Onno Boelee
Encyclopedia
Onno Boelee is a New Zealand
actor
, stuntman
and retired professional wrestler
of Dutch decent
. Although never winning a championship title
, he was a popular star in Steve Rickard
's All Star-Pro Wrestling, frequently appearing on Rickard's wrestling programme On the Mat
, and later in Japan for Giant Baba and All-Japan Pro Wrestling during the early-to mid 1970s.
After his retirement in 1976, Boelee achieved some success as a character actor
and stuntman
during the 1980s, especially in Hong Kong action cinema
, and eventually founded a private security company
which is involved in stunt performance, armoury and acting
within the New Zealand film
and television industry. He is also the younger brother of artist Rudolf Boelee.
, Onno Boelee grew up in Auckland
and later became a bouncer
for the well-known Shantytown night club in Queen Street
. His older brother Rudolf, who immigrated from the Netherlands in 1963, painted a portrait of Onno which was displayed at Shantytown for many years. When the occasional patron became upset with his brother, according to Rudolf, they would throw their drink at the painting rather than at him.
Boelee began training at a gym in Mount Roskill for a career in professional wrestling. He made his debut in 1970 working for Ernie Pinchers and South Pacific Wrestling. A year later, he joined Steve Rickard
's All Star-Pro Wrestling and toured the country for the next five years. In one of his most memorable matches, he and partners Frank Lipanovich and Bronco Barnes took on the 490 pound Andre the Giant
and "Kiwi" Johnny Frazer in a three-on-two handicap match at the sold-out Auckland YMCA
in 1972; this was Andre the Giant's official debut in New Zealand. Boelee was also invited to Japan where he appeared for Giant Baba and All-Japan Pro Wrestling from September–November 1974.
In 1975, Boelee was among the many native New Zealanders to appear on Rickard's wrestling programme On the Mat
. During its first two years, he was one of the show's first stars with bouts against some of the top names in New Zealand including "Wild" Don Scott, Jock Ruddock, Merve Fortune, Del Adams, Robert Bruce
, King Curtis Iaukea
, Teddy Williams, Butch Miller
, Bruno Bekkar
, Johnny Garcia
, Al Hobman
and John da Silva
, and international stars Big Bad John, Abdullah the Butcher
, Bulldog Brower
, Mark Lewin
, Waldo Von Erich
, and The Sheik
.
Following his retirement from the wrestling business, Boelee tried his hand at acting. He found some success in local independent films with roles in Prisoners
(1981), Other Halves (1984) and Second Time Lucky (1984). His brief foray into the Hong Kong action cinema
genre, however, saw a rise in his career with supporting roles in Mad Mission 4: You Never Die Twice
and Legacy of Rage
(1986). He also starred in director Garth Maxwell's 1988 independent film Beyond Gravity before taking a break from acting for the next several years.
Boelee eventually started a successful private security company
which became involved in stunt performance
, armoury and acting
in the New Zealand film
and television industry. In 1994, after a six year absence, Boelee appeared as Gargan the Giant in the television movie
Hercules and the Lost Kingdom
. He also had a minor role in the 2000 independent short film Sci-Fi Betty, guest starred on the children's TV series Power Rangers Dino Thunder in 2004, and on both Maddigan's Quest
and Street Legal
in 2006. In recent years, his security company has participated in the productions of Crooked Earth
and Orange Roughies
.
Boelee was also among the many veteran New Zealand wrestlers who attended a "legends reunion" show at Petone
and was later interviewed by Kiwi Pro Wrestling
in 2007.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, stuntman
Stuntman
A stuntman or stunt performer is someone who performs dangerous stunts.Stuntman may also refer to:*The Stunt Man, a 1980 film starring Peter O'Toole*Stuntman , a 2002 video game**Stuntman: Ignition, its sequel...
and retired professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
of Dutch decent
Dutch New Zealander
Dutch New Zealanders are New Zealanders who are of Dutch ancestry. Dutch migration to New Zealand dates back to the earliest period of European colonisation.- Numbers :...
. Although never winning a championship title
Championship (professional wrestling)
A Championship or "title" in professional wrestling is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations.Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in scripted rivalries...
, he was a popular star in Steve Rickard
Steve Rickard
Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt , best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter...
