Billy Varga
| Billy Varga | |
|---|---|
 Varga in the 1960s | |
| Birth name | William Joe Varga[1] |
| Born |
January 10, 1919[2] Cleveland, Ohio, United States[2] |
| Died |
January 11, 2013 (aged 94)[2] Burbank, California, United States[3] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
Billy Varga[2] Count Billy Varga[2] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 200 lb (91 kg)[2] |
| Trained by | Joe Varga[2] |
| Debut | 1930s |
| Retired | 1970s |
William Joe Varga[1] (January 10, 1919 – January 11, 2013), billed as Count Billy Varga, was an American professional wrestler and actor. He was born to Rose and Joe Varga; his father was a professional wrestler in Europe known as Count Joseph Varga and taught his son wrestling at the age of five. He attended Hollywood High School and graduated from the University of Southern California. Varga won the world's light-heavyweight title in 1941 and later joined the Navy until he arrived home in 1947. Varga's wrestling career began to fall apart in the 1970s as he was busy in television and movie work.[2][3]
Personal life
Varga married Rosabelle Varga who died in 1992. He resided in Northridge, California.[1] He had three sons, Billy, Courtland and Royce, all of whom preceded him in death, and five grandchildren. He suffered from Alzheimer's disease by the beginning of 2005 and died in 2013.
Partial filmography
- Alias the Champ (1949) – Wrestler
- The Abbott and Costello Show (1953) – The Big Guy
- Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) – Marine
- Shotgun Slade (1960) – Snag
- It Started in Tokyo (1961) – Mark
- The Jack Benny Program (1962) – Himself
- The Munsters (1964) – Strangler Murphy
- Burke's Law (1965) – The Count
- Oklahoma Crude (1973) – Cook
- Ellery Queen (1976) – Security Guard
- Raging Bull (1980) – Ring Announcer
- Alligator II: The Mutation (1991) – Announcer
Championships and accomplishments
- Worldwide Wrestling Associates/NWA Hollywood Wrestling
- NWA International Television Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Hardy Kruskamp (2) and Mario LaPentero (1)
- Mid Pacific Promotions/Polynesian Wrestling
References
- 1 2 3 "Obituary for William Joe Varga". Holy Cross Mortuary. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Count Billy Varga was star of screen, ring". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
- 1 2 "Count Billy Varga, Actor and Wrestler, Dies at 94". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 19, 2013.