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Dean Hart

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Dean Hart
Born(1954-01-03)January 3, 1954
Calgary, Alberta, Canada[1]
DiedNovember 21, 1990(1990-11-21) (aged 36)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Children1
FamilyHart
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Dean Hart
Billed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Billed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Billed fromCalgary, Alberta, Canada
Trained byStu Hart[2]
Debut1973[3]

Dean Harry Anthony "Bizz" Hart (January 3, 1954 – November 21, 1990)[4][5] was a Canadian professional wrestler, referee, wrestling as well as music promoter and member of the Hart family who wrestled in Canadian regional promotions during the 1970s and 1980s, most notably in the Calgary-based Stampede Wrestling. He was the son of Stu and Helen Hart and the younger brother of Smith, Bruce, Keith and Wayne Hart, as well as older brother of Ellie, Georgia, Bret, Alison, Ross, Diana and Owen Hart.

Early life

He was of Greek descent through his maternal grandmother and Irish through his maternal grandfather.[6][7][8][9] His father was mainly of Scots-Irish descent but also had Scottish and English ancestry.[10][11]

Hart was a dual citizen of Canada and the United States thanks to his mother Helen, who was born in New York.[12][13]

He was nicknamed Bizz (or Biz) by his siblings. His sister Diana has claimed that it was because he was always so busy[14] with working on something, but his brother Bret said in his autobiography that it was because he was always up to some mischievous business.[15]

As a child he once accidentally started a fire in the Hart House while playing in the top floor.[16][17]

Amateur wrestling

Hart was a good fighter and was the first of his siblings to win an amateur wrestling championship at high school.[18]

Career

Pro wrestling

Stampede Wrestling and Amarillo

Born to Stu and Helen Hart, Dean Hart began wrestling in his father's Stampede Wrestling promotion along with younger brothers Bret and Owen Hart during the 1970s. He also helped out behind the scenes later on but remained mostly preoccupied with other endeavours during the 80s.

Hart worked together with his brothers Bret and Bruce in Dory Funk's Amarillo wrestling promotion in Texas during the very early 70s. They were invited to travel to Amarillo due to the fact that they and Funk had become very good friends. The three of them traveled there alone and Bruce Hart described the journey as something akin to Stand By Me as they ran into several misadventures along the way, including getting chased by people who mistook them for hippies due to their long hair.[19][20]

National Wrestling Alliance, Hawaii

Hart vacationed many times and lived in Hawaii for lengthy times and befriended many wrestlers there, among them Prince Sui who would later work for his Stampede Wrestling on recommendation from Hart.[21]

Hart was also later associated with Peter Maivia's Hawaii promotion, which was under the National Wrestling Alliance.[22] Despite this he remained one of the Hart children with the least involvement with the wrestling business.[23]

Music promoting

Hart held the first ever outdors concert in Calgary when he was nineteen years old, the event was called Fantasy Park and featured people such as Charlie Rich and comedian Billie Holiday as well as model Barbi Benton as a special guest.[24]

Hart would regularly promote music concerts in Clearwater Beach, which was owned by his father.[25] Some time during the 80s he and his brother Bruce booked the band Iron Butterfly to perform on the beach this proved lead to difficulties when some of the band members got intoxicated.[26]

Some of Hart's rock concerts on the beach were mismanaged and did not turn a profit.[27] This led to payment issues and resulted in the area being burned down.[28]

Personal life

At some point in the early 80s Hart, perhaps unwittingly, got involved in the Samoan mafia, he helped transport some boxes which contained weapons. Later the gangsters threatened Hart's life since they believed that he would testify against them in court when they were facing murder charges.[29]

Family

Main article: Hart wrestling family

Hart and his girlfriend Tammy had a daughter named Farrah Hart, born in April 1990.[30]

Death

He suffered serious injuries in 1978 when struck by a city bus, the accident severely damaged his kidneys.[31] He told his family very little of the accident.[32] Diagnosed with Bright's disease during the late 1980s, he eventually died of kidney disease on November 21, 1990 at the Hart family mansion.[33] Hart was creamated.[34]

Hart was the first of the Hart family to suffer an early death. His sister, Diana Hart, stated in her book that had any members of the Hart family been tested as a compatible donor, a kidney transplant might have saved his life. However, this option was never properly discussed by the family.[35]

His brother Bret has stated that the family was aware of the possibility of a transplant but that Dean had not been following the doctors instruction about his diet and not done his daily dialysis as he had been told, this resulted in Dean dying unexpectedly at home before he could be taken to the hospital by their father.[36]

Legacy

His death was the day before the WWF Survivor Series that year, and commentator Roddy Piper stated that Bret dedicated his match to Dean. Bret stated in a 2015 Sports Illustrated interview that the match felt important to him despite him losing it.[37]

“I lost to [Ted] DiBiase at the end, but we had a nice little sequence there before we went into the finish and he beat me. I remember that being a salute to my brother Dean, a tribute to him. That match always had meaning to me.”

His sister Diana dedicated a chapter in her book Under the Mat, named "Dean", to him.

