Bonnie Lee Boyette (June 17, 1915 – January 6, 1989) was an American actor and professional wrestler[4] who worked as Mario Galento mainly in Tennessee, Georgia and the Gulf Coast during the 1950s and 1960s. He also competed as Butch Boyette.
| Mario Galento | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Bonnie Lee Boyette |
| Born | June 17, 1915 Tennessee, United States |
| Died | January 6, 1989 (aged 73)[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Mario Galento Aztec Garica Butch Boyette Dixie Rebel Masked Flash Joe Boyette Black Scorpion Mario Gardino Maurice Boyette Wild Rebel |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Billed weight | 251 lb (114 kg)[2] |
| Trained by | Al Galento[3] |
| Debut | 1950 |
| Retired | 1974 |
Professional wrestling career edit
Galento would make his debut working the Welch family in Tennessee. He served in the US Nay Seabees from 1942 to 1945 during World War II.[5] He returned to wrestling in 1950.
During his career, he mainly worked in Tennessee and the Gulf Coast. He won the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship six times from 1957 to 1968 and the NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Championship in Georgia five times from 1965 to 1966.[6][7][8]
In 1973, Jerry Jarrett had once just finished a thirty-minute match with Jerry Lawler when he was knocked down after being hit in the back of the head. He thought he was hit by Lawler's manager, Sam Bass, until he noticed it was Galento. Jarrett was trained by noted shooter Sailor Moran, who gave him advice to what to do in a real fight; he would pluck out Galento's left eyeball after drawing on the knowledge. Lawler and Jarrett then continued to beat on Galento until he left the ringside area. However, Galento came back with a nightstick, but Jarrett caught him, took the nightstick and beat on him again. Galento escaped the ring and went behind promoter Roy Welch. Jarrett suspected that Welch had put Galento up to this, as he believed Jarrett was trying to take over the business. Jarrett then hit Welch with the nightstick, but he was stopped by several wrestlers. Galento's left eyeball missing and closed over, the other eye badly swollen, bruised and deep gashes on his forehead. It required two hundred stitches to close his wounds. Lawler was wrestling when he was struck from behind as had Jarrett. Lawler saw Galento was carrying a straight razor, and was also accompanied by his wife. Lawler rolled out, threw a chair and went to the locker room and told the boys what had happened. Fellow wrestler Jimmy Valiant reached into his bag and pulled out a hand gun, pointing it right at Galento as he came into the back. He dropped the razor and then the sheriff of Mississippi, who were in the audience, came to see what had been pursuing. Galento, Lawler and Valiant were arrested by the police, with Lawler and Valiant being the only ones reported to have returned to wrestling.[9][10]
Galento wrestled his last match in 1974.
Personal life edit
After retiring from wrestling Galento trained wrestler Ken Wayne and later owned Mario's Pizza and Italian Restaurant in Marietta, Georgia.
Death edit
Galento passed away from liver cancer on January 6, 1989, at 73.[11]
Championships and accomplishments edit
- Georgia Championship Wrestling
- NWA Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling
- NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Championship (6 times)[13]<ref>"NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title (Gulf Coast)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003.<ref>
- Western States Sports
- NWA Western States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sputnik Monroe
Filmography edit
Movies edit
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Natchez Trace | Turner | |
| 1956 | Frontier Woman | Blackjack |
References edit
- ^ "Butch Boyette". ProFigthDB.
- ^ "Mario Galento". Cagematch.
- ^ "Oklafan.com v5 Beta > Bios > Al Galento". www.oklafan.com. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ "Mario Galento". Wrestlingdate.
- ^ Johnson, Steven; Oliver, Greg (June 15, 2007). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heels. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1550227598.
- ^ "Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling". www.kayfabememories.com. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ "Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling". www.kayfabememories.com. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ "Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling". www.kayfabememories.com. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ "411's Tales from The Territories Report (Episode 1): 'Memphis: Where Wrestling Was Real'". 411 MANIA. October 4, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
- ^ Lawler, Jerry (September 30, 2003). It's Good To Be The King......:Sometimes. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0743457682.
- ^ "Mario Galento". Onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
- ^ Tanabe, Hisaharu (October 21, 2022). "NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Title (Georgia)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Titles « NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Championship « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.