Tony Lanza

Tony Lanza
Personal information
BornFerdinairdo Antonio Lanza
July 7, 1920
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DiedJanuary 20, 2005(2005-01-20) (aged 84)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Tony Lanza
Lario Lanza
Felipe Manozian
Black Devil
The Strangler
Masked Strangler
Masked Spider
The Gorilla
King Kong, The Gorilla Man
Young Sandor
Billed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Billed weight250 lb (110 kg)
Trained byEmile Maupas
Debut1950
Retired1973

Ferdinairdo Antonio Lanza (July 7, 1920 – January 20, 2005) was a Canadian professional wrestler, photographer and actor who was best known to fans in Quebec and Canada as Tony Lanza. Sports journalist Greg Oliver called Lanza "probably Canada's greatest [pro] wrestling photographer".

Professional wrestling career

A student of Emile Maupas, Lanza made his wrestling debut in 1950 in Montreal. He also worked in Toronto, Ottawa and the United States with various masked gimmicks. In 1961, he was one of several Montreal wrestling stars to be featured in Wrestling (French: La lutte), a National Film Board of Canada documentary. Lanza trained Dominic DeNucci. He also trained Yvon Robert Jr. in the late-1960s. He retired from wrestling in 1973.

Personal life

Lanza died on January 20, 2005 at 84 from a fall in his bathroom.

References

General

Specific

  1. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. "Tony Lanza". WrestlingData.com. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
  2. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Tony Lanza « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database".
  3. ↑ Oliver, Greg (2003). "The families: Cormier". the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame – The Canadians. ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-531-6. Tony Lanza — Montreal's Tony Lanza is probably Canada's greatest wrestling photographer and we are thrilled to have his participation in this book.
  4. ↑ "La lutte". National Film Board of Canada. 1961. Retrieved 2026-07-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ Pat Laprade; Bertrand Hébert (2013). Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs: The Untold Story of How Montreal Shaped the World of Wrestling. ECW Press. pp. 34, 42. ISBN 978-1-77090-296-1.
  6. ↑ Oliver, Greg (26 January 2005). "Tony Lanza Dead at 84". SLAM! Wrestling. Canoe.com. Retrieved 2005-01-26.

Further reading

General