.jpg) Poffo in 1955 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Angelo John Poffo (1925-04-10)April 10, 1925[2] |
| Died | March 4, 2010(2010-03-04) (aged 84)[2] Sarasota, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | DePaul University |
Spouse | |
| Children | Randy Savage Lanny Poffo |
| Family | Miss Elizabeth (former daughter-in-law) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Angelo Poffo[1] The Carpet Bagger Masked Miser[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Billed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Billed from | Chicago, Illinois |
| Trained by | Karl Pojello |
| Debut | 1948 |
| Retired | 1991[2] |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Rank | Pharmacist's mate |
| Unit | Naval Base San Diego |
| Conflicts | World War II |
Angelo John Poffo (April 10, 1925 – March 4, 2010) was an Americanprofessional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He ranInternational Championship Wrestling for a number of years, holding cards in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas. He is the father of"Macho Man" Randy Savage and"The Genius" Lanny Poffo and the father-in-law ofMiss Elizabeth.
Poffo was born inDowners Grove, Illinois (a suburb ofChicago), toItalian immigrants.[1][4] At the time of beginningfirst grade, he spoke no English.[5]
Poffo enlisted in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. He served as apharmacist's mate atNaval Base San Diego. While in the Navy, Poffo beganweight training.[5] On July 4, 1945, he set a world record forsit-ups.[2] He completed 6,033 sit-ups in four hours and ten minutes. According to his son Lanny, after 6,000 sit-ups he did 33 more, one for each year ofJesus's life.[2][6]
After leaving the Navy, Poffo attendedDePaul University and was acatcher for theDePaul Blue Demons baseball team.[2] He studiedphysical education and was a competitivechess player.[2]
Poffo started wrestling in 1948 atKarl Pojello's gym in Illinois.[2] His first match was in 1949 against Ruffy Silverstein. He sometimes wrestled as "the Masked Miser" (an in-joke about Poffo's real life extreme frugality with money) and managed other wrestlers as "the Miser".[2] He became avillainous character for the first time in 1950.[2] In the mid-1950s,Bronco Lubich acted as his manager.[2] He won theNWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Chicago version) in 1958.[2]
He formed a villainous tag team withChris Markoff called "The Devil's Duo" in 1966, and they were managed byBobby "The Brain" Heenan.[2] Prior to that, in 1964 he briefly teamed with Nicoli Volkoff (often confused withNikolai Volkoff, who did not begin wrestling in the US until 1970) and held the WWA tag team championship. In 1973, he formed the team "The Graduates" with Ken Dillinger.[2]
Poffo wrestled in the 1970s and 1980s under a mask as the "Carpet Bagger" forEmile Dupree'sAtlantic Grand Prix Wrestling in theMaritime Provinces of Canada. He also bought into the promotion, when his sons were old enough to join.[2] He wrestled wearing a yellow mask with a dollar sign on the forehead and a blue sequined ring jacket with a big dollar sign on the back. In addition, Poffo ranInternational Championship Wrestling from 1979 to 1983 in Kentucky.[2] From 1983 to 1985 he worked forContinental Wrestling Association.
According to Poffo's son Lanny,Vince McMahon declined to include Poffo in a 1987World Wrestling Federation event featuring legends. Lanny Poffo claims that this decision caused an early rift in the relationship between McMahon and Poffo's other son, Randy Savage.[7] His last match was in 1991 against Luis Martinez.[2]
He made a few appearances inWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1995 managing his son, Randy Savage. AtSlamboree 1995, Poffo became involved in his son's feud withRic Flair, who put him in afigure four leglock. At the event, he was inducted into theWCW Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 1995.[2]
During Poffo's time in college, he met another student at DePaul, Judith (Judy) nee Sverdlin[2] from Naperville, Illinois; they wed on June 6, 1949.[3] They were married for more than 60 years, and together they had two sons,Randy (1952–2011) andLanny (1954–2023), both professional wrestlers.[2] After retiring from professional wrestling, Poffo taught physical education in Illinois.[2] His son Randy would support his parents, sending them on trips abroad until they were too old to travel. On Angelo's 70th birthday in 1995, Randy paid $50,000 (equivalent to $103,000 in 2024) to buy his father a yellow Cadillac automobile, the same car Poffo had purchased in 1959 and drove around the wrestling circuit for 200,000 miles. When Poffo was sick, Randy installed an invalid toilet and walk-in bathtub in his parents' home.[8] He was also known for saving money to help provide his family.[9]
On March 4, 2010, Poffo died in his sleep at age 84. His son Randy told theTampa Bay Times, “I have always been proud to call Angelo Poffo my father, he is a great example of a self-sacrificing, hard-working man who always put his family first. He has always been my hero and my mentor, and the priceless gifts he gave I will have and cherish forever.”[10]
Poffo is buried at Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery inHillside, Illinois, near his hometown of Downers Grove.
,Internet Wrestling Database