Yes, a Jewish Wrestler indeed! My Grandmother or as we call in Yiddish 'A Bubby', was a terrific wonderful Grandma. I could do no wrong in her eyes. She was extremely old fashioned and very Jewish. She was the type that didn't want me to get my hands dirty and made sure I had a bowel movement everyday and if not wanted me to take a laxative. I'm sure you know the type. But, I loved her very much and aside from being old fashioned she was also very cool and easy to talk to about things when I needed to.

It was bad enough that I took up Bodybuilding and Weightlifting. Music was ok; there were many Jewish Musicians. But Bodybuilders and Weightlifters, oh no!

She would ask me over and over why I'm killing myself in the gym lifting all those weights. She just couldn't understand and would shake her head at me and say, 'you poor thing', killing yourself. Poor little Richard! I'll never forget that. She couldn't figure out that I really enjoyed this stuff. It was making me a more disciplined better person for putting that stress on myself as I was doing it for me and no one had to push me. I was building my stress and pain tolerance levels to the point that one day they'd disappear.

Most of my Jewish friends weren't into Wrestling, Bodybuilding or anything like I chose to live on the edge, but that's what made us different. I guess I just liked taking chances or maybe wanted attention that way and didn't want to be a wimp. Whatever it was, I stuck with it and it made me determined. I just knew what I wanted and was willing to go after it. I wasn't concerned with opinions, as I had my own and didn't mind speaking them aloud.

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Now we are talking about Wrestling. Hmm, how do I break this to my Grandma? My Mom had a hard enough time accepting it. My Dad had already passed away but I used that as leverage and told them that he'd be proud of me doing this, why can't you do the same? There was no argument with that and he wasn't here to dispute it. But, I know that he would have enjoyed it and if his health had of been better, he would have joined me in the gym for sure and who knows, maybe even a few holds in the ring.

So, as you know, I began the wrestling training and would come home and tell my Mom and Grandma about it. My mom would 'hum' when she would get embarrassed about a subject and this would take place when I'd tell my Grandma the gory details. My Mom had a habit of humming a lot around me simply because, at times I would embarrass her by speaking up about things.

She just didn't want me to discuss wrestling with my Grandma or anyone for that matter, as it wasn't the proper thing for me to be doing. However, I heard through the grapevine that my Grandmother would be bragging about me being well built and that I was a wrestler to her neighbors and friends. So, there was a flip side to this. She was proud in her own way. I continued and really never went back to temple anymore as I was off in a new venture a new lifestyle and pursuing what I wanted.

As I started winning bodybuilding contests whereas I became Mr. California and Mr. USA and followed up with Wrestling titles such as NWA Jr. Heavyweight Champion, and being seen on Television. At that time, my family began to let me know that they were proud of me. Later on I became 'Rookie of the Year' at the Olympic Auditorium and then AWA, CCW, NWA, WWF, and AWF wrestling champion.

See, I really don't have to be a Lawyer or Doctor. I am now in Sports Entertainment. It's a known fact that most successful people in business, especially show business are Jewish. I can use that on my business side and make myself into something great. It's not just a physical deal, but mental as well and I equally developed my mind along with my body, just so no one would ever call me a 'dumb wrestler."

In fact I reflect on my Bar Mitzvah as saying to people, that when I was on the Pulpit with the congregation, I looked out and saw all the people as 'wrestling fans," The Rabbi had a black and white stripped Tallis which reminded me of a Referee. The kid in the back was waiting for his Bar Mitzvah and he could be my opponent. We could wrestle for the envelopes full of money that you receive for Bar Mitzvahs. That would be our pay off. That's it! I'm definitely becoming a Pro Wrestler. That was my vision then and I made it a reality.

I was one of the few Jewish wrestlers around. There were a couple here and there, and during the day they were Chiropractors. There ya go. The medical field as we talked about before. I went to the South to wrestle and it was bad enough being from LA or Hollywood, but being a Jew was even more difficult out there. I told a few guys and they always told me that they didn't believe me. " It's impossible", they said. "You don't look it, and you have blue eyes and blonde hair." It's true most had dark hair, brown eyes and were built different. Maybe that's why I never had any prejudice against me. It just never happened. It was the same with Arnold, he claimed at times he was a Nazi and yet we got along great. Plus Joe Weider was Jewish and was supporting Arnold. Arnold did admit that the Jews were smart people and I think that he did respect that in me. Today there are many Jewish Wrestlers and Goldberg, a nice Jewish boy from Florida, was WCW World Champion and one of the most popular wrestlers around. He's no fool as he knows where the money is.

Now going into films was better in my Mother and Grandma's eyes as it was something reputable and on TV. Well, with this body and look, I'll most likely get bad guy roles, but it's a start and later one I'll take it to another level. But the industry is loaded with Jews from production, to directing and now I'll be in business with my people. I made sure to wear my Jewish Star on all auditions as needed. This way, they could see I was one of them, even through the blonde hair and blue eyes.

So, all in all, it worked out and now that I have established myself over the years, my Mom has become proud. However, she is always trying to find other professions for me to try. It never ends. I just wish she'd quit asking me to grow my hair back like when I was 10.