's All Star-Pro Wrestling, frequently appearing on Rickard's wrestling programme On the Mat
On the Mat
On the Mat was a professional wrestling television program for the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated All Star Pro-Wrestling , or simply NWA New Zealand, that aired on Television New Zealand's TV2 from 1975 to 1984...
, and later in Japan for Giant Baba and All-Japan Pro Wrestling during the early-to mid 1970s.
After his retirement in 1976, Boelee achieved some success as a character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
and stuntman
Stunt performer
A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...
during the 1980s, especially in Hong Kong action cinema
Hong Kong action cinema
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. It combines elements from the action film, as codified by Hollywood, with Chinese storytelling and aesthetic traditions, to create a culturally distinctive form that nevertheless has a wide transcultural...
, and eventually founded a private security company
Private security company
A private security company is a for-profit enterprise, sometimes a corporation or a limited liability partnership, which provides armed and unarmed security services and expertise to private and public clients. Private security companies are defined by the U.S...
which is involved in stunt performance, armoury and acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
within the New Zealand film
Cinema of New Zealand
New Zealand cinema, can refer to films made by New Zealand-based production companies in New Zealand. However, it may also refer to films made about New Zealand by filmmakers from other countries...
and television industry. He is also the younger brother of artist Rudolf Boelee.
Career
A Dutch New ZealanderDutch New Zealander
Dutch New Zealanders are New Zealanders who are of Dutch ancestry. Dutch migration to New Zealand dates back to the earliest period of European colonisation.- Numbers :...
, Onno Boelee grew up in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and later became a bouncer
Bouncer
Bouncer or The Bouncer may refer to:* Bouncer , a person who provides security at a public venue* Bouncer or BNC, a piece of software used to relay traffic and connections in computer networksIn sport:...
for the well-known Shantytown night club in Queen Street
Queen Street, Auckland
Queen Street is the major commercial thoroughfare in the Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand's main population centre. It starts at Queens Wharf on the Auckland waterfront, adjacent to the Britomart Transport Centre and the Downtown Ferry Terminal, and runs uphill for almost three kilometres in a...
. His older brother Rudolf, who immigrated from the Netherlands in 1963, painted a portrait of Onno which was displayed at Shantytown for many years. When the occasional patron became upset with his brother, according to Rudolf, they would throw their drink at the painting rather than at him.
Boelee began training at a gym in Mount Roskill for a career in professional wrestling. He made his debut in 1970 working for Ernie Pinchers and South Pacific Wrestling. A year later, he joined Steve Rickard
Steve Rickard
Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt , best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter...
's All Star-Pro Wrestling and toured the country for the next five years. In one of his most memorable matches, he and partners Frank Lipanovich and Bronco Barnes took on the 490 pound Andre the Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
and "Kiwi" Johnny Frazer in a three-on-two handicap match at the sold-out Auckland YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
in 1972; this was Andre the Giant's official debut in New Zealand. Boelee was also invited to Japan where he appeared for Giant Baba and All-Japan Pro Wrestling from September–November 1974.
In 1975, Boelee was among the many native New Zealanders to appear on Rickard's wrestling programme On the Mat
On the Mat
On the Mat was a professional wrestling television program for the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated All Star Pro-Wrestling , or simply NWA New Zealand, that aired on Television New Zealand's TV2 from 1975 to 1984...
. During its first two years, he was one of the show's first stars with bouts against some of the top names in New Zealand including "Wild" Don Scott, Jock Ruddock, Merve Fortune, Del Adams, Robert Bruce
Robert Bruce (wrestler)
Robert Bruce , born John Charles Young, was a Scottish-born professional wrestler and talent agent in Auckland, New Zealand.-Biography:...
, King Curtis Iaukea
King Curtis Iaukea
Curtis Piehau Iaukea, III was a professional wrestler better known as King Curtis Iaukea. Iaukea won championships in several of the major regional US promotions, both as a single and in various tag team combinations, during the 1960s. He then competed in the World Wrestling Federation where he...
, Teddy Williams, Butch Miller
Butch Miller
Butch Miller may refer to:*Butch Miller *Butch Miller...
, Bruno Bekkar
Bruno Bekkar
Brian Ashby is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler and trainer, known by his ring name Bruno Bekkar, who competed for Steve Rickard's All Star-Pro Wrestling and for other promoters in New Zealand and Australia from the early 1960s until his retirement in 1992...
