Bill Benny (1918–1963) was a wrestler known as 'Man Mountain', a theatrical promoter and an owner of nightclubs. He brought

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

to perform in Manchester and met with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

in the attempt to arrange a stage appearance in London. As a promoter he worked in partnership with Victor (Vic) Lewis.

Early career

Born in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

in 1918, he was based at the

Belle Vue, Manchester Belle Vue is an area of Manchester, England, sited east of the city centre; it is bordered by the Hope Valley line to the east and the Glossop line to the west. It is part of the electoral ward of Longsight. History In 1897, the machine tool ...

entertainment complex early in his wrestling career from around 1939. Briefly in 1952-3 his wrestling persona was a masked character, ''The Vampire'', though he was mostly known as ''Man Mountain'' due to his 20-stone weight (280 lbs, 130 kg), a name he kept after retiring from wrestling. He was one of the founders of the ''Wrestlers' Welfare Society'', an organisation formed during a strike in the 1950s by some wrestlers against

Joint Promotions The history of professional wrestling in the United Kingdom spans over one hundred years. After a brief spell of popularity for Greco Roman wrestling, Greco Roman professional wrestling during the Edwardian era, the first catch-as-catch-can base ...

Limited which they claimed was acting as a cartel. The society was to relieve hardship but also acted as an independent employment agency.

Nightclub Owner and Theatrical Promoter

Reportedly from the mid-1950s he owned The Stork nightclub in Manchester, off Piccadilly. In 1960 he bought the

Hulme Hippodrome The Hulme Hippodrome in Manchester, England, is a shuttered Grade II listed building, a proscenium arch theatre with two galleries and a side hall. It was originally known as the Grand Junction Theatre and Floral Hall, and opened on 7 October 19 ...

variety theatre for £35,000 which was used mostly for nude 'revue' shows, selling it 18 months later to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

Entertainments for use as a bingo hall. He had minor roles in two films: ''

High Jinks in Society ''High Jinks in Society'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by John Guillermin and Robert Jordan Hill and starring Ben Wrigley, Barbara Shaw, Basil Appleby, Peter Gawthorne and Moore Marriott. Plot After foiling a robbery, a window cleane ...

'' (1949), and ''

Hell is a City ''Hell Is a City'' is a 1960 British crime thriller film directed by Val Guest and starring Stanley Baker, John Crawford and Donald Pleasence. It was written by Guest based on the 1954 novel of the same title by Maurice Procter, and made by ...

'' (1960). He was featured in a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

radio programme, ''People Today'', first broadcast on 18 October 1960 in the Midlands region of the Home Service, then nationally on 1 August 1961. In 1960 he advertised "An evening with

" at the

Free Trade Hall The Free Trade Hall on Peter Street, Manchester, England, was constructed in 1853–56 on St Peter's Fields, the site of the Peterloo Massacre. It is now a Radisson Hotels, Radisson hotel. The hall was built to commemorate the repeal of the Corn ...

, Manchester, first for 5 November and then for 4 December "owing to the unfortunate indisposition of Miss Garland on November 5". In early 1962 he travelled with

Vic Lewis Victor Lewis MBE (29 July 1919 – 9 February 2009) was a British jazz guitarist and bandleader. He also enjoyed success as an artists' agent and manager. Performing career He was born in London, England to a family of jewellers. Lewis beg ...

to Hollywood to meet with

and

Colonel Tom Parker Colonel Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 January 21, 1997) was a Dutch people, Dutch talent manager and concert promoter, best known as the manager of Elvis Presley. Parker was born in the Netherlands and Il ...

to discuss a possible charity performance in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, with a photograph of them in the UK press.

Death

He died in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

from a heart attack, aged 44 years. Press reports alleged he was a gangster or hustler and linked to the Quality Street Gang. From accounts in the press and in books later, his sudden death was luridly described in more detail, namely that a young woman who was trapped in a moment of intimacy underneath his heavy body had to reach out and phone the police, who broke in to release her. This account variously was in his office on Oxford Road or at his home in Appleby Lodge,

Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, two miles south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. The population of the ward at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorl ...

, both in Manchester.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benny, Bill 1918 births 1963 deaths