| Billy Gram | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | "Halbreed" Billy Gram [1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) [1] |
| Billed weight | 190 lb [1] |
| Born | February 16, ???? Austin, Texas [1] |
| Billed from | "The Cult Fiction Compound" [1] |
| Trained by | The Monster Factory Ox Baker Toby Klein Brain Damage |
| Debut | 1993 |
"Halfbreed" Billy Gram is an American musician, screenwriter, actor, professional wrestling manager, color commentator and Native American political activist. He is best known for appearances with the Philly punk-metal band Saints in Hell and his solo project Ghostdance Tribe. He has also appeared for the professional wrestling promotions Combat Zone Wrestling and IWA Mid South as the manager of Cult Fiction.[2]
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Gram was the singer/frontman for Philly punk-metal band Saints in Hell, whose lineup also included future Cinderella members Tom Keifer and Eric Brittingham. In 1986, Gram was involved as an actor and animal wrangler on the film Street Trash.[3] 1991 saw the release of the indy CD/album Ghostdance Tribe, with singer/guitarist Gram as the writer of all the material, and performances by Tom Keifer, Ronnie Younkins of The Kix, Bill Mattson of Tangier, all the members of Britny Fox, Kevin Moore of Dandelion and Johnny Dee of Doro. For two weeks, in November 1999, Gram's Traditional Native Drum Group, The Sovereign Nation Singers were performing as part of a demonstration/event in front of The White House.
In 2005, Gram directed a documentary on the career of pro wrestler Ox Baker. The film has yet to be released. In 2006 Billy appeared as a zombie in the film Shadow: Dead Riot. Billy also appeared that year in The Meltdown Memoirs, a documentary celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Street Trash.[4] In 2009, Billy was cast in director Fred Vogel's The Murder Collection as a college professor of Native American studies. Due to a technical difficulty the scene was cut from the film. No word from ToeTag Pictures on an impending future release.
In 2010, Gram was cast as a cross-dressing, necrophiliac grave digger in director Anthony Matthews' Revenge is Her Middle Name. The film, with Billy's scenes intact is set for a 2011 release. Two of Gram's old Ghostdance Tribe songs are included as part of the soundtrack. Also in 2010,[5] Billy was cast as The Demon/Indian in director Adam Ahlbrandt's The Cemetery and The Dungeon Master in director Tom Savini's Wet Dreams segment for the anthology film The Theatre Bizarre.[5] Both films are also set for a 2011 release. The Theater Bizarre debuts at The Fantasia Film Festival in July 2011.[5] In 2011 Billy was cast in several more features, including the next film from notorious cult director James Van Bebber titled Scales.
Billy's initial training in professional wrestling took place at The Monster Factory in 1992. Gram worked sporadic indy shows from 1993 through 1995 and then quit the business.
In 2003, after befriending Toby Klein and Deranged, Gram re-entered the world of pro wrestling, working small independent shows as Klein's manager.
In 2003 Gram created the concept of his stable Cult Fiction. The initial concept, an Ultra-Violent Four Horseman meet the Manson Family. The original group was conceived as Gram, along with Klein, Deranged, Brain Damage and The Necro Butcher.
In 2007, Halfbreed Billy Gram debuted in both Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW)[6] and IWA Mid South, as the leader and manager of the faction known as Cult Fiction, whose members in the ensuing years have included "Mister Insanity" Toby Klein,[6] Necro Butcher,[6] Brain Damage,[6] Deranged,[6] Ox Baker, Masada, J. C. Bailey, tHURTeen, Tank and Tracy Smothers. Late in 2007, Billy also began working as a color commentator for CZW.[6] Gram's two wrestling charges in 2007 Toby Klein and The Necro Butcher spent 2007 feuding with members of the Maven Bentley Association. The final event of CZW's calendar year Cage of Death 9 found Gram in the corner of Team CZW: Toby Klein, The Necro Butcher, Drake Younger and Danny Havoc[6] as they took on Team MBA: DJ Hyde, Brain Damage, Scotty Vortekz and Dustin Lee in the main event. At the end of 2007,[6] the fans on CZW's official forums voted for their annual year end awards, and Gram was the winner of the award for "Best Mic Work".[6][7]
In addition, throughout the course of 2008 Cult Fiction became even more visible in CZW.[8] Gram was the color commentator for CZW throughout most of the year. His Cult Fiction stable was relaunched in CZW,[8] first with the addition of Brain Damage, and later Deranged. At Cage of Death 10,[8] in the course of a match between Gram's charge Deranged and Gram's perennial nemesis DJ Hyde, Hyde assaulted Gram with an electric staple gun to the body and face. Gram would also be in the corner of Brain Damage later that night for the Main Event,[8] making this the second year in a row Billy had been involved in the Main Event at Cage of Death.[8]
Once again the fans on the aforementioned annual year end awards recognized Billy as he was again the winner of the award for "Best Mic Work", and for the first time "Best Manager", "Best Commentator" and the newly instituted "Mother F'n Bomb" award.[8]
In 2009, Gram and his Cult Fiction team of Brain Damage and Deranged feuding with longtime CZW mainstays the H8 Club consisting of Nick Gage, Nate Hatred and their manager Dewey Donovan. CZW Tournament of Death 8 saw Gram in the corners of three separate entrants, Brain Damage, Deranged and the returning Toby Klein with Gram delivering a mad display of fire breathing in the match between Deranged and Nick Gage. The end of the year saw Cult Fiction absent, with Gram alone confronting the new owner of Combat Zone Wrestling DJ Hyde on several occasions demanding Cult Fiction's return. In December at Cage of Death 11, Gram was involved in another memorable CZW moment when the crowd was stunned as he accompanied the returning JC Bailey in a post match attack on European Death Match sensation Thumbtack Jack. Gram then revealed that JC Bailey was the newest member of his Cult Fiction stable.
