Kalla Pasha

Kalla Pasha

Photo of Pasha in Film Fun (May 1922)
Born Joseph T. Rickard
(1879-03-05)March 5, 1879
Detroit, Michigan, USA
Died June 10, 1933(1933-06-10) (aged 54)
Talmage, California, USA
Occupation Wrestler, vaudevillian, screen actor
Years active 1919–1931

Kalla Pasha (March 5, 1879 – June 10, 1933) was an American professional wrestler, vaudeville comedian, and film actor active during the silent era.

Biography

Kalla Pasha was the stage name of Joseph T. Rickard, a native of Detroit.[1] He was the professional wrestler Hamid Kalla Pasha, whom the press called "The Crazy Turk"[2] before performing on vaudeville and appearing in 74 films between 1919 and 1931. Rickard's success with Mack Sennett enabled him to be a free-spender, claiming later he would often go about town with a 150 thousand dollars strapped around his waist.[3] The money did not last though, and not long afterward he was arrested for striking a man over the head with a milk bottle during a dust-up involving five cents. As a result, Rickard was sent to Mendocino State Hospital for psychiatric care, where he would die a little over a year later from heart disease.[4][3][5]

"Married Life" (ca. 1920)
Kalla Pasha caricature far right

Selected filmography

References

  1. ↑ US Passport Application (Joseph T. Rickard ) January 14, 1915
  2. ↑ The Daily Review, (Decatur, Illinois) December 18, 1909 | Page 3
  3. 1 2 Ogden Standard-Examiner (Ogden, Utah ) April 03, 1932 | Page 6
  4. ↑ Redwood Journal (Ukiah, California) May 27, 1932 | Page 1
  5. ↑ Washington Post, June 11, 1933
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.