, Johnny Garcia
John Garea
John "Johnny" Garea is a semi-retired New Zealand professional wrestler, known by his ring name Johnny Garcia, who competed in Steve Rickard's All Star-Pro Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and occasionally for the World Wrestling Federation during the 1970s and 80s...
, Al Hobman
Al Hobman
Allan "Al" Hobman was a New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. Hobman was one of the first homegrown stars to emerge from the Dominion Wrestling Union, and later Steve Rickard's All Star-Pro Wrestling, during the 1960s and 70s such as Tony Garea, Peter Maivia and The Sheepherders...
and John da Silva
John da Silva
John da Silva or John Silva is a former New Zealand wrestler and boxer. He represented New Zealand in wrestling at the 1956 Olympics and at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games...
, and international stars Big Bad John, Abdullah the Butcher
Abdullah the Butcher
Lawrence Robert "Larry" Shreve best known as Abdullah the Butcher, and also at times The Madman from the Sudan, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler known as one of the most brutal or "hardcore" professional wrestlers of all-time...
, Bulldog Brower
Bulldog Brower
Richard Gland was an American professional wrestler who used the ring name Bulldog Brower.-Professional wrestling career:...
, Mark Lewin
Mark Lewin
-Career:Mark Lewin broke into wrestling in the early '50s and had great early success in a matinee-idol babyface tag team with Don Curtis, headlining in major territories like New York and Chicago. The team's brief heel turn was a shock to its many fans...
, Waldo Von Erich
Waldo Von Erich
Walter Paul Sieber was a Canadian professional wrestler under the ring name Waldo Von Erich. He was billed as the brother of Fritz Von Erich, but was not actually related to Fritz or the rest of the Von Erich family....
, and The Sheik
Ed Farhat
Edward George Farhat was an American professional wrestler best known as by his ring name The Sheik...
.
Following his retirement from the wrestling business, Boelee tried his hand at acting. He found some success in local independent films with roles in Prisoners
Prisoners (film)
Prisoners is a 1981 American-New Zealand drama film directed by Peter Werner and starring Tatum O'Neal, Colin Friels and David Hemmings. An American moves his family to New Zealand where he takes charge of a prison in Wellington. His young daughter begins to have a love affair with one of the...
(1981), Other Halves (1984) and Second Time Lucky (1984). His brief foray into the Hong Kong action cinema
Hong Kong action cinema
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. It combines elements from the action film, as codified by Hollywood, with Chinese storytelling and aesthetic traditions, to create a culturally distinctive form that nevertheless has a wide transcultural...
genre, however, saw a rise in his career with supporting roles in Mad Mission 4: You Never Die Twice
Aces Go Places 4
Aces go Places 4 also known in the United States as Mad Mission 4: You Never Die Twice is a 1986 Hong Kong action-comedy film directed by Ringo Lam, and starring Sam Hui and Karl Maka.-Cast:* Sam Hui - King Kong* Karl Maka - Albert Au...
and Legacy of Rage
Legacy of Rage
Legacy of Rage is a 1986 Hong Kong action film starring Brandon Lee in his film debut, Michael Wong, Regina Kent, Chung Lam and a cameo appearance by Bolo Yeung who had appeared in Lee's father Bruce Lee's last film Enter the Dragon. It was directed by Ronny Yu and made in Cantonese...
(1986). He also starred in director Garth Maxwell's 1988 independent film Beyond Gravity before taking a break from acting for the next several years.
Boelee eventually started a successful private security company
Private security company
A private security company is a for-profit enterprise, sometimes a corporation or a limited liability partnership, which provides armed and unarmed security services and expertise to private and public clients. Private security companies are defined by the U.S...
which became involved in stunt performance
Stunt performer
A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...
, armoury and acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
in the New Zealand film
Cinema of New Zealand
New Zealand cinema, can refer to films made by New Zealand-based production companies in New Zealand. However, it may also refer to films made about New Zealand by filmmakers from other countries...
and television industry. In 1994, after a six year absence, Boelee appeared as Gargan the Giant in the television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Hercules and the Lost Kingdom
Hercules And The Lost Kingdom
-Overview:Hercules comes to the aid of a young woman who is seeking the lost city of Troy. Eventually, Hercules leads her to a camp of refugees from the city, which has been taken over by Hera's Blue Priests. Hercules helps the refugees take back the city....
