Buddy won’t be back: No playing here, Rose goes
Posted By Andy Durham on April 29, 2009
Wrestling legend PLAYBOY Buddy Rose – also known as Paul Perschmann – was found dead on Tuesday at his home in Vancouver, WA. He was 56.
According to Buddy’s wife, Tammy, she came home from work at about 4pm and found Buddy non-responsive in his favorite chair. No cause of death has been determined, although he had long standing issues with diabetes.
Rose wrestled primarily for the AWA, WWF, and for promoter Don Owen in Portland. He was trained by Gene Anderson and spoke highly of his mentor, saying: “Gene taught me a lot. He was tough. I worked my ass off for a year and a half training before I worked in front of a live crowd.
“We went over moves time after time until he knew I was ready. Once he had me doing back drops in the ring over and over and wasn’t even watching me.
“I asked one of the guys later what that was about and he told me Gene was listening. I said ‘listening.’ He said, ‘Yes. He can tell if you’re doing it right by the sound you make when you land on the mat.’”
Rose later honed his craft with Verne Gagne and Billy Robinson in Minneapolis.
One of the most legendary feuds in the Pacific Northwest pitted Rose against Roddy Piper. According to Piper in his autobiography, this was the feud that really made him a name in the business, and cemented Rose’s status as an icon in the region.
to read on go to www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/wrestling/article2402751.ece
Another wrestler dies far too young. Will there be no end to the bloodletting? RIP, Buddy Rose.