There is also a tribute video to Hart in his brother Bret's DVD documentary Bret "Hit Man" Hart: The Best There Is, the Best There Was, the Best There Ever Will Be.[38][39]

A segment on the Hart family DVD Hart & Soul released by WWE is called "A letter from Dean" and focuses on his life and death.[40]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur wrestling

Professional wrestling

See also

References

  1. ^ "Smith Hart on The Hart Family's ties to Long Island, the city of Long Beach, and more". noplacelikelongisland.com. No Place Like Long Island. May 19, 2016. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
  2. ^ "Dean Hart". Cagematch.net.
  3. ^ "Dean Hart". wrestlingdata.com.
  4. ^ Adam Martin (November 22, 2008). "SOUTHEASTERN WRESTLING NEWS, NOTES, AND NOSTALGIA: 11/21/2008; Today in Memoriam: Dean Hart (1990), Ben Sharpe (85, 2001), and Jimmy Hustler (33, 2006)". wrestleview.com.
  5. ^ Will, Gary (2003). "Gary Will's Wrestling History: Deceased Pro Wrestlers". Archived from the original on May 23, 2015.
  6. ^ Hart, Bret (2007). Hitman: My real life in the cartoon world of wrestling. Ebury Press. p. 8 pp. ISBN 9780091932862.
  7. ^ Letawsky, Craig (2002-05-07). "Ask 411 - 5.07.02". 411wrestling.com.
  8. ^ Hart, Diana; McLellan, Kirstie (2001). Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family. Fenn. p. 16 pp. ISBN 1-55168-256-7.
  9. ^ Heath McCoy (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECWPress. p. 30 pp. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  10. ^ Slamthology: Collected Wrestling Writings 1991-2004. jnlister. 2005. p. 252 pp. ISBN 1-4116-5329-7.
  11. ^ Heath McCoy (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECWPress. p. 16 pp. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  12. ^ Martha Hart; Eric Francis (2004). Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 84 pp. ISBN 978-1-59077-036-8.
  13. ^ name="SLAM!""An open letter to Shawn Michaels". http: canoe. May 17, 1997.
  14. ^ Hart, Diana; McLellan, Kirstie (2001). Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family. Fenn. p. 44 pp. ISBN 1-55168-256-7.
  15. ^ Hart, Bret (2007). Hitman: My real life in the cartoon world of wrestling. Ebury Press. p. 10 pp. ISBN 9780091932862.
  16. ^ Hart, Bret (2007). Hitman: My real life in the cartoon world of wrestling. Ebury Press. p. 17 pp. ISBN 9780091932862.
  17. ^ Marsha Erb (2002). Stu Hart: Lord of the ring. ECWPress. p. 185 pp. ISBN 1-55022-508-1.
  18. ^ Hart, Bret (2007). Hitman: My real life in the cartoon world of wrestling. Ebury Press. p. 29. ISBN 9780091932862.
  19. ^ Hart, Bret (2007). Hitman: My real life in the cartoon world of wrestling. Ebury Press. p. 30 pp. ISBN 9780091932862.
  20. ^ Bruce Hart (January 14, 2011). Straight from the Hart. ECW Press. pp. ?. ISBN 978-1-55022-939-4.
  21. ^ Hart, Bret (2007). Hitman: My real life in the cartoon world of wrestling. Ebury Press. p. 73 pp. ISBN 9780091932862.
  22. ^ Carey, Ian (January 20, 2007). "Hart Foundation: The Next Generation". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  23. ^ Heath McCoy (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECWPress. p. 39 pp. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  24. ^ WWE (2010). Hart & Soul: The Hart Family Anthology (Documentary). Hart family. 44:32: WWE Home Video. B0031U8OIG.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  25. ^ Hart, Diana; McLellan, Kirstie (2001). Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family. Fenn. p. 72 pp. ISBN 1-55168-256-7.
  26. ^ Bruce Hart (January 14, 2011). Straight from the Hart. ECW Press. pp. ?. ISBN 978-1-55022-939-4. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
  27. ^ Heath McCoy (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECWPress. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  28. ^ Hart, Bret (2007). Hitman: My real life in the cartoon world of wrestling. Ebury Press. p. 34. ISBN 9780091932862.
  29. ^ Heath McCoy (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECWPress. p. 40 pp. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  30. ^ Hart, Bret (2007). Hitman: My real life in the cartoon world of wrestling. Ebury Press. p. 254 pp. ISBN 9780091932862.
  31. ^ Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECWPress. 2007. p. 40 pp. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.
  32. ^ Marsha Erb (2002). Stu Hart: Lord of the ring. ECWPress. p. 223 pp. ISBN 1-55022-508-1.
  33. ^ Burnside, Iaine (2007-07-02). "Pulse Wrestling Answers #030". InsidePulse.com.[dead link‍]
  34. ^ Hart, Bret (2007). Hitman: My real life in the cartoon world of wrestling. Ebury Press. p. 266 pp. ISBN 9780091932862.
  35. ^ Hart, Diana; McLellan, Kirstie (2001). Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family. Fenn. p. 200 pp. ISBN 1-55168-256-7.
  36. ^ Hart, Bret (2007). Hitman: My real life in the cartoon world of wrestling. Ebury Press. p. 254 pp. ISBN 9780091932862.
  37. ^ Barrasso, Justin (2015-11-20). "Bret Hart discusses Triple H, Survivor Series and bad booking in WWE". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
  38. ^ "Bret Hitman Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be: The Documentary". thewrestlingfan.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-18. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  39. ^ Adam Martin (November 8, 2005). "WWE releasing new Bret "Hitman" Hart DVD a week from today; 11/15". wrestleview.com.
  40. ^ Johnson, Mike (2010-03-31). "WWE RELEASING HART AND SOUL HART FAMILY ANTHOLOGY DVD SET THIS TUESDAY, FULL DETAILS". pwinsider.com.
  41. ^ McCoy, Heath (2007). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. ECW Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-1-55022-787-1.

Further reading

Book
  • Billington, Tom; Coleman, Alison (2001). Pure Dynamite: The Price you Pay for Wrestling Stardom. Winding Stair Press. ISBN 1-55366-084-6.
  • Hart, Julie (2013). Hart Strings. Tightrope Books. ISBN 978-1926639635.
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