. He also had a minor role in the 2000 independent short film Sci-Fi Betty, guest starred on the children's TV series Power Rangers Dino Thunder in 2004, and on both Maddigan's Quest
Maddigan's Quest
Maddigan's Quest was a fantasy-based television series set in a post-apocalyptic future. It was based on an original concept by Margaret Mahy and was developed for television by Gavin Strawhan and Rachel Lang...
and Street Legal
Street Legal (2000)
Street Legal is a New Zealand drama focused on the lives of a small group of lawyers. A total of 52 episodes were aired and reruns currently can be seen around the world...
in 2006. In recent years, his security company has participated in the productions of Crooked Earth
Crooked Earth
Crooked Earth is a 2001 New Zealand film directed by Sam Pillsbury and starring Temuera Morrison. The film opened to negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office.-Plot:...
and Orange Roughies
Orange Roughies
Orange Roughies is the name of a New Zealand drama television show created by Auckland-based film company Screenworks, the first season of which screened on TV ONE from May to July 2006. The second season has recently finished filming and is, according to TVNZ, due to screen sometime between...
.
Boelee was also among the many veteran New Zealand wrestlers who attended a "legends reunion" show at Petone
Petone
Petone is a major suburb of the city of Lower Hutt in New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the narrow triangular plain of the Hutt River, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour...
and was later interviewed by Kiwi Pro Wrestling
Kiwi Pro Wrestling
Kiwi Pro Wrestling is a professional wrestling promotion based in Wellington, New Zealand.-History:Started in May 2006 by veteran New Zealand wrestler Rip Morgan, KPW was formed with the express purpose of taking NZ wrestling from club level to professional level and groom local wrestling talent...
in 2007.
Filmography and TV roles
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1981 | Prisoners | Squeeze | |
| 1984 | Other Halves | Patient | |
| 1984 | Second Time Lucky | Ripperus | |
| 1986 | Mad Mission 4: You Never Die Twice | Hornsby | "Zuijia paidang zhi qianli jiu chaipo (HK title)" |
| 1986 | Legacy of Rage Legacy of Rage Legacy of Rage is a 1986 Hong Kong action film starring Brandon Lee in his film debut, Michael Wong, Regina Kent, Chung Lam and a cameo appearance by Bolo Yeung who had appeared in Lee's father Bruce Lee's last film Enter the Dragon. It was directed by Ronny Yu and made in Cantonese... |
Prisoner | "Long zai jiang hu (HK title)" |
| 1988 | Beyond Gravity | Truck driver | |
| 2000 | Sci-Fi Betty | The Bouncer | Short film |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1994 | Hercules and the Lost Kingdom Hercules And The Lost Kingdom -Overview:Hercules comes to the aid of a young woman who is seeking the lost city of Troy. Eventually, Hercules leads her to a camp of refugees from the city, which has been taken over by Hera's Blue Priests. Hercules helps the refugees take back the city.... |
Gargan the Giant | Television movie |
| 2004 | Power Rangers Dino Thunder | Security guard | Episode: "Thunder Storm, Part 1 & 2" |
| 2006 | Maddigan's Quest Maddigan's Quest Maddigan's Quest was a fantasy-based television series set in a post-apocalyptic future. It was based on an original concept by Margaret Mahy and was developed for television by Gavin Strawhan and Rachel Lang... |
Mean Milton Man | Episode: "Road Rats" |
| 2006 | Street Legal Street Legal (2000) Street Legal is a New Zealand drama focused on the lives of a small group of lawyers. A total of 52 episodes were aired and reruns currently can be seen around the world... |
Boris | Episode: "No Man Put Asunder" |
External links
- Onno Boelee at Hong Kong CinemagicHong Kong CinemagicHong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, is a bilingual website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people that created them. The website contains news, interviews, film reviews and a database of people,...
- Onno Boelee at Hong Kong Movie DataBaseHong Kong Movie DatabaseThe Hong Kong Movie DataBase is a bilingual website that was created in 1995 by Ryan Law to provide a repository for information about movies originating from Hong Kong and the people that created them....