Onno Boelee
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Onno Boelee (30 July 1945 – 18 December 2013) was a Dutch-New Zealand actor, judoka, stuntman and professional wrestler. In 1966 he won the Oceania Judo Championships. Although he never won a championship title, he was a popular star in
Steve Rickard Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt (3 September 1929 – 5 April 2015), best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, was a New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. As a wrestler, he traveled throughout the world during the 1960s and 1970 ...
's All Star-Pro Wrestling, frequently appearing on Rickard's wrestling programme ''
On the Mat ''On the Mat'' was a professional wrestling television programme for the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated All Star Pro Wrestling (ASPW), or simply NWA New Zealand, that aired on Television New Zealand's TV2 from 1975 to 1984. One of the m ...
'' and later in Japan for
Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...
and All-Japan Pro Wrestling during the early to mid-1970s. After his retirement in 1976, Boelee achieved some success as a
character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...
and stuntman during the 1980s, especially in
Hong Kong action cinema Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese culture, Chinese and Culture of Hong Kong, Hong Kong cultures, including Chinese opera, storytelling a ...
, and eventually founded a
private security company A private security company is a business entity which provides armed or unarmed security services and expertise to clients in the private or public sectors. Overview Private security companies are defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statisti ...
which is involved in stunt performance,
armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
and acting within the New Zealand film and television industry. He is also the younger brother of artist Rudolf Boelee.