To close 2009, Gram and his Cult Fiction group were once again heavily acknowledged by fan votes in CZW's Annual Year End Awards. For the third consecutive year Gram captured the Award for "Best Mic Work", and for the second consecutive year "Best Manager" (by a landslide with 71.79% of the vote) and "Best Commentator" (also a landslide with 72.22% of the vote, despite the fact that Billy had only been in the commentary position for half of TOD 8 and one other match the entire year). "Tag Team of the Year" was awarded to Cult Fiction (48.84% of the vote) and the "Feud of the Year" Award went to H8 Club vs. Cult Fiction (55.56% of the vote). "Return of the Year" award went to Cult Fiction member JC Bailey. "Video of the Year" award also went to Cult Fiction for Welcome to My Nightmare in a category that saw all five nominations consist of Cult Fiction music videos.
2010 saw yet another, larger more dominant Cult Fiction emerge as Billy and Bailey were joined first by former N.J. All-Star Lucky, who was "beaten into" the faction by Bailey and Gram and christened with a new name, tHURTeen. These three were then joined by the returning Brain Damage and subsequently, International Death Match Superstar Masada. This version of Cult Fiction were immediately embroiled in a feud with Fan favorites Danny Havoc, Drake Younger, Scotty Vortekz and Eddie Kingston who were newly dubbed The Suicide Kings. The Necro Butcher and John Zandig also sided with the Suicide Kings at various points throughout the feud.
In June 2010, Gram and Cult Fiction were a huge presence at CZW Tournament of Death. Both JC Bailey and Masada with Billy in their corners were entrants in the tournament, and Brain Damage participated in a non-tournament grudge match against Drake Younger. An interesting storyline spilled from this event as in a post show interview, Gram, distraught over having been assaulted by Scotty Vortekz in his match against MASADA "quit" CZW. Many fans and co-workers believed Gram had seriously left the company. Gram made a shocking return in mid-August.
Gram and his Cult Fiction stable continued their feud with The Suicide Kings for the remainder of the year. Eventually Drake Younger turned heel and became an ally to Cult Fiction. The Suicide Kings two remaining original members were joined by Devon Moore and Dysfunction. The feud would culminate at Cage of Death XII in December 2010,[9] with this Kings lineup facing Cult Fiction (Brain Damage, MASADA and tHURTeen)[9] and the newly monikered "Golden Boy" Drake Younger with Gram in their corner. After all the participants, save the winner Devon Moore had been eliminated, Gram found himself in the unenviable position of being alone with Moore atop the Cage of Death.[9] Moore threw Gram from the top of the structure. The result for Gram was five broken bones in his right foot and leg. This had been four consecutive years Billy had been on the Cage of Death show, three of the four as a manager in the actual Cage of Death match itself.[9]
In 2008, Gram appeared frequently in Independent Wrestling Association: Mid-South leading the Cult Fiction stable. Managing Toby Klein, Brain Damage and Deranged. Later in the midst of a feud between Cult Fiction and Corporal Robinson, Tank would also become a member of the group. In October of that year Gram led his duo of Brain Damage and Deranged to victory in IWA MS's Double Death Tag Team Tournament, as they defeated the teams of The Necro Butcher and Toby Klein (who had temporarily defected from Cult Fiction), Corporal Robinson and Tracy Smothers (Smothers turned on his partner and joined Cult Fiction), Danny Havoc and Dysfunction, and in the finals Drake Younger and Devon Moore. This gave Brain Damage and Deranged the distinction of being the only wrestlers to ever win any major independent wrestling tournament twice in consecutive years.
In 2011, Billy played a pivotal role in IWA Deep South's annual Carnage Cup, where two more wrestlers Freakshow and Matt Tremont joined Cult Fiction.
Also in 2008, sometime around the end of the year, Gram become involved in a public feud with IWA-MS owner Ian Rotten. Billy made allegations that Rotten had physically threatened himself as well as members of the Cult Fiction faction that he leads. Gram publicly vowed that Cult Fiction would never again appear in IWA MS. Billy then went on a public bashing of Rotten, lampooning him on wrestling websites and message boards.[10]
Also in early 2011, Billy finally confronted his nemesis Ian Rotten person to person on an internet wrestling show called And Then The Bell Rang hosted by Jerry Wiseman. Gram exploded on Rotten.[10] Joe Bailey the father of JC Bailey, Bull Pain, Mickie Knuckles and Madman Pondo also confronted Rotten on the show.[10] This started a numerous amount of internet radio appearances by Gram. In which he also challenged Ian Rotten to meet him in a legit kickboxing match for charity. Shortly after this, Rotten announced that he was closing the doors of his promotion IWA Mid-South for good.[10]
In 2008 One for the Fire: The Legacy of Night of the Living Dead, a documentary written by Gram, was released. It celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the definitive horror film of Independent American Cinema. The film is included on the 40th Anniversary edition of Night of the Living Dead released by Dimension Films.[11] The film was also included on the European Blu-ray release of George Romero's Diary of the Dead, also from Dimension Films.
The film One for the Fire: The Legacy of Night of the Living Dead won a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award as best "Horror DVD" extra of the year 2008.[12]