Grady Johnson

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Grady Johnson
Statistics
Ring name(s) Crazy Luke Graham
El Lobo
Born February 5, 1940[1]
Union Port, Georgia[1]
Died June 23, 2006[1]
Georgia[1]
Debut 1961
Retired Late 1980s[1]

James Grady Johnson[1] (born February 5, 1940 - died June 23, 2006), better known as professional wrestler Crazy Luke Graham, is a member of the Graham family, a storyline family of wrestlers.

Contents

[edit] Career

He began his career as the storyline brother of Dr. Jerry Graham after wrestling writer Scott Teal suggested they resembled each other.[1] They began wrestling together in 1963 in Stampede Wrestling.[1] Later that summer, Johnson wrestled a series of matches against Chief Big Heart.[1]

He wrestled in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) with Jerry Graham beginning in 1964.[1] They won the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship from Don McClarity and Argentina Apollo, holding it for eight months.[1] It was during this time that he became known as "Crazy" Luke Graham.[1]

Graham enjoyed most of his success for the Los Angeles territory in the mid to late 1960s. He held the WWA World Title for that office in 1965.[1][2] He dropped the belt to Pedro Morales.[1] In the late 60s, he was a mid card performer for Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association (AWA) out of Minneapolis.

After leaving the AWA, Luke had a brief run with Tarzan Tyler as the first WWWF Tag Team Champions in 1971.[1][2] The team allegedly defeating Dick the Bruiser and The Sheik for the belts, however, no record of any match between the two teams has ever been documented. Once champions, the team held the belts for six months while feuding with Chief Jay Strongbow, Gorilla Monsoon, and Pedro Morales.[1]

In 1974, he was the United States Champion in the Pacific Northeast.[1] He retired in the late 1980s.[1] However, he teamed with his storyline son, Luke, Jr., in 2001 and attempted to start Galaxy Championship Wrestling.[1]

[edit] Personal life

Johnson died, aged 66, from congested heart failure on June 23, 2006.[1] He had a pacemaker installed prior to his death.[1] He is survived by his four daughters, eleven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.[1][2]

[edit] Graham family

Luke Graham's Sr. storyline brothers are "Doctor" Jerry Graham (Jerramiah M. Graham), "Superstar" Billy Graham(Wayne Coleman), former wrestler/promoter Eddie Graham(Eddie Gosset). Other Family members include: Tommy "T.G." Graham (unknown), Troy "The Dream Machine/Warrior" Graham (Troy R. Tompson), Eddie Graham's son Mike Graham (Mike Gosset), and Luke Graham's son, "Crazy" Luke Graham (Donald J. Jolly), Jr. and Nephew, Gerry "Chubby" Graham (Gerald M. Saddler).[2]

[edit] Gimmick

Grady Johnson's Luke Graham persona was known for his "craziness".[1] Whenever someone referred to Johnson as "Crazy Luke Graham", as part of his gimmick, he would claim to be sane and cover his ears.[1] He had bleached hair and goatee.[1] One of his signature moves was to stab people with his taped thumb.[1] Most all Graham Family members had the trademark bleach blonde head and facial hair.

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

  • World Wrestling Association (Los Angeles)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Steven Johnson (June 25, 2006). "Crazy" Luke remembered fondly. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  2. ^ a b c d Brady, Hicks. "2006: The year in wrestling", PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts, Kappa Publications, p. 21. 2007 Edition. Retrieved on 2007-07-11. (English) 
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