family’s signature move, the Iron Claw, which involves a wrestler gripping his opponent’s face and squeezing.
But Kevin also became known for the manoeuvre.
A biopic feature film named after the trademark move, starring Zac Efron as Kevin, will be released in the US on December 22, 2023.
Actress Lily James plays Kevin’s wife Pam and Jeremy Allen White his brother Kerry.
In the movie’s first trailer, Kevin said in a voiceover: “Ever since I was a child, people said my family was cursed.
“Mum tried to protect us with God. Pop tried to protect us with wrestling.
“He said if we were the toughest, the strongest, nothing could ever hurt us. I believed him; we all did.”
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