Ernie Roth

Ernie Roth (born June 7, 1929 in Florida, died October 12, 1983), best known as The Grand Wizard of Wrestling, also well known as Abdullah Farouk, was a professional wrestling manager of many infamous heels. Not a wrestler himself (he was short and weighed under 150 pounds (68 kg)), he was noted for his flamboyant outfit of sequined jackets, wraparound sunglasses, and a brightly-colored turban decorated with jewels and feathers.

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Getting his start in the entertainment business as a disc jockey, Ernie Roth became involved in the professional wrestling business as a manager in the 1960s, in territories around the Detroit area. Ernie first worked under the names "Mr. Clean" and "J. Wellington Radcliffe", but more famously, he also portrayed "Abdullah Farouk", a "Middle Eastern" who was sent by the late Original Sheik (Ed Farhat)'s wealthy "family" to handle their son's affairs in the U.S. Sporting a turban, Farouk took great pains in trying to control his madman protege. But he also carved a niche for himself as a deceitful, underhanded character who insulted U.S. fans every chance he got. Long before the days of Rowdy Roddy Piper and Triple H, Farouk was the original "Man You Love To Hate." In the 1960s, a manager physically interfering in a contest--by passing his protege a foreign object or by interrupting a referee's pinfall count--was very unusual. Farouk was a pioneer of "manager interference", as he physically would attempt to alter a match's outcome in the Shiek's favor whenever he could. In one instance, his interference once caused the fans to engage in a full-scale riot! By the early 1970s, after establishing himself as one of the most hated managers in the wrestling business, Ernie Roth parted with "Abdullah Farouk" and with The Sheik, and headed up to the East Coast and the World Wide Wrestling Federation (today WWE), where he became The Grand Wizard of Wrestling.

June 7: June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining....

1929: 1929 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar)....

Florida: Florida is a Southern state in the United States. It is known as the Sunshine State. "Florida" is a Spanish adjective which means "flowery." It was discovered by Spanish explorers during the Easter season, which is called Pascua Florida in Spanish. The U.S. Postal abbreviation is FL....

Ernie Roth related Images and Photos (experimental)

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