Also known as The Executioner, The Exorcist, Dr Death
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Gordon Corbett was born in Birmingham. Not the most well remembered, but certainly one of the most prolific wrestlers and an influential promoter of the 1960s and 1970s. Gordon Corbett was a man of many guises. Like many others his first interest was boxing, three years professional until retirement in 1960. It was a pretty undistinguished boxing caeer although Gordon was managed by former heavyweight champion Johnny Williams. With a record that showed plenty of guts but little progress Gordon changed course and chose to take the opportunities presented by the rapidly growing popularity of professional wrestling. He was much more suited to the wrestling game and quickly established himself as an emerging heavyweight. We watched Gordon in the mid 1960s as a popular blue eyed Midlands area champion when good would overcome evil as he battled the likes of Klondyke Bill and The Monster, or tag partnering Orig Williams or Count Bartelli against undesirable pairings .
But there was another side to Gordon. He performed the role of evil identities Dr Death, The Executioner and the most memorable of them all, The Exorcist. The Exorcist character had been created by Clayton Thomson in 1974, but Gordon’s version on the independent circuit in 1976 was considered by many to be far superior. He brought to the role his own sinister persona and a lady manager, Miss Jamie Barrington, who was actually his wife. A boot with a raised sole was allegedly necessary due to an horrific motor racing accident. Fans were incensed as The Exorcist used the boot to great effect, shouting abuse amd claiming the toe cap contained hidden weights!
Graham Brook told us of his encounter with Elaine the time he hired a ring from Gordon Corbett in 1981, “She was very business like and quietly spoken so it was a real surprise when I saw her again a couple of weeks later at a Max Crabtree promotion just down the road at The Gala Baths, West Bromwich, as Barrington with Gordon Corbett bonneted up as The Exorcist. She was the total extrovert and gained tremendous crowd heat.”
Mostly associated with his work for the independent promoters Gordon did work for Joint Promotions, both masked and unmasked. In his only televised contest he put up a good performance before going down to Steve Veidor.
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