Career

Boelee was born in Rotterdam during the hunger winter to Anneke and Bram Boelee, an electrical engineer. His older brother Rudolf (born 1940) emigrated to New Zealand in 1963, and Onno followed him a year later at the age of 18. Onno became a
bouncer A bouncer (also known as a door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at licensed or sanctioned venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, strip clubs and casinos. A bouncer's duties are to provide security, to check legal ag ...
for the well-known ''Shantytown'' night club in
Queen Street, Auckland Queen Street is the major commercial thoroughfare in the Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. The northern end is at Queens Wharf, Auckland, Queens Wharf on the Auckland waterfront, adjacent to the Britomart Transport Centre and ...
. Rudolf painted a portrait of Onno which was displayed at Shantytown for many years. When the occasional patron became upset with his brother, according to Rudolf, they would throw their drink at the painting rather than at him. Boelee began training at a gym in
Mount Roskill Mount Roskill () is a suburban area in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It is named for the volcanic peak Mount Roskill. Etymology The name Mount Roskill was first recorded as Mt Rascal in 1841, on a map created by a Wesleyan missionary, ...
for a career in professional wrestling. He made his debut in 1970 working for Ernie Pinchers and South Pacific Wrestling. A year later, he joined
Steve Rickard Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt (3 September 1929 – 5 April 2015), best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, was a New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. As a wrestler, he traveled throughout the world during the 1960s and 1970 ...
's All Star-Pro Wrestling and toured the country for the next five years. In one of his most memorable matches, he and partners Frank Lipanovich and Bronco Barnes took on the 490 pound
André the Giant André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Dubbed "the Eighth Wonder of the World", Roussimoff was known for his great size, which ...
and "Kiwi" Johnny Frazer in a three-on-two
handicap match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...
at the sold-out Auckland YMCA in 1972; this was André the Giant's official debut in New Zealand. Boelee was also invited to Japan where he appeared for
Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...
and All-Japan Pro Wrestling from September–November 1974. In 1975, Boelee was among the many native New Zealanders to appear on Rickard's wrestling programme ''
On the Mat ''On the Mat'' was a professional wrestling television programme for the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated All Star Pro Wrestling (ASPW), or simply NWA New Zealand, that aired on Television New Zealand's TV2 from 1975 to 1984. One of the m ...
''. During its first two years, he was one of the show's first stars with bouts against some of the top names in New Zealand including "Wild" Don Scott, Jock Ruddock, Merve Fortune, Del Adams,
Robert Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully dur ...
,
King Curtis Iaukea Curtis Piehau Iaukea III (September 15, 1937 – December 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler better known as King Curtis Iaukea. Iaukea won championships in several of the major regional U.S. promotions, both as a single and in vari ...
, Teddy Williams, Butch Miller,
Bruno Bekkar Bryan Ashby is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler and Athletic trainer, trainer, known by his ring name Bruno Bekkar, who competed for Steve Rickard's All Star-Pro Wrestling and for other promoters in New Zealand and Australia from the e ...
, Johnny Garcia, Al Hobman and John da Silva, and international stars Big Bad John,
Abdullah the Butcher Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling mat ...
, Bulldog Brower,
Mark Lewin Mark Lewin (born March 16, 1937) is an American retired professional wrestler. He worked for various promotions throughout his 35-year career, including Big Time Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, and the World Wide Wrestling Fede ...
,
Waldo Von Erich Walter Paul Sieber (October 2, 1933 – July 5, 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for performing under the ring name Waldo Von Erich, playing the character of a villainous Prussian Nazi. He was billed as the brother of ...
, and The Sheik. Following his retirement from the wrestling business, Boelee tried his hand at acting. He found some success in local
independent films An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...
with roles in '' Prisoners'' (1981), '' Other Halves'' (1984) and '' Second Time Lucky'' (1984). His brief foray into the
Hong Kong action cinema Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese culture, Chinese and Culture of Hong Kong, Hong Kong cultures, including Chinese opera, storytelling a ...
genre, however, saw a rise in his career with supporting roles in '' Mad Mission 4: You Never Die Twice'' and '' Legacy of Rage'' (1986). He also starred in director
Garth Maxwell Garth Maxwell (born 1963) is a New Zealand film director. Career Maxwell began working in commercial film industry on the 1984 feature '' Other Halves''. During the 1980s, Maxwell had the opportunity to assist Peter Wells and Stewart Main in t ...
's 1988 independent film '' Beyond Gravity'' before taking a break from acting for the next several years. Boelee eventually started a successful
private security company A private security company is a business entity which provides armed or unarmed security services and expertise to clients in the private or public sectors. Overview Private security companies are defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statisti ...
which became involved in stunt performance,
armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
and acting in the New Zealand film and
television industry Television (TV) is a telecommunications, telecommunication media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of signal transmission, ...
. In 1994, after a six-year absence, Boelee appeared as Gargan the Giant in the television movie ''
Hercules and the Lost Kingdom ''Hercules and the Lost Kingdom'' is the second television movie in the syndicated fantasy series '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys''. In the film, Hercules comes to the aid of a young woman who is seeking the lost city of Troy. Eventually ...
''. He also had a minor role in the 2000 independent short film '' Sci-Fi Betty'', guest starred on the children's TV series ''
Power Rangers Dino Thunder ''Power Rangers Dino Thunder'' is the twelfth season of the television series, ''Power Rangers''. This i ...
'' in 2004, and on both ''
Maddigan's Quest ''Maddigan's Quest'' is a New Zealand fantasy-based television series set in a post-apocalyptic future. It was based on an original concept by Margaret Mahy and was developed for television by Rachel Lang and Gavin Strawhan. The show original ...
'' and '' Street Legal'' in 2006. In recent years, his security company has participated in the productions of ''
Crooked Earth ''Crooked Earth'' is a 2001 New Zealand film directed by Sam Pillsbury and starring Temuera Morrison. The film opened to negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office. Plot The film follows Will Bastion (Morrison) as he returns home ...
'' and ''
Orange Roughies ''Orange Roughies'' is a New Zealand television drama created by Auckland-based film company Screenworks, the first season of which was screened on TV ONE from May to July 2006. The second season was due to be shown some time between October 2006 ...
''. Boelee was also among the many veteran New Zealand wrestlers who attended a "legends reunion" show at
Petone Petone (Māori language, Māori: ''Pito-one'') is a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand. It stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. Europeans first settled in Petone in Januar ...
and was later interviewed by Kiwi Pro Wrestling in 2007.


Filmography and TV roles


References


External links

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Onno Boelee
at
Hong Kong Cinemagic Hong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, was a bilingual ( French and English) website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people who created them. The we ...

Onno Boelee
at
Hong Kong Movie DataBase The Hong Kong Movie Database (HKMDB) is a bilingual ( English and Chinese) website started in 1995 by Ryan Law. It provides a repository for information about movies originating from Hong Kong and the people who created them. The database was ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boelee, Onno 1945 births 2013 deaths Dutch emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand male professional wrestlers New Zealand male film actors New Zealand male television actors Entertainers from Auckland Entertainers from Rotterdam