 Tyler in 1973 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Camille Laurent Tourville[2] (1927-12-04)December 4, 1927 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | December 24, 1985(1985-12-24) (aged 58) Laurentides Wildlife Reserve, Quebec, Canada |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Tarzan Tyler Tarzan Tourville The Boot |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 270 lb (122 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Miami Beach, Florida[1] |
| Trained by | Jacques Rougeau, Sr. Édouard Carpentier Yvon Robert Jr. |
| Debut | 1949[1] |
Camille Laurent "Tarzan" Tourville (December 4, 1927 – December 24, 1985), better known by hisring nameTarzan "The Boot" Tyler, was a Canadianprofessional wrestler andmanager. He was one-half of the firstWWWF World Tag Team Champions, along withLuke Graham.
Tourville competed as an amateur wrestler until he was spotted by local promoter Sylvio Samson, who started booking him.[2] He began wrestling in Montreal throughout the early 1950s as Tarzan Tyler.[3] His first bout in theMontreal Forum saw him compete againstDon Leo Jonathan as aface.[2] Tourville also competed as Tarzan Tourville, and under this name, wrestled inMaple Leaf Gardens for the first time in 1958.[4] On May 27, 1960, Tourville teamed with the Mighty Ursus, defeating Oattem Fisher andLuther Lindsay to win theStampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship, anddropped it in July to Jim Wright andGypsy Joe.[5] Tyler moved to the United States during the 1960s after having spent nearly 10 years wrestling in Canada.[1] He found success while wrestling in Texas, winning theNWA World Tag Team Championship with Jay York among other titles.[2] In 1964, he would wrestle as aheel in Florida and also served as abooker.[2][3]
By 1965, Tyler began to wrestle for the WWWF, challengingBruno Sammartino for theWWWF Championship albeit unsuccessfully.[6] He often competed forworld championships against such stars asVerne Gagne,Lou Thesz, andDory Funk Jr.[1][4] On June 3, 1971, Tyler andCrazy Luke Graham defeatedDick the Bruiser andThe Sheik to become the inauguralWWWF World Tag Team Champions.[1][7] Later that year, he would also facePedro Morales at a show inMadison Square Garden during the main event for the WWWF Championship.[4] On November 12, he and Graham defeatedWWWF International Tag Team Champions The Mongols (Geto Mongol andBepo Mongol) for their titles.[8] They lost the World Tag Team Championship on December 6 toKarl Gotch andRene Goulet.[7]
In 1973, Tyler was injured during a match withAndré the Giant, and as a result, he was paralyzed for months.[3][9] Once he returned from injury, Tyler would start using a loaded boot, where he tapped his boot on the mat three times (to slip a foreign object) before kicking his opponent; this earned him his nickname of "The Boot".[3][4][9] By the 1970s, he returned to Montreal and worked forGrand Prix Wrestling initially before it shut down, then appeared as a top heel forGeorge Cannon'sSuperstars of Wrestling.[4] Tyler was a manager for Gino Brito'sLutte Internationale before his death.[4]
Tourville grew up in Montreal and his friends nicknamed him "Tarzan" by the age of ten.[2]
On December 24, 1985, Tourville died in a car crash along with fellow wrestlerPierre 'Mad Dog' Lefébvre and referee Adrien Desbois inLaurentides Wildlife Reserve upon returning from a wrestling event inChicoutimi,Québec.[10] Their car had slid on a curve, killing them after they hit a tow truck. He was 58 years old.[11]
,Internet Wrestling Database