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He was a real rare bird, even for this business. He NEVER
broke kayfabe, even in the dressing room. He was billed as having graduated
from Oxford University and was from the Republic of Sudan, but, although
extremely well versed and educated, I'm pretty sure he never attended high
school and lived most of his life (when not on the road) in Dallas.
He always spoke with a British accent and was very popular with the audience.
He would enter a territory and live and mingle in the Black community where he
stood out as a celebrity.
He did not travel light. He would always carry elegant dinner jackets, ring
wear, sport coats, and Sudanese long dresses with him. He toted them in a tall
carry on bag he placed flat in the rear window space of the Cadillac's he used
to drive.
One snowy December night, he was in the back seat with a midget (Pancho Lopez)
and I was driving a 1973 big Oldsmobile Toronado with front wheel drive. Paddy
Ryan was in the front seat with me and a deer darted out in front of my car
coming back from Omak, Washington. My car skidded and did a 360 degree turn and
two of the back seat windows broke. After the dust settled, we couldn't find
Pancho Lopez. Ryan said he must have been projected through one of the broken
windows so we all jumped out of the car looking for him on the road. He wasn't
there. Then, we all heard a faint cry, "...hep me, hep me, hep me please." It
was Pancho Lopez. He had been buried on the floor of the Toronado underneath
Hussian's 50 pound luggage bag that slid off the rear window sill onto the
floor.
Again, once in December, Hussian used to like to impersonate police officers.
He had a police jacket with a fake badge. He had a red light and siren for his
car. Coming back from Lewiston, Idaho, he spotted Lumberjack Luke's car ahead
of him and he turned on his light and siren. He put on his cop outfit and walked
up to Luke, shinning a flash light in Luke's window. All Luke could see was the
cop jacket; and then, boom, a real Idaho State Patrol car pulled up and arrested
Hussian on the spot. I had to turn back from Spokane and go bail him out of
jail.
He never had a valid driver's license, because he couldn't pass the written
test.
Yes, he was one unique individual; but I loved him, and we all made money. (He
was my regional heavyweight champion in 1973 until John Quinn beat him).
RIP Arman. We had fun.
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