Camille Laurent "Tarzan" Tourville (December 4, 1927 – December 24, 1985), better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Tarzan "The Boot" Tyler, was a Canadian

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He was one-half of the first WWWF World Tag Team Champions, along with Luke Graham.

Professional wrestling career

Tourville competed as an amateur wrestler until he was spotted by local promoter Sylvio Samson, who started booking him. He began wrestling in Montreal throughout the early 1950s as Tarzan Tyler. His first bout in the

Montreal Forum Montreal Forum () is a historic building located facing Cabot Square, Montreal, Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by ''Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as the home o ...

saw him compete against

Don Leo Jonathan Don Heaton (April 29, 1931 – October 13, 2018), also known as Don Leo Jonathan, was an American-Canadian professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career Jonathan, nicknamed "The Mormon Giant" was a second generation star (his father was ...

as a

face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...

. Tourville also competed as Tarzan Tourville, and under this name, wrestled in

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church and Wellesley, Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hoc ...

for the first time in 1958. On May 27, 1960, Tourville teamed with the Mighty Ursus, defeating Oattem Fisher and

Luther Lindsay Luther Jacob Goodall (December 30, 1924 – February 21, 1972) was an American professional wrestler, known by his ringname Luther Lindsay or Lindsey, who competed throughout the United States with the National Wrestling Alliance as well as ...

to win the

Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship The Stampede International Tag Team Championship was the main tag team title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. It was created in 1958 as the NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version). When promote ...

, and dropped it in July to Jim Wright and Gypsy Joe. Tyler moved to the United States during the 1960s after having spent nearly 10 years wrestling in Canada. He found success while wrestling in Texas, winning the

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed List of National Wrestling Alliance territories ...

with Jay York among other titles. In 1964, he would wrestle as a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

in Florida and also served as a booker. By 1965, Tyler began to wrestle for the WWWF, challenging

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with the WWE, World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). Sammartin ...

for the WWWF Championship albeit unsuccessfully. He often competed for

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

against such stars as

Verne Gagne the Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling, Minnesota Golden Gophers Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne ( ; February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Amer ...

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002), known by the ring name Lou Thesz, was an American professional wrestler and wrestling coach. Considered to be one of the last true shooters (legitimate wrestlers) in professional w ...

, and Dory Funk Jr. On June 3, 1971, Tyler and Crazy Luke Graham defeated

Dick the Bruiser William Fritz Afflis Jr. (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and National Football League player, better known by his ring name, Dick the Bruiser. During his NFL days he played four seasons with ...

and The Sheik to become the inaugural WWWF World Tag Team Champions. Later that year, he would also face

Pedro Morales Pedro Antonio Morales (October 22, 1942 – February 12, 2019) was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA) and the World Wide Wrestling Federati ...

at a show in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

during the main event for the WWWF Championship. On November 12, he and Graham defeated WWWF International Tag Team Champions The Mongols ( Geto Mongol and Bepo Mongol) for their titles. They lost the World Tag Team Championship on December 6 to

Karl Gotch Karl Istaz (born Karel Alfons Ceclie Istaz; August 3, 1924 – July 28, 2007), best known by the ring name , was a competitor and trainer in Professional wrestling, professional, Amateur wrestling, amateur, and catch wrestling, born in Antwerp, B ...

and Rene Goulet. In 1973, Tyler was injured during a match with

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 as a result, he was paralyzed for months. 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". By the 1970s, he returned to Montreal and worked for

Grand Prix Wrestling Grand Prix Wrestling (GPW) was a professional wrestling promotion run and owned by Emile Duprée. It toured parts of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. It has no connection with Paul Vachon's Grand Prix Wrestling promotion of Mo ...

initially before it shut down, then appeared as a top heel for George Cannon's ''Superstars of Wrestling''. Tyler was a manager for Gino Brito's

Lutte Internationale Lutte Internationale (; "International Wrestling") was a professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal from 1980 until 1987. The promotion was founded by Frank Valois, André the Giant and Gino Brito as Promotions Varoussac (VAlois, ROUSSim ...

before his death.

Personal life and death

Tourville grew up in Montreal and his friends nicknamed him "Tarzan" by the age of ten. On December 24, 1985, Tourville died in a car crash along with fellow wrestler Pierre 'Mad Dog' Lefébvre and referee Adrien Desbois in

Laurentides Wildlife Reserve Réserve faunique des Laurentides (), also known by its former name of parc des Laurentides, is a List of protected areas of Quebec, wildlife reserve in Quebec, Canada, located between Quebec City and the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region. This r ...

upon returning from a wrestling event in

Chicoutimi Chicoutimi ( , ) is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and ...

Québec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

. Their car had slid on a curve, killing them after they hit a tow truck. He was 58 years old.

Championships and accomplishments

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship The AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship was a title in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the American Wrestling Association. It was primarily defended in the Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city i ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) * Big Time Wrestling **

(1 time) – with The Alaskan *

Central States Wrestling Heart of America Sports Attractions, Inc., operating as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebr ...

NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship The NWA Central States championship was reactivated in 2002 seeing Shane Somers defeat. 7'1 Butch McClain becoming the 1st champion since 1989 & youngest at 19 years of age. Title history {{Professional wrestling title history middle {{BundleEn ...

( 1 time) *

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...

** NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Florida version)'' (

) **

NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by CWF an ...

( 1 time) ** NWA Florida Television Championship (

) ** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' (

) ** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) – with Louie Tillet ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' (

) – with Tim Tyler (1) and

Freddie Blassie Frederick Kenneth Blassie (February 8, 1918 – June 2, 2003) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Renowned as "The Hollywood Fashion Plate","Classy" Freddie Blassie with Keith Ellio ...

(1) * International Wrestling Association ** IWA North American Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) * Japan Wrestling Association **

NWA International Tag Team Championship ''This was a regional NWA championship based in Japan. For the version of this title that was promoted in NWA All Star Wrestling in Canada, see NWA International Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version).'' The NWA International Tag Team Champio ...

( 1 time) – with

Bill Watts William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939), better known under the ring name Bill Watts, is a retired American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, promoter and former American football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy" Glos ...

Mid-South Sports Georgia Championship Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National W ...

NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship The GCW Heavyweight Championship is the major title in the Georgia Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion. It started in 1964 and was unified in 1981 with the NWA National Heavyweight Championship. The title was picked back up i ...

( 1 time) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Georgia version)'' ( 1 time) – with

Lenny Montana Lenny Montana (born Leonardo Passafaro; March 13, 1926 – May 12, 1992) was an American actor who played the role of the feared hitman Luca Brasi in '' The Godfather''. Before becoming an actor, he had a successful career as a professional wre ...

** NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Georgia version)'' ( 1 time) – with Lenny Montana *

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

( 1 time) – with Mighty Ursus *

World Wide Wrestling Federation Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was an American sports promotion company. Run by Vincent J. McMahon from the 1950s until the 1980s, the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing promotion and later became the holding company ...

** WWWF International Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Luke Graham ** WWWF World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time, inaugural) – with Luke Graham

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, Tarzan 1927 births 1985 deaths Canadian male professional wrestlers Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century Canadian professional wrestlers NWF North American Heavyweight Champions NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Florida Television Champions NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version) NWA Brass Knuckles Champions (Florida version) Professional wrestlers from Montreal NWA World Tag Team Champions (Florida version) Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions NWA International Tag Team Champions NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champions WWF International Tag Team Champions World Tag Team Champions (WWE, 1971–2010) NWA World Tag Team Champions (Texas version) 20th-century Canadian sportsmen