| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Maurice Joseph Michaud (1934-07-23)July 23, 1934 Bordeaux, France |
| Died | June 26, 2024(2024-06-26) (aged 89)[3] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Louie Tillet Louie Tillett Louis Tillet King Louis Tillet The Rock The Gladiator Masked Gladiator Gladiator #1 Joe "Flash" Gordon Joe Fargo Joey Fargo Karl Von Stroheim[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2] |
| Billed from | France |
| Debut | 1956 |
| Retired | 1982 |
Maurice Joseph Michaud (July 23, 1934 – June 26, 2024) was a Frenchprofessional wrestler who under thering nameLouie Tillet. Worked mainly forChampionship Wrestling from Florida,World Class Championship Wrestling andNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territories.[4]
Tillet made his pro wrestling debut in 1956 inMinnesota. In 1961, he teamed up withJackie Fargo as the Fabulous Fargos in Alabama. Tillet was known as Joey Fargo. Sometimes he teamed withSonny Fargo. Joey and Jackie won the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship. In 1962, Tillet went to NWA Tri-State.
Tillet made his debut in Texas in 1963 where he became a two time NWA Texas Junior Heavyweight Champion and a three time WCWA Brass Knuckles Champion.
In 1965, Tillet debuted inFlorida where he worked there for many years. In 1967 he was theirFlorida Heavyweight Champion when he defeated Lester Welch for the title. He dropped the title toWahoo McDaniel. He left Florida in 1974 and went to Los Angeles.
In Los Angeles, Tillet both won the NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship and Beat the Champ Television Championship in 1975.
Tillet would debut forContinental Championship Wrestling in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1976 where spent the rest of his career there. In 1978, he would returned to Florida and left in 1979.
In 1982, he retired from wrestling.
Tillet died on June 26, 2024, aged 89.[5][6][7]
